Today is the home opener for the Chicago Cubs. The weather calls for rain and about 40 degrees with winds likely off of Lake Michigan which will make game time conditions at Wrigley even less pleasant. If they manage to get the game in – and win, too – there will not be a single fan in that old building with any regrets or complaints about showing up. Commitment in spite of any and all odds for the sake of the participation itself – THAT is the quintessence of experiential marketing.
Most experiential activations manifest as events. Let’s look at some of the value-added layers that only event activations can provide for your brand:
- Exposure to REAL LIVE people – including customers and staff. Never forget that your staff is often equally affected by your brands’ experiences as guests and consumers. No other advertising and marketing vehicle – no matter how vast or pervasive in reach or no matter how inexpensive – can replicate “humanity.” Events are compelling excuses for people to act. In such hard times for so many – events also present a chance for diversion and means to FEEL a sense of normalcy.
- Critical Mass – defined as “the minimum amount (of something) required to start or maintain a venture” and an “organized coincidence” – the point at which the energy of the room catalyzes a perception and a mindset of the attendees that they are in the right place at the right time, and proceed to immediately engage in word-of-mouth marketing via phone, e-mail, text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, and so forth.
- Word of Mouth – as alluded to in the last point, very few people are prompted to “advocate” or “evangelize” for a brand just because they saw a print advertisement, or a sponsored link on Google. The closest that two-dimensional advertising gets to evoking emotion is likely via social media, and even then there has to be standard experiential layers (discovery, shock & awe, etc.) to elicit the experiential marketing version of the telephone game.
- Short ROI Cycle – it’s a little funny to me that traditionalists have shied from events as a primary strategy using the excuse that events are tough to measure. It’s actually quite the opposite. Attendance, overall sales, categorical sales, bounce backs, preferred guest redemptions, and more are a drop of water on the tip of the iceberg in regards to metrics and ROI immediately available to brands via event marketing. Further, the ability to absorb the empirical reactions, emotions and feedback of the attendees provides immediate ROE – Return on Experience.
- Cost Saving Relationships – the beauty of events is that they are a “group thing.” Behave yourselves - I only mean this in a business context. The success of events are measured not only by the number of people who show up, but by the number of people who MAKE UP the event. Productive relationships with sponsors and “brand partners” – other businesses facilitating the delivery of your shared promise to shared consumers – will save you money and improve your overall delivery. Just because an online ad is cheap, and just because Twitter and Facebook free, does not mean they are ordained to be effective.
As the great Eddie Vedder sings in his song about the Cubs and Wrigley Field, “Someday we’ll go all the way…” Your brands will go further as well with the incorporation of events and experiential marketing into your own game plans.
"Throw A Party!" Create and implement experiential marketing solutions (live events and online communications) that are personal and memorable such that you redirect existing and ongoing consumer affinity, participation, revenues, and loyalties to your business or brand.
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