EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING: a LIVE form of Direct Response Marketing

February 4, 2010 by Robert Lewis, CEO, MME in Experiential Marketing, Marketing, ROI

In perhaps the most dramatic evolution of media since the advent of television in the 1950’s, the close of the first decade of the 21st century ushered in sweeping changes that challenged both the Media Buying community and Brand Marketers. The underpinning is certainly clear as the decade long evolution of Internet propelled dramatic changes in media consumption, but the lightning bolt of social media closed in fast to drive yet another tipping point in the world of media.  Clearly the control stick or rudder in the industry passed to the hands of the consumer, with marketers left challenged to pick their way through an overwhelmingly cluttered landscape of media choices.  Seismic changes are also occurring at the intersection of Madison Ave. & Vine as consumers have quickly adapted to technology offerings, leaving Media Conglomerates picking through the rubble of old line mediums.  Newspapers, radio, magazines, yellow pages and network television are on the short list fighting for profitability or in many cases survival.  Need we say more?

The dramatic nature of change in the media landscape, now clearly felt on both sides of the fence (Media vs. Advertisers), poses problems and challenges that don’t match up easily for either side.  Traditional agencies and media planners have been thrust straight into the CMO’s – ROI centric world.  Gone are the days when plans and submittals consisted simply of GRP’s and CPP’s.   The new ‘Measurement Currency’ that CMO’s jobs are now dependent upon are Sales Lift, Sales Velocity, Customer Acquisitions, etc.

The fact is, Marketing and Media investments are just that, ‘investments’, and they need to perform like any other line item on a Corporate Ledger.  Experiential Media makes this possible. 

Learn how you can apply and acquire Integrated Experiential Media (a measurable form of Direct Response Marketing) to deliver proven ROI in your media plans with a copy of MME’s latest Experiential Marketing White Paper entitled: 

A Media Director’s & Advertiser’s Guide to: The Experiential Medium – A LIVE form of Direct Response Marketing
MME_‘LIVE’-Direct-Marketing
To receive a free copy of this report, email Marc Seto via mseto@mobilemarketing.com

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Be More than a One-hit Wonder

July 20, 2009 by Patrick Conreaux, Vice President Creative Services, MME in Experiential Marketing, ROI, Road Tours

Worried that ROI from your experiential program may be little more than just an overnight sensation? Here’s a 6-string plan to keep sales jamming beyond its opening set:

Like any artist, the ’80s group Timbuk 3 set out with high hopes that their future in the business would last. They so confidently proclaimed, “My Future’s so Bright I Gotta Wear Shades”; yet like so many before them, their moment in the sun was just a blip on the map.  Likewise, you too would hope that after months of preparation and capital investment, your event would not fall flat.  Aside from reading the minds of each of your consumers, how can you help assure that your program has the staying power of a legendary icon?

1. Plan and budget for a wardrobe change. Understanding how to extend the life of your program and how to resurrect it each season can be the push a brand needs to sell the value of their investment.   Make your spending timely and smart by building in cost-effective means of changing the look and feel of the experience to adapt to different events, sales seasons and buying climates.

2. Invite your audience to be part of the show. Consumers are quickly evolving.  In order for an experiential program to be effective, it must have life and be relevant to them and their changing tastes.  With target market interests and values changing constantly, how can you script an event that will connect with them year after year?  It’s simple: Make the people part of the experience.  Invite them to share the stage.  Put real faces in your videos.  It would be crazy for Timbuk 3 to think that their career could be resurrected using the same low quality graphics in music videos or by donning sweatbands; likewise, you cannot expect your event to continue to thrive by recycling what may have worked in the past.  Create opportunities for user-generated content and ongoing viral buzz; you’ll be surprised how long your hits top the charts.

3. Incorporate new technology. Today’s value of social media in marketing is undeniable and Thomas Dolby may have been on to something when he declared, “She Blinded me with Science!”  By creating something as simple as a fan page on Facebook, or encouraging consumers to follow your event with a mobile Twitter app, you can remind them today of what they experienced at yesterday’s event and keep them coming back for more.  Maybe the synthesizer didn’t work out so well for Dolby’s career, but by using emerging technologies, you can certainly extend the life of your program long after its LIVE performance.

4. Keep in touch with your groupies. Loyal customers are the number one cheerleaders for your brand and they will go to bat for your company through thick and thin.  Take Britney’s fans, for example.  They have helped her to maintain her good name during the times when her face was plastered across the pages of People magazine.  Without this support, she never would have made a comeback into the pop scene, and thus she would have flopped as a performer.  Surely, Britney is grateful for her fans, and you too must show your groupies some love by reaching out and rewarding them for their loyalty.  It is easy show your appreciation by giving shout outs to consumers through @ mentions on Twitter or by sending links to members of your Facebook fan page that correspond with discounts on premium products.  No band could live on without loyal groupies, and you too can rely on them to keep the buzz alive about a successful marketing campaign.

5. Expand the genre. Just as you must continually change the look and feel of a program to maintain relevancy, you can also remix the products and services you are promoting over the course of your program.  By choosing to focus on a different attribute of your product, you can highlight a new or recently improved quality to make the program fresh.  Bring to light something that your consumer may have never noticed, or touch on a quirk that makes your product unique.  This last point shows that your brand has a personality, and it listens to the consumer and places meaning on what they value most in the moment.

6. Give em the V.I.P. treatment. Backstage passes to a show automatically make the consumer’s experience stand out. Similarly, treating people at your event like VIPs makes them feel special and gives them a memory to cherish long after the event has left their town.   Handing out gifts to a limited number of people can give them something to take home as a reminder, and can also drive them to your online location.  Those who don’t earn the special gift onsite will come looking for you in the future with hopes that they will be given the star treatment.

In short, though Dolby and Timbuk 3 have experienced a certain level of infamy through their one-hit wonders, don’t let that be the goal of your experiential marketing investment.  Experience ROI by developing quality experiences that will remind consumers about the value of your product and keep them begging for an encore.

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Learning to Soar as the Economy Sinks

April 20, 2009 by Patrick Conreaux, Vice President Creative Services, MME in Experiential Marketing, Marketing, ROI

No doubt ALL marketers are being asked to do more with much less than they ever had before. Today’s corporate edict of “Earn more profits, generate more business, manage more projects, collect more leads, produce more widgets” has us swimming in the reality that the resources to accomplish these goals in the past are no longer available to us in the present.

So how do we continue to deliver exceptional results without the same level of resource support?  Here are a couple lessons the economy is teaching us:

Integration. In a recent client meeting, we were asked to demonstrate how our agency is aligning our internal human resources and expertise to benefit their overall brand objectives.  Similarly, we needed to ensure that more of their integrated business units were involved in our solutions to support a broader portfolio of their products and services.  The benefits of this focused effort were many, including exposure to incremental business opportunities in other sectors of the organization and streamlining our own internal communications.  From a client perspective, it was clear that combining offerings in a peanut butter and jelly scenario led us to deliver richer, more robust experiences, while our clients achieved tighter internal controls and cost containment.

Expanding Networks and Outsourcing. Many companies are reducing headcount and simply don’t have the capability, experience and internal resources they previously enjoyed.  We believe you should view outsourcing in terms of what you can add, not subtract.  Outsourcing allows a company to create synergies, reduce liability and risk, improve communication and delivery, control costs and ultimately deliver a more significant return on your investment.  Moreover, outsourcing enables companies to be more efficient with their time, allowing them to channel their efforts on the core business competencies and objectives.

These are just a couple ways the economy is broadening our capabilities and strengthening our ability to drive your ROI.  Curious? What is the economy teaching you? How will you rise to the top in a down economy?

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Qualified Data Acquisition

March 20, 2009 by Robert Lewis, CEO, MME in Marketing, ROI

From our vantage point, “Real ROI” can be made up of many different components including direct Sales Lift, Media Impressions, New Customer Acquisition, Employee Morale and a broad cross section other business indices that can be measured via surveys/research. More often than not, prospective customer data acquisition is the jewel that drives business growth.

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How do you drive more ROI through integrated experiential media?

January 20, 2009 by Robert Lewis, CEO, MME in Marketing, ROI

With traditional forms of media diminishing and new forms of media evolving everyday, a brand’s ability to remain ‘media agnostic’ is critical to driving more immediate returns from their marketing and promotional budgets. By approaching the marketplace based on consumer insights (and not media plans), we can better recognize and assert our role, as next-gen marketers, to bring integrated business solutions to the table. The ability to create or convert a customer is driven by emotionally relevant experiences that connect with the target audience through multiple touch points.

OK, so how do we leverage experiential media to get us there?

Start with the consumer and work back to the brand experience. How (and how often) does your audience consume certain types of media? Which emotions do they generally seek out through certain channels of experience (i.e. sporting events = excitement, humor)?

When you can converge where you reach them physically with what they WANT to feel emotionally, then the question is: How do you put your brand in the middle of it and ask them to be your customer in a relevant way? Apply this thinking across multiple channels of experience and soon they will realize it’s not just the experience you are relevant to, it’s their lifestyle.

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