Experiential marketing is a very broad subject matter. Experiential specialists, brand managers and those aware of experiential will all have their own different ideas and definitions of what experiential marketing is and how it is done.
“A live interaction between a brand and a consumer that is sensitive to brand values, impactful, memorable and capable of generating a lasting positive impression.”
(Source: iD Experiential)
Experiential is about bringing a brand to life. It can be used to bridge the gap between a brand and a consumer, and create a lasting relationship. It does this by appealing to all senses of the consumer, i.e. taste, smell, touch, sound and sight.
Experiential marketing is being used more and more by brands these days, and yet, is still unknown to many, and underestimated in the industry. Companies are now becoming more aware of the value of loyal customers, which is partly responsible for the way a very sales-focused attitude is developing into a much more personal approach towards consumers. The focus seems to have shifted from just selling, to customising the products and experience into something consumers are looking for.
1.2 What is being researched?
The rise of experiential marketing is one of the main components of interest for this report. Looking at traditional media versus experiential marketing; is experiential ‘the next big thing’? Is standard media losing its ability to connect with the public?
The main points of research will be to discover how this smart new way of connecting to customers and creating emotional relationships works, when it works best and also to come to a conclusion of what ingredients go in to making a successful experiential activity.
1.3 Who will benefit from this research and in what sense?
This research will mainly be beneficial to companies and brands that have not yet discovered, or are looking into using, experiential marketing. It will expectantly outline the advantages of experiential and the reasons why this new, different type of medium can be a successful and valuable choice for brands.
1.4 In what sense will this research contribute to what is already known?
There will be thorough research into this topic from all angles, which will then be analysed and compared to traditional media in order to determine how functional and successful experiential can be. It will also include views from the public and experiential specialists, as well as gaining an insight from a wide range of audiences, and a full view on the whole topic.
1.5 How is the research going to be conducted, and which methods will be used?
Research will be collected and analysed using several different methods. These include interview and case study approaches. Looking at existing cases of experiential activities will gain knowledge in the types of experiential activities held, and the way in which they work. Interviews with consumers, brand managers and experiential marketers will give an in depth insight into what experiential marketing is, how it is viewed by different audiences, and why it works.
1.6 What are the limitations?
One of the limitations of this study is the fact that experiential marketing is still an emerging medium that many people, consumers as well as professionals working in the industry, are unaware of. This will make it a challenge to target individuals for this study if they do not understand the subject of discussion. As experiential marketing is also such a broad matter, many people will have different definitions and views of what they believe experiential is. This will be interesting to compare different attitudes, but could make it difficult to stay on course.
1.7 Aims:
To examine how effective experiential marketing is and what enables it to succeed or fail.
1.8 Objectives:
Identify key factors/criteria that make experiential marketing so effective, or alternatively can lead to it failing.
Identify case study material for examination.
Find out how experiential marketing is used.
Find out what how aware of experiential marketing consumers are, and the effects it has on them.
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Overview of Experiential Marketing
“Tell me and I’ll forget,
Show me and I may remember,
Involve me and I’ll understand.”
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
This very famous quote from Benjamin Franklin sums up experiential marketing entirely. This type of advertising is about creating experiences and involving consumers in order to make them understand a brand.
Experiential marketing works in the way that it can change consumers’ perceptions and buying behaviour by involving them in an activity, communicating brand messages, and making them appreciate a brand or product on a personal level.
Today consumers expect products, communications and marketing campaigns that dazzle their senses, touch their hearts and stimulate their minds, according to Max Lenderman, “campaigns should clearly deliver a meaningful benefit to the consumer.”
(Experience the Message, Lenderman, Page 19)
While most traditional marketers continue to bombard consumers with thousands of messages per day, experiential has the power to cut through the clutter and reach consumers on a personally. Experiential marketing is targeted, using credible voices and sensory experiences which prove to be valuable to consumers.
2.2 Consumer Relationships and Emotions with Brands
Emotion has a large part to play in the way experiential marketing works on consumers; affecting the way they feel about brands and binding long term relationships. Humans are approximately 80 percent emotional and 20 percent rational according to Kevin Roberts, CEO at Saatchi & Saatchi. He refers to brands with high love and high respect levels from consumers as Lovemarks.
Lovemarks are the charismatic brands that people get emotional about. Take away a brand, people find a replacement. Take away a Lovemark and people protest.
(Kevin Roberts, The Lovemarks Effect, Page 16)
By proving to consumers that they are valued, their needs and wants are important, and their relationship with the brand is significant, they will then devote their loyalty to a brand. Roberts demonstrates the importance of love and respect to a brand with a ‘Love/Respect Axis’. He explains this is a fast way to separate Lovemarks from brands, fads, and commodities.
“Lovemarks need both love and respect so that businesses can bring emotion and function together at the point of purchase.” (Mike Pratt, University of Waikato, The Lovemarks Effect, Page 172)
Figure 2.2 The Love/Respect AxisThe Love/Respect Axis in figure 2.2 illustrates the difference between brands and Lovemarks. Brands are highly respected, but not loved. Lovemarks however, are what brands should aspire to be in order to build strong relationships with consumers who both love and respect them. These brands need to build up a huge amount of respect; this is where experiential marketing becomes an essential and valuable tool.
“Creating Lovemarks is all about the ability to understand consumers’ dreams, to know what they want and when they want it and to create great experiences that make your brand a part of their lives.”
(Kevin Roberts, The Lovemarks Effect, Page 73)
Brands need to understand that consumers are incredibly complex; they want to feel personally valued as customers. It is essentially about going beyond the brand to create experiences that will inevitably earn consumers’ love and respect.
2.3 Measuring ROI and Word of Mouth
ROI (Return on Investment)
There is a lingering perception with marketers about experiential marketing being difficult to measure and therefore demonstrate ROI (return on investment). This may play a large part in the reason experiential, as a marketing discipline, is so undervalued.
Liz Bigham, Senior Vice President, Director of Brand Marketing, corrects the misconceptions about the measurability of experiential ROI in a report for leading global experiential agency Jack Morton. She says, “When it comes to experiential marketing ROI, it’s about time – because experiential allows more time to be spent with stakeholders, requires less time to inspire action among participants, and leads to longer relationships and advocacy that pay off over time.”
All these attributes are highly measurable. The time spent with consumers, the time between awareness and purchase, and the long term payoff can all be measured and achieve real ROI.
(http://www.jackmorton.com/takeaway/downloads/files/ExperientialROI.pdf)
Word of Mouth
This model from IMI, a leading global marketing consulting and research firm, demonstrates that experiential activations can drive 10 times reach via word of mouth.
Figure 2.3 Word of Mouth Reach
The above model (figure 2.3) shows that experiential marketing has effective reach well beyond consumers directly impacted.
Word of mouth is a particularly significant part of experiential marketing in the fact that it allows different generations of individuals to know about a brand, product, or activity through others talking about it. However, word of mouth can be difficult to measure as it is impossible to know how many people have talked about particular brand experiences.
Word of mouth is perhaps the most powerful marketing medium around. A recommendation from a friend or family member is one of the most trusted means of advertising.
Jonathan Carson, President of Online, International, for the Nielsen Company says “The explosion in Consumer Generated Media over the last couple of years means consumers’ reliance on word of mouth in the decision-making process, either from people they know or online consumers they don’t, has increased significantly,”
(http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/global-advertising-consumers-trust-real-friends-and-virtual-strangers-the-most/)
Figure 2.3.1 Trust in forms of advertising
Figure 2.3.1 demonstrates the power of word of mouth within consumers’ trust and also provides evidence that word of mouth, along with experiential marketing, can be valuable to brands.
2.4 Traditional Marketing vs. Experiential Marketing
Experiential marketing is a relatively new and unfamiliar form of marketing, because of this, traditional marketers are apprehensive of the subject and many disregard it.
“Traditional Marketers are surprised by this trend (experiential marketing) and are unable to comprehend them within the customary F&B (Features & Benefits) approach. For them, experiential aspects of products are “irrelevant attributes” and “meaningless differentiation” that fool naive customers.”
(Bernd H. Schmitt, Experiential Marketing: How to get customers to sense, feel, think, act, relate, Page 56)
This demonstrates that traditional marketers are inexperienced when it comes to experiential marketing. Most do not consider that consumers’ wants and needs are different to previous years.
“Today’s consumers are simply not what the rational model of marketing wants them to be.”
(Bernd H. Schmitt, Experiential Marketing: How to get customers to sense, feel, think, act, relate, Page 57)
No longer do consumers shop for features and benefits in products; they are led by their feelings and emotions. In ‘Experiential Marketing: How to get customers to sense, feel, think, act, relate’, Schmitt describes the key characteristics of traditional marketing compared to experiential marketing. This makes evident the reasons for the rise in experiential marketing, and shows companies why they should invest in this innovative marketing tool.
Firstly traditional marketing focuses on functional features and benefits, the product category and competition are narrowly defined. Customers are viewed as rational decision makers, and methods and tools are analytical, quantitative, and verbal.
(Bernd H. Schmitt, Experiential Marketing: How to get customers to sense, feel, think, act, relate, Page 13-16)
On the other hand, experiential marketing focuses on customer experiences, examining the consumption situation. Customers are seen as rational and emotional individuals, and methods and tools used are diverse.
(Bernd H. Schmitt, Experiential Marketing: How to get customers to sense, feel, think, act, relate, Page 25-29)
Experiential marketing demonstrates a higher personal level of marketing over traditional, which, as discovered, is effective in drawing in consumers and maintaining their loyalty.
2.5 The Five Senses
Martin Lindstrom, hailed by the BBC as the “World’s Brand Futurist”, says “In order to have a viable future, brands will have to incorporate a brand platform that fully integrates the five senses.”
(BRAND sense, Martin Lindstrom, Page 3)
There are different ways to play with the senses, and by engaging more than just the traditional two senses, Lindstrom proposes it can lead to more tangible benefits for a brand.
Millward Brown, a leading global research agency who specialise in advertising, marketing communications, media and brand equity research, conducted a global survey into branding and sensory awareness. This research was carried out by a team of 600 in 13 countries over a period of 18 months. It ended up being the largest study ever undertaken on brands and our five senses.
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Based on Millward Brown’s findings, it’s interesting to note that 75 per cent of the emotions we experience on a daily basis are generated by what we smell, not by what we see and hear. But in direct contradiction to this, 83 per cent of all advertising and promotional communication appeals exclusively to sight and tends to neglect the other four senses.
(http://www.brandrepublic.com/Discipline/SalesPromotion/News/465156/Live?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH)
This reveals the way that companies and brands advertise is disproportionately spent in contrast to how consumers respond with their senses. These findings also show that campaigns generally concentrate on just one of the senses when in fact, according to Martin Lindstrom’s theory, brands should integrate more than one of the five senses in order to become a highly successful, remembered and respected.
Martin Lindstrom, talks about evoking memories with the 5 senses. As consumers, our senses trigger memories and emotions, and play with how we feel. Smell is a very strong sense for consumers. Crayola is used as an example. “Crayola is one of the many companies that has begun seeking to trademark its most distinct smells, starting with their crayons, their primary product, which have no doubt left their odour imprint on the memories of millions of children who drew with them.”
(BRAND sense, Martin Lindstrom, Page 99)
Similarly, with products such as sun cream, the scent can cast consumers back to memories of holidays. When you think about that smell, you are linking that sense to a memory and evoking an emotion within you. It is through experiential marketing that these senses can be brought to life and create emotional links between consumers and brands or products.
2.6 The Recession
The economic recession affects the way brands are marketed and, of course, it impacts on experiential marketing. Amongst its many attributes, experiential as a discipline excels at cutting through mass marketing clutter, delivering product understanding and building brand affinity.
According to ‘From Crunch to Crisis: Impacts on consumer attitudes and leisure behaviour in 2009 and beyond’, a study conducted by ‘The Communication Agency’, 64 % of UK shoppers say they’re shopping less overall during this time. (Source: Warc)
During the recession, shoppers are more aware of their finances and more careful about their purchases. Howard Saunders, director at retail trends analysts The Echochamber says “In a recession… we become much more disconcerning with a clearer distinction between what we ‘need’ and what we ‘desire’.
(Source: Warc: Experiential marketing for UK shoppers in recession. Clare Dowdy)
For consumers to consider parting with their money during this time, brands need to work hard to seduce them and gain their trust, making it evident that this is the ideal time to be using experiential marketing. It gives consumers opportunities to familiarise themselves with a brand as well as a promising experience.
Bruce Burnett, Managing Director of i2i Marketing, says “there has never been a better time to invest in experiential marketing, as recession-hit consumers seek brands that offer escapism, talk to them as individuals and make them feel valued.”
Burnett talks about how consumers’ purchases are much more considered and people have become increasingly cautious and questioning of marketing messages in this time. Consumers are looking for “brands that offer more value by making them feel more personally valued”.
He goes on to say; “When times are tough and relationships are under pressure that is exactly when you need to make an extra effort delighting consumers with unexpected treats while staying true to your original brand and advertising promises.” (Source: experientialessays.com)
Experiential marketing will continue to provide brands’ with the means to put products into consumers’ hands, letting them experience the functional benefits and brand truths for themselves.
3.0 Methodology
3.1 Research Methods
The main research methods chosen for this project were focus groups, interviews, case studies, books and the internet.
3.2 Reviewing the Literature
Firstly, conventional research tools in the form of books, articles, and the internet were used to develop an understanding of the nature of experiential marketing through relevant text relating to the research topic. This would foresee a coherent argument for this research project to explore when it would come to primary research.
(Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications, C. Dayman, Page 35)
3.3 Questionnaires
Questionnaires were considered as an option to gather information on experiential marketing from a consumer point of view, although when given more thought, didn’t seem like the most effective method. Initially, it may have been difficult to target the right audience for the questionnaires. Experiential marketing is a term that not many people understand, though they are exposed to it frequently in everyday surroundings. This would make it difficult for people to answer questions on a topic they do not fully understand, and would therefore be unlikely to give the most efficient answers.
Another consideration is that it could have been difficult to get people to stop in their tracks to answer questions, especially on a topic they may not be interested in. The most common places to target audiences would have been shopping malls, supermarket and on busy streets, however, many people are likely to be busy, in a rush or in the wrong mindset to stop and talk. It can be easy to say no and walk straight by.
In the case of being successful in recruiting participants for the questionnaires, the problem at hand was then making them understand what experiential marketing is in such a short time period. This would have taken a great deal of explaining, with examples to show what experiential does, and even then, the individual may not fully understand and therefore give irrelevant responses to the questions.
There were more effective ways to acquire this research than questionnaires, and for that reason, other methods such as interviews and focus groups were focused on.
3.4 Focus Groups
Focus groups were conducted to find out public views on experiential marketing. The main reason for choosing the focus group method is because they can provide evidence on a subject from a range of different voices. They give the opportunity for diverse perceptions, judgements and experiences on a particular topic to emerge. They also help in identifying particular attitudes and behaviours of consumers.
(Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications, C. Dayman, Page 187)
The focus group took place in a relaxed environment, where there was time to explain to any participants who were unsure or unaware, what experiential is, what is does, and show examples and case studies (see figures 3.4 for case study examples shown). There was less pressure to rush through the explanation, and was therefore far easier to ensure the group participants understood the subject of discussion.
Focus groups gained qualitative research for this project, as participants were able to have an open discussion on experiential marketing and opportunities to air any opinions and ideas that may not have otherwise been considered. This seemed to be a more effective and efficient way of researching public views on experiential than questionnaires. Rather than just finding answers to the questions asked, much more was able to come from the focus group.
Potential participants were approached in a shopping mall where there happened to be an experiential activity for Kleenex. This was considered to be the ideal environment due to high footfall. They were asked if they would be interested in taking part in a study on the topic, as well as being enticed with free drinks. Many said they weren’t interested, or didn’t have the time. Few others, intrigued by the Kleenex activity and their free sample, agreed. In this case, participants had recently been exposed to experiential marketing, and the activity would have been fresh in their minds. This also gave opportunity to use the Kleenex activity as an example to explain the nature of the subject being discussed, as well as being something the group had in common having all witnessed the same activity.
Targeting individuals for the focus group was fairly straightforward as the target market for this research is very broad. There is no particular age group, race or gender required, but a mixed group would be most beneficial to the research in order to cover more range in the types of people involved. The group consisted of six individuals; four female and two male, ranging from 21 to 42 years old. The group was a little smaller than anticipated, although the responses from these individuals were sufficient for this research.
The focus group aimed to last between one and two hours, depending on the depth of discussion between partakers. Any shorter than one hour would result in a lack of information gathered, any longer than two hours may bore individuals or result in redundant information.
There were twelve questions asked in the focus group. These were based on the aims and objectives as well as the different areas of experiential marketing covered in this report.
There were several things to think about in terms of what could have gone wrong when planning and conducting the focus group. It could have been a challenge to find people willing to take part in the focus group, considering they were giving up their free time. The size for this focus group was ideally going to be between eight and ten people as this would have been a manageable group and a good size for discussion. A group too large may be have been time consuming, and a group too small may not have presented enough opinions for the outcome expected. If recruiting a good number of participants had been an issue, a small focus group would have taken place and depending on the quality of information found, another small focus group would follow.
The location and timing in which the focus group took place was important in order to ensure the participants were comfortable to attend. A quiet bar on a Monday night was chosen as it should be a relaxed, public environment where individuals were more likely to feel at ease in, rather than a stranger’s house or unknown location. In this case participants could take part in the discussion over a drink, or some food, making the situation informal and relaxed.
However, there had to be contingency plans in case of a problem with location. Research was carried out to make sure a quiet area of the bar could be booked in advance so the discussion would be away from any noise or disruption. If the location was found to busy or loud, a backup location was considered to ensure the success of the focus group.
The timing was arranged to suit the individuals partaking as many were likely to have different lifestyles. Some worked full time, some evenings. The time was arranged with participants at the point of agreeing to take part so as not to cause any confusion or difficulty in organising the discussion. A problem that may have occurred was individuals dropping out last minute. Contact details were exchanged to ensure confirmation or withdrawal from the group in advance. This allowed time to find replacements if possible, or if it were to be a smaller group, time to organise another focus group if needed.
The recording of the focus group was very important. A recording device on an iPhone was used so nothing would be missed out and it could be referred back to. The recording is something which could have gone wrong so the device being used was tested beforehand for battery or power supply to ensure it didn’t fail. Notes were also taken throughout the focus group to guarantee no significant information was neglected. Participants had to agree to being recorded beforehand.
3.5 In-depth Interviews
Interviews were another method of research used for this report. These interviews were with experiential specialists working in agencies, and also brand managers in order to cover every angle of research.
By interviewing experiential specialists, valuable information and research was gained as they are the people who are most knowledgeable in the field. The evidence from these interviews were based on participants’ own interpretations of their experiences. They work in experiential every day and were able to give the best answers and suggest anything that may not have been considered.
“As a researcher, you have the freedom to prompt for more information if something interesting or novel emerges because you are not restricted to a pre-planned, rigid list of questions.” (Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications, C. Dayman, Page 167)
Based on this, interviews were believed to be a beneficial method of research for this project.
Interviews with brand managers would be useful as these people are likely to have gone through, or are planning an experiential activity for their brand. It was interesting to find out how they went about choosing an experiential activity, and also how they found out about experiential marketing as an individual member of the public, or industry.
Interviews were conducted after the focus group had taken place. This way, any points or queries raised in the focus group, could have been asked in the interviews. The questions chosen for the interviews came from the focus group, and also from looking at the aims and objectives of this report. Personal questions on the company or the brand were thought of, such as ‘what exactly do they do as an agency and how?’ ‘What are their most successful experiential activities or campaigns to date?’ Interviewees were also thought to be likely to pick up on any additional points they felt relevant to the research.
To ensure an ideal number of three to four interviews, agencies were researched and many emails were sent out in hope of replies. These agencies were found on the internet, or through contacts made before this research. Emails were sent out to ten agencies as well as three brand managers; introducing the nature of the report and research needed, and asking for a one on one interview, whether it would be face to face, over the telephone, or via email. This was the most convenient method of contact for both sides to begin with.
Five of these agencies responded and agreed to meet, talk over the phone, or email their responses to the questions. The agencies involved were TRO, SMP, The Circle Agency, and Sense, all of whom specialise in experiential marketing. The Local Advertising Manager of B&Q also responded and agreed to a face to face interview as he had recently been involved in the planning of an experiential activity for B&Q.
The questions were prepared beforehand and attached to the emails, giving the interviewees a chance to look at the questions in advance, or send them back via email if they were too busy to meet. Although face to face meetings were expected to be the most effective interviews, any information sent back from professionals was very useful for the research of this project.
With these interviews, it was unknown as to how many responses there would be as the agencies were expected to be busy. Emails can be easy to ignore for agencies, so to ensure enough interviews for this research, the agencies would have been chased up by sending out a second email or by a phone call.
Recording the interviews is something which could easily have gone wrong. Responses being sent via email were simple as the information was already in written form. Face to face interviews were recorded using a sound recording device on an iPhone and then referred back to after. This device was tested in advance to ensure the recording didn’t fail.
Telephone interviews proved to be the most challenging method as it was difficult to record. Not all phones have the option to record phone calls so notes were taken throughout the conversations to record key points raised. This meant having to be much more careful and alert when listening to the interviewee’s responses.
3.6 Case Studies
Case studies were also used as a research tool in this report.
“A case study inquiry enables you to collect ‘rich’, detailed information across a wide range of dimensions about one particular case, or a small number of cases.”
(Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications, C. Dayman, Page 106)
On the basis of this, case studies were considered a useful method of research for this project.
The chosen case studies were Ribena, EA Games, and Hyundai, due to the fact that they are all brands from a diverse market, which would give a good scope for research and discover how experiential marketing works across different types of brands. These consisted of examples of existing experiential activities, showing what was done, how, and the results. The case studies gave good indication as to how experiential works. Locations, timings, target audiences and results were all available to compare and therefore determine what makes an experiential activity successful.
These case studies were found on experiential agencies websites, other online sites, articles, or directly from experiential professionals during interviews.
The case studies chosen showed a range of different types of brands, demonstrating the most interesting, clever or successful activities, and containing the most useful information, which gave more to explore. Failed or unsuccessful case studies would have also been good to compare with the successful activities in order to discover what can make an experiential activity fall
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