Integrate, Engage and Impact Consumers…..

Maarketing is an art and a science but in the rough-and-tumble of developing strategies, growing market shares and reaching out to consumers, what is often forgotten is that successful marketing needs a connect with consumers at the emotional level. Marketing is about emotional bonding with consumers. And that’s where Experiential Marketing can play a significant role.

As marketers, we live in a time of enormous change. The consumers we want to reach are empowered with more product choices, more sources of information and more ways of receiving— and resisting—marketing messages than ever before.

We can decide that these new realities make our jobs as marketers a lot harder— or we can figure out how to do our jobs as marketers better.

There are two ways we can do our jobs better. First, in an age when the consumer is in control, we can ask consumers how they want to be reached and engaged. Second, we can innovate new marketing solutions that reflect these preferences. It is in this spirit that many leading marketers are investing growing sums in live experiences and events that reach consumers directly, when and where they are most receptive. It also enables marketers to avoid the high costs of mass media advertising.

A random dip-stick study about the impact of experiential marketing reveals that marketers can tune into their consumers needs in a manner that is more consumer-friendly. Some of the findings are highlighted below.

In a comparative scenario, 50% of all respondents said Experiential Marketing was more likely to cause them to consider and marketing was their preferred method of hearing about the product overall. Purchase influence was even greater in response to other product scenarios: it’s observed that, 50% men and 63% of women agree Experiential Marketing was more likely to lead to actual purchase of a personal care product. For many demographics, live events are also the preferred medium of communication. Across demographics, 66% feel that Experiential Marketing helps shape their opinion of brands and products; 70% state that participating in experiential marketing would increase purchase consideration; and 57% accept it would result in quicker purchase.

Marketers should be confident that experiential initiatives could yield strong response across demographics. However, response is significantly stronger among women (who make and wield significantly greater influence on purchase decisions across categories) and among the 10 to 18 year-old consumers (who are extremely important to future growth of a brand.)

Consumers want marketing to be informative, relevant—and experiential
What messages are most important for marketers to communicate to consumers across gender, age and ethnicity groups?

Here’s what consumers are telling marketers:
1) “give me information”;
2) “explain what the product/brand stands for”; and
3) “relate to me through my interests and concerns”

Interestingly, almost all groups also agree on how brands can best communicate these messages: by giving them a chance to see and experience products and brands for themselves, either at an event or in a store. Almost half of all consumers say that direct, one-on-one interaction such as that provided by experiential marketing is more effective than TV, radio, print, the Internet, mail or hearing from someone they know to give them the information they want, explain what the product or brand stands for and demonstrate its relevance.

Across product categories, consumers want to be engaged
In 11 out of 14 categories, consumers indicate an overwhelming preference for learning about products either by seeing and trying them for themselves at an event or in a store or by hearing about the products from someone they know. Personal engagement is at the heart of the issue. Men and women respond to experiential marketing efforts in the categories of food and beverages, music and entertainment and computers. Women are more receptive to experiences related to personal and household products and healthcare, and men more receptive to experiences related to electronic games, cars and banking and financial services.

Impact increases when consumers are in a shopping state of mind
The rise of new retail formats is enabling marketers to better connect with consumers. Interactive and theatrical displays, retail innovations are at the forefront of the experiential economy. Not surprisingly, consumers demonstrate greater receptiveness to experiential marketing when they are already primed to be in a shopping state of mind. 68% of men and 74% of women named retail settings (stores and shopping malls) as their number one location for being engaged by experiential marketing. The majority of men and women would be willing to spend more time there (15 minutes). In a scenario relating to a cell phone product, 76% of men and 80% of women said they would most prefer a live marketing event were they to encounter it “opportunistically”.

Experiential Marketing is enhanced by and builds word-of-mouth
Experiential Marketing is strongly linked to “word-of-mouth,” a trusted form of marketing among consumers in an age when so many communications are virtual and impersonal. Word-of-mouth is the most effective source of event awareness, with nearly two-thirds of consumers (63% men, 64% women) indicating they would be most likely to participate in an event after hearing about it from someone they know; in contrast, less than a third say that hearing about an event from media would have a similar effect.

More importantly, almost 75% of consumers indicate that after participating in an event they would tell others about the experience, a response that is even higher among women and teens. Indeed, of the consumers who had participated in a live event marketing experience in the past, almost 8 out of 10 report they told others about the experience.

Consumers connect lifestyle to Experiential Marketing
Associating products and brands with positive lifestyle touch points is an effective way the impact of marketing messages. Indeed, 70% of all consumers say they would be much more likely to try a product or brand after participating in a live event marketing experience associated with something they enjoy. The challenge for marketers is to identify appropriate lifestyle touch points for their targets.

Past participation in Experiential Marketing fueled consideration/purchase
It is observed that; teenagers are the most enthusiastic about Experiential Marketing. While nearly 47% of consumers agree that positive Experiential Marketing exercise led to significant increases in purchase consideration, this figure rose to 72% among 10 – 18 year olds. A significantly high percentage of women too – nearly 39% - reported that their positive experience led to actual, post-event purchase of the product or brand. What’s more, 8 in 10 said they told others about the experience.

Experiential marketing enhances overall marketing effectiveness
Further, investing in experiential marketing clearly enhances response to other marketing media. 75% of consumers agree that participating in experiential marketing for a brand or product would make them more receptive to its advertising; 68% say experiential marketing would make them more receptive to a brand’s overall marketing efforts.

Lesson for marketers: “Experience to Influence”
The ultimate lesson for marketers—to borrow a phrase from the title of an influential essay by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore 3—is that “experience to influence”

Across demographics and product categories, consumers view experiences that engage them directly as their preferred means of learning about brands and understanding how brands are relevant to their lifestyles. They see experiences as more likely to influence consideration and purchase. And many even see experiences as a preferred marketing medium across the board. As consumers themselves are saying, there are ample opportunities to reach and engage them through marketing experiences. For marketers, the rapidly expanding experiential landscape provides a rich ground for growing stronger brands, products and consumer relationships.