Street Sampling Blog

[Experiential Marketing]

Note: This post picks up where the last one left off.

Having an accurately-preconceived notion of what the target will respond like allows the guerrilla marketer to stay a step or two ahead and lead the consumer the desired action – normally making a purchase. The marketer begins and ends the sales process by steering and consistently guiding the prospect to take the action desired. A desire to make an impulse purchase is created within the minds of prospects – that is experiential marketing in a nutshell.

It is important to appeal to as many of the consumer’s senses as possible in a simultaneous fashion. Brand marketers use visual aids, audible aids, memory-stimulating tricks and several other psychologically-tempting strategies to complete each sale. The goal is to make the prospective buyer remember pleasurable events and associate them with the message or product at hand. These customer-unique experiences are then naturally associated with the brand or product being represented and surges in sales are commonly seen. In addition, grass roots word-of-mouth advertising takes off like wildfire and is very difficult to slow. This equals advertising gold.

Time is of the essence in experiential marketing as well. People have become very resistant to traditional advertising approaches. Messages not only have to strike the emotional centers of potential consumers – they have to do so within a few seconds at most. The brand marketer must deliver a blow to the subconscious of the target that instantly compels them to take further notice of the message or product being presented. A rapid and seamless connection with the psyche of the target is essential for success.

Experiential marketing is all about connecting customers with brands – and doing so in an non-traditional and memorable way. Sometimes called customer-experience marketing, experiential marketing aims to personalize the branding experience to each individual consumer. It goes beyond the common confines of features-and-benefits marketing tactics and appeals to all people – whether they would personally benefit from a given product or not. It is proven that many people are very resistant to traditional advertising techniques – and they will go to lengths to avoid them.

With experiential marketing, individuals are psychologically pulled into the promotional endeavor. Unconventional marketing tactics flood their senses with the unfamiliar and blast them into a level of unconscious brand acceptance. Even if they have no particular interest in a given product, they are helpless but to think just how impressive the message is delivered. This stimulates grass roots conversation on many levels and leads to very rapid branding for the advertiser. Experiential marketing is modern and hip. It taps into the minds of those who are exposed to it and forces them to remember the product or message being presented.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more information on what experiential and guerilla marketing relies on…

[guerilla/guerrilla marketing]

Strangely enough, I’ve seen the term “guerrilla marketing” spelled with one “r” and two. However, the idea is the same no matter its spelling.

Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions, running on a very low budget, by relying on time, energy and imagination instead of big marketing budgets. Typically, guerrilla marketing is unexpected and unconventional, where consumers are targeted where they would not be expecting, which can make the idea that’s being marketed memorable, generate buzz, and even spread virally. The term was coined and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary to also describe aggressive, unconventional marketing methods generically. – Wikipedia.org

In my industry (as in most), there are specific words, terminology, that describe what I do for a living.

“Experiential marketing,” “guerilla marketing,” “buzz marketing” and more – all describe how to take less traditional advertising and marketing approaches. The Street Sampling method is to go straight to the public – people on people – to spread the word about the client’s service or product.

I am also one of the lucky ones! I love what I do, and I am very good at my job. I also have teams of expertly trained brand ambassadors on my side.

For those fortunate enough to plan their promotions according, budgeting for proper guerilla marketing is always wise.

Online, you create “buzz.”

Offline, you hire the right team of experiential professionals to assist you.

Happy Holidays and the Best of the upcoming New Year to you!

[experiential holiday spirit Lord and Taylor]

The true spirit of the season has begun, the tree has been light, the holiday windows are fantastic and by teaming up with Lord & Taylor, our Street Sampling brand ambassador staff of 30 “holiday elves” will be delivering that special message along with $25.00 Lord & Taylor gift cards.

Yes, we are excited to partner with Lord & Taylor for this experiential marketing campaign. What better way to start someone’s day than by wishing them happy holidays with a gift from Lord & Taylor, America’s OLDEST DEPARTMENT store and one of America’s premier retailers.

More coming soon as this tremendous event unfolds!