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 or guerrilla marketing relies on interactive communication with prospective consumers rather than passive persuasion techniques. Feelings of pleasure and comfort are invoked leaving the prospect naturally curious to learn and/or experience more about the message or product at hand. Likewise, the experiential marketer offers the prospect the opportunity to avoid discomfort by accepting the promotional endeavor. Unique brand image and value is driven into the minds of prospects and effective relationships are developed between the brand and the prospects.

Whereas traditional product-centered advertising methods serve to stimulate the rational thought processes of a given consumer, brand marketing (experiential marketing) affects the consumer’s decision to purchase far more effectively by generating emotional responses. The field of experiential marketing has blossomed since its introduction in the 1980s as a powerful alternative to traditional advertising methodologies. Mainstream marketers now readily and excitedly embrace these unconventional tactics because they understand the effectiveness.

Engaging, entertaining and interactive experiential marketing makes prospective consumers take notice and appreciate a given brand. Some of the world’s largest advertisers including Harley-Davidson, Levi’s, Nokia, Wells Fargo and Volkswagen utilize experiential marketing techniques predominantly now. In addition, many small business save years of frustrating effort trying to increase their branding success by implementing these unconventional marketing techniques. Experiential marketing firms offer big results for small fees as well. Comparatively, businesses of all sizes can vastly benefit from taking this ultra-modern and highly-accepted approach to promotion.

If you desire to enhance the effectiveness of your future advertising campaigns, explore experiential marketing. The instant surge in sales and the increase of your ROI will demonstrate exactly the effectiveness of these psychological techniques.

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…

(experiential marketing social media events information)

Excerpts from: Atlanta Business Chronicle – by Giannina Smith, Staff writer; Friday, June 6, 2008

Scott Thurston, president of Washington, D.C.-based marketing firm Street Sampling Inc., said the recent increase in sampling by big consumer brands may be linked to the economy, but can also be attributed to the changing media landscape.

“What I hear more from clients is that the landscape is very cluttered and traditional advertising isn’t as effective any more,” Thurston said. “I do think the economy is playing a role, but it‘s also a more direct measurable opportunity to get a product out there than traditional media. I think a lot of the brand managers, especially with consumer product companies, are starting to realize that.”

“It was at the forefront of voice over Internet and lot of people didn’t understand it,” Thurston said. “Another reason was sheer competition.”

In some cases sampling could be a cheaper alternative to traditional advertising. According to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the average national 30-second television spot cost $335,000 to produce in 2006. Thurston said a sampling program involving 50,000 giveaways could cost $15,000 to $20,000 in man hours, plus promotional extras, and could have a more favorable sales result.

“Running a national television spot you‘ll have millions of impressions and exposure, but it won’t necessarily translate to action on the part of the consumer for purchase, whereas interaction in a sampling program, one-to-one with a brand ambassador, the consumer is much more apt to develop a more favorable impression of the brand and ultimately act and purchase,” Thurston said.

Thurston said retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. is an example of a company that recognized the strength of sampling early on.

“If you go all the way back to the late ’70s and early ’80s, Costco really probably pioneered sampling,” Thurston said. “They knew from the beginning if they could feed people while shopping in the aisles of Costco they had a very high probability of converting a person to a sale.”