WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING AND SAMPLING
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SUMMARY
This article provides an overview of the thinking and reading on the subject of experiential marketing and sampling, both live activities that involve direct interactions with audiences that can have an impact indirectly.
Many brands have recognised that memorable, multi-sensory experiences can have a long term impact on brand perception. These can be direct, tangible, interactive experiences, or indirect, reaching consumers on social media, for instance, with content emanating from awareness raising stunts. Experiential marketing covers many elements, including PR, demonstrations and events, and more straightforward, but more easily measurable, product sampling.
Definition
Experiential marketing and sampling are both “live” activities, involving direct interaction with consumers in streets, shopping centres and other retail venues.
Experiential marketing creates a deep relationship between the consumer and the brand by immersing them in fun and memorable experiences. This stimulates positive emotions which can lead to brand loyalty and drive sales.
Sampling creates brand awareness, giving consumers the risk-free opportunity to try a product for free before committing to a purchase. It can also appeal to people who enjoy the status of being the first to trial new products and services.
Key insights
1. Digital enables sampling to be more efficient and effective
Product sampling can be very expensive per acquired customer but very profitable when done right. To master it brands should follow five key rules:
- Personalise it – use technology to have consumers opt in to samples that interest them through brand communities
- Facilitate those sampling a product to share their experience – to foster online word-of-mouth through social media
- Location matters but so does mindset – offline choose places and times which create positive feelings as consumers are open to the experience
- Include a personal touch – through the sample package and follow-ups, to foster a long-term relationship
- Sales don't tell the whole story – consider other measures such as engagement around social advocacy, and customer loyalty.
Snacks giant Mondelez International have tested their way to effective and efficient digital sampling via e-commerce and retail activations to supplement their extensive instore sampling campaigns.
2. Experiential can work directly or indirectly
Experiential strategies have been given extra power by digital technology. Consumers can either experience your brand directly and in person, or indirectly, amplified through a media channel. Now audiences can be reached directly with interactive campaigns, such as product sampling, showcases and immersive experiences. This can be very powerful for those that engage but it has little impact on people that only hear about it. In contrast, indirect reach, such as content generating stunts, are designed to be heard about, rather than experienced directly. For example, over the last six years alcoholic spirit Jägermeister has promoted the ‘Ice Cold Gig’ series to drive association with serving it ice cold. Video of the event is available on YouTube, allowing those not in attendance to still engage with the brand. It is important to match experiential work to a brand's business objectives, and to understand which model makes most sense.
3. Effective experiential requires four skillsets
Positive customer experiences, it has been argued, can lower churn, drive repeat purchase, encourage brand advocacy and, ultimately, increase revenue. Effective experiential marketing requires forward planning. Marketers can take the lead across the business and transform customer experiences by ensuring that the 4Ss are represented. These are:
- 'Scientists', who use advanced techniques to analyse patterns of behaviour in data and engage customers with the right content at the right time
- 'Strategists', who devise plans which focus on a holistic customer experience
- 'Storybuilders', who use insights to create compelling stories for internal and external customers
- 'Socialisers' are brand activators who establish dialogues and help consumers share personalised experiences on social media.
4. Experiential marketing can be a sustainable brand building technique
Brands can now be built through product experience and social content, rather than advertising and communications. This strategy focuses on the product or retail environment, or the creation of incredible branded experiences for customers. Successful brands consider how their target audience feels, collaborating with them, establishing online communities and rewarding them with brand experiences. Innocent Smoothies diversified its product range and crowdsourced sampling prospects with a 'Tweet to Eat' strategy. 'Fruitstock,' its family-friendly festival, created further, vast sampling opportunities and gave consumers a unique, memorable brand experience. While growth can be accelerated with advertising or communications, not all brands rely on it. Some cultivate an 'experience engine' which will grow sustainably on its own. They may use advertising but its role is changed to that of driving traffic to, or reminding people of, brand or product experience.
5. Live experiences can lead to greater word of mouth and brand advocacy
It is argued that people feel closer and better connected to honest, authentic brands. Indeed, consumers who enjoy positive brand experiences reciprocate the sentiment, leading to increased loyalty and sales. People who frequently engage with these experiences are less fatigued by brands and tend to have a deeper relationship with them. Effective experiential strategies are consistent with a brand's core values and exploit opportunities for people to share their memories. Live experiences do not only reach those in attendance; additional awareness is raised by people talking about the events and advocating the brand associated with the experience.
6. Events can build effective multi-sensory experiences
Experiences provide sensory, intellectual and bodily stimulation, which results in 'experiential value'. This is an increase in the perceived value of a brand to a consumer, relative to another brand. Event marketing, where a brand develops its own event, can be viewed as 'theatre', with brands appearing on a 'stage' as part of a theatrical event. Events offer multi-sensory stimulation, a feeling of immersion and participation. They are prime tools for creating experiences and arguably give brands greater control over the experience.
7. Brand experiences provide rich online content opportunities
Red Bull, one of the first established brands in the energy drinks sector, has placed branded experiences at the heart of its marketing strategy. It seeks to appeal to a generation of consumers who prefer 'seeing and doing' to accumulating material possessions. Rather than affiliating with huge events, such as the FIFA World Cup or Olympic Games, Red Bull claims to have maintained its charm through hundreds of smaller, tangible branded sporting, gaming and music events. Reach is extended with the distribution of related content including online video, TV shows and movies, which bring the activities to life for viewers across the world. Content binds together the experiences of Red Bull's digitally savvy consumers and its celebrity and sporting endorsers, and is primarily made within Red Bull Media House, an in-house business unit.
8. Brands are tapping into Millennials’ desires for unique experiences
Marriott International, the hotel brand, has been using experiential marketing to promote features of its reward programmes and mobile app. One aspect of this is allowing members to bid points for unique experiences, tapping into the fact Millennials value special experiences more than material possessions. For example, with its partner Coachella Music Festival it turned tents into deluxe hotel rooms and made VIP experiences available to book with points. Bud Light, seeing a shift of Millennials away from mainstream beer brands, also leveraged the unique experience insight in creating its “Up for Whatever” campaign. Following a Superbowl ad surrounded by spontaneous, live experiences, it decided to take over a whole town as a platform for a three-day, invite-only party experience that was amplified by brand and user-generated content in social media and earned media on national TV.
9. Experiential campaigns can 'reward' Millennials on social media
Diageo reinvigorated the Smirnoff brand by engaging and motivating Millennials. The alcohol brand used social media sentiment analysis to influence its strategy and develop a distinct tone of voice. This led to innovative global, social and experiential campaigns which rewarded fans' digital interaction. Its 'Nightlife Exchange Project' engaged consumers across 50 countries asking them to vote for their favourite local nightclub via social media. This culminated in 14 national winners hosting Smirnoff branded events featuring the best part of their club, in a different country. MTV reported from the parties, contributing to 1.8 billion media impressions. The brand's social media fans related to the resultant content and many Millennials became ambassadors, who championed the vodka when with their friends.
