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Shantanu writes for Everything Experiential
With easy access to information on global trends, venues, cultures and traditions, event planners today are exploring global experiential venues for their events. But how one can build events based tourism in a country is a prominent question that needs to be answered and the same was the topic of the first session on day 2 of EEMAX Global Conclave 2015. Addressing the session were Santiago Corrada, President and CEO, Tampa Bay Association and Valsa Nair Singh, Secretary - Tourism and Culture, Govt of Maharashtra. Sharing his story on how the city of Tampa Bay in Florida that hosted the majestic IIFA awards in 2014, builds event tourism, Santiago Corrada said, “For us the process of landing a large multinational event begins through a primary research wherein we take a look at our competitors and if we feel that we can take up the challenge we then consider the event requirements that we will have to deliver. It is integral to dwell deep on aspects like the funding requirements as well.” Adding further he said, “Next for us is prospecting the international business the event in question will bring to us and accordingly we submit rep and become the hosting partners for the event. Succeeding it is the process of strategic operations, budgeting and the process of marketing and communication.” Elaborating further on the subject Santiago stated, “Then comes the implementation of the event but after the event has been executed our work does not stop here. We also calculate the ROI from the event hosted which is usually a process undertaken by a third party. The parameters to calculate it are the number of visitors, visitor spending, spends on hotels and media impressions created.” When asked what was the most important factor in generating tourism of events in the country, Santiago responded by saying, “Relationships are the most important. You have to be constantly connected with the city administration as well as with everyone who will be involved towards the execution of an event.” Highlighting the initiatives taken by the government of Maharashtra to build events tourism in the state, “Valsa Nair Singh said, “It was three months ago that we met the organizers of EEMA and today we stand less than a month away from making some revolutionary announcements. We are in the process of executing a single window licensing process for the fraternity in the state and we will also soon be launching a list of pre-approved venues for events. We have also launched an ‘adopt a monument’ scheme for corporate wherein we are handing over some of our historical monuments and forts to them and they will be using them as venues for their events. Talks are also on to resolve the issues pertaining to entertainment tax and additionally we have included the provision for creating of an event board in our state tourism policy.” Emphasizing on the plans of the state to boost and promote events the secretary assured the members of the fraternity that the government of Maharashtra stands in full support of the events industry and will work towards making the state as event friendly as possible.
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Events have enormous power in themselves. While some can fail terribly to even move a single emotion in their attendees, well planned and executed events on the other hand have the ability to inspire not just its attendees but also leave a mark at a global level. ‘Turn On the Lights’ festival in Holland and the ‘ALS Ice Bucket Challenge’ are inspirational examples in this regard. But what made these two events a global brand in themselves? What worked in their favor and made them the raging sensation that they became? Well, we got the answers to these questions on the first day of EEMAX Global Conclave 2015 as Patrick Roubroeks, Founder and Partner Xsaga and Nancy Frates, Advocate ALS shared with the attendees 10 tips on creating a national brand with your event. Sharing the story behind creating, ‘Turn On the Lights’ an annual festival in 5 cities in Holland that celebrates the start of the festive season by lighting up hundreds and thousands of dynamically programmed sustainable lights on historical buildings, Patrick Roubrocks explained how a well thought out event has the power to become a global inspiration and attract media both at the national and international level. Adding further Patrick said, “I was asked to come here and speak on how to create a national brand with your event, well for me the answer lies in these 10 points; 1-Think Big- Always start of by imagining a big concept that you wish to bring to reality. You have to think of a big, never done before idea first to make it a national brand. 2-Think in pictures-You have to think about the design of your event by imagining how would it look like in the pictures. One should be able to show the grandeur of their event in one single photograph. 3-Don’t forget small ones-Small elements and details related to the event should not be neglected. 4-Incoroprate local authority-The participation of the local authority in creation and smooth execution of an event is vital. 5- Extend brand through social media- Social media amplification is integral to share information and innovation regarding any event that you create at a global level. 6-Be loyal to the main idea and build tradition around it-It is a fact that in the process of creating something new in each edition of a festival, the main idea of the event is lost. However, in reality one should always be loyal to the main idea of the event and then forge a tradition around it to make it more compelling each year. 7-Trust wow-One should always aim for creating wow factor through their events. These factors can be created through culmination of many small things by weaving them into one giant story. 8-Dare to dream-People love fairy tales and if an event should always be that ways. To build a successful national brand with your event one must dare to dream. 9-Staging brands-Allowing brands to become a part of the event and not just associate themselves with it. 10-It is not about entertaining people but engaging them- It is one thing to entertain the audiences but to truly create a brand with your event one should aim at engaging the people as their primary motive.” Nancy Frates, began her session with emphasizing on how it were the same points that helped The ALS Foundation bring awareness and donations to their efforts through the creation and amplification of the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”, an activity that took the world by storm last in August 2014. She said, “I couldn’t help but relate with the points that Patrick stated and how we through our initiatives managed to touch all of them to create awareness about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.” Elaborating on how the concept of the challenge was born Nancy said, “What we tried to do with the Ice Bucket Challenge was to tell a compelling and relatable story through a fun filled engaging activity that could be shared with people to create awareness. Apart from people getting wet in all the ice bucket challenges another common factor in all the videos of the activity was the laughter. We wanted to create something that will allow people to open their hearts first and then motivate them to open their wallets too.” When asked to advise experiential managers in India on creating such events, Nancy responded by saying” You have to be passionate and be authentic about what you are doing. Also how we drove the ALS Ice Bucket challenge was that we are proactive towards introducing it and then very reactive to the responses that were coming in. Every minute that we spent on the social media in sharing, tagging and commenting made it count. We just kept exploring the opportunity that loomed ahead of us.”
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Cars are still considered to be luxury in our country and to attract buyers, automotive manufacturers are working their way towards newer alternatives for connecting with potential buyers. People are becoming more brand conscious but this is a fairly slow process. Indians are very conservative with regard to spending a huge amount for cars and that is one reason why Indian and foreign car makers are spending crores of rupees every year to form that bond with car buyers. Experiential marketing in the auto industry has a checkered history in fact. The economic reforms policies of 1991 opened the floodgates for aspirational consumers, soon after, an Indian company called Mahindra & Mahindra took a bold and risky decision: it wanted to become a major player in the Indian automobile industry (Yes, we know Tata Motors too has travelled the same path; but let's keep that story for another day!). It might sound incredible today, but M&M back then decided that "experiential" will be a key component of the marketing strategy of the company as it launched itself into uncharted territory. Back in those days, the Indian auto industry had a handful of automakers. Today, about two and half decades later, there are about 30 carmakers in the country with over 200 products on sale. Before 1991, you had not many choices to pick from. Test drives were rare and the waiting period was months and sometimes years. In 1989, the Indian auto market for passenger vehicles had reached a sales number of 200,000 for the entire year. Today, the monthly sales of passenger vehicles exceed 200,000. We are one of the largest auto markets and expected to become the third largest market in the world by 2020. Major manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki are targeting sales of two million a year by 2020.As the market has opened to several automakers, everyone is looking at ways and means to engage with the consumer. There are several different campaigns that are held prior to a new product launch, during the launch and post it has been introduced in the market. Land Rover Experience is example where the brand invites potential customers to not just drive but take the vehicle for off-roading in the natural built conditions. Land Rover has been giving an opportunity to its existing and potential buyers to drive a Land Rover in a river, down a hill and other aspects to showcase how the brand is superior when it comes to off-roading. It encourages the buyer to try different things with their SUV and at the same time highlights the capabilities of the Land Rover DNA. “One of the key reasons for Mercedes-Benz's strong brand presence and recall is its 'customer centric' approach. This is reflected in the marketing approach of the brand. We have adopted 'experiential marketing' as one of our key elements for customer engagements. We have pioneered the industry with experiential engagements like MB Trophy, StarDrive and now LuxeDrive,” stated Eberhard Kern, MD and CEO at Mercedes-Benz India. The German brand stands that experiential is leading to a whole lot of new ideation and generating content for digital engagement. They have seen a lot of content integration through our experiential events like LuxeDrive, which has generated popular content and conversations. They have engaged several celebrities from different genres including popular Indian chef VikasKhanna. Eberhardstates that in the coming few years - marketing will be driven by content and more integration with on-ground, digital, print, PR will be key to consumer engagement. The company is already witnessing this change. He states, “We have created LuxeDrive which is an ideal experiential event and combines haute couture and gourmet with the thrills of motoring. We are taking LuxeDrive to newer markets and newer customer groups." We spoke to Frank Schloeder, Director of Marketing at BMW, who stated," Experiential has always been a key pillar in our strategy. In Luxury Marketing, it’s even more important, as it’s all about direct interaction with your target audience. That is not possible with ATL. Experiential is key in Luxury Marketing and will always remain very important also in future. When you offer high value luxury goods, people want to touch and feel it and also interact with the company. You can’t replace this with anything else." Audi too has its Audi Drive Experience and then there is also the BMW Experience Tour to connect with the customers. About 10-15 percent of the marketing spends of automakers goes into experiential marketing. This percentage won’t increase, however the marketing budgets shall shoot up and so we can expect an increase in the number of experiential events. Today luxury carmakers especially the Germans spend in excess of 100 crore annually. Jaguar Land Rover is likely to touch this kind of spends in a year’s period, as they will be introducing more products. Recently, the company has launched the Discovery Sport, which is an all-new SUV that is luxurious and a serious off-roader too. It isn’t just the luxury carmakers like Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover who are spending towards experiential; automakers in other segments too are spending a good chunk of their money to emotionally connect with the buyers. Renault very recentlyconducted – “Passion for Life” as a two-day experience drivein Raipur. The unique part of this experience was that the excited 600 participants were also handed over certificates of participation and received encouragement from the able trainers. People of all ages participated in this drive around an obstacle course. Along with the experience drive, the two-day experience also included a blood donation drive in which many people volunteered. Renault also organized a free vehicle check-up in which more than 200 vehicles were serviced. Tata Motors is one great example of a company who spends towards experiential marketing. The company conducted several campaigns for the recently launched Zest and Bolt. As the Bolt hatchback is sport, it was showcased in some stadiums during the IPL matches and many of them got an opportunity to experience the hatchback and the sedan during the match. The Zest and the Bolt were showcased to several potential car buyers at a customer clinic immediately after the 2014 Auto Expo. The brandalso participated in the Malhar festival of St Xaviers College in Mumbai with the newly launched GenX Nano. It has remained active with on-ground activities even after the launch. There is also a club called “S.O.U.L”(Safari Owners United League), which is a club for Safari Owners. There are several road-trips planned in a year for existing Safari buyers, where they get to meet and interact with like-minded car buyers. In 2013 Ford India had decided to launch the Ecosport at a time when car sales in the country had started showing alarming signs of deceleration. The marketing team had to brainstorm and come up with something innovative. Thus was born the experiential Urban Discovery campaign. Three months before the launch, the Ford marketing team identified 100 potential buyers and wove the experiential Urban Discovery campaign around them. Even the guys at Ford were pleasantly surprised by the unbelievable customer reaction. Before the campaign reached its experiential climax, more than 60 urban Indians had booked the Ecosport. That one example illustrates the sheer power of experiential marketing when it comes to the automobile industry. And marketing masterminds in the company acknowledge that. Says Rahul Gautam, Vice President, marketing at Ford India, "Experiential has been gaining popularity as a medium in the last couple of years and continues to grow. Ford’s strategy in experiential has been towards touching an emotional chord to make communication a lot more meaningful and impactful. Be it the EcoSport ‘Urban Discoveries’ campaign in 2013 or the recent Ford Figo Aspire 'What Drives You' campaign, all our campaigns draw their strength from experiences and will continue to do so in the future". Mahindra was one of the first in the country to have launched an experiential campaign called Mahindra Great Escape, back in 1993. The idea and the strategy was simple: the company encouraged customers to actually go on long drives (Indian roads back then were not even a shadow of the many expressways we see today!) to personally and first hand experience the quality parameters of their newly launched SUV. Since then, the Mahindra Scorpio has become a kind of case study when it comes to successful as well as durable brand launches in the Indian automobile industry. The Great Escape was an annual event for many years. Then, towards the beginning of this decade, M&M decided to expand the scale and scope of this experiential process. The company in fact launched an entirely new vertical called Mahindra Adventure for this strategic purpose. At the moment, Mahindra Adventure organizes 10 Great Escapes every year across the country, apart from numerous one off experiential campaigns. It has also gone global by adding Nepal and Bhutan as destinations. There are plans to take this even to South Africa and Chile where Mahindra SUVs are quite popular. The top 5 auto brands contribute to about 60% of thespends in advertising and at the moment, most of them spend about 10% of their budgets on experiential marketing. The budgets for both are on the rise, but we cannot expect the percentage to increase for regular car makers, however for luxury car manufacturers the number is on the rise and we shall see an increase in the percentage of spendings for on ground activities as buying a luxury car is more of an emotional connect than a necessity. So makers like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Mahindra are amongst top spenders in the market, with the German automakers like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW leading the front for luxury car makers. The number of events and the budget for affordable cars is higher and even the number of people attending it are greater in number. Hence, the expense for these segment makers is on the higher side than luxury car manufacturers. As per our research, the total advertising spends in auto sector (annually) is 2300 – 2400 cr. Of this, the total spends towards experiential marketing is 290-300 cr**. Across the board, it is now acknowledged that experiential marketing will play an increasingly bigger role in the Indian auto industry. And it is not just about announcing a glitzy launch function where customers gawk more at the skimpily clad glamorous models wrapping themselves around a new car model. As advertising in traditional media becomes more and more cluttered and more prohibitively expensive, the smarter marketing teams in auto companies will keep devising new and innovative campaigns that revolve around experiential marketing. Quite simply, no auto company can afford to ignore the power of experiential marketing as a tool. The push for more and more experiential marketing and bigger budgets for this tool will gather momentum in the days to come, particularly in the auto industry which is one of the most spectacular success stories of brand marketing. More than 30 years ago, Maruti Suzuki seeded the automobile revolution in the car segment in India. Simultaneously, a joint venture between Hero Motors and Honda seeded the two wheeler revolution in the country. Back then, barely 50,000 cars were sold in India every year. And there were just three brands. Look at how things have changed since then. Virtually every major global airmobile company in the world now has a presence in the country and is fighting tooth and nail for a slice of the pie. After a few years of recession, there are unmistakable signs of a sustained recovery in car sales. The day is not far off when car sales in India will cross the significant milestone of 5 million units per year, making it the third largest market in the world. Something similar has happened with two wheelers. Hero Motors is now the largest two-wheeler company in the world. And of all delicious ironies, it's erstwhile partner Honda, which now operates independently in India, is giving a tough fight to Hero in the face to become the number one two wheeler company in India! They say competition is the mother of marketing. And the auto industry in India is perhaps one of the most fiercely competitive in the world. As companies keep launching new models to lure customers, they will inevitably invest heavily in mass marketing and advertising campaigns. But make no mistake, experiential will emerge as the arguably most important strategic tool in the armory of marketing whiz kids. After all, humans have demonstrated a strong and strange emotional connect with cars over the decades. If you have any doubts, start playing that legendary Beatles song one more time: Baby You Can Drive My Car. *This article was first published in BW APPLAUSE ** Numbers are indicative and directional but not absolute.
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The Marriott group of hotels worldwide is known for using technology in the most interactive way to engage and involve their guests. From launching a ‘meetings imagined’ experience in India to partnering with global music giant Universal to provide a musical orgasm experience to its customers in London, The hotel has done it all. Adding another feather to its golden cap of successful experiential campaigns, the hotel has further elevated its level by launching a V Room service which is currently a part of the hotels “Travel Brilliantly” campaign. The service has been recently debuted at the New York Marriott Marquis on September 10 and at the London Marriott Park Lane on September 14. As part of this service guests can order their V Room kit through a Marriott app or on a dedicated phone line that’s printed on their room keycards. Delivered to them will be a white metal case containing Samsung Gear virtual reality headset and headphones, along with instructions on how to use them. The content of this service will feature small videos set in Chile, China, and Rwanda and will also highlight the Marriott hospitality a customer will receive once they visit the destination being showcased. So guests through this service can avail a sneak-peak experience. The campaign is without a doubt one of the most engaging experiences curated by the hotel brand for its customers and has enabled it to smartly market its other hotel properties around the world. This creative campaign by the noted hotel giants is an example of how can brands can use simple yet innovative technological as a means to engage their target audiences and allowing the product to be marketed by its own self. The Indian events industry can seek inspiration from the campaign and can also come up with a similar technology to not only promote Indian hotels and private properties but also they can use the same to promote India as a destination for more destination weddings and other social events. The Indian tourism Industry can also benefit by using the same technology. Videos of tourist attractions, historical monuments, places to must try videos can be created and displayed through this technology to promote both international tourism and in-country tourism in India. A highlight about a V Room service technology is that contrary to popular belief the technology is more economical than creating customized experience for every traveler or prospective customer. Hence, the technology can also be used heavily by event agencies who want to pitch in to bigger clients or brand marketers. Why to restrict the glorious event you executed in a PPT? When you can now show your prospective clients an experience can only you can create. Say bye-bye to manual jibber jabber because technological inventions like these are here to stay.
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With an illustrious career spanning over 20 years in the events domain, Gitikka Ganju Dhar needs no introduction. Everything Experiential’s Shantanu Jain caught up with the multiple times ‘Emcee of the Year’ awardee in a candid rapid fire. Q- Your first assignment as an anchor? A- 20 years ago for the premier of Subhash Ghai’s movie ‘Pardes’ which starred Shahrukh Khan and Mahima Chaudhary. Q- How much were you paid? A- 10,000 INR. Q- Your most memorable experience as an anchor? A- I’ve done a few shows where Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam was the guest of honor and during my second show in his presence he called me by my name, patted me on the back and appreciated me. That is perhaps one of my fondest memory. Q-In terms of clothing, what are you most comfortable in? A-I probably don’t even comb my hair when I am at home. I am just a very busy mother taking care of my house and work. But usually I am dressed up in a SalvarKameez or Jeans and T-shirts. Q-Have you ever had an emotional moment on stage? A-Yes, when I was awarded Emcee of the year award in 2012 it was a very emotional moment for me. Q-When not on the stage what do you like to do? A- I rarely get anytime to do anything else. My day begins with sending my daughter to school and my husband to office. Then I manage the staff, my finances, investments, our families and my own work but if there is still a little time left I like to read. Q-If you are in a bad mood. What is that one thing that will make you happy instantly? A-A good film lifts up my spirits and also retail therapy is one thing that can instantly get me in a good mood, though I know it is a very bad habit. Q-Your most embarrassing moment on stage would be? A- There isn’t one. Whenever I say a wrong name or make a genuine mistake I feel that is embarrassing at times but fortunately nothing big has happened till now. Q-Your favorite event agency to work with? A- I like working with Encompass when Roshan Abbas’s core team is executing the event or the core team from Wizcraft is executing an event. The basic idea behind this is working with the team that made the event business what it is today. (The article has been extracted from BW APPLAUSE)
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Wow! Twenty Years…From painted backdrops to dynamic LEDs, from socializing to going social, from executing events to crafting unforgettable experiences –what a long way we’ve come. Reminiscing on the evolution of brand Phase 1through its two-decade journey is a truly overwhelming experience. I started out as a stage-lights-and-sound-smitten individual who was passionate about theater, entertainment and the arts. Musicals made my nerves tingle with awe and excitement.The experience of live-delight was something I just couldn’t shake off my mind. I was privileged to be part of the CATS ensemble where I was exposed to artistry and entertainment in its ultimate form. Moving on, after college, I joined Godrej for a four-year stint which was a phenomenally positive experience. It was then when I had the crystallized clarity that I wanted to create something that would seamlessly blend my passion for entertainment with the business world. The journey from a little dream to now has been nothing short of spectacular. We conceptualized and executed ‘Hollywood’, one of India’s oldest New Year party brands, on the very first year of Phase 1’s inception. We went on to conduct the first Tech Ed event in India with Microsoft, piloted the concept of employees as the talent on stage, and were one of the earliest players in the market to do international events! Over the years, we’ve nurtured long-lasting relationships with exclusive clients across various industry verticals including IT, Automobiles, FMCG, Life & Style, Infrastructure, Pharma, and Retail. Our relationship with Prestige, Titan, UB and most notably Novell goes back a long way and there’s a perpetually growing bucket of new partners and clients who continue to inspire us. We value these relationships above all andare truly privileged to work with some of the best brands in the industry. As with any other business, we’ve had our fair share of elating ups and over castdowns – but what we have now as a cumulative result of these twenty years,is a rich, sophisticated, legacy-leaving body of work that we can’t be more proud of! If there is one thing I would attribute our growth to as an organization, it’s got to be the potent mix of our skilled people who are the real catalysts of our success, along with our dream big and never-fail-to-deliver attitude. Phase 1 is an intimate hub of leaders – of dreamers and doers – who breathe the brand and its values. With some of the best from the talent pool onboard with us, we are able to consistently step out of line, take calculated risks, challenge convention and do things differently. Our success story of two decades can therefore be summed as a story of constant adaptation and revision and change – where the focus has been on staying relevant at all times. We’re all set to create new benchmarks in the industry with a focus on exponential growth, radical innovation and embracing digital in totality. Our vision is to be the leaders in crafting unique and engaging experiences in the smartest form, anywhere in the world. An exciting venture we’re invested in at the moment involves creating a never-seen-before interplay between creativity, technology and brand experiences.We’re living in a fast-changing digital world of hashtags, clicks, taps and apps – digital is dominating the zeitgeist of our time and we’re ready to exploit its full potential. Phase 1 has also developed a strategic focus on becoming a purpose-driven organization with CSR and employee happiness at the center of our focus. We are changing the very nature of our work to become more collaborative, constructive and cohesive and have a specialized team of ‘Funsultants’ and Chief Happiness Officers constituted this year to create a culture of wellness, inspire our people and infuse a spirit of joy within the everyday framework of our organization. Our two-decade stint meets yet another milestone event that’s dedicated to each and every one in the Phase 1 team. We’ve relocated to a spanking new studio – a fluid and visceral space that blends work with play and offers a stunning view of the Bangalore metro. I want to thank all those wonderfully special people who have helped me, stood by me and nurtured my crazy impulses through this journey. I’m unabashedly expressive with the ones I love, so they know exactly who they are.Our clients for their unfaltering faith in me. My family for being my biggest source of strength and for having my back at all times. My beautiful wife for always believing – it’s a privilege to share my life with her; and my kids who are my biggest assets, for teaching me more about myself and for making me a better person everyday. Let the good times roll. (The article has been extracted from BW APPLAUSE)
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The job of an emcee is very crucial for any event. Be it a smart and elite corporate event or an out and out mass entertainment night, the onus of making sure that everything feels seamless to the audiences is completely on the person anchoring the event. But there are times when an event managers planning takes a blow and an event is heading straight towards disaster. How does an emcee react in this situation? Well this time at EE, we have two notable emcees in the event fraternity sharing their tales on how they made even disastrous events sparkle. Recalling her experience, Sheena Chohan (left in photo) says, “Once I was anchoring a corporate event for sales professionals for a brand. In the audience were thousands of people and country’s top ministers. The event flow had reached to a point where the top minister was going to present an international CEO with an award and a famous singer was meant to come on the stage and sing. Contrary to everyone’s imagination, as soon as the singer started, out of sheer excitement he jumped on one of the ministers table and stood there singing and dancing. Everyone had been looking forward to the musical performance but this put the minister at the table in a very bad mood and the performance was stopped. It was an incident which transpired very rapidly and came as a shock to the audiences as well the organizers. I however, took charge and decided to do small interactive act to handle the situation. I got them to play a game, where the important guests got on the stage and started dancing. In the end, I got the Minister and the top CEOs on stage with the singer and the singer performed 5 of his top hits with the videos in the background, and the audience enjoyed it more than ever. And the next day the Minister was so happy with the event that he could be easily spotted sharing his photos with the clients and CEOs.” Narrating her most profound experience of handling an event disaster Shefali Saxena (right in photo) says, “Thankfully for me nothing huge has happened as of yet and most events that I have anchored have went fine however there is one particular incident that still haunts me. It was during a product launch for a leading automobile brand where the main product had to be launched through the slider curtains. The moment of the launch was highly anticipated with media and audiences from all over the country gathered to witness the event. But as soon as the Chairman of the brand pushed the button for the product to be unveiled, a technological failure erupted and the slider curtains would simply not move. The situation was about to become worse as the music for the launch had started and the fog machines were also into action however the product was still not unveiled. I sensed the panic in the situation and had to step in as an emcee. Since this was the time when the Jan Lokpal Protest at Jantar Mantar was at its full force, I used the same topic to ask for more applause from the audiences. And while I was busy engaging the audiences, the event planners managed to fix the problem and the product was launched without any further delay.” When asked what prompted you to take such sudden charge of the situation Sheena says, “It all depends on quick thinking on your part and you have to take control of such situations as that is what you are hired for. Because of the way I controlled the situation the client today insists that I emcee all his events now. So it is the happiness of the clients that matters to you more than anything else.” Shefali responds to the same question and says, “Experience is the key here. You know it from your experience that when is an event falling apart and when are you required to chime in. Luckily I have been anchoring events for quite some time now so the decision on when to step in comes instinctively to me.”
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Experiential marketing is set to be a major growth area in the next few years, as an increased proportion of marketing budgets is being shifted to this emerging form. Even though it is often perceived to be an independent channel, rather than a methodology; marketing communications budgets traditionally have not allocated specific portions to experiential marketing. Experiential marketing initiatives by Indian firms hasalso grown tremendously over the last few years. There are two factors that this can be attributed to: First, due to the overuse of traditional media and the need to do something different from the competition; brands which are largely functionally undifferentiated are trying to build an emotional attachment with consumers’ desires for novelty, individuality, and added value. Second, there has been a proliferation of event marketing specialist agencies growing out of a number of related areas such as field marketing, event planning, brand management, public relations and advertising. Experiential marketing has also expanded into experiential commerce now, which tries to replicate the complete shopping experience of a brick-and-mortar store. Technology has hitherto not transformed commerce as drastically as other industries. Commerce has enjoyed some innovation till now, but there is much more in store owing to the potential of experiential commerce, which will alter the way retailers sell and consumer buy, and blend online and offline experiences. As experiential marketing continues to catch the fancy of marketers across sectors, and expand on various ways to use experiential marketing; the focus is to establish and standardize metrics for experiential ROI – which till now has been measured using similar metrics to traditional marketing and advertising – which are not suitable for measuring the success of a campaign. The challenge in experiential marketing is twofold: 1. Experiential ROI cuts across other marketing channels and therefore isolating the experiential bit is difficult for a marketer. 2. Experiential ROI is a Catch 22 situation. There is not much effort being put to standardize metrics and research for ROI because it is still an emerging field with a growing but albeit limited ad spend; and it is not getting enough confidence by marketers since there is a lack of proven ROI. Common experiential marketing jargon Experiential marketing – Experiential marketing is the process of identifying and satisfying customer needs and aspirations, profitably, engaging them through two-way communications that bring brand personalities to life and add value to the target audience. Amplification – Live brand experiences do not typically reach as many target consumers as advertising does. The reach of the complete experiential marketing campaign however can exceed the reach of many adverts by incorporating amplification channels into the experiential marketing campaign. This can be achieved by integrating any of the marketing communications channels into the campaign to amplify the big idea, which is focused on two-way interaction in real-time: the live brand experience. Sometimes with a live brand experience that is exciting and newsworthy, free PR and media coverage can be generated, making it a cost-effective solution with broader reach. Brand Loyalty – The ultimate goal of marketing, where there is the consumer’s commitment to consistent repurchasing of the brand. Brand personality – A brand’s personality is characterized by human personalities. A company will establish a brand as having certain personality traits in order to market the brand to a specified target audience. Examples of a brand’s personality could be, for example, bold, youthful, funny and rebellious etc. Brand-relevant experience – Creating an experience that is appropriate to the brand’s personality, values and target audience that will make it memorable to the consumer, facilitating brand loyalty and brand advocacy. Face to face – Face to face means engaging the consumer in the same physical location that they are in via face-to-face communication. During a face-to-face live brand experience, the consumer can interact with the brand, its brand ambassadors, and the product, in order to physically participate in the live brand experience. Interactive – A means of engagement between the target audience member and the brand, via a two-way interaction. Need for defining best practices Live marketing experiences are rarely done alone, and are typically integrated with rest of the marketing efforts utilizing a broad array of channels. Marketers go to several channels such as advertising, sales promotion, sponsorship, public relations, digital etc., where every channel has different goals and objectives. This multi – channel nature to experiential campaigns leads to complexity - therefore warranting a need to establish Best Practices that will help marketers and agencies highlight: 1. Customers they want to target 2. Various methods of interacting with these customers 3. Identification of location and environment 4. Integration with other marketing programmes For this, we have devised a 6C’s index that will act as a checklist to all brands and agencies at the outset of an experiential programme: 1. Collaborative – opportunities with brand ambassadors and other attendees 2. Creativity – creative element, USP, breaking the clutter 3. Concentration – level of immersion of all senses 4. Concerted – memorability and high impact engagement 5. Customization – individuality and one-to-one opportunities 6. Constancy – genuine benefits and message provided to consumer Summary The beauty of experiential marketing lies in the fact that the creative process will lead to different results. Experiential marketing can be implemented across sectors, from technology to music, from BFSI to FMCG. There is no one sector (whether product or service) which is more or less appropriate for experiential marketing, since the inspiration for experiential marketing ideas comes from the brand personalities and the target audiences. The emotional connection that can be reached through brand-relevant experiences transcends the selling points of the product, its features and benefits. To ensure the process is smooth right from identification of target audience to connecting with them, we propose a TRUE model: Target Audience X Reach X Ubiquity X Emotional Connect The total audience to which the firm wishes to communicate with Number of people to whom the campaign reaches Ability of firm to ensure the correct message goes to consumer with the right brand positioning Measures how many consumers connect with the campaign The debate also exists between outsourcing or using in-house resources. Our viewpoint is that it is advisable to employ people in-house for the customer experience management programme and to employ an experiential marketing agency for the live brand experiences. The intent of defining best practices is not to curtail the creativity, but to act as a yardstick that guides marketers and agencies to stay true to the core objective of experiential marketing – to engage with customers and create customer delight. By identifying and mapping these “moments of truth,” marketers can guarantee a positive action from consumers. As organizations move from a service orientation to a customer experience orientation and eventually to a customer experience orientation, we will continue to see a growth in experiential marketing, and establishing best practices will help expedite the process and ensure it is a smooth transition. (The story has been extracted from BW APPLAUSE)
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What a trip it’s been. What an up and down, heaven to hell and back again goddamned trip.Where does one start ? Two decades of crazy change, of ridiculous revolution, of mayhem, chaos, havoc and turmoil. If you look back carefully though, look with the right kind of eyes, you can pick up the trail - a wavering, seemingly fragile, but unstoppable line of progress. A pre-internet, pre mobile-phone, pre event management era has unstoppably evolved into today’s great digital, economic and social transformation. We’ve lived through a revolution, and like every revolution there have been winners, and,sadly, a great many losers. Here at the 70 Event Media Group, we can, I think, count ourselves as being amongst those who did win out over the past two decades. We did it - as often as not - on our own terms and in our own way. You have to picture the scene back in 1997 to really appreciate the sheer outrageousness of the challenge that every one of us has faced whilst building our business and our Industry. It was in North India, and Coca Cola had hired 70 EMG to produce a series of very large format music concerts – free to the public – for audiences of 25,000 plus. No mobile phones of course, no email, very little trussing, no MOJO metal barricading, no ‘Book My Show’, no Facebook, no specialized Security Agencies, no chemical toilets, no House-keeping Agencies, no nothing, really. It was, shall we say, somewhat basic. To save money (of course) the Client hired the Gurkha Regiment as security. 25,000 fans in Agra go wild at the sight of Shaan&Sagarika on stage. Cue the wholly predictable chaos and carnage at the front of stage, with blank faced 17 year old soldiers trying to maintain order with the butts of their fully loaded, automatic rifles. We flee the City leaving behind 25,000 very happy fans, and an equally happy client. You couldn’t make it up. Cut to 17 years later and India Bike Week has sold its 9,475th ticket for the year. Many of the 450,000 actively involved fans on Facebook are following the live, online stream of the Festival, House-keeping, Ticketing, Registration, Security, Music programming, Camping, and other crucial elements of the Festival have all been outsourced to professional agencies. Sponsors, partners, stakeholders have contracted with 3rd Party event and design agencies to build their stalls, and manage their customer engagement programs. And 70 EMG’s role, together with our partners at Fox Life, has changed beyond recognition. Yes, we have our Ops people on the ground, making sure things run smoothly to the quality levels we expect at any of our events, and yes of course we are running the show(s) – no doubt about that. But the bulk of our job is to ‘Engage’. Engage with the bikers, the festival goers, exhibitors and stake holders – of whom there are many thousand. For us, the Festival is the culmination of an 8 month community building and activation process where we’ve been talking to consumers, riding with them, often teaching them about what a Festival is, and why they should come. We’ve done it online, but we’ve also done in in bars, at the roadside, at restaurants and on the street. It is one of the milestones that we are most proud of. The morphing of an Agency that was entirely client facing and reactive to the client brief, into one that also has a world-class ability to define and build consumer communities, connect with them, help them grow, and then use that skill and knowledge base to build Festival and event brands that can disrupt and dominate entire industries. Especially now.Especially in 2015. Especially given that whilst it seems that we are in danger of being flattened by the digital juggernaut;whilst it looks like we might be endangered by marketing spends being taken away from us and shoved into digital banner advertising and viral videos of dubious creative and cultural worth. ‘Seeming’, however, is not necessarily the full story. There is, in fact, another Revolution happening – not just in India, but across the world. As Karl Marx said “Every Revolution creates its own antithesis”, and Karl was a very clever man. Applied to today, what he meant was that, whilst the rise and rise of the digital age seems unstoppable, so is the human instinct for connection: real, shoulder to shoulder, see, smell, hear each other, connection. The antithesis to the flickering screen - the black mirror, is the heaving nightclub, the packs of bikers out on their Sunday morning rides, the jumping in unison, festival crowd loving the top 10 DJ. We are at the epicenter of a new Revolution – one that will co-exist and drive that other digital one. And it is going to grow and grow and grow. After all, we are in the business of creating happiness are we not ? That is – when you get down to it – ultimately what we do. To be in India over the past 17 years and see this process evolving in front of our very eyes has been one of the great privileges of working at 70 EMG. HausKhas on a Thursday night, Bandra on a Saturday. Literally hundreds of thousands of young Indians out and about, with money in their pocket and the need for human comfort and connection. Bars full, restaurants full, music concerts and club nights full. Festivals being launched. And this is just the very start. It is, in fact, the beginning of the beginning. In ten years time, the consumer entertainment brands we create today will be massive. If we design and run them right, if we devolve ownership of them to the communities and fans that turn up, we’ll have our own Revolution on our hands. So – change and progress - and along the way, the very best of times… The launch of Seven Steps – our award-winning Wedding Management agency.The launch of ‘The Set’ our equally award-winning, in-house design studio. Opening up Jag Mandhir and the City Palace in Udaipur as private Wedding Destination venues in 2001. Venice in 2010.Kenya and Uganda in 2012. London in 2006.Vancouver in 2013.The launch of not one, but two, enormous Temples -and feeding, cleaning and tenting 180,000 pilgrims a day.Developing one of the world’s top 3 Classic Car & Bike Concours, building the world’s 3rd largest Jewelry Exhibition, Conference and event. Helping the AAAI to re-imagine and re-design GoaFest. Launching India Bike Week AND the Zambhala Yoga & Wellness Festival in the middle of a howling, global recession. The fantastic clients we’ve had who have become friends and business partners. The slow, steady professionalization of our Industry with brilliant suppliers and partners to help carry the burden of over 400 events a year. Working with international clients new to India – Cartier, Remy Martin, Zara, Harley Davidson – and helping them to develop and build their businesses. Adapting to the era of ‘the Pitch’, and to the rise and rise of the dreaded Purchasing Department. Winning, losing, laughing, weeping. What fun we’ve had. What fun. And here’s the thing. Its just the start of it all. The opportunity out there is awesome. Sometimes we feel like we’re at the foothills of the Himalayas, gazing out at a cloud shrouded Everest. Our Corporate & Brand Activation business shows no sign of slowing down. Our wedding management, special events and design businesses are posting record growth. We have at least four more festival and consumer focused event brands we’re in the process of launching. So thank you India. Thank you to all the hundreds of 70 EMG alumni – past and present –with whom we’ve had such wild and rolling times. Thank you to the many clients we’ve learned from, the partners who’ve saved us. Most of all perhaps, thank you Xerxes Antia, KainazSethna, Thanush Joseph and DarayashGocal. You’ve been amazing. It’s been a rollercoaster. Thank god. (The story has been extracted from BW APPLAUSE)
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Harshad Chavan boasts of a really dynamic career graph as he dabbled from having a serious corporate career to setting up his own event agency Cream Events, which was later acquired by the Edelman group. He then decided to retire at the age of 40 to pursue other career interests but recently decided to make a comeback and has now joined Toast events in the capacity of a Managing Director. In an exclusive conversation with Everything Experiential, Harshad Chavan spills the beans his new ventures at Toast events, reasons for his retirement and what brought him come back. Q-You took a voluntary retirement at the age of 40 after leaving Cream Events. Any specific reasons why you left and what inspired you to come back? A-Work started really early for me. With a career spanning over 23 years, I have had a fantastic opportunity to juggle from a serious corporate career to setting up my event agency which was acquired by a large multinational. When I retired from Cream Events, it was purely to take time off, travel, catch up with friends and spend time with family and kids. Coming back from retirement was not on the cards and definitely not so soon. But, when the team from Toast events came to me, with so much conviction and larger than life dreams where they were confident that I would be able to help them get where they wanted to go, I just couldn't get the thought out of my head. After a lot of deliberation and with support my family I gave in and the rest is what you see. Q-What do you bring to the table as a Managing Director for Toast Events now? What can we expect from the agency? A-When the team came to me with the statement 'We want to make Toast big. Come on board', it did strike me like a bolt of lightning. They set up a company and were doing some great work and I was on my time off and a mission was the last thing on my mind. Their dreams were big and I couldn't say no. They had too much faith and i wasn't going to let them down. The vision is to make this company big. We will be expanding across various businesses in due course offering our clients a literal one stop solution for their brands. Talent Management is our first new division. We will work with our talent to creating them into brand themselves. The talents we will be signing on will range across Bollywood, Music, Live Talent, etc. Kangna Ranaut is our very first talent and it only gets bigger from here. Q-What made you return with Toast Events and not any other agency? A-Toast Events Pvt Ltd was founded by 5 individuals who i mentored during their tenure at Cream Events Nilesh Gurav, Wilson Dsouza, Trishala Jailwala, Karan Kapoor and Michelle Sanghvi.. Their vision was unbounded and they chose to move on last year to explore themselves. In April 2015, they started Toast Events, little to my imagination the company is 6 months old today and I am on board and adding reality to their vision. Having been employed by a team mentored by me in their previous organisation, makes me feel great to see their evolution. Today, they are a lean (mean) team doing some fantastic work in the experiential space. Q-Speculations are ripe that you have also financially invested in Toast events? A-No. My investment here is primarily in the direction of creative guidance and strategy.
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