Until a couple of years back experiential marketing was a very different ball game altogether. One’s first thought was typically the now dirty word – guerilla marketing. Which meant brand ambassadors would pass out product samples to potential users or a vehicle endorsing the name of the brand would be placed outside an event. Stagnant and boring. Most of the times not even doing any good to the brand. But then came along the rise of SoLoMo (social, local and mobile) technology – and the world was never the same. Brands came to learn the importance of combining digital technology with personal experience to effectively communicate with their consumers. Brands began to recognize that actual physical and emotional experiences, versus just brand swag, help link the offline and online world and build loyalty and trust in consumers, something that really didn’t happen before the influx of digital. Consumer Becomes King The rise of social, local and mobile channels have made the consumer supreme. Now the consumer has complete reign over the experience he wants to have with the brand and share it within his own social channels – albeit any restrains. And everyone knows the value of an independent voice. Check-ins, hashtags, likes, and more have become the de facto standard for many brand experiences and retail doors. Building on how retail has played a role in this, many brands have started to drive awareness, buzz, and even promotion and CRM into consumers’ lives through the smart integration of digital, mobile, and social technology into their brick-and-mortar businesses. For Kate Spade’s new weekend-wear line, Kate Spade Saturday, the company created four interactive storefronts in New York, all digitally powered and including one large touch screen and zero products. Using the touch screen, consumers are able to browse and purchase products from Kate Spade’s new line–a new version of the in-store retail experience. The rise of technology has allowed the consumer to interact with the brand in a plethora of ways. The possibilities are endless and the sky is no longer the limit. What one can do with technology these days is no joke, and to use it to build your brand is genius. Gone are the days of museum like brand space where consumers are invited into a stagnant atmosphere and don’t actually engage with the brand at all, apart from a few free product samples. No More Spams Experiential marketing used to have a tough time convincing consumers in sharing their e-mail addresses and other details as consumers were afraid of being spammed every day by the brands – case in point – constant spam emails for Viagra. But things have changed. Brands have become smarter in how they reach out to their consumers and have started to respect their privacy. There are no more spams, and consumers have come around, engaging with brands with a sense of security and confidence – giving the experiences the license to become richer and more dynamic. One to One, One to Many or even Both It’s no surprise here that brands that create experiences allowing consumers to interact digitally and socially with both themselves and others will succeed in the long term. According to a study, an average person spends at least 6 hours a day on Facebook. And thus the change in the marketing game. BMW’s initiative on Facebook is a perfect example of how brands are using social networking sites to leverage their brand. If one word describes BMW owners, it would be “enthusiasts.” The people at BMW must know that owners love a chance to show off their beemers, so the company’s Facebook encourages fans to post photos and share where they’ve recently taken their beloved car. By suggesting that fans post pictures of the adventures they’ve gone on in their BMWs, the company connects to the fact that it’s a luxury brand, and those who own luxury cars are likely able to go on frequent trips. Fans happily oblige, but their engagement doesn’t stop there. BMW also puts concept videos and pictures on their Facebook page to show fans what the company is developing and what the next generation of cars will look like. It’s like a personal car show right on Facebook, and every car enthusiast is crazy about car shows. BMW’s heavy use of visuals illustrates their understanding that visuals are important for engagement and allows the company to play to its strengths as an aesthetically brilliant brand. Overall, when brands try to build relationships with consumers, a simple plan is still the best plan. Experiential marketers must first put themselves in the shoes of the consumer in order to understand the interaction process and the emotions they are trying to evoke from the consumer. Fortunately, technology can’t do the job on its own, nor will our innovative spirit alone propel experiential activations to succeed. Creative ideas and emotional context remain critical for creating powerful and memorable brand experiences. But after the dust has settled, experiential marketing has a lot to thank digital for.
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In this digitized world where communication is generally through texts, hash tags and Facebook posts, human contact becomes absolutely necessary in order to make an impact – to make it special. In order to make an impact on their customers, brands all over the world are turning to marketing techniques that give them an edge over their competitors. As B. Joseph Pine II and James H. state in their book, The Experience Economy, “the number of goods and services has increased making the industry as a whole increasingly competitive and crowded.” They illustrate that brands must begin to provide consumers with memorable events and engagements that allow the brand to stand out from the clutter of their competitors. The examples below will move you to tears, engulf you with excitement and fill your hearts with warmth. When brands give their customers something to remember they not only build sales but customer loyalty like no other. Here are five great examples: Unexpected Baggage When Span Air decided to surprise their passengers travelling on Christmas eve, when the rest of the world celebrated at home, it was smiles all the way. Flight JK5208 claimed a little joy when the unexpected gifts arrived. After Spanair, a number of other airlines followed suit. Watch the video below. D Rose Jump Store On July 10th, Adidas organized the “D Rose Jump Store” in London to promote Derrick Rose’s signature Adidas sneakers. Although the concept was simple (use Derrick Rose’s presence to create buzz among fans), Adidas took it to another level by adding depth to their activation. In addition to meeting the famous Chicago Bulls point guard, fans had the opportunity to win a free pair of the signature sneaker if they could jump 10 feet to reach them. By having participants jump the same distance needed to reach a regulation basketball hoop, it gave each consumer perspective into the basketball player’s life. Whether participants walked away empty handed or with a new $100 set of shoes, they all had an experience that they will always remember and associate with Adidas. Unleash the Bond in you Brands most often use experiential marketing either to enhance and complement a traditional advertising campaign or to stand out at a popular event or conference. However, as honest internet virality gains more and more influence, many brands have begun executing experiential marketing campaigns that exist on their own. To bolster a television spot that AdWeek described as “mediocre”, Coca-Cola organized an experiential marketing activation in which consumers take on the role of a Double O agent and sprint through a train station. After purchasing a Coke Zero, the vending machine challenged drinkers to reach another section of the train station, weaving through pre-planned obstacles, in order to receive free tickets to the newest Bond film, Skyfall. In addition to giving each participant a Bond-like experience they will never forget, an edited taping of those participants went viral (currently sporting over ten million views). The Last Square A more endearing example of experiential marketing, and one that illustrates a campaign that stands on its own, is one recently activated by Milka. The chocolate brand made the effort to manufacture 10 million bars that were missing one piece. Puzzled chocolate eaters then learned that the one piece had been set aside for them to choose whether they would want it mailed back to them or mailed, with a personalized message, to a friend or loved one. This campaign helps the brand not only form an emotional connection with its consumer, but also to whomever the consumers decides to send the single piece of chocolate to. Putting Friends To Test When Carlsberg decided to put your friends to test, it was a game changer. Standing up for a friend was their tag line – but the people involved had no idea that they were being tested. Carlsberg gave a chance to its customers to test the loyalty of their friends to find out which of their friends actually turn up in the middle of the night to help their friend who supposedly lost a lot of money in a poker game. Friendships were tested, a lot of emotions were involved and of course, in the end, chilled beer with a Carlsberg party – now who wouldn’t love that.
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As per industry reports, the shelf life of ATL campaigns have decreased from 6-8 months, coming down to 2 months. This makes it important for the marketer to create more engaging marketing strategies, which create a greater recall. BTL activities ensure greater interface with the consumers and instant feedback. This gives rise to immediate ROI and on-the-spot sales, or immense recall value. BTL is becoming a strong focus area for retailers. Catchment initiatives are seen as an integral part across retail segments, especially since the growth of modern and multi-brand retail. In order to combat declining walk-ins, store managements are resorting to deeper brainstorming sessions to evolve creative catchment engagement initiatives. This is sought to be linked to store managers’ KRAs. The organised sector of the Indian events and activation industry is estimated at around Rs 2,800 crore in 2011-12. The segmentation between organised and unorganised players stands at a 40:60 ratio. The BTL industry has grown at over 20 per cent during the last two years and is expected to grow to Rs 4,375 crore by 2013-14. Spends dedicated to below-the-line activations are poised to increase by 20 per cent more in 2013-14. The relationship between events and technology is emerging. Brands are deploying social media technology as well as unique tech-engagement on-site to create an integrated campaign. Food brands, and other FMCG products, which fall under the impulse purchase category are dedicating more than 60 per cent of their marketing spend to BTL activations. The electronics industry is investing majorly in in-store activations. The budgets of major electronics brands have upped 20 – 30 per cent between 2012-13. Since, the final brand choice for a customer depends upon how a specific model is demonstrated and explained to him at the point of sale, this BTL activity acquires most importance as a high percentage of electronics is sold via the multi brand channel. The auto industry in India is very forthcoming and experimentative when it comes to BTL activations. This industry spends heavily on activation formats like road shows.
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B-Bar celebrated its first Anniversary in India at New Delhi on 8th November 2013. The night also witnessed the launch of the very unique B-bar Wine Cellar. Bringing the wine culture to India and getting Indians more accustomed to the lifestyles of the French, the wine cellar promises to be every wine lover’s dream. As the night progressed it embalmed the audiences with many surprises. The night witnessed celebrated Dj Ravin from Buddha Bar, Paris transport the guest to a world of melodies and rhythms. Exotic dancers enthralled the audiences while later into the night guests danced to popular Bollywood numbers. The night was well attended by the who’s who of Delhi’s social circle Mr. Kunal Lalani, Magandeep Singh, Vimi Lalani, Manish Yadav, Thenny, to name a few. During the anniversary week B-bar also promises a volley of exciting offers valid until 16th November where guests get a complimentary bottle of wine on purchase of one and the same offer is valid for a single glass. Talk about extended celebrations! B-bar’s Wine Cellar also proudly showcases a collection of over 300 labels, all carefully handpicked to harmoniously blend in with the delicious array of spices used in the pan-asian cuisine. Wines from every wine producing country except China are showcased. Fine and rare collection of vintage champagne, big format champagne, 1855 Bordeaux classified cru wines all the first growths, Grand Cru Burgandies, Super Tuscans, Barolos, barberserco and unique elegant labels make the wine cellar unique in town.
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There was a time when the major focus of budgets relied mainly on distribution to score an edge. Today, in this competitive scenario, innovative marketing campaigns are stealing the thunder. It is more of a ‘pull’ strategy that the brands are looking to create so as to generate customer loyalty. The ultimate aim then becomes to retain the customer and make him loyal, such that he doesn’t settle for Product B, if Product A isn’t available. As per industry reports, more than three quarters of the money and time invested by major brands, goes towards acquiring new customers and subsequently retaining the same. From a seller’s marketplace, it has transformed today into a lively, customer-centric scenario, where a WOW factor is the buzzword. Experiential marketing effectively helps in customer retention and offers a high recall value. And if you’re lucky, this customer becomes your new brand ambassador. A dynamic step forward The convergence of experiential and digital could represent one of the most important steps forward in modern marketing. It is little secret that today’s consumers are demanding a much more personal relationship with the brands they choose, and this has been a key factor in the rise of experiential marketing. Experiential campaigns have a lot to thank the digital world for. Most digital campaigns are now seamlessly integrated on-ground. When digital and experiential campaigns are integrated, experiential gives digital the ability to master proximity, and digital gives experiential the power to extend its reach and add value for both the brand and the consumer. Says Vineet Gupta, Managing Partner, 22 Feet Digital, “There was a time when anonymity was the mantra of the digital world. Aliases were always sought after. But with the rise and rise of social media, everyone knows who you are, what you do, where you stay, what exactly you’re doing. Your opinions are being heard, broadcast and shared, and this is a make-or-break for brands. If even one consumer does not like the experience you provide him, he has all the liberty to showcase it on the social media.” The convergence of experiential and digital could represent one of the most important steps forward in modern marketing. It is little secret that today’s consumers are demanding a much more personal relationship with the brands they choose, and this has been a key factor in the rise of experiential marketing. People are now less concerned about brands violating privacy laws and bombarding them with promotional emailers, because they are engaging with brands they trust, thus the experiences are now richer and more dynamic. Competitive space, smarter consumers Every day, there are several products that are being launched. To make matters complex, there is category creation. Products are becoming congested with a lot of display information and features, making it difficult for the customer to distinguish one product from another. This environment is now forcing brand managers to find new ways to create and maintain a relationship between their product or service and the customer. This is where experiential marketing comes into place. “Customers today are more skeptical than before about mass media marketing campaigns and advertising of claims. They are more aware and have easy access to information,” adds Gupta. Integrating digital media by way of social media campaigns into experiential marketing is not as simple as throwing a link, hashtag or a QR code. The integration of digital communication needs to be seamlessly bonded to provide the brand experience. Brands are now realising the importance of creating a dialogue with the consumers to make them feel heard and validated. The integration of digital media with experiential campaigns thus helps achieve this.
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It’s a nippy winter night but you can feel the slight warmth in the air because of all the twinkling lights strung to announce the celebrations. Everywhere you look, festivities are in order. You have to go to your far off relative’s daughter’s wedding, while your son has bought tickets to a rock concert and your daughter has plans to go to the diwali mela. Yes, it’s that time of the year again. But what do the newspapers next day read? The stage at a wedding broke, riots broke out in a concert, and someone got caught in a naked wire at the diwali mela, but we barely even raise an eyebrow. So much for big party celebrations. Why do big scale events in India always turn out to be even bigger failures? Is it because event management companies don’t care about the security of their attendees or do they just become careless and adopt the Great Indian Jugaad when it comes to maintaining security? Or should we blame it on the fact that we don’t value lives in our country? We got in talks with Avishkar Tendle, Managing Director at Natura Adventure Crew, to understand the current situation of large scale events in India. Are we really safe? EE finds out. EE: Is India ready for staging adventure themed events? How do you see this industry in next five years? I think India is at the cusp of getting big on adventure themed events, these sorts of events are already growing. Since customer engagement is the holy grail for all the BTL activities, adventure themed events are bound to be on the rise because of the ability of adventure activities to engage the audience. The next few years are very critical in ensuring that Adventure stays on a safe and an upwardly progressing path, considering there are more number of events which have adventure fused into them from making the bride groom fly on to stage to doing bungee jumping at malls, it is equally important to make sure the number of accidents don’t increase just because the total number of events have increased. EE: As communication is witnessing a shift towards events and creating experiences through them, what is the most important component of an event? Customer engagement. As I said earlier customer engagement is the key and essential component of an event, ability to engage or the lack of it can make or break a brand, it’s about creating a high impact through an experiential medium, this trend is being seen in multiple places from experiential education to experiential marketing. EE: How does the safety quotient vary with the nature of an event? I don’t think safety quotient varies with the nature of events, what changes are the number of parameters to create a safe environment, if it’s a simple MICE event on the lawns of an resort, then the parameters will be highly limited. For example, considering if there is any possibility of injury to the client due to open electrical wires, slippery pathways etc. At the same time if it’s a massive event with 10,000 people then you have those many parameters to deal with to make an event safe. Based on an event you cannot say I can only strive for 60% of the safety level, it is critical to achieve 100% on all the parameters irrespective of how many parameters are present. EE: How is safety in indoor shows different from safety in outdoor adventure events? It varies a lot, whenever we talk outdoor’s we have to take into account weather conditions, and any other factors which might disrupt the event. Is it going to be raining? Is it going to be windy? What wind zone does my venue come into? Is my structure prepared to handle those wind and rain conditions if it were to occur? How am I protecting the audience in case of any calamity? Am I equipped to handle stampede? Is my emergency evacuation plan ready? Is there a person who is going to take that call of evacuation? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves when we are into the midst of organizing an event. At the same time Indoor safety is completely different. Are we prepared in case of a fire emergency? Can we handle crowd properly? Are there more people inside the venue than there are supposed to be? etc. EE: How critical is safety addresal? Are we equipped to handle the safety needs of events? Does anyone want bad press because some participant got injured while taking part in their brand’s activity? By default safety is the most critical aspect of an event, whether it is an adventure themed event or not. Even a music concert should have safety as a critical aspect. Is the truss erected safely? Is there proper crowd management? What happens in case of fire? etc. When it comes to adventure events, safety becomes a non-negotiable aspect. Is the adventure operator qualified? What experience does he have? Who are the people managing that activity? Are they qualified? What is the equipment being used? Is it certified? Is there a log of usage of that equipment? All these questions are necessary and important. These questions asked at the right place at the right time are likely to avert a major incident. EE: Please share the safety drills and mandates followed by you for ads and films? How do you train your teams to meet 100% safety assurance? We at Natura are very paranoid about safety. We follow the dictate of “when in doubt don’t do it, or change it”. Every activity that we do, whether it is an adventure activity or an aerial performance, we will only go ahead if we are convinced that it is safe. There is always a site Manager on our events. That person is single handedly responsible for the safety of that activity. He has a checklist in his hand, every time before our system is engaged, he goes through it one by one and checks if everything is in place and ready to go. During rigging we change the systems constantly if we think there is a small possibility of risk. We change it till the time we are convinced at the risk of delaying the setup and eating into the rehearsal time. It is always better to be slightly delayed than being sorry. We only use certified equipment and keep an extensive usage logs of that equipment. So that we know if we need to replace something and when to do it. We always have a backup independent system to our main system, incase our main system fails, our backup swings into an action and avoids the accident. We always have a person certified as an internationally trained First Aider on all our programmes and we make sure all the in-house team is re-certified every two years (check out Wilderness Advance First Aid course curriculums that we attend – http://www.nols.edu/wmi/. EE: What does it take to have a good adventure infrastructure? Does it currently exist in India? Adventure Infrastructure is almost nonexistent in India, we do not have paramedic or rescue teams to jump into action in case of a calamity, even our urban ambulances are not very well equipped, our disaster management teams are a national joke, we don’t have a set of protocols and procedures in place for adventure nor do we have an audit team that can govern these policies. Currently the adventure tour operators of Maharashtra Association and adventure tour operators of India are working on such principles to be put into place but on the flip side we have innumerable destination alternatives when it comes to adventures venues. At the end of the day we have the mighty Himalayas which attract thousands of foreigners, and there are few operators who specifically cater to them and adhere to stringent international standards but those constitute about 1% of the total adventure operators. EE: What are the challenges in delivering adventure content in India? Cost is the major challenge, since people right now do not realize the sort of effort that goes into making adventure systems safe. Right now, everyone wants to involve adventure content into their event, but when it comes to paying for it, everyone wants it at lower costs, and costs are always reduced at the expense of safety.Safety is treated as an add on to an event and only taken into consideration under few circumstances e.g. when the client has larger budgets or when the client has asked for it specifically or the event manager has had a past incident and does not want that to happen again. If being safe is treated as a non-compromisable aspect of an event then the costs should be built into the budget. EE: At Natura, what is your approach to execute, conceptualize and manage adventure theme events? It depends on what service is requested from us by the event management companies. We usually sit down with the event management company to understand the client’s brief and the intention behind the event. Based on the intention we come up with an entire concept of the event, and infuse different adventure activities which align with the event. At times we even create new activities to achieve the engagement. Our operations team then gets into action and starts the preparation for the event, recon trips are done, rigging plans are created, team is finalized, and show flow is created all leading up to the setup day. Based on our experience of managing adventure themed events, we have devised another approach in which we deploy our proprietary design of the Adventure Challenge tower, which houses 6-8 adventure activities in a mere space of 50ft X 50ft, This tower has turned out to be a perfect product for the event managers wherein they can provide engagement of 6-8 adventure activities in the smallest space possible thus bringing Adventure to your doorstep in the urban environment. (www.adventurechallengetower.co.in) EE: How do you manage the regular pressures of conventional event management and blend in a high degree of safety control in it? It’s a constant tightrope walk for us, traditionally we are always taught to take as much time as possible when you are executing adventure activities. This is where Natura is very unique, since we understand the time pressures in conventional events; we have optimized our operations in a way where we achieve efficiency during setup and execution and at the same avoiding any compromise on the safety. There is a strong documentation culture and a log which everyone needs to compulsorily adhere to during an event, these internal checklists and systems enable us to a achieve high degree of safety at our events.
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New Delhi has forever been tainted by its ‘unorganized’ culture and for this reason, till a few back, was easily overlooked as a destination for international acts, concerts and big-crowd events. So when I heard that Canadian funny-man Russell Peters was planning a performance in the city I was immediately ecstatic. More so as my shameless hints to an influential friend were picked up and now I had a certified ticket in flesh and blood. Nothing could go wrong. Turns out I wasnt the only one who’d heard the big news. Tickets in all four cities-Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru- were a clean sell out weeks in advance. What was initially a feeling of excitement quickly transcended into fear. Now, I love Delhi. But I know if you put ten or more people from Delhi together in one place you have a sure-shot recipe for disaster. This mob culture is characteristic of every event. Be it at a Bryan Adams concert a decade ago or Sunburn Greater Noida earlier this month. There is always this looming fear that someone may get hot under the collar and the whole situation might explode. Last I was this excited was when Metallica had come to Delhi last year and we all know how badly that bombed. I was going to wait for my eggs to hatch this time. As I drove in towards the Huda Grounds arena on the day, I half expected to see a frenzied crowd pushing and shoving at each other, women trying to keep their bottoms from being pinched, people scheming to avoid getting frisked or trying to slip past without a valid ticket. Little did I know, I was in store for a revelation. It was a Delhi from my dreams. Well behaved people, sharply dressed ushers, ‘queues’ for the love of God. 4500 people enjoying the show in unanimity and not one disturbing handphone, pain inducing sound of ‘OYE’ in the backdrop or single casualty in the first-aid booth (surprisingly an achievement for Delhi). Something is different here. Something that has brought forth the good side of the mob. The crowd was obedient, no fights broke out and people came and left in an orderly fashion. So after much observation and calculation, I have reached upon this justifiable formula: Act aimed at the urbane community + trained management/ushers/security + hiked ticket prices – alcohol = A possibly enjoyable event in Delhi.Peters has been performing for the past 24 years and is an international stand-up comedy icon. Though he has toured in India before, use of repetitive material thanks to the internet and being relatively less popular in the country, did not yield expected returns back then. The Notorious World Tour is evidently his biggest wager in the country. The event was sponsored by Micromax, a brand that has embraced experiential marketing tactics with complete gusto. Initially perceived as a chinese brand, Micromax is one of the few companies that has travelled up the funnel in terms of popularity. After successfully establishing itself within the rural market it is now aggressively riding on unique marketing and branding strategies aimed at urban India. “Our marketing strategy is largely driven by entertainment. We know our target audience connects with music, cinema and sports therefore we constantly invest in strengthening our product portfolio through R&D and innovative marketing strategies within this area”, says Shubhodip Pal, Chief Marketing Officer, Micromax. In the year 2012 Micromax has sponsored big music events such as Sunburn Goa, Snoop Dogg India Concert Tour, Enrique India Tour and MTV Video Music Awards. “With Russell Peters Notorious World Tour, Micromax is yet again taking a lead in bringing the best in the world to enthrall Indian audiences across the country for the first time”, adds Pal.
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The sixth convention of EEMA – EEMAGINE 2013 came to an end in an extravaganza glistening with industry honchos who shared their expertise, practically redefining the axioms of the events and entertainment industry. EEMAGINE 2013 was organized in Rajasthan and was witnessed industry gurus giving out their best. Sam Cannon, Senior Events Booker, Ministry of Sound, London, Sanjay Vazirani, Min Chang, President Asia Pacific at DAS (Diversified Agency Services) are a few too name. There were a number of sessions on topics including Industry & Innovations, The ever expanding landscape of social events and Role of Activation in Brand Building. The sessions and discussions pointed out how the arrival of Gen Y with their gadgets and social media has changed the very dynamics of the events industry. Also, it bought home the fact that an event is no longer a mere party or award function with elements of entertainment. It is now an art which has the just correct blend of entertainment, marketing and advertising. A panel discussion on ‘Advertising tells but activation sells’ highlighted the importance of activation. The discussion, exhibited effective advertising, and showed that activation will be at the core from now on for it is the strongest option among tangible media tools. Various examples were showed by the panelist which also included Cannes Grand Prix winner Dumb Ways To Die. The most important element of EEMAGINE 2013 was the EEMAX awards. The awards are indeed a boon to the events and entertainment industry as no other body looks at this platform exclusively. Leading EEMAX this year was Encompass Events with a total of six metals. The agency won one Gold, two Silver and three bronze metals. Followed by Encompass Events was Candid Marketing that managed to grab five metals. The agency was awarded five metals with two Gold, two Bronze and one Silver. A number of agencies followed on the third place with three metals including Krayon and Wizcraft International Entertainment. In addition to the enlightening sessions, Brian Tellis, President, EEMA shared his vision for EEMA in the coming year. EEMAGINE 2013 also hosted a number of delightful performances by Shiamak Davar and Ali Zafar. Pakistani Darbar Dance Umrao graced the event to enthrall the audience with her graceful performance. The convention managed to leave a mark on all the participants and it exhibited how much the industry has changed in the past few years.
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