Experiential Contact &

Brand Activation
Involving the Customer
ATL and BTL Activities

• Mass Reach
ATL • Creates brand awareness
(Traditional marketing • No direct consumer involvement
channels that strive to • Print advertising, cinema,
reach mass audience) broadcast media

• Consumer defined
Most BTL • Visible impact, generates trial
(Marketing efforts to • Has direct consumer involvement
create targeted • Events, road shows, activation,
relationships)
merchandising…
Why Experiential Contact?
o Plethora of “me too” brands with
hardly any tangible differences
o Increasingly difficult to create meaningful
“perceptual differences”
o Traditional media losing efficiency
o Selective exposure & selective attention –
mass attention deficit disorder
o Hence little impact on buyers’ minds,
attitudes and purchase behaviour
o What about ROI on communication spends?
Brands today compete with entertainment, news,
sports and culture.
The market is getting increasingly faster and harsher –
marketing must adapt to this pace of change
Marketing is now about giving users and prospects
something to talk about, perhaps to brag about

Brands need to work harder to catch the attention

of customers and prospects and to have an impact
on their attitudes and purchase behaviour
 How to do so?

Involve target segments

in brand experience

People remember little of what they hear,

more of what they see…
nearly all of what they experience
“Tell me and I’ll forget.
Show me and I may remember.
Involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
 Involvement in brand experience
can contribute immensely to
effective marketing communications

Involvement
Getting people to feel part
of what’s happening…
The interaction with a brand
that consumers experience at a live event
is more influential and productive
than that offered by any other advertising platform…
it is also so much more enjoyable & memorable

Prospects and customers voluntarily choose to participate in

such events and to interact with the brand
This is not an interruption when they are engaged otherwise
Experiential Marketing
is a live and interactive technique of marketing
that attempts to market a product or brand
through an experience or sensory impact
rather than the placement of advertisements

It's the difference between telling people about a product

and letting them experience the benefits for themselves
Experiential marketing refers to creation of
customer experiences with the brand / product
that drive sales and improve brand image & awareness

Experiential marketing is a unique engagement tool

to the marketer that provides not just
a tangible consumer experience but also measurable
impact on those who participate
A very successful example

o Americans were very averse to

sending text messages
o Melding of American Idol and AT & T
o SMS was made only way to vote
o Within 3 months, multiple millions of
text messages were being sent
o Generating revenue for AT & T, engaging
the consumer with both brand AT & T
and the American Idol programme
More examples

o Rockport: concept of fitness walking

o Arbor Mist wine: aimed at young women as
a ‘fun wine’ – wine tasting, wine festivals etc
Experiential Marketing leads to:

o Entertainment, Engagement
o Brand awareness
o Demonstration
o Customisation relevant to
marketing context
o Interest & Involvement
o Interactivity & Dialogue
o Relationships
o Touch & Feel – trial
o Trust
o Feedback
o Word-of-mouth
Experiential Marketing

Experiential Marketing has evolved

from the tactical to the strategic,
from standalone to integrated,
using engaging live consumer interactions
Experiential Marketing:
Advantages
o Feedback: two-way communication, ability to obtain
consumer insights
o Credibility: no disconnect between what is claimed and
what consumers encounter
o Trial & Advocacy: identification of consumers who are
truly interested – trial in an enabling environment is
an opportunity to create advocacy
o Loyalty: power to create brand advocates which leads
to long-term relationships
Experiences & events…

o Companies may create them

o Companies may participate in them
o Companies may sponsor them
Created Events & Experiences
o Annual meetings, Music fests, Competitions,
Conferences & Seminars, Trade shows…
o Often leveraged to get publicity,
besides direct participation by buyers
o Branded spaces: Disneyland, Lego land
(the product is the experience)
Conferences

o Often used to launch new products / brands,

procedures, management processes
o Also to provide a forum for employees and
channel partners to share ideas
o And to get publicity by attracting media
Participation events

These may be trade fairs / trade shows,

exhibitions, professional seminars etc
Trade fairs / shows (1/2)

Events where customers of a specific industry

gather for training sessions, seminars and interaction
with suppliers / vendors to learn about products,
processes and innovations

Used primarily to reinforce relationships with

existing customers / trade channel partners and
generate qualified leads regarding prospects
Trade fairs / shows (2/2)

o Very useful for B2B marketing

o Also used for durables, services and launches
o Online displays, demonstrations and chat sessions
with company managers
Sponsored experiences & events

Sponsorship is financial support of

an organization, person or activity (event)
in exchange for publicity and association

Sponsorship helps to add value to brands and

differentiate from competitors
Vodafone sponsorship of English
theatre
Some checkpoints

o Target audience profile of brand

o Brand image reinforcement
o Extendibility over multiple events
o Brand involvement
o Cost effectiveness
o Profile of other sponsors / associates
Experiential Marketing:
Disadvantages & Challenges
o Limited numbers of visitors / participants
who comprise a small fraction of the target segment
o Hence, high cost per live contact
o Limited control of content & design by marketers –
largely controlled by the event managers
o Measurability
o Scalability
o Clearances, regulations, untoward incidents
Evaluating Events

Evaluation should focus on the impact of the event

on brand image, customer perceptions of the brand
and likely changes in behaviour –
not on revenue generated against cost of the event
Evaluating Events

o Pre- and post-event measurements

o Changes in awareness, image, perceptions
o Focus groups, ‘live’ interviews, surveys
Finally… Brand Activation

Brand Activation
is an attempt to integrate the core product,
support services, employees, brand identity
& communications to create coherence and
develop a sustainable competitive advantage
Tide Detergent (1/2)

o How to convey “value for money” that Tide represents

o Approach: wash as many clothes as possible using one
pack of Tide
o Act: create India’s longest clothes line
o Convey and convince: Tide’s claim to value for money
Tide Detergent (2/2)
o 5.8 km long clothesline along Hussain Sagar Lake
in Hyderabad with 2500 articles of clothing
o 28 mentions in dailies, 15 TV reports – tremendous
earned media
Complan (1/2)

o Observation: children want to grow taller, faster

o Act: check how tall you are
o Convey: Complan provides complete nourishment
for growing children
Complan (2/2)
o Children (and adults) fascinated by shows
o Light source placed on ground level in front of a wall with
Complan signage just over 2 metres away near schools,
parks, malls
o Children invited to check height – shadows on Complan wall
kept getting bigger by modifying light source
o Core message: extra growing power
Caribou coffee – functional
experience

Caribou Coffee’s
oven-shaped
bus shelters
complete with
working heaters
to convey the
“Hot ‘n
Wholesome”
brand message
Colgate – Educating, Conveying
Benefits
Giving out ice-creams & candy at annual events like Oral Health
Month to remind target consumers to take care of their teeth

• Once finished,
message printed on
the tip of the stick
shaped like a
toothbrush reveals
“Don’t Forget” with
the Colgate logo
Kumbh Mela: Lifebuoy
Kumbh Mela: Vodafone
Kumbh Mela: Tata Salt
Branded plates: 1 lakh plates, 35 tonnes of salt
Kumbh Mela: Tata Salt
Assisting elderly devotees with mobility difficulties