Experiential Marketing: Why You Have to Sweat the Small Stuff to Drive Success
IMI has long been a proponent of experiential marketing – it is one of the best ways to impact your existing and potential customers.
While experiential campaigns can be incredibly successful, there is also a lot that can and does go wrong when things get started.
I remember a few years ago, I was helping out with a sampling program down in Atlanta that IMI was measuring. It was a really hot day, and we were sampling a new drink to potential customers. I was fortunate enough to have had the head of large Southern restaurant chain happen to come and try a sample, and we struck up a conversation.
He said something to me that day that I will never forget, and I have carried with me ever since.
So, what did he share?
Essentially it was so simple. All marketing starts at the top with a CMO who sets the direction for the company and makes say $250K a year. They then direct their marketing directors to deliver that plan who make say $175K a year. The directors then get the brand managers who make $100K a year to hire an agency to put that plan into action.
The brand manager then goes and hires an agency, for a substantial fee, and the agency of course comes up with a great experiential campaign and puts the plan into action.
Now this is where what he had said really hit home – the success of the entire campaign then comes down to a brand ambassador that is making about $25/hr and is your sole point of contact with the customer that you are trying so hard to win.
WOW – when you think of it that way, it really puts things in perspective and makes you realize how important the field team is for the ultimate successful execution.
That is why sweating the small stuff is so important for the success of your execution.
You need to make sure that those feet on the ground are positioned to deliver with success:
Are they reciting your key message with every interaction/sample they hand out?
Are they preparing the product optimally for the attendee? Is the drink cold, sample hot, machine ready for use? I remember once getting a hot coconut water sample - have never like coconut water since.
Do you have somewhere for your trash to go once customers are done? Nothing looks worse for your brand than having empty wrappers / cans / product polluting the event area.
Do they know how to handle exceptions – the strange questions that someone will inevitably ask?
Do you have a strategy in place if there is a line for your event? How can your people keep them engaged?
Now all of the points above hold true for a sampling campaign, but the same logic also holds true for all other experiential executions. Your staff - the ones that are interacting with the consumer will in the end be a large determinate in the success of what you are doing.
It may sound rather simple and something that you take for granted, but in the end isn’t that what experiential marketing is, putting your product in front of a potential customer? Remember, sweat the small stuff, it’s what makes for a great execution.
Ready to elevate your experiential marketing campaigns?
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