Neoco

Once again I was whisked away to another festival to blog, post and tweet on the activities of the day for a client.

While I was there I saw lots of brands trying to engage festival-goers to participate in a number of different, fun and ridiculous ways to get them talking about their product or service. I get what’s happening here.. Foot fall is high at festivals and organised outdoor events so brands pay to piggy-back on this ready made audience and hopefully convey their message to them. However, does this strategy work once people start to get boozed up and inhibitions as well as memories start to deteriorate? Plus, from personal experience, revelers prioritise other attractions that got the majority of them excited in the first place – the headline acts and performances from their favourite DJ/pop/rock star.

It got me thinking which is better: virtual interactions with your audience via Social media and multiple channels with a brand or through experiential activities. Well, there’s only one way to find out, FIGHT!! No seriously, I’ve thought about the pros and cons of various strategies and I’ve come to the following conclusions..

The benefits of experiential marketing is that it can really engage audiences giving them a fuller experience through immersion into the brand concept. Plus, experiential activity has the real potential to generate genuine word of mouth recommendations, thus creating real advocates for a brand or service. However, the majority of the time this activity is very localised and the audience reach is limited to the few that are actually present at the event or gathering. The exception to this would be a planned PR stunt, which is designed to not only spark conversation but can also glean main stream media coverage (think T-Mobile flash mobs et. al.).

Commuters seemingly burst into dance during the filming of a T-Mobile commercial

Virtual and Social interactions on the other hand can involve the masses in a relatively short space of time. A good viral YouTube video for example can reach thousands of views within days if executed well. A brand has struck gold if they’ve kept their audience in mind plus triggering their evolved Social instincts to share relevant content to their peer group. With this in mind digital engagement provides a two-way dialogue so brands can react quickly to what their public is enjoying so can mobilise promotional activities, incentives and implement this across many territories. The only drawback I can think of is that you need to have a big audience to speak to and ideally have built up a large enough following for your message to not fall flat. It’s a case of that old philosophical riddle: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” In my opinion, it’s not all a numbers game as a return on engagement can be done with a few loyal fans, followers or connections providing the content that is shared is relevant and meaningful to them.

I feel that a savvy brand should incorporate the two disciplines in their marketing mix (which, by the way, our client is doing). By using the wide reach of Social media, digital tools and multiple channels in conjunction with regional experiential activity means they are getting the best of both worlds. This approach can only reinforce brand awareness and customer interaction, which hopefully for the brand, creates increased ‘talk-ability’ and real lasting memories.