I have become exhausted and offended by the comment that experiential marketing is “too expensive and immeasurable.” If that’s the case for you, then you are not doing it right!
The marketing industry recognizes the dramatic shift in consumer behavior – empowered, impervious and discerning – but what have they done about it except talk?
The strategy and tactics to engage people have not changed proportionately.
Direct interaction with a brand is the ‘stickiest,’ allowing consumers to make the brand story their own. This embeds a level of ownership that no other traditional marketing tactics can achieve.
Digital storytelling and social media have offered experiential marketing (XM) the scale necessary to achieve broad reach, amplified outcomes. Strategic experience design, when done right, has the consumer chasing the brand. Not the other way around.
At All Terrain, we’ve been in the business of building strategic brand experience for over 21 years. You think we could have lasted that long if we didn’t know how to bring measurable, tangible results back to our clients?
Through the years, All Terrain has been responsible for securing some of the top number of qualified leads, driving record number of people to retail and surpassing sales goals for clients like GM, Maserati, Camarena, Illinois Lottery, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Penfolds wine and many more.
The fact is, our campaigns lead to sales! We consistently deliver a powerful ROE (Return on Experience).
We start with a true understanding of the consumer and what we desire them to do AFTER an experience. Work backwards. This can ONLY happen when clients invite the XM team to the table early and share initial campaign insights, strategy and goals.
XM is often an afterthought. Which is CRAZY since your XM agency is the team in front of consumers 365 days a year. The team that has key insights into what a consumer will partake in… and what they won’t.
Data sharing is imperative for us. We are often inserting levers into programs that ultimately lead to sales and proof of sales. Think special offers, coupons, limited time offers or gifts with purchase. The client needs to be open to sharing sales data with the XM agency.
Unlike traditional advertising agencies, where altering a campaign strategy in real time is nearly impossible, XM agencies can test and learn in the field. That means adjusting messaging and tactics in real time. It’s AMAZING how reactive we can be. And how often that agility has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars, creating deeper relationships with consumers and retailers.
Measuring ROE is not only possible, it’s easy if XM agencies and traditional agencies work together from the beginning.
Here are my MUSTS for empowering your XM team to deliver the most impactful results:
- Have your XM agency at the table early and part of strategy.
- Clients need to share data so we know what is working.
- Share sales goals.
- Engage with key sales teams early and prior to finalizing campaign plans.Introduce sales levers into the campaigns up front.
- Test and Learn: If a tactic isn’t delivering, get ahead of if it quickly and adjust in real time whenever possible.
- Keep campaign length to shorter windows for better test and learn opportunities. Then roll it out in longer form or year over year.