Events Make Sense

With people becoming increasingly jaded with mass marketing and more skeptical than ever before of advertising, it’s time to start being authentic and like the Old Dirty Bastard so eloquently phrased it – Keep it real!

How, you may ask, does one “Keep It Real”? Stopping short of going out and getting yourself a diamond encrusted grill and an entourage, one of the better ways to be real is through event marketing, trade shows and enhanced retail environments. In each of these areas you create an immersive experience that allows you to interact in an authentic way with your audience. It also gives your audience an opportunity to be completely submersed in your brand, allowing them to touch, smell, see, taste and feel your brand.

When you participate in a live marketing event, there is almost an instant AUTHENTICITY!

Unfortunately events and trade shows are complicated beasts to handle, often leaving managers, coordinators and staff confused and wondering if their marketing dollars are being well spent.

To help focus your event marketing initiatives I have compiled 10 of the more important questions to ask when entering into the live experience and event marketing model.

• What are your specific objectives and are they realistic?
• Are you selecting the right shows & events?
• Are you creating a custom exhibit, modular exhibit, display or banners?
• Will your exhibit/display tell your story in the best possible way?
• What kind of lead time do you need to produce our exhibit?
• Are you introducing a new product or service?
• Why are you at this specific event or trade show? To get new leads, talk to existing clients, build a mailing list, introduce yourself to the industry, etc, etc, etc.
• How have/will you generate interest?
• How do you attract qualified leads?
• How will you measure the ROI?

Bonus

• What is your budget for the event?

By answering these questions, you have a solid base to work from and a good starting point for all your live marketing initiatives. Remember that authenticity is the key to connecting with your prospects. Everyone loves a company that can “Keep it real!”

If you have any questions or would like to discuss how experiential marketing works for you, drop me a line.

Zen and the Art of Marketing

After reading a very special book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, something came to mind. In Persig's book he examines what QUALITY is and what it isn't. Where it came from and how to achieve it.

This got me thinking about the countless marketing messages we are exposed to daily and how few of them offer any quality... Print Ads with poor headlines and abstract visuals that do nothing to advance brand value - creative for creativity's sake one might say. Sampling campaigns with under-trained and aloof staff that simply hand things out (and yes, when people are handing out product with no brand message the product essentially becomes a thing). Broadcast ads that feature horrendous acting, unreal situations and a message with zero intrinsic value.

Happily, this got me on track about what quality IS and the messages and initiatives that prove quality is still apparent in marketing.

A couple examples that really did it for me...

Tide's Clean Start program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIXbBFucH0U
After hurricane Katrina, affected families were able to drop off their laundry to be washed, dried and folded by the Tide CleanStart team, free of charge.

Buckley's Cough Syrup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONu3K8DEikg&feature=related
It tastes awful and it works! They use humor to get the point across and they do it well. This is a quality campaign that has been in existence for over 20 years!!! Buckley's dedication to staying the course and not changing for the sake of change is a real ode to quality. A radio ad where a guy asks “This stuff worked really well but is it really supposed to taste like the juice at the bottom of a trash bag?” and the announcer replies “Why yes it is”

Two very different products, two very different executions - one driving factor - they are quality marketing messages. They are entertaining, engaging and best of all - experiential. They make us feel! Whether it's a warm heart from hearing a corporation may actually have a conscience or a subtle gag reflex from knowing and remembering the taste - we feel something.

If you have any examples of quality work - whether it be your own or someone else's please post a comment.

Peace

Shopping centres get a little creative

"When times get tight, you might forget about the fun of having an ice cream cone and strolling the mall and people watching. Free events and free entertainment are very attractive when times are tough. If you can't afford to take the family out to a movie, you might still go down and hear a band at the mall."

“The nation's biggest malls are pumping up their menu of events this year, adding music festivals, wine tastings, art fairs, high school fundraisers, and cooking seminars for kids, to name a few, as they try to work their way back into American's daily lives.”

Exert from "Malls stage events to make play for people's shopping dollars"
By Sandra M. Jones | Chicago Tribune Reporter
May 24, 2009

Thank you malls! After force feeding consumerism and just expecting us to buy, buy, buy, it seems they are remembering what it is to be a commercial center for a community.

Olden Day Markets were places of interest, excitement, entertainment, bustling, food, music and yes consumerism. People would be entertained, sell and buy wares, barter, eat, pick up the essentials and spend hard earned currency on the luxuries of the time. It was a place for relationships to flourish between buyer and seller. My GOSH it must have been quite the experience!

It’s refreshing to see a little of the life and spectacle brought back into our commercial centers. This gives brands the perfect opportunity to encapsulate their image and personality while giving people a reason to go out to visit the mall. The real rub will be when the markets level out. Will they go back to business as usual or continue to be creative in the ways they attract the masses?

Managing Expectations and the art of exceeding them. Or... How my dog and a homeless person taught me that little things make a big difference.

Today I had a very powerful experience. One that wasn’t controlled by brands, or a company. In fact, this particular lesson came from a homeless meth addict (this is an assumption - it could be crack) in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side, Canada’s poorest community.

I was walking Julius home from my morning excursion for coffee at The Smart Mouth Cafe, when we came across a young guy, no more than 19 or 20, sitting at the corner writing a sign with his breakfast sandwich sitting on the ground next to him. Julius, being the scavenging little road-food vacuum that he is, decided this gentleman’s breakfast would compliment the pizza and chicken bones he had earlier quite nicely. Without my notice Julius snapped up that sandwich and had it halfway down (wrapper and all), before either of us noticed.

I apologized profusely to Matt (I learned his name later), but there was a look of utter disappointment that washed over his face. Why wouldn’t their be? He just lost his breakfast to a spoiled dog who doesn’t listen as well as he should. I offered him the measly $0.50 I had in my pocket, and the only response he could muster was “Thanks... I’ll try and find something to eat later. Don’t worry about it.” I apologized again and turned home.

The look on Matt’s face, one of being beaten by the world, constantly being let down and complacency with taking what life’s fed him, kept running through my mind. Upon returning home, I filled a bag of food. A box of protein cereal, a half dozen or so granola bars, a carton of soup and an apple. Not terribly much in my mind, but something I hoped would at least give him sustenance for the day.

When I found Matt again, he barely remembered who I was - I’m sure at the time it happened, I was just another yuppie f*ck walking his dog in Gastown. I introduced myself and told him again how sorry I was for my dog’s actions (he told me not to worry - happens all the time). I handed him the small bag of groceries and simply told him - if he wants them, their his.

Ladies and gentlemen, never have I seen gratitude like this. He thanked me up, down, left, right and centre. When I first saw Matt, all I noticed were the scars and burns on his face from abusing a poison, but now, a smile illuminated his face! He was beaming! But, the one thing that will stay with me forever was what he asked me after I gave it to him...

“Can I share it?”

WOW! I was awestruck. How, in a day and age where it’s difficult to borrow $5 from your mom, does a man with nothing have the strength of character to share what little he has? Man - this blew my mind!

I’m telling this story for a few reasons, and yes they deal with managing and exceeding expectations.
- When I first met Matt, Julius ate his sandwich, I gave him $0.50 and went home - expectation met. Why would a random guy care about a street kid? His expectation was I had simply moved on.
- I came back with more food for Matt - expectation exceeded!!! The expression that came across his face as he searched through the grocery bag was amazing. For a brief moment, it looked as though he had left his situation and circumstances behind.
- Matt asked me if he could share the food I brought him. Such a simple question. Such a simple answer, but the sentiment that was loaded in this question was beyond measure. EXPECTATION EXCEEDED!

The same story happens daily in business transactions. Perhaps not to the same extent, but it happens. People buy a product or service, they deal with associates & CSR reps, they call a customer support line and their expectations are being “met”.

Well Bravo! Business as usual! Way to reach that low benchmark of getting that consumers have come to expect and loathe from corporate America.

The lesson to be learned here is that when a business or brand starts to exceed expectations - unusual things can happen.

When I buy your product - make sure it works the way you promised and back it up! Years ago I bought a pair of sunglasses from a snowboarding eyewear manufacturer - after the arm fell off (about 2 years after purchase) the company replaced them. No receipt, no hassles - no reason for me to look for another brand of sunglasses. Thank you Smith. Unexpected payoff - at least 2 family members, 4 friends and 2 colleagues have purchased Smith Sunglasses at my recommendation.

When I need help with your product - HELP ME!!! All too often a person will call a customer support line and be bounced around from menu to automated menu often for tens of minutes before finally being able to speak to a live human being. This is what we have all come to expect when calling a business or government agency. Imagine my surprise when I called my cell provider and talked to a live person almost immediately! My issue was resolved within 5 minutes. Still don’t like the telecommunications industry, but they made me feel a little better about the monthly beating they give my wallet.

Every once in a while, like people, a business or brand can exceed expectations. These are the great ones! The businesses people write and talk about with their friends. I recommend that everyone learns what's expected from them. Whether it's your spouse, boss or customer - learning their expectations and going beyond is one of the better ways to ensure love and loyalty.