Who Needs Experience?

As a consumer first and marketer second I think the experience factor looks us straight in the eye everyday, all day. The opportunity to consider the customer journey and experience is still too far down the pecking order when planning begins. Businesses start to get excited about next years advertising spend and the ATL’s new digital and social media propositions before the basics have been reviewed .

It seems the hardest thing for businesses  to do currently is place the customer experience central to the brand planning process. Ignore any thoughts of how you will begin communicating to them in social media or instore, until you understand what they want to know, see or find.  The planning process needs to really consider all the triggers and how they will be used to build experience and drive future buying insight. Data is critical for future work, NPD and generally just spending brand money and  agency resoucrces properly.  Unobjective opinions can really fudge the planning process if customer experience is not central to building business and marketing investments.

First  look at all the touch points a product or brand is experienced, on-line, DM, social media, tv, radio, trade communications,promotions and instore pos/pop, instore service, delivery and handling . Evaluate the full customer journey , highlight where and why people get on and off the brand bus . But even  more importantly, strategize where and how the business can get customers back on board, with a friend, or two maybe?

Armed with this information businesses can then start to focus on communications plans and objectives but not before.  The best brand communication routes and tactics can be clearly defined using the same measure. The Customer.

I Can See Past The Telly

It’s the simple links that are the most effective at exploiting consumer behaviour and unfortunately unless my post person/man/woman is on long term sick leave over the last four weeks due to successfully opening up a Paddy Power account and winning through to a ‘Rose of Trailee’ Boot Camp, then a few opportunities are going begging.

I have had no DM, not something I am normally hungry for, but surely now is the time we could be fed more brand creative to draw us into trade, events or  just maximise the experience the opportunity of mass media dominance offers during times like these. Because guess what Telly is under pressure. Telly will not play the central role in brand plans it has done going forward, ad breaks are saturated, messaging is a mess and no one is winning.

This will be the last time media buyers have a free for all, television work is starting to be a bit one dimensional and media consumption will become more complex the next time around. Which is  a good thing. Free media options and social networks are going to dominate as consumers look to formulate opinions early and move ideas around the system based on their individual experiences.

People  will get information quicker, more often and businesses will have to be more engaging with both creative and messaging. Planning will need to consider broader demographics and establish pure routes to really focused target markets, at the exact times of choice to deliver on cue. Television alone cannot do this, it does not have the degree of flexibility to be as dominant in consumers’ experience of brands, sponsorship, events. It has programming but this will always be an opt in or out for consumers.

Creative agencies should welcome this change in the future as it will open the opportunities for specialists to deliver experience and manage communication plans with greater creativity and measurement. Results will be good, mediocrity will become old school.

First Prize in selling Experiential…………Heston Services

Experiential is not a complicated science, in fact its easy.

Heston is King of Experience. No Head King. Honest.

Where Hestons’ logical mind takes him is really a lesson in the art and craft of experience. Firstly he puts himself in the place of the most important part of any experience, the consumer. Then he looks at the brand and creates the moment when these two parties engage for the best outcome for both, a connection, a hit, a win, a memorable experience. Marketers struggle to think like consumers, they choose to not look at the obvious things that put consumers off or just stop the connection being made and experienced properly.

A restaurant is just an environment after all , like a shop, a mall, a website, or an event. Our senses need to be fully engaged to remember something in all these places, a name, a flavour, a fit, a technology or improved service.  Experiential as a science understands and takes advantage of the way consumers react in these places. If a brand or business can understand why they are loved, hated or just liked a little bit then you can take advantage of redefining your perception and proving its time to be re-appraised. Moving your consumers perception from “hated” to “liked a little” would be progress and start conversations in the right place with tomorrows consumer. Heston is able to look at connections and show detailed understanding of how to present an experience and deliver a message through his food flavours, its presentation and delivery and its provenance . Businesses should look to find agencies who van deliver “Hestons’ services” as part of the way the develop insight and connect with the people they value most . The benefit of clear information delivery and continued conversations and connections would move the messaging far beyond this first experience. People love to talk about things they love and hate.  People love to talk about experiences and business can take advantage of this area because its easy to keep the conversation going with the “information hungry” and not just “the hungry”. Keep your eye on Heston if this needs explaining again.

No Pack

In truth its nice to see signs of life in the marketing world.   Let’s be honest, we have all no doubt tried hard to get clients moving with sharper, brighter, more competitive and engaging plans.

But this week’s headlines of the next show stopping, consumer grabbing, coffer generating stuff from the most innovative industry sector in the world is………….THE RETURN OF THE ON-PACK PROMO….NOOOO!!!

As a tactic it obviously works but that’s only if you measure “do people know how to collect tokens?” which they do, no measurement required.  It would be an interesting evaluation metric that measured, “Can you remember unprompted which tokens you have in your purse/wallet now?  This week?  What they were last week?  Last month?  The last time the World cup began?  Before the olypmpics?   Whilst the ashes cricket test was on or during the  rugby world cup?   Or any other tenuously linked sponsorship negotiated franticly before the NPD hits town?   Followed up with…….and what are you buying this week?  ( With your new tokens brand shifting promo consumer!!!!!!)

TV formats are a prime example of a distinct reluctance to engage with innovation as much as consumers could cope with or even want.  Instead they just don’t change because broadcasters stick to one format until all the public are sick to death of it.  Simon Cowell no doubt has a plan for what his programming will look like in three years time……..maybe more quality all round, acoustics, lighting, style and length of the performance, artist styling…..maybe a little less of the not quite right club…quality of entertainment and overall viewing experience even.  We are not getting that now and we can only hope that Simon and the on-pack Pack are moving us slowly forward to a more innovative and engaging plan that as consumers we are pulled towards and want more of.