Articles - GLOBAL EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING STUDY: 2006 Survey Reveals Insights, Benefits - 360 - Jack Morton Worldwide's Experiential Marketing Blog

June 21, 2006
GLOBAL EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING STUDY: 2006 Survey Reveals Insights, Benefits

For the third consecutive year, Jack Morton Worldwide has conducted proprietary research to gauge consumer response and receptiveness to experiential marketing. This year, we collected data on a global basis for the first time, and also probed response to experiential marketing among employees in addition to consumers.

Below is an introductory excerpt of the research findings. To request the complete white paper, follow these instructions:

2006 Experiential Marketing Study: A Survey of Global Response

Excerpt from "2006 Experiential Marketing Study: A Survey of Global Response"

Experiential marketing—broadly defined as live events where audiences interact with a product or brand face to face—continues to grow. Many factors fuel its growth, like the new realities of media consumption and avoidance, and the resulting need to find new ways to reach audiences directly, when and where they are most receptive, even welcoming.

Another reason for experiential marketing's growth is marketers' recognition that when it comes to impressions, quality matters as much as, if not more than, quantity. Quality of impressions is increasingly expressed as engagement, implying relevance, interactivity and a dialogue that extends over time and across touch points.

Because experiential marketing is one of the most literally engaging media available, it's no surprise that marketers are increasingly convinced of its value. The question is no longer whether but how to deploy experiential marketing as part of an integrated marketing plan.

Preference vs. influence
Consumers do not prefer experiential marketing to other media (it ranks third, after TV and the Internet). But they do report that it is more influential. And for marketers, influence—because it conveys action generated by marketing—is clearly more meaningful than preference.

Across demographics and geographies, experiential marketing is cited as the "most engaging" means of interacting with a brand, with 82% of respondents agreeing that participating in a live event is more engaging than other forms of communication. Influence was rated according to three core goals of all marketing, experiential or otherwise:

Create understanding:
80% of respondents agree that participating in experiential marketing would give them more information than other media—thereby creating understanding and echoing the now millennia-old saying of Confucius, "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."
Generate action:
80% agreed they would be more likely to purchase after attending a live marketing event. Of those who had participated in experiential marketing in the past, over 50% reported that they did take action—such as trying a sample (62%), visiting the brand's Web site (52%) or requesting more information from the company (48%).
Inspire advocacy:
Word of mouth is a valuable effect of experiential marketing, and one with special resonance and authenticity given its peer-to-peer manner of delivery. 85% agreed that participating in a brand experience is something they'd tell others about; 54% who attended a past event confirmed that they did tell others about it.

Download the complete white paper to view data supporting additional key findings, such as:

Experiential marketing drives purchase
Experiential marketing is most engaging
Experiences enhance marketing ROI
Employees want to be engaged