There’s been a lot of debate recently about ‘experience brands’ and ‘brand experiences’.
To some people, it seems nothing more than semantics.
But there’s actually an important distinction between the two.
Pick a bank, any bank.
It doesn’t matter because it’s imaginary.
Now let’s walk through the branch.
You can only go in there at lunchtime
Just like everyone else.
So the first thing you notice is the huge queue snaking out of the door.
When you’re finally inside you notice that two of the tellers aren’t working.
Guess what, they’re on their lunch break too.
While you’re queuing you decide to fill in a paying-in slip.
But none of the pens work
You’ll have to do it at the counter.
Finally, a teller becomes free and you get tutted at for not having filled in the paying-in slip beforehand.
You ask to withdraw some money but get told that you need two forms of ID for that transaction.
Storming out of your branch, vowing to change banks at the soonest opportunity.
You’ve just had a brand experience.
A terrible one.
But a brand experience nonetheless.
An experience brand, on the other hand, is a brand that knows how it feels to be in a frustrating queue.
And does something about it.
An experience brand focuses on the behaviours it exhibits at every single touchpoint with anybody and everybody.
An experience brand makes every interaction a differentiator that people will remember for all the right reasons.
Now, can anyone lend me a tenner – I just can’t face going to the bank.

What if you could offer a true training “experience” that provides newly hired or promoted first time leaders the skills they will need to effectively delegate work, set and execute direction, establish constructive dialogues, build trust and credibility, motivate their teams, and work effectively in the agency environment?

Here’s an answer: TASL.

Continue reading "GREAT IDEA FOR THE DAY"

Considered by many to be the grand daddy of experiential marketing,
Bernd Schmitt argued that brands are the rides and the products are the souvenirs.
I like this analogy a lot, but I'd like to build on it as I can't help feeling that it's lacking a little something.
The way I see it (with my squinty vision of course) is that brand is the fairground itself.
It's the blare of the music, the scream of the crowd and the flash of the lights.
The smell of the popcorn and the sweet taste of the candy-floss.
These elements are all experiences that we have with the brand.
As for the product, well, that's the price of admission.
Whether it's a day pass or a hand-full of ride tokens.
There's a value exchange taking place here, where you pay to gain entry, and the experiences are the world you gained entry to in your relationship with the brand.
The important thing is that it so much more about the value of the experience than the cost to get in.
But you'll never forget the thrill of the ride.
Now where are those giant tea cups?

You could argue, but I know you are too nice to argue
So I’ll argue, that the first true ‘experience brand’ was Disney.
Walt wanted to create an immersive multi-sensory world that brought the assets and values of his brand to life for families to enjoy.
He knew that memories are made from great experiences.
Over fifty years later, consumers are still looking for memorable experiences
from their experience brands.
There is nothing Mickey Mouse about that

We love experience, we value them more than we value money.
They enables us to come together and share something real.
But don't just take my word for it.
A recent study by Ryan Howell, an assistant professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, found that buying experiences gave people more happiness than buying material things.
He found that:-
Money doesn't make us happy - experiences do
Experiences increase happiness because they are social in nature
They leave us feeling of invigoration and inspiration
That to me is a whole raft of positive memories.
A return on our investment in anyone’s money

We are moving to a world that will be populated by experience brands, brands that express themselves through their behaviour and we will all be invited to join in.
How do I know?
Its already happening.
Words and promises can only get you so far and even then they need to be backed up by a reality that can be experienced.
Whether you want to build your brand, create growth or transform your organisation, you need to engage and inspire people as individuals.
To be inspired by a brand promise or a business ethos, people need to experience, feel and share the reality of that promise or ethos.
Positive, interactive and involving experiences create the belief, confidence and insight that inspire people to spread the word - and take positive action.
So for those of us whose job it is to create brand experiences, better get those shades ready

A couple of years ago Jack Morton conducted some research into the value of experiences.
Since we’ve been doing this for over 70 years, we weren’t too surprised by the results.
We’ve always known the value of an experience.
It was heartening to see that the consumer responses backed up what we believe.
82% of people find a brand experience more engaging than any other form of marketing communication.
And over 70% told us that experiences would increase their purchase consideration of a brand.
The upshot of all this – experiences give people something to remember you by.
We’ve known this all along.
But it’s good to see that the rest of the industry is finally starting to follow suit.
Better late than never