Creative Clipping: Four inspirations from retail technology

In this creative clipping, we explore the increased use of technology in the purchasing process and identify four interesting technological uses in the path to purchase.

1. Fashion: Kate Spade

During the summer of 2013, lifestyle, accessories and fashion brand Kate Spade created four 24-hour pop-up store fronts in vacant retail spaces in New York City. The store fronts included interactive windows which displayed the ‘Kate Spade Saturday’ line of casual ladies clothing and accessories. Shoppers could view the line on the interactive windows and purchase items using their telephone numbers. Shoppers in selected areas of the city received their items via a free delivery service within one hour of purchase, with payment being taken at the point of delivery. We believe that this is inspirational because the activity brings a different experience to the online shopping process as well as surprising and delighting customers with the delivery of their purchases within the hour. This activity could be duplicated by other retailers around the world in the fashion, grocery or cosmetics sectors. However, the promise of the free delivery within the hour may vastly reduce the delivery area in a city with high traffic. 

2. Online Technology: Metail

Before the internet was popular, most people visited retail stores when buying new clothes. Retail stores usually gave customers the option to try on clothing in a fitting room in order to make a decision on their purchase. Online clothes shopping, where shoppers can view items on models or mannequins before deciding on their purchase, is ever-increasing in the UK. Without the opportunity to ‘try before you buy’, online clothes shopping could be a bit of a gamble. Cambridge University graduate Tom Adeyoola has created Metail, a service which uses 3D technology to allow users to create a version of themselves online to view what clothes will look like before committing to buy them. Users can create their own avatar using measurements of height and weight, as well as hips and waist size. The avatar also includes six skin tone options and two hairstyles. Once an item is selected, users can click the ‘try me’ option to view the clothing on their avatar. We like this because it gives a glimpse into the online shopping of the future. At the moment, the service is only being tried by a few retailers, but hopefully the app will improve and this will become the normal route to shopping online in the future. 

3. Mobile Technology: Walmart

Multi-national discount store Walmart partnered with consumer goods company, Procter andGamble to adapt the retail experience for commuters in Toronto, Canada from in-store to bus shelters. The ‘online bus stores’ displayed QR codes linked to goods such as toothpaste and laundry detergent which commuters could scan using their smartphones. After purchasing the items, they were delivered to homes for free. Walmart are looking at rolling this out on a larger scale across the city. Waitrose has revealed plans to install collection lockers in travel hubs including Gatwick airport, allowing travellers to shop using their mobiles abroad and collecting groceries on arrival. Tesco trialled a similar activity in 2012 where customers could scan items using smartphones from points set up in the departure lounge, which were delivered to their homes once they had returned from holiday. We like these because they make use of mobile commerce, which is growing in popularity with the rise in smartphone purchases. It also means that people with busy schedules will have a quick and convenient option for shopping. However, encouraging purchases on mobile phones would reduce the number of overall store visits and therefore change the grocery shopping experience, including reducing the number of impulse purchases.

4. Cosmetics: Birchbox

After a number of successful pop-up store events, online retailer Birchbox have opened their first bricks and mortar store in New York City. Originally set up as an e-commerce business, Birchbox offers a selection of beauty samples every month to their subscribers. The store takes the concept into a retail environment by hosting iPads and touch screens where customers can complete questionnaires in order to receive personalised product recommendations, customising the shopping experience for each visitor. With products from over 250 brands, Birchbox provides visitors with a large choice to try and buy. Products are grouped by category such as lips, hair, eyes, in the same way that they would be filtered online as opposed to by brand which is how stores are traditionally set up. "It's the best way to discover beauty" said Katia Beauchamp, one of the company’s founders. Birchbox subscribers also have the opportunity to attend free cosmetology classes held in the store. We like this because it provides a new experience in cosmetics shopping, allowing consumers to try a range of products that they may not have seen. Though the pop-up stores have been quite successful, it would be interesting to see the permanent version of this innovative retail experience lasts.

Creative Clipping: Easter Creativity

1. The luxury product

Royal Warrant Holder Fortnum and Mason is known for extravagance and their 2014 Easter collection was no exception. The department store launched a jewellery Easter egg, retailing at £200. The wardrobe-shaped Eau de Nil box with gold trimmings held a Valrhona milk chocolate egg, lined with edible gold leaf. The drawer at the bottom of the box held an assortment of milk and dark chocolates filled with dulce de leche and praline. The inside also featured one of two limited edition designer necklaces created by London-based jewellery designer, Alex Monroe. The bunny necklace featured a gold-plated rabbit, while the bird necklace featured a decorative bird perched on a gold-plated twig, wearing a regal crown and finished with a sparkling diamond. We like this because it brings a luxury and glamour to the traditional Easter egg exchange. The limited edition necklace keepsake makes this a great gift…if, of course, you can afford to splurge out £200! 

2. The city adventure

The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt took place in New York in the three weeks leading up to Easter. The egg hunt saw over 250 eggs, each decorated by artists and designers including Carolina Herrera, Marchesa and Tracey Emin, being displayed across the five city boroughs. Residents and visitors could participate by downloading a virtual Easter egg basket in the form of a mobile app. The app allowed participants to log the eggs that they had found and discover the locations of others. 10 participants had to discover the same egg before it appeared on the app’s map. Successful egg-hunters were then entered into a prize draw to win one of three Fabergé pendant necklaces. At the end of the three weeks, the eggs were displayed at the Rockefeller Center and then auctioned off, with the proceeds being split between non-profit organisations, Elephant Family and Studio in a School. We like this because it combines an experience of adventure with art and fashion in the name of two great causes.

3. The captured moment

Lindt, the master chocolatier, ran their Lindor #MomentofBliss campaign over Easter 2014. The social media campaign which ran on Facebook and photo-sharing site, Instagram, encouraged the UK public to submit photographs depicting their #MomentofBliss for a chance to win one of five Lindor chocolate boxes. In order to enter into the competition, a photograph was submitted and the type of moment had to be described using one of seven pre-selected options which included Easter treat, me time and work break. Those who took part could also select which Lindor chocolate flavour was featured in the photo as well as adding a further description of the moment captured. We like this because it gets consumers involved with the brand, giving them the opportunity to both capture and savour their moment of bliss, evoking memories when looking back on the images. The use of social media also meant that the moment could be shared with friends and family, further promoting the Lindt brand.

4. The immersive experience

Baileys held an adults-only immersive theatrical experience on Saturday 19th April, promoting their Belgian chocolate mix drink, Baileys Chocolat Luxe. The Baileys Feaster Egg Hunt cost £25 per person and took place at Harvey Nichols, London. The live experience took audiences on a unique journey across all five floors of the luxury department store, travelling back in time to the 18^th century Rococo movement where they interacted with actors playing royalty, subjects and courtiers. The actors assisted audiences in completing their journeys by finding the Baileys Chocolat Luxe Easter Egg which then unlocked a six-course feast served on the Fifth Floor Terrace. We love this because it is a great brand experience combining theatrics with an Easter egg hunt. This is the type of activity which is shared and talked about for years to come. Also, as the adventures took place whilst the store was open to shoppers, it gave Baileys a great opportunity to promote across the board.

5. The television advert

Global discount supermarket chain Lidl launched three Easter adverts showcasing their wide range of foods, wines and chocolates to television audiences in the UK. The adverts, created by TBWA\London, followed the format of two people having a conversation with a spread of desserts, wines, foods and Easter chocolates around them. They begin with one person asking the other to repeat some shocking news that they have just shared, which the viewing audience did not see. The second person then goes on to give news to which the viewing audience would expect to cause an extreme reaction but this does not happen. The first person is more interested in and surprised about the wide range of quality foods from Lidl. We like these advertisements as they are both humorous and informative, surprising and delighting, creating points for the viewing audiences to talk about. We also think that this advert will be successful in driving new customers into Lidl supermarkets as it encourages an air of curiosity.

6. The themed party

To kick off the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, London speakeasy Barts held a Mad Hatter’s Hendricks Tea Party. The 1920s prohibition era themed bar based in Chelsea, South West London, served cocktail sharers in teapots, cupcakes and a special Hendricks teacup-tipple to retain the tea party theme into the evening. Revellers gained free entry into the bar and had the opportunity to take part in a fancy dress contest where the prize winners were pulled out of a top hat in a typical Mad Hatter fashion. The highlight of the evening was the golden Easter egg hunt which kept customers in the Easter spirit! We like this because it combines the childhood fantasy theme with grown-up cocktails. It was a great way of continuing the journey from the traditional afternoon activity into the evening and we have taken note! The collaboration with alcohol brand Hendricks gin meant that the venue could serve special event cocktails, thus further promoting the drinks brand and hopefully gaining new customers.

Take a look at The Network Experiential’s Pinterest board where we’ve put together a collage of some of our favourite Easter and spring-time things.

 By Kayleigh Griffith, Account Executive, The Network Experiential

Five reasons why Experiential Marketing campaigns can fail in the On-trade

The drinks industry are masters at experiential marketing.  In fact, as a sector they have been and still remain in the top three investors in our media, and evidence suggests that this is not going to change anytime soon. 

So why is it that a great creative idea can sometimes get lost in the On-trade.  Brands invest heavily in crafting their brand story and making a promise to their consumers, yet at the moment of truth the experience can feel incongruent.

At the Network Experiential we are passionate believers in the fact that implementation and creativity go hand in hand when it comes to the On-trade.  Here we look at five reasons why experiential marketing campaigns can sometimes fail…

1.Poor planning

Simple but so important.  An On-trade experiential campaign takes a disproportionately long time to plan and organise.  The result of poor planning usually manifests itself in activity taking place in the wrong outlet type at the wrong time and talking to the wrong crowd, ouch. Our tips are firstly; give yourself enough time, ideally a 90-day lead-time.  Then develop a ‘client-agency’ project team that includes a representative from each client department, especially field sales.  Identify your target outlets and meticulously segment your data accordingly.  It is critical at this stage to sense check the data with the field executives, or conversely, task the field team to select their best outlets. 

2. Lack of trade engagement 

In the search of the perfect consumer experience, brand campaigns can sometimes miss out the trade.  The trade plays the role of gatekeeper and will ultimately be the ones who advocate your brand after you have moved on.  Brands forget that the trade, of all levels, are continuously bombarded by brands, so take due care to capture their imagination and reward success.  Treat them as you would do the consumer.  From a practical point of view, include them on briefings throughout the campaign process and be sure to measure their hard work, mystery-shopping works well in the On-trade.  From a broader perspective, inspire them through creative ideas in line with the wider campaign.  

3. Overcomplicated idea

The On-trade can be a tough place to engage people in an instant. We have witnessed brands’ over complicating what should be a simple message. Taste this, redeem that, enter this and once you’re done, go online to share. Argh. The On-trade is about social time for your audience, so don’t intrude too much and expect them to over participate. Our best advice is to keep things SIMPLE, do fewer things very well.  Make sure the idea is consistent with the wider campaign but don’t ‘shoehorn’ an ATL mechanic. And finally social media can definitely play a role in On-trade experiences but don’t use it as a bolt on, make online intrinsic to what you’re saying and doing overall.

4. Poor experience execution 

This can often be one of the main culprits of underperforming activity and quite simply it is not doing the basics properly.  We’ve identified three key areas of the experience to get right and they are firstly, the people. Select the right brand experts to represent your brand and engage with your audience. Invest in an inspiring briefing session and give them a clear script to get your key messages across.  Secondly, the sample; stop at nothing to make every serve or pour absolutely perfect as this will ultimately do the talking. And finally, be very clear on the call to action, whether it is go to the bar to redeem or go online to share, walk your consumer through it.  

5. No measurement 

“If you’re not keeping score, you’re just practicing” John McEnroe once said.  All to often clients rely on basic reporting to justify their On-trade experiential activity, so how can we know if it ever truly works?  Our advice is to set your evaluation objectives at the very outset and use these objectives to define your operational approach, such as numbers and types of outlets.  Identify, a panel of outlets and negotiate the use of their sales data both pre, during and post your live activity to measure success.  Use a control panel to compare and contrast the data.  If you want to go the extra mile, collect consumer details and do a ‘call-back’ to gauge recall, perception change and behavior change.

The Network Experiential offer a planning, creative, staffing and implementation service for On-trade experiences, as well as many other channels and environments. Please follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest to keep up to date with new news and industry insight.

Simon Couch, Director of Experiential

Creative Clipping: Three brands heightening experiences around Mother’s Day

1. Waitrose supermarket partnered with Kew Gardens for their #ThanksMum campaign to create a 3D floral card at the Royal Botanical Gardens. In appreciation of mums everywhere, Waitrose promoted the campaign using social media platforms and their own website where they encouraged the public to share their own #ThanksMum messages. Julie Randall, Senior Manager of Digital Communications at Waitrose said, “We can’t wait for customers to get involved online and share their personal and touching messages, bringing the card to life at Kew Gardens". For each message shared, a flower was planted, creating the real life Mother’s Day card which went on display to the public over the weekend. The campaign was further incentivised by entering the messages shared into a competition with one of Waitrose’s Mother’s Day treats up for grabs. We loved the use of the social hashtag within the campaign title but especially loved the partnership between Waitrose and Kew Gardens - #Perfect!

2. Charity Oxfam created an interactive art event at Westfield London ahead of Mother’s Day. Artist Lizzie Mary Cullen was tasked with designing the ‘happiest Mother’s Day card’ by illustrating a giant canvas card-like structure that was on show to the public in the atrium of London’s Westfield shopping centre. The five day campaign saw members of the public encouraged to visit a dedicated website where they could populate square spaces of the canvas with special messages for mums. They could then share the web link on social media and were also given an option to donate to the Oxfam Mother Appeal. The event was filmed and streamed online so that the public could watch the live illustration of their chosen square and view their submitted messages coming to life. The campaign also attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the most contributions to a greetings card. We love this because of the online and live elements involving those who were unable to visit the activity in London. 

3. Birmingham’s tourist attraction, Cadbury World, gave miniature boxes of Cadbury ‘Thank You’ chocolates to mums visiting the attraction over the Mother’s Day weekend. Those who brought along their handcrafted cards were rewarded with the chocolates, providing an added tasty experience to their visit. Diane Mitchell, Marketing Manager at Cadbury World said, “Being a mum can sometimes be hard work which is why we felt it would be nice to give families visiting Cadbury World the chance to show how much she is appreciated with a special chocolatey ‘thank you!’”. For us, this is a simple but highly effective way of enhancing the experience of a visit to Cadbury World for both mothers and their children alike. It is a positive gesture which mums will talk about with friends and family, thus promoting the Cadbury brand, long after the event.

For more creative inspiration from this Mother’s Day, take a look at The Network Experiential’s Pinterest board with great ways to spoil your mum!

Author: Kayleigh Griffith, Account Executive, The Network Experiential

Creative Clipping: Eight inspiring thoughts from the alcoholic drinks industry

1. Who said learning can’t be fun. Raising The Bar, a not-for-profit organisation based in New York, are challenging perceptions of how education is consumed. Quite simply, they are taking education into the bar environment. The first of 50 events is happening at the end of April and aims to make learning fun and not to be seen as a chore.  “We want to turn lectures into part of popular culture – something that people go and see at night, no different from the way they would see a concert or comedy show” founder Yali Saar says.

 2. Pernod Ricard have taken one step into the future with their latest innovation.  The ‘Bar at Home’ concept gives cocktail lovers the chance to concoct their own drinks from a kitchen top drinks maker. It mimics a designer library, made up of “container books” each holding a sealed bottle of spirits and all connected to a smart platform. It activates basic home delivery, triggered according to the container level, to a whole range of tutorials about mixology.  A Pernod Ricard spokesperson says “We are utterly committed to the conviviality of the future”.  We’ll raise a glass to that (but only when it hits the shelves).

3. The use of mobile in the On-trade seems rather over due to us.  However, it seems to be here, and it’s none other than Guinness who are leading the way. They have launched a new mobile app, Guinness Plus,  for Android and iPhone that rewards users when they check-in to pubs. The App, which was over a year in development, aims to reward pub goers and increase customer footfall in the on-trade. Users can check-in to over 6,500 pubs in the UK and Northern Ireland using the App. The more they check-in, the more likely they are to be rewarded with prizes!

4. Jameson Irish Whiskey created a stir on St Patrick’s Day 2014 (17^th March) by making a limited edition craft beer.  They collaborated with London Microbrewery Beavertown to make a 9% ABV Imperial Stout, brewed using 18-year-old Whiskey barrels from the Jameson Distillery.  The brew is called Ger’onimo and is available in selected outlets.  If you’re not quick enough (only 3,000 have been produced), we can tell you it has a dark, rich flavour reminiscent of dark chocolate, oak and of course, fine whiskey. A bargain at £10 a bottle.

5. Heineken has teamed up with DJ Armin van Buuren to launch a global responsible drinking campaign called ‘Dance More, Drink Slow.’. This is a pan global initiative and undoubtedly shows their commitment to the responsible drinking cause. The tie-up aims to promote moderate drinking on nights out and is accompanied by a new music track, ‘Save My Night’, and a short film ‘The Experiment’, both of which were produced by Armin van Buuren. The main message is that revellers can still enjoy themselves, while also remaining in control.

6. Staying on the theme of responsible drinking, who’s up for a mocktail? The Redemption Bar, a non alcoholic establishment, is the newest edition to West London. Founder Catherine Salway wants to show Londoners there's fun to be had without help from booze. After a successful summer of residencies, including at Netil House, Redemption has landed permanently, in Ladbroke Grove. There is clearly something in the idea of a dry bar as they are springing up all over the place.  Great drinks without a hangover, we love the idea. 

7. Strongbow claims to have created the world’s very first digital bottle top with their new ‘StartCap‘ installations, where opening bottles of Strongbow triggers unexpected things on-premise in bars and at events. It’s powered by Radio-frequency Identification (RFID), with the bottle caps triggering/connecting the RFID signal as they are opened. This in turn is picked up by RFID scanners and translated into real-world actions like turning on projections, starting music and launching bangers. Nice idea, in the right environment! 

8. Carlsberg are offering their Danish consumers a new way to enjoy Carlsbeg and Tuborg.  The Happy Hour 2.0 initiative renews the age old bar promotion to fit with a younger, more tech savvy audience. Visitors to participating bars are given the opportunity to keep buying the beer at half price by uploading pictures to Instagram with the name of the venue and the #HappyBeerTime hashtag. Carlsberg has fitted the bars with a dongle that streams a counter to TV screens updating participants and bar staff in real-time as content is submitted. The promotion is yet to be trialed in the UK.  The Portman Group may have some questions before it is.

For more creative inspiration from the alcoholic drinks industry, check out The Network Experiential Pinterest board of images from adverts and campaigns to brands that we love. Cheers!

Creating a storm: Two retail trends that demonstrate the real value of Experiential Marketing.

Online shopping has put consumers in the driving seat.  Shoppers now have 24-hour convenience and can do their own research at the tap of a screen.  In fact, Internet shopping increased by 17.8% in 2013¹, suggesting a revolution rather than just an evolution.  Therefore, you’d be led to believe that shopping is increasingly becoming a transactional process, right? Wrong.

A recent survey of the shopping habits of 18- to 25-year-olds suggests that just over two thirds of them - some 68%² - prefer to shop in stores for clothing and shoes.  Furthermore, 53% of shoppers claim that friends are most likely to influence them to buy new clothes, rather than responding to a magazine advert, which is 20%³.  This seems to be the reason why retailers are doing everything they can to create advocates, or brand friends, that will share their good news.  To achieve this, creating the right brand experience is critical to having an emotional connection rather than just a transactional one. 

Simply put, the shopper experience is, and will remain, top of the agenda for a long time.  But how are brands surprising and delighting today’s consumers?  We’ve identified two retail trends to help shed some light..

1. High street retailers creating experiences out of store:

Retailers are looking beyond their own space and taking themselves out to consumers.  By creating experiences in places where consumers would not expect, they are achieving social fuel, which in theory leads to brand advocates.  In February this year, Topshop used their London Fashion Week catwalk at the Tate Modern as the content to drive exciting experiences away from the action.  Consumers were given the chance to experience a live stream of the action at their Oxford Street store shop window. Five lucky winners were plucked out of the crowd and taken south of the river for a front row seat at the show.  Topshop cleverly took the action online too to achieve much wider coverage.  The fashion show was streamed live where consumers could ‘Shoot and Share’ the catwalk looks they loved with their friends online.

Another example is New Look, which has created its own branded double-decker bus which goes on tour across the UK this month to take the stress out of shopping for jeans. New Look wants to delight shoppers by giving them a sleek and fun way to try and buy denim wear. The bus has its own spacious changing facilities, ‘chillax area’ and nail bar, as well as a ‘Selfie Studio’ where people snap and share online for the chance to win £500 worth of vouchers. The mobility of this experience means that it can go to locations at specific times to suit the needs of their target audience, and give them more than just a store experience.

Other exciting out of store retail experiences seem to be popping up everywhere.  Burberry launched a raft of experiential activity during last year’s festive campaign. An iconic delivery van took to the streets of London supported by fashion events and a pop-up experience in Harrods.   Whilst GAP, and this is one I personally experienced, deployed their ‘Cheer Squads’. A group of beautiful, GAP wearing hipsters performing carefully choreographed skits for unsuspecting shoppers in London.   It was quite excellent street theatre that achieved its objective of driving footfall to their stores.

2. Online retailers creating their own physical store experiences:

This emerging trend, labelled "clicks to bricks" or "e-tail to retail", looks set to write yet another chapter in the story of the recent retail revolution. 

With the fact that 68% of consumers prefer to shop in-store for shoes and clothing, it is no wonder that online retailers are searching for ways to connect with their audience offline.  And it’s the retailers that are willing to create rich and fun experiences that seem to be winning.

A good example of this is Rapha, the premium cycle wear brand currently being donned by Team Sky.  The business started life in 2004 as an online retailer and they quickly realised that to achieve a genuine connection with their consumers, they needed a real world experience to build their character.  Rapha opened five stores around the world in London, San Francisco, New York, Osaka and Sydney.  The power of these store experiences has led to a meteoric rise for the brand in a relatively established and crowded market place. The brand experience goes way beyond great design and mood lighting.  They tap into a cycling lifestyle and culture by providing a café, pro bike race screening evenings and its very own club where riders can join other enthusiasts on rides to the countryside.  The majority of their sales remain online, but these precision-engineered experiences have been invaluable in developing their brand story.

Bonobos, a US clothing online retailer, is another good example. They seem to have gone one step further by creating pop-up guide stores, a concept that involves shoppers browsing merchandise then ordering online for a home delivery.  As well as providing a unique experience for its audience, it also creates great content for them to use to excite and energise their online community.

Final thought:

The irony seems to be that the digital and Omni channel revolution is in fact making the retail brand experience, whether in-store or out of store, more important than it has ever been. People talk about their experiences and if they have a great one, they’ll ultimately become an advocate, which in today’s retail world seems to be the Holy Grail.

The Network Experiential is an experiential marketing agency specialising in insight, creative, production and staffing.  We are experienced in retail activation (both in-store and out of store) and pop-up solutions. Please do contact us for more information.

By Simon Couch, Director of Experiential, The Network Experiential

Sources:

1. British Retail Consortium-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor for December 2013

2. LIM College Students' Survey “Shopping Trends Among 18-25 Year-Olds” 2012

3. Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor 2013

Retail: Five step guide to delivering the perfect in-store brand experience

Over the next five years, the retail sector will experience more change than it has in the previous century.  Providing experiential marketing can keep apace with this change, we believe that in-store ambassadors and brand-owned experiences could truly excel.  Read our five step guide to success…

1. Collaborate with retailers  
Using creativity that fits with a retailer’s core values and practical requirements can make you a really valuable partner.  When planning activity, try and establish what the common core values are between your brand and the retailers, and how you can make activity feel exclusive to them.  From a practical point of view, be aware of a retailer’s Omni-channel approach and how you fit within it.  Work out how you can leverage the retailer’s magazine; blogs; website; social media and mobile to drive traffic to your in-store ambassador.  If your brand experience helps the retailer to overcome their business challenges too, they will be prepared to go the extra mile to help you succeed.  

2. Use technology to your advantage
By combining the physical and the digital, brands can undoubtedly increase the power of their in-store experiences. Tablets especially offer brands sleeker ways to engage shoppers. As well as instigating verbal dialogue, tablets can provide guided shopping; video and audio content; the ability to interact with social networks; newsletter sign-up; valuable content such as blogs about the product and a data capture mechanic.  Brands need to start conversations in-store and continue them long into the future.  Furthermore, retailers are beginning to adopt mobile payment techniques.  If brands can integrate with these systems, they will ultimately control the entire sales process, which is quite a powerful thought.  From a retailer perspective, freeing up their tills and driving maximum sales will always be a big win.

3. Deliver a brilliant experience  
Brands need to capture the shopper’s imagination in an instant.  There is no blueprint for creativity, but we can highlight some critical considerations.  Firstly, ensure that the experience overcomes your target shopper’s barriers, both functional and emotional.  Secondly, be consistent with your out-of-store message and content; let the shopper make the connection as they move along the path to purchase.  Thirdly, develop an experience that can live in-store, both with and without your ambassador, ideally something that can be operated by the shop staff themselves.  Finally and most importantly, use the best and brightest staff to represent your brand in-store.  Make sure you recruit and fully train ambassadors that will appeal to your target shopper as well as integrate with the retailer’s team. 

4. Engage store staff
Make every attempt to take the store staff on your brand journey; by doing this you will create advocates and sustain the power of your brand experience after you have gone.  Training is invaluable, so create and disseminate digital material that is portable and easily accessible.  Bring to life your brand training outside of retail hours to reduce distraction, and remember to make it memorable and inspiring.  Once trained, incentivise your colleagues to deliver your brand messages and drive sales.  Mystery shopping support and sales data are great ways to monitor store staff performance, and reward accordingly.  And finally, from a courtesy point of view, brand ambassadors should integrate and socialise with their surrogate team members; an ‘us and them’ attitude can be negative for all.  

5. Evaluate and optimise
Set your evaluation objectives at the very outset.  Use these objectives to define your operational approach, such as the number of stores and ambassador shifts.  Once the activity is live, the most straightforward measure is sales data. Be sure to request the retailer’s Epos data, with a control set, in the activity negotiation stages. As well as instant sales, remember to keep track of secondary sales, both in-store (when you are not there) as well as online, with promotional codes.  In terms of ongoing reporting, ambassadors are unique in the sense that clients should be offered real-time performance data.  Be sure to work with your agency to analyse this data and make changes to the activity, if necessary, on a daily basis.

The Network Experiential offers a full retailer brand experience service.  This includes planning, creative, staffing, implementation and evaluation.  Please get in touch for more details.

Xbox One vs. PS4: Who won the Experiential Marketing battle?

Within the space of a week, back in November, the two heavy weights of the gaming console world launched in London and across the world.  The showcasing of genuine gaming innovation was always going to be a spectacle, and this did not let us down. With ambitious ‘live’ plans and seemingly sizeable budgets to match, it was great to sit on the sidelines and watch the action unfold.  
But, from an experiential point of view, who came out on top?  Firstly let’s look at what they did.

Xbox One:
The Xbox One Square, a takeover of London’s Leicester Square on the launch evening was no mean feat.  The fact that this was the first ever concert in ‘the Square’ was a real statement of intent.  A sculpted stage and light show gave the spotlight to celebrity talent in the form of Plan B doing a live gig and Andros Townsend taking to the controls on the big screen.  Partygoers were entertained throughout by well executed street theatre and even an appearance from the Stig, arriving in a McLaren Supercar.
Cracking entertainment it was, but the thought went further.  The event was tied in with a pop-up store in The Trocadero, to ensure the glitz was tied in with the important bit, the Xbox One going on sale at midnight that evening.  This was mirrored in 500 stores throughout the UK with live streaming of the concert to those retailers.  Not content with just the UK, the launch stretched to New York and LA.  Predictably such an event attracted national press interest, with coverage in The Telegraph, Mail and Express. 

PS4:
One week later and the PS4 launch was in full swing.  Their ‘London first’ was to adapt the iconic lights of the OXO Tower chimney to the recognisable ‘triangle, circle, cross, square’.  This was a real gold star production and provided great teaser material in the two weeks leading up to the launch date.
As well as lighting up the skyline, PS4 also produced a pop-up store on Bedfont Street in Covent Garden.  Again, this was set up before the launch date to provide core gamers, celebrities and press the chance to get involved and try out the new goods.  It also provided the focus for PlayStation First Development, an academic development programme for young and future game developers. Nice thought!
And then launch night, a VIP party at the OXO Tower attended by a host of celebrities with live music from the Rizzle Kicks and McBusted.  All coordinated with Apartment 4 in Paris, France’s equivalent.

Verdict:
The reality is that without access to the campaign objectives and results, we cannot scientifically judge the outcome.  However, we can give our opinion. We think that both sets of live activity were of a very high quality and undoubtedly caught the attention of core and casual gamers, and even beyond.
But, what caught our eye was Xbox One’s approach to retailer coordination and ensuring they took the message out of London and included their partners across the country.  At the end of the day, this is an NPD and ensuring the end retailers were engaged and empowered really set this activity apart.  We also like this because this level of coordination is not a budget driven achievement, just smart thinking at both ends of the communications spectrum.

That said, well done to both.  We look forward to the next bout in a few years time.

5 Reasons why Experiential Marketing will be the most powerful medium for the Travel Industry in 2014

The changing role of travel agents and the rise of online booking in recent years has left consumers with a complex and time consuming travel booking process.  This is why experiential marketing is gathering momentum in the travel sector, and for very good reason.  Here are five tips to explain why…

1. The Travel Experience  

Most people have their most profound experiences through the sights, sounds, smells, touches and taste that travel provides.  Experiential marketing has the power to create inspirational experiences that touch all these senses.  Compared to other forms of media, experiential marketing has the advantage of being able to challenge the perceptions and change the behaviour of people by evoking the most deep-seated nostalgia or enlightenment within consumers.  Companies are beginning to recognise the power of experiential too. Kuoni’s ‘Scents of Adventure’ is a recent example whereby they introduced an interactive campaign to awaken the senses of unsuspecting Bluewater shopping centre visitors.

2. Simplifying a Complex Decision

The choice and decision involved in booking travel of any kind has become an incredibly complex process which can often involve a great investment of time.  For example, Expedia Media Solutions’ research found that the average packaged-travel purchase takes place after 38 visits to various websites.  This complex decision-making process can be simplified with experiential activity providing relevant, concise and personalised information to the consumer.  By using one-to-one dialogue through trained brand ambassadors, travellers can appreciate the human touch coming back into the booking process.  Online research will continue to play a role in the decision-making process, so it is important that consumers are still provided with this option where they can read reviews and trusted blogs but then be provided with someone on hand to answer questions that need answering and removing their fears.

3. Right People, Right Place

Experiential marketing has the versatility to go where target consumers will be, at a time when they are open to experiencing a product.  An understanding of the target audience is crucial when planning experiential activity.  Insight into the consumer’s mindset, pre-conceptions and barriers to purchase, mean brands can identify the best live environments where an experience will have the biggest impact. A good example of this is the Royal Caribbean Cruises’ experiences, recognising the need to target the family unit together. Their consumer insight suggested that the purchase decision was a democratic family one.  Therefore, their decision to visit family orientated theme parks and shopping centres at weekends was well informed.    

4. Offline to Online

The evolving role of online has created a significant and lasting effect on the travel sector.  This only enhances the power of experiential marketing in that consumer relationships created can now be continued through online dialogue.  This ongoing dialogue can take two forms.  Firstly, the capture of consumer data gives brands the opportunity to re-contact consumers with practical, and exciting, information following the experience.  Secondly, audiences that experience their passions in an experiential setting are being encouraged to share their content on one of the many social media platforms that now exist, amplifying the brand message. The British Airways Great Gatwick Ticket Giveaway offered consumers the chance to win flights by taking a flight simulation challenge at London stations, an experience they could then share with their friends and family online.

5. Creating Genuine Value

Experiential marketing is a proven method of driving brand value, an achievement made by changing perceptions and converting consumers to purchase.  Brands can realise this value by taking a few simple steps.  Firstly, a brand needs to set evaluation objectives prior to the campaign, for example, by collecting consumer details, there is an opportunity to re-contact them and track their behavioural change.  Secondly, by integrating experiential activity with the wider marketing plan, brands can make sure every medium is playing its role in taking consumers along the path to purchase.  And finally, by rigorously evaluating all areas of experiential activity, both live interactions as well as the online impact. A great case in point is The Austrian Winter Flurry, an experiential stunt in Spitalfields Market in London in October 2013.  So entertaining was the content that it quickly became an online hit.  It received over 100k views on You Tube within four days of being uploaded. 

As we slowly move out of economic uncertainty, and consumer habits and spend on travel slowly change, we believe experiential marketing can provide the point of difference for travel brands and services to stand out, literally, and succeed.