EXPERIENCE: HOW TO MARKET SMARTER FOR A SMARTER MARKET

In a world of oversaturated media, heightened creativity and the fast-forwarding of TV commercials, it’s become damn near impossible for marketers to make brands stand out from the crowd.

It’s a sad fact that the simple but genius marketing successes like; “got milk?”, “Think Different,” or “Not happy, Jan” just wouldn’t cut the mustard in 2019 the way they did at their time of inception.

To combat this, brands are more and more frequently turning to “experiential marketing” to show their value to customers in creative new ways.

Experiential marketing or the more digestible “marketing through experience”, is a marketing and PR trend where brands are ditching billboards and TVCs in favour of attaching an experience to their offering. All this to have some kind of meaningful impact on the modern - and far more discerning - consumer.

“Brands are ditching billboards and TVCs in favour of attaching an experience to their offering in creative new ways.

Experiential marketing can be a high risk/high reward game with some very extreme results, but when it’s done right it can be pure marketing magic. To celebrate these triumphs of experience, we’re looking at three lessons from brands that just, got it right. 

Selling values over a product - Bumble “The only noods you’ll find on Bumble”

Ah Bumble, the brand that could have once just been a yellow ripoff of our fave original dating disruptor, Tinder; but instead leveraged its brand into a cultural movement based on digital savvy and female empowerment.

Helmed down-under by Michelle Battersby, who has been described as a modern icon of the Australian business landscape (by me), Bumble gives a great look into what it means to sell the values of a brand rather than a mere product or service.

They’re doing some really interesting things in the space of experiential marketing but one that stands out from their recent canon is the “noods” campaign currently shuttling around the country. If you haven’t heard of it, “noods” is not a typo but in fact a delightful pun that sees a Bumble van handing out hot noodles to uni students under the copy; “the only noods you’ll find on Bumble.” 

Now, Bumble is obviously not a company that sells noodles which is what makes this particular experience so interesting. Their free sample has nothing to do with the product but instead speaks to their unique values and connects them with an appropriate audience.

So much more than just another dating app, Bumble is dare I say it, a way of life, that is either a direct result of, or direct contributor to the current public conscious. Or both? Chicken and the egg I suppose.

Regardless their idea is clever, but simple and the execution is actually just a food truck, but it’s all part of a much larger, killer brand strategy centring around women taking charge. 

This is an idea that speaks to Bumble’s target audience well and indicates that they’re never sleazy, they’re in your corner, and they’re your best chance at finding love on an app. Sans nudes.

Earned impressions - Melbourne Metro “Dumb Ways to Die”

It’s easy to think that the biggest downside of marketing by experience is that the reach is limited to who you can speak to on the ground. Compared to a Macca’s TV ad that might hit a million sets of eyes during an episode of The Block, the rumours may be true, but paid reach is no longer the only metric we have to measure the success of a piece of marketing.

Enter, earned impressions; the goldmine that comes about from social shares of content that is, well… worth sharing. Basically, any interaction between a brand and their audience that hasn’t been paid for but has instead been shared organically by third-parties. You’d be hard pressed to find a tweet about the amazing ad for a Quarter Pounder meal deal someone saw during The Block; but instagram shares, or even, *gulp* real-life interactions, for more creative campaigns are basically everywhere. And they are a way to maximise your reach without actually having to lift a finger.

Probably the most successful way this has been leveraged in recent times would be Melbourne Metro’s, “Dumb Ways to Die” campaign.

Looking for a way to promote rail safety, a campaign was launched that likened death by train to poking a grizzly bear or sticking a fork in a toaster as one of the dumbest ways to die. If you haven’t heard from it you’re probably not from Melbourne. Or dead.

What could have been another boring public safety announcement instead was turned into an inescapable song, addictive app (experience!), and a bunch of characters that infected the hearts - and more importantly, the conscious - of the City of Melbourne. Just to give a glimpse of the free publicity Metro pulled from this innovative campaign, the Youtube video of the song currently has roughly 180m views. That’s like, Justin Bieber stats.

It was shared and talked about an immeasurable amount and is recognised around the world as one of the most innovative, and successful marketing campaigns of the 21st century. Basically, just a great example of how the potential for earned impressions can blow any fears of a limited reach out of the water when it comes to marketing by experience.

Customer loyalty - Mecca “Meccaland”

When it comes to beauty, hair and skincare in Australia, there are not many names that hold a candle to the juggernaut that is Mecca. Mecca understands the importance of their brand as an experience and injects this into everything that they do to turn casual customers into loyal clients. Goals.

So when it came to a bit of experiential marketing, obviously Mecca pulled no punches and branded an entire convention under their own name. Thus, Meccaland was born.

This three-day event is pretty much the flagship of what experiential marketing can be and compiles many of Mecca’s associates under their own brand to show the Australian beauty world just how great they are.

The convention is an extension of their already aggressive customer loyalty program and is designed to reward customers for being a part of the Mecca “family”. The attachment to Mecca as a brand can border on a frenzy and is the kind of loyalty that many brands will only dream of. Similar to Apple in that not only should you be a part of this brand experience but if you’re not, you’re missing out.

Meccaland is a classic case study in developing a connection with their customers that goes so far beyond the checkout terminal. Their activities keep their name on your lips - literally and figuratively - and ensure that the next time Mario Badescu, Too Faced or James Charles release a product, the thought won’t just be “I need to buy that product,” but “I need to buy it from Mecca.”

The TL;DR to all this is pretty simple. In 2019 and beyond, great ideas are king (or queen) in the marketing game. Success is no longer just dependent on a nice line of copy and a buttload of money. Instead brands are being forced to come up with creative new ways to strike a chord with their potential - or existing - customers. Often with exciting, and sometimes incredible results.

It is arguably harder than ever to be the brains behind these meaningful connections; but pressure makes diamonds, and the best of the best are sparkling.