Despite what you may have heard, the high street is alive and kicking. In fact, 90% of all consumer purchases still take place in-store, according to a new white paper produced by Field Marketing Agency, Channel Advantage.

Their report, which reveals UK consumers will spend £88.4bn in Q4 2013 (£1.95bn more than 2012), explores how technology continues to shape modern consumer habits, and why brands must utilise the power of experiential practice to improve in-store shopping experiences and ultimately, continue to grow sales.

Do we still need shops?

To borrow Mark Twain's much beloved epitaph, “News of my death has been greatly exaggerated”.

Hi. I’m Sarah, Founder of Brand Experience Agency, Woof London.

I like tea. And biscuits, to dunk in my tea. If we met, I’d make you (probably) the best tea you’ve ever had. I’m confident about that. You’d enjoy the tea and we’d have a lovely chat.

The truth is, you just can’t beat the personal touch. Especially when it comes to your branding or marketing agency.

In an age when it’s getting harder and harder to make people feel anything at all, the personal touch still has the power to make anyone feel a little bit special.

That’s the thing I’ve always been interested in. It’s why I run a Brand Experience Agency that tries to do exactly that for our clients.

Experiential marketing has claimed its rightful place at the top table. This should be celebrated says Nick Adams, M.D of Experiential Marketing Agency of the Year, Sense London.

Just by looking at how certain industry awards are dominated by experiential campaigns, it’s clear to see how marketers from all sectors have embraced the once, relatively new, technique.

Whether as a marketing agency's lead discipline in an integrated plan, or vital supporting component, experiential can being applied at every key stage of a brand’s development.

Many positive characteristics have fuelled this growth, but two aspects are especially relevant in today’s trading conditions:

1. The convergence of experiential with digital techniques is providing another means of ongoing consumer dialogue and further amplifying a live experience. This has in part, helped draw a line through the scepticism that experiential can’t reach the masses.
2. The capability to be reactive, that is to say, getting impactful activities out to market in the shortest of lead times which in today’s trading environment has become increasingly important.

And let’s not forget the creativity and power of a live interaction. A F2F engagement between brand and consumer remains one of the most successful ways to effect long term brand perception and behaviour.

So all in all experiential marketing is in rude health and long may that continue.

But how? Will the steady growth in investment continue and how can we defend our position in a landscape which sees marketing agencies and marketers constantly bombarded with new and different consumer touch-points?

Education remains an ongoing priority and there’s still a real need to get brand owners to reappraise experiential’s role. All too often I hear about clients ignoring the most robust and impressive campaign results, in favour of a comfort factor provided by a more traditional, but less effective channel.

But a much broader challenge is how all experiential practitioners package our discipline in terms of what it can deliver, in an accessible way to brands and media planners alike, if it’s they who are recommending which channels will fulfil a client’s objectives.

Keeping it fresh

Let’s never lose the creativity and excitement of such a high energy and impactful discipline, but at the same time we must ensure we never trade on this alone and put tangible results at the forefront of how experiential is planned by marketing agencies and sold to clients.

Much like a catchy jingle doesn’t secure budget for a radio Ad, brand owners decision’s mustn’t be clouded by a desire to see their brand on the proverbial ‘live stage’, however bold, engaging and tempting the marketing agency’s presentation. I frequently meet or hear about brands excited about trying a new experiential strategy without fully understanding the commercial reasons for their decision. Tempting as it may be for agencies to spend the budget, long term growth of our sector has to come from agencies behaving with commercial responsibility and pragmatism in advising their clients.

Where next?

Take a look at digital marketing’s exponential rise and some parallels can be drawn. It’s frequently debated as to whether brand owners are investing in social for the right reasons, based on clear objectives and measured KPI’s or a simple desire to marginally increase their Facebook likes.

My own belief is that some social media investment is a result of the band wagon analogy but as the plethora of digital opportunities evolve, those succeeding long-term will be able to provide clear connections between consumer engagement online and hard, measurable commercial gains - offline.

Experiential marketing has to leverage its maturity and become more strategic in applying our trade, offering clients greater understanding of what a campaign will achieve and if and how this fits with brand challenges and objectives.

So from the experiential marketing agency perspective, there’s never been a more important time to scrutinise a brief and provide a quantifiable solution - that campaign X will drive Y incremental sales, increase key brand health scores by Y%, gain trial amongst X genuine new users, or whatever the hierarchy of objectives.

As we march steadily forward into the digital age, the brands that are destined to survive are the ones that can embrace digital and use it to connect with consumers emotionally, says James Fuller of intergrated marketing agency, whynot!.

The popular path for digital at the moment seems to lie in experiential marketing, that is to say creating a memorable experience for consumers through interactive activities that ring an emotional chord. For Pringles, the latest adopter of this strategy, it’s about the fun and humorous connection with fans and with this new campaign- and we must admit they’re doing it rather well.

Making good use of digital yet again with their latest campaign ‘Last Can Standing’, the Pringles marketing team have had come up with giving their consumers the chance to create the world’s tallest virtual stack of Pringles.

Experiential Marketing in Festivals FMCG’s biggest opportunity or just another shopping centre?

As answered by Stephanie Whitaker, Managing Director of ignis

Experiential marketing in festivals 

Over the past decade, festivals have become a core part of our cultural currency. The number of festivals across the UK has boomed; there are now more than 500 music festivals alone (compared to 20 back in 1998), and what festivals offer has changed dramatically – they are now less about the music and more about the entire experience they offer.

However, despite the evolution of the format of the festival itself, many FMCG brands have failed to shift their approach to festivals accordingly and see fill the experiential marketing gap. This is surprising as, arguably, it is the FMCG industry that is best placed to capitalise on the shift.

Video Marketing definition: a promotional marketing strategy used by companies to promote their products and services by using short, enjoyable and educational videos.

Video marketing, be it viral or social is a great way bolster brand leverage, flex your online muscle and boost consumer engagement.

As consumer attention is increasingly drawn online, video marketing is becoming the norm for marketing departments looking to differentiate their brand from their competitors- with some thinking more outside the box than others.

Here, we've compiled a list of some of our favourite and most effective video marketing campaigns, including offerings from the likes of Coke, T-Mobile and Red Bull.

Video marketing campaign #1: KLM and Personal Space

Video is a great tool that allows brands to visually demonstrate a USP or concept whilst simultaneously promoting an ethos. KLM have identified their target audience and found an enjoyable way to communicate their message. It's also cringe-worthingly fun to watch.



Video marketing campaign #2: VW target San Paolo with SM

Here VW have proved that video marketing can be used for more than just comms but as a demonstration of social media strategy too. Often video is the glue that ties many channels together- this is a clear example of this 'coming together' of digital media.



Video marketing campaign #3: The Coca-Cola Happiness Truck

This is as much an example of experiential marketing as it is video marketing, but along with their Coke Friendship Machine, Coca-Cola are consistent in their use of video to propagate the 'brand experience'. Their video content is designed to evoke emotion, thus keeping consumers loyal via experiences that are memorable, encourage customer participation and offer personally relevant, credible and memorable encounters.



Video marketing campaign #4: Spanair & the Christmas Conveyer Belt

Another campaign designed to tug at the heart strings, this video marketing example shows how with a little innovation, brands can overcome the rigidity of their industry's image. While BA and AA opt for the concept of luxury or Easyjet for value, Spanair decided to travel the path less trodden: that of brand experience, with a 'behind the scenes' look at how they work to make their customers happy.



Video marketing campaign #5: Red Bull snowboarding

Any Red Bull campaign could make this list; their team has pioneered the use of video to create a brand identity (their Space Jump smashed viral records). Red Bull's content is always visually appealing, uniquely thrilling and has transcended the limits imposed by the product itself.



Video marketing campaign #6: T-Mobile Traffic Wardens

It's possible that when it comes to video marketing nobody does it better that T-Mobile. From their Liverpool Street Station Flashmob - 37m views and counting- to this, their lesser known but arguably better Traffic Warden campaign, the T-Mobile team have become experts in tying interesting, enjoyable and most importantly shareable ideas to their business model.