subject: The Choice Between Reach Or Relevance [print this page] Experiential marketing has long been recognised as a great way to engage consumers with brands. Yet some brands still argue that it can never have the reach of big ad campaigns. But is it reach or relevance that's really important?
The more remarkable a brand experience is, the stronger the brand affinity and the greater the chance of people telling their friends. But there's a catch. Making an experience rich and immersive can cost more, and that often means limiting the number of people you can talk with.
Until fairly recently this required a huge amount of planning for experiential agencies, and the fundamental question was always, 'what do we want to achieve?' - reaching as many people as possible and therefore spreading the campaign thinly, or giving less people a really engaging, exciting experience that will make them want to do the talking for us?
There is good, news, however. With the advent of digital and social media, and subsequent explosion in the numbers of people using sites like Facebook to connect and share with others, the problem has almost solved itself: the more amazing the experience, the more people will want to spread the word and recommend to their friends, thereby increasing your reach.
Take our recent campaign for Pampers, a roadshow event that educated parents about how to get more sleep for their small children, and for themselves. We took a giant toy train round shopping centres, with experts onboard giving one-to-one tips and advice on a problem very near to parents' hearts. The campaign was relatively small in terms of the number of people it reached, but the information it offered had real value. As a result it quickly achieved a 'halo' effect, spreading like wildfire on influential blogs and websites.
The first stage in the planning process is always to figure out how we can maximise the relevance of the campaign, in order to create something that will have as much impact as possible. This will ensure that, to a certain extent, amplification will happen naturally. Conversely, if a campaign is of no interest to the customer, no-one will talk about it.
There's an important point here, though, that needs to be said. Brands shouldn't try to control social media. It's much more effective - and authentic - to give people real experiences and then let them share it with others themselves.
In the world of face-to-face interaction, someone who has had a memorable brand experience will typically tell three or four of their friends, research shows. But in the world of social media, if one person who has many connections makes a recommendation or a comment, it can trigger a whole host of friends', fans' and followers' attention and interest.
In short, as long as you do it right, you no longer have to choose between reach and relevance with experiential campaigns - now good planning and a joined-up marketing approach can enable a brand to have both in abundance.
