Brand experience, field marketing, sales face to face
It was Confucius who said, ‘Tell me and I will hear, show me and I will see, involve me and I will believe.’ In the past few years, there has been involvement of the audience by the introduction of theatre and creativity to gain the audience’s buy-in to the brand through emotional and sensory involvement. This has become known as live brand experience or experiential marketing. Although this field marketing (FM) discipline is not new, it is an interactive development of the events discipline and is becoming increasingly recognised as such as more companies choose to specialise in it.
Definition: The Experiential Marketing Committee stated that:
Experiential marketing is a live and interactive marketing discipline, which builds positive emotional sensory engagement between a brand and its consumers.
This chapter’s content is for delivering direct marketing communications with promotions to the shopper/buyer. For supporting suppliers, see Chapter 5. A key benefit of using suppliers is that they are aware of the law (see Chapter 15) relating to such active promotion activities such as the Clean Neighbourhood Environment Act 2005. This basically means no littering from handouts. As for other marketing communications – adding a promotion adds to the attention, fun and excitement for the shopper/buyer. The first part of this chapter describes active promotions. The briefs and case studies that follow give ideas from others of what promotions work.
What active means and support are available?
Field marketing – outsourcing sales in toto. FM has many sub disciplines which is, as a means of putting a message across, where the specific interest lies in this book. Some 34 companies operate within the sector in the UK; it is a more than £1 billion-a-year business. There is some misunderstanding about the term FM. Technically, it is outsourcing the sales function. How to outsource FM is described in The Handbook of Field Marketing by Alison Williams and Roddy Mullin. What is outsourced in detail is sales, experiential marketing, demonstrating, sampling, merchandising, audit and mystery shopping. If a firm’s primary purpose is not selling, why not outsource it, just as many firms now outsource catering? FM staff are totally focussed on ROI and the bottom line.
If not outsourcing in toto, then FM offers an instant fix, providing short-term extra staff for a product launch, brand experience, managing price changing, training your own staff, event management, crisis management (product recalls over safety issues?), running an active promotion, manning a stand to provide brand presence at trade shows or professional shows (especially if sales is not your own staff’s key focus; in the author’s experience, in-house staff are very poor at operating exhibition or show stands). Credit card companies use FM staff to sign people up at Eurotunnel terminals. Companies such as Mars, BT and IBM use FM staff for selling.
One-on-one sales: Experiential, road show, events, exhibitions. The purpose of experiential marketing, road shows and events is to generate brand awareness and brand loyalty in a lively and engaging manner through trial, sampling and interactive involvement that reflects the brand image and values. It is an entertaining way of putting a product or service in the public eye, which generates positive awareness and drives sales. Clearly, it has an impact on a brand’s engram. This can also be a lively part of any integrated campaign, and events are becoming one of the key methods of attracting the consumer to participate with the brand and associate it with enjoyment. Interestingly, many venues such as shopping centres that have been used for years by field marketers are now actively looking for interactive, lively activity on their premises. They wish to see their visitors entertained (and not hassled) as part of the pleasurable experience in the venue.
Experiential marketing at its best is a very creative event that will reflect the brand being experienced. It is creative in every sense of the word – in conception, visually, emotionally and in its execution. Obviously, a balance has to be found between the impact and excitement of the activity and the logistics and safety aspects that must be in place before it goes live. Location, location, location – the venue is key to successful shopper participation.
A road show is when a promotional activity is created, which then moves around the country; for example, when a radio station has promotional trips to different seaside resorts in the summer. An event is an activity that does not move. This might be promotional activity in a shopping centre, at an exhibition, in a car park or at a county show, for example, although of course events can be conducted at more than one venue across the country, thus the difference between a road show and an event is blurred. Road shows and events can be truly experiential when they appeal to the consumer’s senses and involve them in the brand and the activity.
Where to hold the event? Whether the event is termed a road show or a live brand experience, it must be held where the target consumer market is prolific, so that there are many positive experiences. For example, events held at music festivals and rock concerts will target young people, events at popular seaside resorts are held to meet families and events on railway concourses target commuters. Car dealers use a new car launch event to offer test drives to existing customers of previous versions of the marque – and, say, adding excitement by arranging for the event to be held at a racing circuit.
Face-to-face sales by a salesperson. This is more than just ‘order taking’, which is when a person just takes payment and perhaps packs the item purchased. ‘Sales’ is selling, when a salesperson engages with the shopper to obtain their trust and confidence in the knowledge held by the salesperson. A trained salesperson will qualify (check if they are serious about buying) and fact-find (assessing in detail what the needs and wants of ) the shopper/buyer. They will also discover where the shopper is in the buying process to match the sales process to the shopper. Only when the salesperson is assured that the shopper is ready will a ‘sales close’ be attempted. At trade-only shows, the target customer is the buyer or their representative, or the owner if they are the buyer – for each, a different approach is required; therefore, the first task is to find out the category of the person visiting the stand. The sales person should be equipped with sales promotions that can be offered on the spot. Shopper/buyers are wary of sales persons and therefore the approach should be at a tangent and subtle.
Sales: Sampling and demonstrating (indoor or out). Sampling and demonstrating as FM disciplines are always face to face; that is, in the presence of an FM staff member, who guides the customer through the sampling or demonstrating process and notes any customer reaction and responds to it. Sampling is straightforward and often is a simple taste or smell opportunity, whereas demonstrating can be a more complex exercise where the consumer is shown how a product operates. While carrying out sampling or demonstrating, the FM staff will be communicating – describing the product or service and its features and benefits while informing and educating the listener. The FM staff person is the brand ambassador. A key difference between sampling and experiential marketing is that the latter uses the five senses to involve the customer, who is frequently a hands-on participant.
Sampling allows the consumer to trial the product or service. Food and drink, perfumes and aftershaves fit this sampling category. This could apply to a variety of products from a chocolate bar, a cup of coffee, a shampoo, a newspaper – and with 85 per cent of the business in the UK coming from the service rather than the manufacturing base, many services also use sampling as an effective means of trial. The brand ambassadors will introduce the product to the customer by giving or showing them the sample, explain the benefits of the product and its USP, offer trials and raise brand visibility. During the sampling a short brand message can be delivered, and a leaflet should accompany samples where appropriate. The more memorable, lively and involving the activity is that surrounds the trial, the better the product recall, and the greater the affinity between the consumer and the brand. By sampling the product, end users are not only made aware of the product, but they also know that they like it. They have a knowledge of that product and this understanding will translate into future purchases.
Samples, without any selling, may be handed out for later consumption, such as shampoos, newspapers, printed materials or software on disk. Retailers should be prepared to hand out two samples because it looks generous; the second sample is around in case the first sample is thrown away, or can be handed to a friend. The sample should have a means for recognising the brand or retailer.
Demonstrating is when the product or service is shown, explained and demonstrated to consumers: the consumer observes and sometimes operates the product as demonstrated, for example mobile phones, tablets, vacuum cleaners or coffee-making machines. The value is that people who have sampled or been demonstrated to now understand the product. People will always talk about a product and use it when they understand it and feel comfortable with it.
After-sales service. A follow-up to a sale will discover useful feedback on the product or service and allow an opportunity to sell more associated products and services and accessories. It builds the relationship and reinforces the engram.
Merchandising. If a brand is not on the shelf, or not visible, it cannot be bought, which makes merchandising a crucial part of proclaiming product or service presence, and in ensuring good placement, correct pricing and product availability in sufficient quantity to meet demand and drive sales. Merchandising is also a very important part of brand awareness and the purchasing environment for the consumer – after all, 70 per cent of purchasing decisions are made in-store. It involves making sure that the brand is obvious and available – it will generate sales by:
• placing POP or POS material in an outlet to promote the product;
• stacking the shelves to the correct number of products or varieties and number of facings so that availability is obvious;
• placing self-talkers advertising the product;
• building a secondary display, for example a free-standing display in an aisle, or a display on a gondola end in-store;
• installing a special promotion and placing all the communication for the activity;
• meeting with the staff in-store and promoting the brand to them, checking their ordering procedures and ensuring that systems are in place to avoid running out of stock.
Merchandising role in selling. The amount by which sales will be uplifted by merchandising activity will vary according to the product, position and environment, but, as a guideline only, a secondary display in a grocery multiple can lead to a minimum of 25 per cent uplift in sales and frequently much more, depending on the product. Merchandising can be a tactical or a strategic ongoing activity with regular POP materials replaced and updated, and this ensures that promotions and products are communicated with impact. If you have followed the process so far, you will understand the crucial ingredients in devising a well-considered merchandising campaign and its value in the sales process.
Training role of merchandisers. However, the FM merchandising discipline has extended, becoming somewhat of a hybrid, borrowing parts of the elements from other disciplines, to include:
• visiting a retail outlet, establishing a rapport with the retailer (CRM), training the retailer’s staff;
• discussing the retailer’s stocks of the brand, the presentation of the brand and the profit the retailer can expect from the brand (sales);
• van and car sales; selling some of the product to the retailer, either from the merchandiser’s car or by taking a transfer order (sales);
• merchandising the product on the retailer’s shelves;
• conducting an audit to highlight the status of the brand in that outlet; on entry and exit, defining the achievements of the call (auditing).
If merchandising calls of the hybrid type are conducted with the same retailer on an ongoing basis as part of a strategic contract, the rapport becomes stronger and more brands or product variants can be sold in to the retailer, extending the reach of the brand. By including so many steps in the visit, the outputs from the visit are maximised, which makes the best use of the merchandiser’s time and, therefore, the budget.
Active activities examples
BRIEF 8.1. Dyson product recall. Dyson recalled some 1 million space heaters to install a safety cap. Think of the additional staff required to manage call centres, send out packaging, receive and fix the safety problem and return the heaters, as well as just promoting the recall.
BRIEF 8.2. ‘Unbelievable’ Pepsi. In 2014, PepsiCo UK and Britvic launched a three-week sampling campaign for Pepsi Max supported by TV sponsorship in cinema, electronic displays, innovative augmented reality outdoor advertising in city centres – encouraging fans to submit six-second videos of something unbelievable – and digital communication. The online content was acquired from ‘unbelievable talent’, supported by an experiential sensory stunt in central London. Described as a bold and striking campaign designed to encourage cola uses to try Pepsi Max.
BRIEF 8.3. The Thompson/TUI digital holiday outlet (at Bluewater). The shopper is invited, as a brand experience, to come and play with a large touch screen global map wall. Shoppers can examine where they have been and where they might want to go, and describe their holiday preferences and the experiences they seek. Supporting screens show videos of facilities and bring to life the experience. The proposed holiday can then be emailed to the shopper for later take-up if they so wish. Already some feedback has arrived, with customers who have been on their bespoke holiday sending blogs (including selfies) that further encourage new shoppers featured on a community wall. The shop allows customers to take home a tailored brochure rather than a pile of catalogues (saving costs!). Décor simulates a pool environment with golden lilos as seats. The staff are hand-picked and trained to make the experience fun, exciting and caring. As a result, the brand appeal has improved.
BRIEF 8.4. New magazine launch. Shoppers were invited by brand ambassadors onto a stand in six different shopping centres to receive a shoulder and foot massage from trained masseuses. On completion, when they were relaxed after a pleasurable experience, they were offered a copy of the new magazine. Word spread. Local shops were well stocked with the new magazine and sales were recorded and reported as very good indeed.
BRIEF 8.5. Increasing professional body membership. A stand at an exhibition where the number of potential members was prolific was staffed by a team who approached visitors, asking if they were members. If not, they explained the benefits of joining as members. The return was assessed as high.
BRIEF 8.6. Targeting independent off licences for brands such as Stella Artois and Tennents. A bi-monthly visit by a team of 22 carrying stock achieved 3,200 new distribution points, with 26,542 POS items placed in store and 13,951 cases sold in 6 months. The aim was to show distribution, visibility and quality of alcohol brands not previously held. One off licence went from selling zero to more than 20 cases per week.
BRIEF 8.7. Sunsilk product launch. To support the launch of a Sunsilk frizz control cream, eight females on four branded scooters with trailers visited 35 towns and distributed 1 million product samples over 20 days. The campaign was supported by advertising. Brand awareness increased as did brand recognition. The launch started the engram building of the mind file process for many.
Case studies
Providing free baking tools for schools, free beauty samples, free gifts for those spending £75 or more, free drinks (pint of cider or sports drink), free entertainment and free CDs have all been used as promotions matched to active media, described in the following eight case studies.
Case study 33 – The Sony: Everyday Extraordinary by Haygarth for Sony Corporation
The campaign aimed to get ‘Tech Matures’ (young, professional males, tech-savvy and proud of owning the latest phone) to try out the new XPERIA Z3. For this audience, a demo can impact brand preference by 250 per cent. But interaction is difficult in phone shops because of space limitations. The solution was a 90-day shopping centre tour balancing entertainment, education and a strong drive-to-retail incentive.
The Sony Wheel was a gamified installation which took the consumer on an exhilarating first-person journey, facilitated by the XPERIA Z3. Consumers’ steps powered the Sony adventure: the quicker they moved, the deeper they delved into the custom-shot video which seamlessly combined sounds and 3D graphics.
Eleven million people saw the activity, with 90,000 demos delivered (against a target of 75,000) – 60 times more than instore demos would have reached. Sales increased at stores around the events by 319 per cent during the activity and a 244 per cent sales uplift even in the 6 weeks after the activity. In total, the campaign drove incremental sales worth £4.3 million. Won an IPM Gold Award in 2016.
Case study 34 – Anchor Baking Kits for Schools by whynot! for Arla Foods
The dairy sector is price driven; Anchor needed to cut through that. This promotion allowed Anchor to outmanoeuvre the competition, reaching its target ‘life jugglers’ – 25–45-year-old young parents balancing work and family – and persuading them to trade up with Anchor.
The campaign helped primary schools get baking, providing free Anchor baking kits including aprons, mixing bowls and spoons. Over 6,000 schools signed up (20 per cent plus over target), receiving welcome packs containing posters, recipe cards and money-off vouchers. Consumer marketing support included on-pack creative, in-store POS, magazine adverts, six retailer sheets and a microsite, and weekly prize draws to win kitchen items including mini ovens, a portal for teachers with tips and downloads and a Mumsnet partnership. Registered schools could win a school kitchen makeover worth £5,000.
Anchor sales grew 17 per cent by value and 48 per cent by volume and penetration was ahead by 39 per cent. A total of 92,500 kits were sent to primary schools across the UK, so the campaign helped a minimum of 185,000 children to bake. A 2016 IPM Gold Award winner.
Case study 35 – Clarins Urban Oasis by Haygarth for Clarins UK
In a noisy, competitive landscape, Clarins faced indifference among British millennial women. They respected the brand’s heritage, but saw it as a luxury brand for older women that was out of touch with their modern lifestyles. This was particularly true in the fast-paced, competitive retail environment of department store beauty halls, where Clarins was being ignored in favour of brands perceived as younger and more relevant. Research identified that millennials were failing to recognise the damaging effects of their lifestyle choices on their skin.
The Urban Oasis pop-up beauty destination allowed Clarins to show the target audience the impact on their skin of pollution, weather and fatigue, projecting their faces onto an HD screen via 3D texture animation while a voiceover explained the effects of city life on their skin and presented Clarins Multi-Active as the solution. Visitors collected 2 out of 3 free samples; the third had to be claimed at a nearby retailer.
Forty-two percent of visitors immediately went to store, generating one new sale per minute, a 40 per cent sales uplift. The promotion won an IPM Gold Award.
Case study 36 – The Prism Store Launches by Pretty Green for PANDORA
PANDORA has seen phenomenal growth in the UK with its innovative jewellery brand Prism; in 2015, it opened or re-fit 88 stores and in 2016, the target was similar at 80 stores, with a new communications platform, ‘As unique as you are’. A promotional activation was created for store launch day, with the Prism Gift Wall at its heart, designed to drive average transaction value up: consumers spending over £75 could choose a prism from the wall and get a free gift valued at £35–£125.
Fully-trained PANDORA event producers managed each launch day, including store liaison pre-event, dressing and running the day itself to ensure PANDORA sales staff could concentrate on sales. Each store launch was further supported by geo-targeted Facebook social media.
The in-store marketing programme created an enhanced experience through enticing incremental display with an appealing gift with purchase promotion and strong shopper engagement across every stage of the service environment, delivering strong ROI across all 80 stores with £5 returned for every £1 of marketing investment. (This shows how field or experiential marketing really achieves pay back.)
Case study 37 – Lucozade Sport – Bringing the World Cup Home by TRO for Suntory Limited
The UK sports drinks category was predominantly driven by Lucozade Sport, with 67 per cent market share. Powerade was its nearest competitor. For the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Lucozade Sport had no sponsorship rights but wanted to impact its core audience of hard-core, grassroots footballers with a relevant brand activity that had science at its heart.
The brief was to deliver a fully integrated campaign with experiential marketing at its core. The Lucozade Sport Conditions Zone venue and experience at Canary Wharf were designed to ‘wow’ all consumers and media who attended, and encourage maximum talkability and shareability. Buzz was created through a multi-channel integrated communications strategy that used all mediums to deliver effectiveness at grassroots, social, digital and traditional media, using PR as well as paid-for media. From the pre-launch activity through to media launch day, the Conditions Zone was created to dramatise the extreme conditions – including the dangers of dehydration. A structure housing an FA regulation-sized 3G five-a-side pitch in an enclosed heated space (maintained at a Manaus-like 32˚C and 76 per cent humidity), and including a registration area, changing rooms, science lab and media hub (in a more comfortable cooled environment), developed a huge momentum of its own. Players could see, through real-time analytics, how their body chemistry changed during intense play. Near Field Communication technology ensured that all key data integrated with Facebook, allowing participants to share personal stats with friends. Data collection showed that players lost 572 litres of sweat during the Conditions Zone competition, reinforcing the difficult conditions the English team would face in Manaus and the connection between performance, hydration and Lucozade Sport. On leaving the experience, each player was given a Lucozade Sport tri-bottle and product to ensure they continued to re-hydrate on their journey home, keeping Lucozade Sport front-of-mind.
Footballing legends and Lucozade Sport brand ambassadors Steven Gerrard, Alan Shearer, John Barnes and Steve McManaman were used to help raise awareness of the campaign. Gerrard featured in a pre-promotional video distributed virally. Shearer was the main spokesperson available for media interviews on the launch day, and he also played in an exhibition match for the press with Barnes and McManaman.
Research showed that Suntory Ltd drove pervasive World Cup conversation toward Lucozade Sport, and sales increased 12 per cent from the summer before. A 2015 IMC Gold Award.
Case study 38 – Dave’s Man Chair by Mediator for Burton
Objective: Sample new content on Dave by showcasing new shows in truly memorable ways.
Strategy: Create a Dave brand experience and take it off air to interrupt the target audience in their non-viewing time.
Solution: Dave’s Man Chair celebrated men’s dislike of shopping and provided a respite area for men across the UK to take a break from the rigours of shopping and enjoy some new, world-class entertainment from Dave. Sited in 15 flagship Burton stores, the chairs housed a tablet containing exclusive Dave content, competitions, quizzes and podcasts to fully immerse customers in the Dave experience.
Results: An industry first, achieving heavyweight exposure for Dave’s new shows in flagship stores nationwide over 6 months with 70,000 video views, 90,000 participants, and a 33% uplift in ABC1 male 16–34 viewing worth £1.4 million of media value generated year on year. Shows on the app performed 90 per cent above the slot average. The campaign picked up an IPM Award 2013 in Commercial Partnership Marketing.
Case study 39 – Launch of Breakfast Show by Mediator for Classic FM Global Radio
Objective: Sample Classic FM to new audiences, promote the new breakfast show and remind existing listeners to tune in.
Strategy: Identify moments in the target audiences’ lives when classical music complements their environment and activity
Solution: Mediator negotiated a partnership with Hotel Du Vin to celebrate the launch of John Suchet’s new breakfast show with a breakfast takeover in 14 hotels. The 2-month campaign saw a specially mixed CD being played at breakfast time in restaurants and hotel lobbies and distributed to guests as a free gift during their stay. TVs in rooms were also tuned into the station, targeting guests on arrival. Both brands supported the campaign through their CRM communications.
Results: 1.8 million people were reached, with 6:1 ROI. One hundred per cent of respondents to a survey said they would take the CD home to listen to, while 97 per cent of non-listeners said they were now more likely to tune in. There were 17,000 competition entries, 70 per cent higher than average, and a 6.6% increase in listeners during January–March 2011 while the partnership was live (source: Rajar/Ipos-MORI/RSMB).
Summary
From the marketing plan (Chapter 3), the need for active promotion will have arisen. This could require experiencing the product or service, seeing it demonstrated, sampling it or extra sales support. This might also be considered as a contingency – a plan for a crisis. Consider how best this active promotion can be done and whom you want to do what – the creativity element is key to attracting the shopper to take it up (see Chapter 4). Remember also to attract forward-looking shoppers such as ‘future shapers’ (see the brief in Chapter 2). Prepare a brief based on these considerations. General points from Chapter 11 may help here. Consider next whether you need a supplier (FM or brand experience agency – see Chapter 5). Such additional professional sales assistance will back up any staffing limitations that you have. They have a wealth of experience from which you can but benefit. Benefit too from the case studies here where promotions were matched to the ‘active’ activities – at events, road shows and other experiential opportunities.
Self-study questions
1 Write down the reasons your company might need an active promotion. Whom would you target and how would you communicate the active promotion to them?
2 What location would you select for what active promotion?
• A station concourse
• A racecourse
• A flower show
• A race track
• A shopping mall
3 Why is merchandising important for a promotion?