There was a time when the communication component of the marketing mix was relatively simple: generate AWARENESS; create INTEREST; stimulate DESIRE; and, trigger ACTION. The AIDA mnemonic was the marketer’s communication model which integrated seamlessly with the proverbial 4 ‘Ps’ of marketing. Within this model, each part of the agency world played a unique role: Ad Agencies were, and remain, brilliant at generating awareness and stimulating desire; PR companies added to the mix creating interest through choreographed editorial and generating news; and, activation agencies worked tirelessly with the retail trade in the ‘below-the-line’ space to trigger action.
But all that changed with the onset of the digital revolution, the impact of which is immeasurably greater. Undoubtedly it will be even more profound than the industrial revolution on the way that business is conducted.
Despite a history that can be traced back to the medieval guilds, the role of brands and branding within the business environment is essentially a 20th century phenomenon. Evolving out of a ‘product-driven’ era, the need to differentiate products to increase competitiveness, gave rise to the ‘science of brand positioning’; the birth of the value proposition; and the rise of advertising and other forms of communication (and agencies). This so that they might reach out to consumers to achieve the winning AIDA formula.
During the latter half of the 20th century, brands grew in significance to become icons and marques which began to define the user as much as they defined themselves. These were the halcyon days of iconic advertising which helped shape and position these brands.
The 1980s could well be defined as the first ‘Era of Hedonism’ as the ‘Baby Boomers’ rose to the top of the food chain in terms of disposable income and status, and they wanted to tell the world who and what they were about. The crash of 1987, following on from Black Monday on 19th October 1987, ushered in an ‘Era of Pragmatism’ which ran into the 1990s. But this era was defined by a strong underpinning of ‘globalisation’ following the tumultuous events of 1989 with the fall of Communism (as epitomised by the destruction of the Berlin Wall).
American brands and the American style of marketing began to dominate as the world was introduced to the power of Global Brands.
The arrival of the ‘Digital Era’, characterised by platforms such as Google and Facebook and Apple’s tools and applications, caused a complete re-evaluation of the marketing landscape and the marketing tool-box, as one-way communication could now be replaced by two-way dialogue. The mass consumer was being turned into a potent combination of ‘empowered individuals’ and ‘concerned and committed communities’.
Overlapping with the birth of the Digital Age was the growth of ‘experiential marketing’ as a kind of hybrid of ‘below-the-line activations and event marketing – a potentially potent mix with consumer involvement at the centre, but with its impact limited to the number of participants at the event or activation.
The digital revolution changed all this overnight, as it both enabled and encouraged the participants to capture and share such brand experiences, creating viral waves of interest which could move around the country, indeed around the world, as fast as any piece of breaking news. The digital revolution gave experiential marketing the rocket booster to become a global force and to effectively redefine the communications landscape by being able to address the whole AIDA process from a brand relationship perspective. Perhaps, given the dynamically changing landscape, it is not surprising that so many of the World’s most successful and desirable brands, such as Google, Facebook, Apple and Coca Cola, are built on a foundation of strong two-way relationship, increasingly nurtured through experiential marketing.
If technology became the enabling, liberating force, it took an unusual combination of the realisation of changing demographics and economic pressure, to cause marketers to reassess their approach to brand building and communication. The tectonic shift in the global economic landscape in favour of the dynamic growth of the ‘emerging markets’ (while the traditional ‘westernised’ markets stalled) brought marketing focus back onto the importance of the youth and young adult market, the very people one could reach most effectively via the digitally enabled, exploding and continually evolving ‘social network’.
On top of this, the aftermath of the 2008 global economic recession effectively slashed marketing budgets and placed increased emphasis on marketing delivering results. In such turbulent times the efficacy of traditional forms of communication is being continually challenged, creating the gap for increased experiential marketing; but this also requires a step-change. It has to be experiential marketing 2.0 for the ‘what-if’ world of the 21st Century that can deliver on awareness right through to action!
Today’s savvy, and often cynical, consumer wants more. They want to know how the brand behaves (and is seen to behave), how the brand engages with and around consumers, and how the brand engages throughout the total value chain. It’s no longer sufficient for Brands to be of iconic status. Winning brands need to be involved in meaningful relationships with their consumers and their communities. In this situation it is questionable as to whether a traditional agency perspective equips one with the holistic thinking required to deliver ‘experiential marketing 2.0’.
The agency of the 21st century will need to be able to live the brand with the marketer and with the consumer through a succession of user-based, designed, participative activations that will be actively and voluntarily shared throughout the social network - gaining increasing momentum as it travels. It is contended that the agencies who understand that communication needs to be continually re-invented through experiential marketing 2.0, will set the benchmarks and set the pace.
The winning agencies will understand that the brand experience is far more powerful and sustainable than the brand’s image and that it should: inspire and encourage sharing; create a community of interest; create content that generates conversation; leverage technological breakthroughs; and, adopt and create new marketing tools.
Brands need to be experienced in all relevant places along the total value chain and that means that the experiential agency needs to be able to excel in handling all manner of platforms, be they in media, new media, shopping areas, virtual and physical communities, internally (staff/distributors/agents/franchisees), and launches.
Over the years, advertising and public relations agencies have received more than their fair share of criticism, notably when the debate inevitably shifts to the issue of effectiveness compared to great, award winning ideas. We need to move beyond what really is a non-discussion, because all ideas should be both great and effective! The conversation needs to shift to what is great communication. It’s our contention that great communication will always be built upon great ideas that not only have the capability to break through the clutter, but to actually build a relationship between the brand and the consumer. Any agency that can grasp the nuances of and deliver experiential marketing 2.0 is best positioned to build and nurture the winning brands of the 21st century.
