"People spend half their time immersed in a digital world and therefore it's a small surprise that there is a craving for real experiences” commented our Head of Experiential and Global Business Partner, Andy Dougan, as he contributed to Econsultancy’s Guide to Best Experiential Marketing Practice.
The guide reports that the Experience Economy is having a growing impact on marketing, with experiential marketing rising for 19 consecutive quarters. In Q2 2018, they rose 4.3%, second only to internet marketing.
Driving growth are four factors.
1. A shift in consumer spending to experiences rather than material goods; a trend spearheaded by millennials.
2. The saturation of digital and screen-based activities is fuelling an appetite for real, physical experiences.
3. Technologies such as AR and VR are being used to enhance real-life experiences, blurring the lines between physical and digital.
4. Social media amplification of live experiences is continuing to grow as social media channels proliferate.
Andy points to Geometry’s Maserati work as an example in point. Briefed to encourage dealership footfall and increase test drives, “We hijacked ‘test drives in the US’ on Google, so when people searched for that term or for similar terms relating to competitors we picked up some of the traffic.”
He continued, “We were able to send real Maseratis to those people and say, for example, ‘we know you were looking at test driving AudiA4s. Would you be interested in a Maserati to take you to your test drive, because there is a car outside right now?' It was a really effective way of taking the experience to them.”
Econsultancy’s guide has been written to help senior marketers better understand the opportunities offered by experiential marketing, outlining when and how the discipline can add value.
To read more and download the guide, please click here.