WHY EXPERIENCES AND EVENTS TIED TO A PLACE HAVE A GREATER VALUE THAN EVER.
From the moment we get up in the morning till the time we crawl into bed at the end of the day, ads are something that we see. Whether we are taking the subway to work, listening to Pandora or simply walking down the street, ads surround us. But how many of these branding ads do we really remember? What’s tying you to the brand/ad? Unless you are working in the marketing or advertising arena, chances are you don’t think about ads that often, therefore no physical or emotional connection is made.
Fashion Week in NYC is always a big event. But what if you cannot afford to fly out there to see the shows? In February 2013, Sean Combs had his latest collection for Sean John walk down the runway. Combs also took his runway to the digital level on Instagram. Every 30 minutes, a photo of a look from the runway was posted to the Sean John ‘lookbook’ accompanied with a short description. His followers were encouraged to share these looks among other media outlets. Doing this allowed his fans and followers to connect more with the Sean John brand.
T-Mobile and Wells Fargo took it a step further.
After a long flight to the UK, you get off the plane and begin walking through the terminal, then this happens to you:
This was the third video as part of T-Mobile UK’s ‚ÄòLife’s for Sharing’ campaign in 2011 in which they had flash mobs take over 3 locations in the UK between 2009 and 2010. Their goal was to aim T-Mobile’s brand as a feel good, social brand. As you can see from the video, the singers are seen engaging with the unsuspecting audience as they walk through the terminal. In doing so, on-goers whipped out their cells phones and began taking pictures and videos of the event to share on social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube.
It’s 10:45am and you run out to get a cup of coffee while in New York City’s Time Square and you see a guy drumming on a bucket. No big deal, right? Then this ensues:
Again, unsuspecting viewers stop to watch and whip out their iPhones and other devices to record and share this across social media outlets. While this production is very light on branding, Wells Fargo used this as part of their branding efforts during their Wachovia take over. When asked about the branding efforts during this flash mob, Ed Terpening told The Financial Brand, “Really, the point was to capture the event for wider impact through YouTube. We were not counting on PR coverage so much as driving brand engagement impact on YouTube after the event with the fully produced video.” This video didn’t jump in views as quickly as T-Mobile’s. Wells Fargo paid to have it’s video sponsored on YouTube, which displayed the video on the homepage as well as at the top of the search results.
Just like direct mail pieces leave a deeper footprint on the brain (TIME SAVIORS), having physical interaction with a brand also leaves a longer lasting impression. Whether it’s offline or online, anything tied to a place and time can be a boost for your revenue and your brand and, if executed well, can boost both. A significant part of this trend is allowing consumers the ability to show and tell others what they are doing, preferably in real-time.
Evidence of this Trend:
Febreeze : This brand plucked real people off the street to take part in a blindfolded scent experiment. Read more here.
“Get Away With It”: JetBlue airline created a game-show theme promotion called “Get Away With It”. Three contestants would Skype in as if they were actually on set and participate in the game show.
Xylobands: In 2012, the band Coldplay used these bands to ‘connect’ with the audience. At certain points during the show, the wristbands were activated by radio signal and flashed different colors turning the audience into a light show. Check them out: http://xylobands.com/