Branding by Experience. Who says you can't measure experiential?

1. Why experiential?
BRANDING BY
EXPERIENCE.
WHO SAYS YOU
CAN’T MEASURE
EXPERIENTIAL?
When planned and implemented
effectively, experiential is one of the
most measurable marketing
channels.
It might not always be possible to
measure experiential ROI in terms of
linear £-for-£ sales, but as specialist
experiential marketers, we believe
the longer-term impact on brand
value created by strategic and
engaging experiential campaigns is
highly measurable. And it’s these
measures, which have been proven
time and again to have the ultimate
impact on sales. If anyone tells you
differently, well they’re talking
nonsense.
Read on to find out more.
The best brand strategies are the ones that find a way
to tap into people’s feelings and emotions. Most
consumers don’t just buy products, but the
personalities and stories associated with them. This is
what makes experiential a hugely important part of the
marketing mix. It provides a way to dazzle consumers’
senses, touch their hearts and excite them in a way
that functional benefits and product quality claims
never can.
Most brands know that an immersive experience or
event participation, is vital to engage consumers.
However, they often don’t understand the real value or
potential of it, let alone how to measure it.
Measuring experiential
Measurements do exist, and this is something that
brands should be investing in, just as they do with
more ‘traditional’ media channels.
a. Word of mouth (WOM):
Few would argue that WOM is the holy grail in
terms of ‘how’ we go about reaching our
consumers, who according to McKinsey & Co. are
heavily influenced by their peers. 50 to 80% of
consumers (category dependent) say WOM has
the biggest influence on purchase.
There’s no doubt that a successful experience
drives extensive WOM, both online and offline.
The average consumer will tell 15 people about
an experience - American Express. Surely, this is
a far higher quality of reach than standard TV ad
views?
Fundamentally, experiential leads to longer
relationships and increased advocacy that pays
off in terms of extended, quality reach over time.
Marketers need to look beyond the immediate ‘activity
measures’ (the number of samples, interactions and
immediate sales) to measure the ‘value’ the
experiential campaign has added to the brand longer
term.
“The idea that business is just a number affair has
always struck me as preposterous. For one thing,
I’ve never been good at numbers but I’ve done a
reasonable job with feelings. And I’m convinced that
it is feelings – and feelings alone – that account for
the success of the Virgin brand”
Richard Branson
Whilst it might be tempting to look at immediate sales
as the key ROI measure, this spike will not drive longterm brand buy-in. We believe, the key measures are:
1.Extended reach and advocacy
Look beyond the reach of the experience itself to
measure two forms of extended reach generated by
experiential marketing:
The Lynx Fever brazilian hot mud wrestling saw
entire audiences of guys filming on their
mobiles and uploading to youtube, generating
10,000’s views of consumer generated content
and a real post event, online buzz. Real,
measurable, WOM advocacy.
www.theloungegroup.com/lynx-case-study/
thoughtreport#2

2. b. Content:
With the rise of on-demand radio & TV services, the
question is really whether ads are even getting the
views and cut through. It’s no wonder then that
brands such as Smirnoff are spearheading a trend
towards experiential providing the ‘content’ for
digital and ATL communications.
2. Quality of reach/interaction
Don’t compare quantitative measures, such as
reach, with traditional media. The quality, and value,
of the interaction is totally different.
• Experiential provides a direct, tangible and
memorable experience of both the brand and the
product or service itself.
• When based on real-world consumer insights, it can
provide consumers with a tangible benefit, which
builds resonance and a meaningful connection with
the brand.
• It allows more time to be spent with consumers,
observing their reactions, interacting with and
learning from them.
• It inspires more rapid behaviour change and action
from participant
Our Santander
experiential
campaign, built
on real consumer
insight, doubled
the number of
school leavers
accounts opened
yr-on-yr for 3 yrs.
The real impact on sales
We believe there are three ‘quality’ measures, which
will have a tangible impact on ultimate sales. These
should, and can easily be assessed to gauge the
success of an experiential campaign:
Consumer insight revealed that Havana Club’s
audience share the Habaneros’ mentality of
creating what they want and need out of what
they have – or ‘upcycling’. So we created urban
Mojito mint gardens in 4 cities using upcycled
items and engaging off and on-trade mechanics
resulting in a 49% yr-on-yr sales increase.
www.theloungegroup.com/mint
Brand Perception:
What did they take out of the experience? What
feelings did it create about the brand?
Propensity to Recommend:
Telling others about the brand in a favourable way increasingly important in a social media age
Purchasing Behaviour:
Are they more likely to buy subsequently?
Aim for and measure the longer-term value generated
for the brand as this will result in brand loyalty and
repeat sales vs an immediate but short-term sales
increase spike.
The Lounge’s tips for achieving
and measuring experiential ROI
1 Focus on your consumer
Don’t think of your experience as a brand
activity, but as a consumer benefit. Think
about what your consumer is driven by, what
they need, what motivates them and thus,
how your brand can add real value through an
experience.
2 Know your ROI before you go live
Don’t create in isolation from the target
audience. Test and refine in partnership with
your consumers to understand the likely ROI
before you go live.
3 Think beyond immediate sales
Sampling and immediate sales drivers can be
a part of the experience but more important is
the longer-term emotional engagement.
Understanding why your brand is for them vs a
competitor, will drive real loyalty. Experiential is
the most effective channel for this.
4 Encourage and motivate action
No, not just a basic coupon. Give participants a
reason to continue the engagement. For Havana
Club we set up partnerships with high end bars
and included clever mechanics to drive people inbar, to encourage in-home consumption and to
continue the dialogue online.
5 Invest in ROI measurement
Don’t scrimp on measurement, it’s what will
allow you to tweak and make the next
iteration more successful, providing the
metrics to the business to allow for greater
future investment in the ultimate brand
engagement channel.
The Lounge Group is a brand experience agency
that uses intelligence and insight, through our
network of 10,000 consumers, to develop effective
ideas that connect with your audience.
Interested in maximising your experiential ROI?
Drop a line to sara.gil@theloungegroup.com to
chat about what we can do for you.