The document discusses how experiences are now central to marketing, especially in higher education. It notes that consumers crave authentic experiences and stories over generic advertising. Colleges need to focus on customizing campus visits, engaging all the senses, telling authentic stories rather than just statistics, and crafting memorable experiences that will become stories prospective students share. Authentic experiences that showcase a college's unique character are now more important than amenities in differentiating schools and impacting enrollment decisions.

1. The Experience IS
the Marketing
NAGAP - New York City - 2009
Jeff Kallay Experience Evangelist

2. Take-away:
The Experience IS the marketing
We’re craving authenticity
Stories render authencity
Great experiences are anchored in stories

3. Remember:
“The experience is
the marketing!”

4. Your first trip to, or favorite
Walt Disney World or
Disneyland memory?

5. Are you one of the weekly
40 million that “makes it
your drink” at Starbucks?

6. Welcome to the
Experience Economy
Pine & Gilmore

7. Experience Economy WOW
on
Experiences
ssi
gre
ro
cP
mi
Text
no
Service
co
fE
yo
r
eo
Th
Industrial
Agrarian

8. Experiences = Memories

9. Experiences are the norm
for Millennials and their parents
-raised on technology and the web
-“want what
they want
when they
want it”

10. American Girl

11. Raceline Motorworks

12. Forth & Towne

13. JDV Hotels

14. 1154 Lill Studio

15. Coca-Cola Red Lounge

16. Cereality

17. Apple Store

18. Experience marketing
is about:
1. Repelling commoditization
2. Charging a premium price
3. Persuading consumers to pay
when they never did before
4. Selling “Memories”

19. The experience is higher
education marketing
Arts & Science Group Student Poll 2004

20. The experience is higher
education marketing
-84% use the web most heavily in
researching colleges
-71% say the campus visit is the most
trusted source of information
Eduventures 2007 Survey of 7,867 High school junior and seniors.
Reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education “Prospective Students Rely on Campus Visits and Web Sites to Learn About Colleges, Report Says”

21. The experience is higher
education marketing
-84% use the web most heavily in
researching colleges
-71% say the campus visit is the most
trusted source of information
Eduventures 2007 Survey of 7,867 High school junior and seniors.
Reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education “Prospective Students Rely on Campus Visits and Web Sites to Learn About Colleges, Report Says”

22. “College is the new high
school and graduate school
is the new college.”
Adrienne Bartlett, TargetX

23. Higher Education is the
experience economy: 4 E’s
Absorption
Entertainment Education
Passive Participation Active Participation
Esthetic Escape
Immersion
Strategic Horizons, LLP

24. Integrate the four E’s
Higher Education is the experience economy: 4 E’s
Absorption
Entertainment Education
Passive Participation Active Participation
Esthetic Escape
Immersion
Strategic Horizons, LLP

25. Craft a mini graduate experience
- Customize the Experience
We all want what we want - accommodate the various
levels of interest of guests to your campus
- Eliminate negative cues
- Accent positive cues
- Look for missed cues
Elon University

26. Craft a mini graduate experience
- Customize the Experience
We all want what we want - accommodate the various
levels of interest of guests to your campus
- Eliminate negative cues
- Accent positive cues
- Look for missed cues
Elon University

27. Craft a mini campus experience
- Engage ALL the senses
“83% of marketing appeals to sight, leaving a paltry 17%
to the other senses. Surprisingly, smell is the second most
important sense after sight, and not sound. In fact, 75% of
all emotional connections are based on smell.” Adweek review of Brand Sense
Centre College The Ohio State University

28. Craft a mini graduate experience
- Mix in the memorabilia - “ticket stub”
California Lutheran University

29. Set the expectation
- Before guests arrive (online, email, & mail)
- Explain route (will and won’t be seen)
Map courtesy of
Lenoir-Rhyne College and Sketches

30. Spend no money
- Engage the “sense of the butt”
Millsaps College Albright College
Hampshire College Saint Joseph’s University

31. Tell stories not statistics
- Stories render authenticity
Hendrix College
Lenoir-Rhyne College
Albright College

32. Reveal your school’s nomenclature
Keep it real - do what’s authentic to
your campus and experience
Millsaps College California Lutheran University

33. Do you have a signature moment?
Cerritos Public Library Albright College Westmont College
Millsaps College
Hampshire College
Ursuline College

34. Mystery shop your tour
(and your competitors)
The Ohio State University

35. Remember:
“We’re craving
authenticity”

36. Brand Analogy
Car
Restaurant
Retailer

37. Bring Back the Love

39. Generational
Shift

40. GI Generation (84-107)
Silent Generation (66-83)
Baby-Boomers (48-65)
Generation X (27-47)
Millennials (7-26)
Homeland? (0-6)

41. Marketing Immunity
3,000-5,000 Daily Messages
Neurological Blockades

42. The Persuaders

43. 64%
Believe Advertising is “Dishonest” or “Unrealistic”
Consumers 18-65 years old, Ad Age 2006

44. Authenticity
The new consumer demand
“We are searching to get a
grip on what counts for
people in their personal
and business lives.”
Pine and Gilmore’s website

45. Availability
Cost
Quality
Authenticity

46. Quality.
No Longer Differentiates
Difficult to Define in Higher Education

47. Everyone Looks the Same
Colleges not being true to themselves (inauthentic)
A “me-too” product development philosophy
Leadership not providing clear vision

48. 1980’s Marketing
1990’s Branding
2000’s Authenticity

50. I’m an OK lover, but
afterwards I like to
Me too!
snuggle and talk.
AUTHENTICITY

51. Brands are
Mirrors.
Branding only works when it’s authentic.
We purchase on the basis of conforming to self-image.

52. “I visited and it
felt right!”

53. Authenticity
The new consumer demand
“America has toxic levels
of inauthenticity.
Time Magazine Report

54. Inauthenticity
That is the fundamental problem
with advertising: it’s a phoniness
generating machine.

55. Inauthenticity
The easiest way to be perceived
as phony is to advertise things
you are not.

56. Inauthenticity
Most higher education marketing
renders inauthenticity!

57. Honest College Ad - from collegehumor.com

58. Rendering
Authenticity
“Stop saying what your offerings
are through advertising and start
creating places--permanent or
temporary, physical or virtual,
fee-based or free--where people
can experience what those
offerings, as well as your
enterprise, actually are.”

59. Know who you are
Don’t try to be all things to all people
The Ohio State University

60. Say who you are
Draw a line in the sand
Baylor University

61. Keep it real
SACAC 2008 Survey of 200+ high school seniors
“I believe that imperfections show character. That's what I was looking for
in a college. A school that seemingly has no flaws during a one hour
information session (or tour) not only stands out negatively, but it comes
off as bland and ordinary.”
Read the complete survey results Password: sacac

62. Reroute beyond amenities
Don’t just show the showcase

63. If you’re afraid to say (or show) it,
say (or show) it

64. Hop on the Cluetrain (talk with, not at)
quot;Markets are conversations.
Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
Conversations among human beings sound human.
They are conducted in a human voice.
University of Texas American University

65. Champion stories (not statistics)
St. Edward’s University

66. Building Brand Recognition
Hasn’t Been Harder

67. Don’t think Branding
Think Storytelling

68. Remember:
“Stories render
authenticity”

69. Storytelling is in our blood

70. “I am a man, and men are
animals who tell stories.”
Clive Barker

71. Stories are how most
of us learn

73. Visual
(logo)
10% Details
(body copy)
20%
To the point Story
(headline or (photo and
chart) caption)
20% 50%

74. Three type of stories

75. 1. Discovery and
coming of age

77. 2. Conflict and
resolution

78. “message from ben and matt”

79. 3. Illustration

80. Quote

81. Find your stories by asking
questions (and by listening)

86. Questions that answer the
wants not the needs of your
various audiences

87. Needs are practical and
objective, wants are
irrational and subjective

88. Tell the truth and
keep it real

89. Remember:
“Great experiences
are anchored in
storytelling”

90. Buy the book and listen on the web

91. Story Telling Scale
Engagement on 1-10 (highest)
10 our
(shared experience)
8 your
6 mine
4 others

92. Today the most most
important conversation is
not the marketing
monologue but the
dialogue between your
audience

93. You have to give people the
tools to create their own
stories, memories, and
experiences

94. Talk with, not at

95. Sharing & Connecting
Web 2.0 is about making connections & sharing
Thoughts. Pictures. Videos. Places. Products.

96. Generational Online Activity Differences
100
75
50
25
0
12-17 18-28 29-40 41-50 51-59 60-69 70+
Send Email Instant Message Research a School Text Message Read Blogs
Pew Internet and American Life, 2005

97. Top 10 Web Sites Ages 17-25
Youth Trends and eMarketer.com, October 2006
Females
Males
Facebook MySpace Google Yahoo YouTube iTunes Flickr eBay ESPN

98. High School Students: College Website Activity Discrepancies
Activity Do Want
Financial Aid Estimator 24% 90%
Online Application 22% 86%
IM with Counselor 6% 70%
Campus Visit Request 25% 84%
Tuition Calculator 33% 88%
Faculty Profile 26% 69%
Student Profile 31% 63%
Forwarded Page 34% 63%
Online Survey 50% 72%
Personalize Site 39% 58%
Inquiry Form 72% 73%
Navigating Toward E-Recruitment, Noel-Levitz, Inc.

99. 99%
Join Facebook Groups Before Arriving on Campus
Amherst College IT Study, 2008

100. “In the era of social media, people use technologies
to get what they need from each other, not
traditional institutions.”
Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies ,2008, Harvard UP
Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff

101. “Word of Mouse”

102. The Participation Age
Listen and Observe
Be Transparent
Give up Some Control
Participate Yourself

103. You must design the customer experience
or the customer will design it for you.
Tom Peters

104. Jeff’s Bookshelf

105. Download Session PDF
www.targetx.com>click “iThink Blog”>Presentation Slides

106. The Experience IS
the Marketing
NAGAP - New York City - 2009
Jeff Kallay Experience Evangelist