EXPERIENTIAL KILLED THE DIGITAL STAR.
We are now living in the age of recommendation.
Desire for a Brand is influenced more than ever by the experiences of family and friends and even strangers and there is no better way to get people to talk to brands than face to face and this is exactly what experiential marketing is about, be it physical or digital engagement. So why is this proven and highly effective discipline still leapfrogged more often than not by its digital cousin? Well I doubt it comes as a client’s recommendation as no other form of communication offers the speed or quality of return on investment. It can’t be the business model, as the highly skilled but low headcount, fee-driven nature of experiential shops will always offer a better revenue conversion rate. It can’t be driven by the quest for better creativity as the most awarded agencies on the planet these days have the experience at their core and in a world where the TV screen maximizes your creative playground to 52 inches you’d think creative’s would see the bigger world, the one outside of the box, far more stimulating and attractive.
the most awarded agencies on the planet these days have the experience at their core
I think it’s a mix of fear and ignorance. The experiential space requires very bright people who can think multi-dimensionally. These people are hard to find in this region because there has been little or no cultivation of the skill sets required. Most of the obvious experiential opportunities are missed by agencies because they’re simply not recognized, or more often than not they look like too much hard work.
Many are fearful of that brave new world.
Experiential is inherently media neutral because contrary to popular belief the experiential world doesn’t want to kill the digital screen. They believe that TV, press and outdoor should often be part of the deliverables from a big media neutral experiential idea. There is no better way to get into people homes than TV but it’s the engagement out of home were equal focus is required and the problem is that it’s often impossible to create effective experiences from a creative idea driven by TV as the medium.
Its not that the market doesn’t get experiential, its just that we all know once clients and agencies embrace the experience, physical or digital, there will be no going back.
Many are fearful of that brave new world.
Phil Lynagh
Director SHA.
“The opinions in this article are that of the author alone and in no way, reflect the opinions or viewpoint of the agency. Unless of course we happen to agree with those opinions completely, in which case they might, but otherwise they don’t”
