The Hauser/Burns Report

Marketing to a World of People At The End of The Rope - The Cult Of Speed

2009-10-25T15:09:19+01:00

The feeling is everywhere. I’m sure you've had numerous conversations about it with everyone from co-workers to close friends - you can even feel it in the air. Everyone seems to be tangled up in an emotional spider web of doubt and disillusion.Everyone seems to be wanting to simplify things - they want to slow things down. Unfortunately, everyone has finally come to the realization that they unknowingly joined the cult of speed that has taken over our lives. Never before has it been drawn into this sharp of focus. The world is moving incredibly fast, and we all seem to have allocated less time for the things that mean the most to us.As marketing professionals what can we do to connect to what seems like an unconnectable audience?It is clear, now more than ever, brands need to hit the pause button - do a quick inventory of their current marketing mix - and adjust immediately. You can almost feel it in the air. The audiences aren't paying attention to anything that corporations are putting forth because in their overwhelmed state it's as if everything has just become noise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_noise). My suggestion, of course, is to really get your brand...

Experiential Approaches: Relevant & Mainstream

2009-10-02T12:01:03+01:00

By: Dr. Neal BurnsEvery once in a while I think that we need to look at some rather traditional and standard approaches to marketing decisions - stuff that has merit and has worked - and examine how experiential advertising efforts intersect with contemporary business practice. And, as the experiential work moves from alternative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative) to mainstream (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainstream) - and expected -the data base available grows. The relationship of the measured experience and delivery at brand touchpoints (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchpoint) to the constructs of premium vs. price-based , estimates of market share and other marketing considerations will become more important as part of the experiential proposal. Erik (if-it's-Tuesday-I-must-be-in-New-Delhi) Hauser and I want us all to look smart as this evolution rolls forward.So, as we try to establish guidelines and best practices (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_practices) to help promote both the effectiveness and acceptance of experiential advertising what can we adapt from marketing theory that helps bring these two disciplines together. (Whoops - Is experiential advertising a discipline - a topic for another day I suspect.) I suggest that a good starting place is to look at those categories that are dominated by a leader -...

Experiential Marketing Events : Rethinking What You Thought You Knew - Part 3 of Many

2009-09-11T03:00:00+01:00

Hello Readers of the EMF Blog! I apologize for the decrease in frequency of my posts, but I am dealing with a family illness.Also, we just launched a new research channel for the EMF. This section is intended to help al brands and practicioners better understand events that are done using experiential methodology.Having said that - TIME TO TAKE THE GLOVES OFF for part #3.In part #2 I wroteToday, everyone knows that the activation budget/media buy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_buying) needs to be a healthy sum of money in order to reach the intended amount of the mass audience. Especially since there are reports floating around that it takes 40-plus airings of a commercial to yield the same result of just 4 to 5 airings a few years ago. The media landscape is that much more fragmented. In any case, it is clear that there are two things that need to be taken into consideration: the quality of the spot and the quantity of the times that it runs. Both of these things require substantial spending for a chance at success.In essence, when you are classifying event marketing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engagement_marketing) as the mass channel that it is let me say this....

Experiential Marketing Events : Rethinking What You Thought You Knew - Part 2 of Many

2009-09-09T11:13:43+01:00

Let’s begin to think about other mass channels and the current thinking applied there - let’s start with the oldest and most famous traditional mass channel - the good ole’ TV commercial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tv_commercial)!It’s certainly been a round a long time, and when used properly, it’s certainly a great component to any integrated marketing campaign. I say this, of course, taking into consideration that a brand is working with substantial dollars, and not in a situation in which it’s working with slashed budgets. Sound familiar?When working on a TV spot - whether a 15-, 30- or 60-second spot — the tried-and-true media planning and buying methodology will break down the cost of the spot into a few quantifiable buckets. How many buckets exactly? Lets just say that it’s about 3 to 5 separate buckets, not counting the cost for ideation.We’re talking about the mechanics of the spot itself. (Please note that I am not a media buyer so I’m applying a beginner’s perspective to this process. I apologize in advance.) There’s the pre-production costs and all the advance work needed to kick-start the production. Site and talent scouting, procurement, scheduling, troubleshooting, etc….there’s a bunch of money set aside...

New EMF-IMI Experiential Marketing Research is Live

2009-09-01T13:22:14+01:00

Howdy Nation, As promised we've been hard at work with our partners at IMI regarding getting a new, stronger experiential marketing research section up and running. The press release will go out tomorrow. You can expect to see this section updated with something new at the beginning of each month. We are also talking about how/where/when we will be conducting more research to keep the community informed and ahead of their competition at all times.:) There is a banner on the homepage http://www.experientialforum.com/ You will need to visit the EMF and log-in to get the first three pieces that got the New Research Section up and running on time.:) My friends............we now set sail to be able to present our clients with hard facts that will enable us to continue to grow our businesses. All the best, Erik

Honey, Please Leave the Buzzwords In the Car

2009-07-21T03:16:35+01:00

Just a quick thought.........I have got to tell you that I love to hear the latest and greatest buzzwords (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzword). They are absolutely awesome - sometimes they are so clever that I even wish I trademarked them myself. My favorite to date has been tryvertising (http://trendwatching.com/trends/TRYVERTISING.htm), but there are a 1,000 buzzwords that could come in a VERY close second place. Tryvertising - honestly - where is the bucket because that word makes me want to throw up!:)There’s the old saying that half of all advertising is complete BS, and that only the trick is to figure out which half. This makes me laugh because when you think about this statement and cross pollenate it with the factory of buzzwords it really does make one question the state of the industry. Of course this begs the question - What is real? What will be eternally great and will never simply be a buzzword or the flavor of the week? One thing is for certain - Experiential Marketing Methodology is not a buzzword or a flavor of the week. It’s a tried and true customer-centric marketing methodology that is media agnostic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic). It...

Being in the Experiential Marketing Business During Chaos

2009-07-14T14:46:20+01:00

A Note from the Good Professor . . .Dr. Neal Burns In a very direct sense, the initial interest in experiential advertising theory and tactics was a reaction to - what appeared to some - as a lose of effectiveness in the 30 second spot or the interest in gaining the center spread with a four color double truck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_truck) in a special interest publication. The chaos that resulted brought many of us to examine the business models upon which the traditional agencies were built and the theories that seemed to stem from A.I.D.A - a linear scheme that ignored the independence of the audience. The combination of new technology and a huge cultural shift in terms of values and attitudes in the past 10 years were to the best of us, confusing - and to many so threatening that denial appeared as a reasonable reaction - This is just a phase - soon we'll get back to normal. Alternative advertising techniques gained share of mind - and share of budget - and not only experiential but also interactive, consumer generated content and the rapid growth in numbers and influence of social networking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking) moved...

Retail Killed The Retail Star

2009-06-14T03:36:02+01:00

I’m sitting here in my hotel mentally prepping for another trek back to the states, but I felt this overwhelming urge to get this one out of my system at this very moment. Let me first say that I know that there are a myriad of factors that play into retail. There are several things that are out of the retailers’ control, but we have big boxers and small boxers that have simply killed themselves by not controlling their eco-system properly.Let me clearly state that I visit retail outlets often. They are part of my routine, and I enjoy the experience that they offer. However, none of that matters if my experience doesn’t end with me dragging my feet to the register. This, of course, begs the question why don’t the majority of my retail visits end at the register and usually end with me simply discarding my overpriced coffee on the way out?It’s simple. Besides the fact that their pricing models are ridiculous, they are so so so very far from cracking the C3 model.That’s right. I’m back to beating that drum. C3 — Convenience, Control and Choice — dominate the marketplace! If you offer your customers this you...

Experiential Marketing : Profiles In Leadership

2009-06-04T13:42:33+01:00

Experiential Marketing : Profiles In leadership Section Launchedhttp://www.experientialforum.com/content/view/179 (content/view/179) It is with great pride that I introduce the newest section of The Experiential Marketing Forum: EMF Profiles in Leadership. The idea for it arose after I began connecting recently with a bunch of EMF community members who wanted to chat about the economic changes and what was going on with the industry. Everyone seemed to be asking like-minded questions re: what was going to happen next and how we would all be affected. By now, everyone kind of knows my style :) - In typical Erik fashion I spent many hours on the phone just talking to people. The most important part of the conversations wasn’t the part when I was talking - it was the part when I was listening to what the community had to say.It occurred to me that we could create a new tool on the EMF that would offer the community keen insights about our industry and other relevant subject matter from the best minds working with, and around, us all. In reality the idea flows back to what my mom told me when I was a kid. She said,” If...

Old World Order : Thoughts of an Experiential Marketer

2009-05-28T07:23:21+01:00

Files..There is a reason that United Airlines doesn’t let the passengers fly the planes. There’s also a pretty good reason that the hospital doesn’t allow its patients to perform emergency surgeries. Simply put – the majority of folks don’t have the skill set to do it.I would like to think that I have a fairly good understanding of the marketplace. There are products and services that are created for consumption, and there are advertising professionals that are asked to help expedite this process, and to help make their client’s product or service outsell the competition. I’ve really enjoyed the American Idol age of advertising, but I’m convinced you will be seeing a lot less of it soon. The rush to allow customers to create everything will trend down, and in many respects, the old world order will re-assert itself. I am certainly not saying that customer generated content (CGC) will disappear completely, but like everything else in business it has a natural lifecycle and the cream will rise to the top – great creatives will once again be the driving force in marketing campaigns.Let’s take a trip down recent memory lane – shall we? Remember the first blogs? Blogging quickly...