Post on 07-Apr-2018
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
1/12
COVER STORY December 2010, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 20
Experiential Marketing, distinct from other forms of
marketing, offers immense potential for tapping into the
psyche of the consumer, creating product differentiation,
enhancing brand personality and reaching out to relevant
audiences. The thrust of the practice being relationship
centric enables brands to achieve customer loyalty in a
product-saturated market. With the unprecedented impetus
to the Internet and mobile platforms, Experiential Marketing
has continued to evolve and move forward as technology
opens more collaborative and social communication
channels. Including tools for managing relationships with
customers that go beyond simple demographics, while
customer service data help brands to leverage resources
so as to derive better efciency of reach.
By Cain PintoWhile considering the brand universe and the variegated
marketing activities inherent in their functioning, media
brands being inextricably linked to the medium of
dissemination that they are manifestly functional in,
are in that sense unique. They employ Experiential
Marketing to further augment benecial outcomes for
the company. Different media have myriad objectives for
using Experiential Marketing. They choose among these
methods the one thats most suited to the achievement of
objectives and attainment of greater brand equity. While
in this attempt they follow the general tenets of traditional
Experiential Marketing, they do however customize the
forms assumed by the strategy to better handle different
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
2/12
COVER STORY
audiences and achieve diverse objectives. The
exibility that such an approach offers allows for
more uid and radical executions by brands.
And what better than the thrust of an integratedmarketing approach within the reach of ones
own umbrella mediums? Where marketers have
accorded enough importance to synergizing
communication across channels, media marketers
are creating experiential marketing platforms and
using these as the message in their mediums
to intrigue consumers with an engaging story.
Content Creation
A brand would typically create a knowledge
platform to leverage the basic premise of
knowledge creation. Knowledge creation and
exchange is the basic premise of a mediabrand, which is leveraged in the on-ground
format through a conference.
The Economic Times conducted the fourth
edition of The Economic Times Banking
Technology Conclave 2010 in Mumbai. The
4th Banking Technology Conclaves agenda
was to gain access to the resources and
intellectual capital that a banking technologist
needs, to help lead the organization to growth.
The Economic Times has several knowledge
conferences, like the one discussed above,
in which they take a leadership stand in a
relevant topic and also use the conference
as an avenue of creating content within the
newspaper.
The concept of luxury becoming the new hot
topic in India due to boom in relevant classes,
who prefer to spend on things that enhance
living experience and accord prestige,
necessitated the purveyors of such goods to
lobby, discuss and put the market situation
into perspective. The Mint Hindustan Times
Luxury Conference, a forum for the discussion
and exchange of ideas on the luxury industry
with the business of luxury as its premisewas initiated with the support of the Ministry
of Commerce and Industry. The conference
engaged an audience full of luxury brand
representatives that also make for potential
advertisers of the Mint Hindustan Times that
are getting engaged on an interactive level by
a very relevant discussion.
Guru Yatra, an initiative organised in associat ion
with The Economic Times Corporate Dossier
employs the form of a travelling lecture series
that will generate not only buzz and recall but
also stimulating insights about trends prevalent
in management thought. This kind of event will
December 2010, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 21
Experiential Marketing integrates
elements of emotions and logic to
connect with the consumers, going
much beyond features and benet of
the products. Dainik Bhaskar group
provides 360-degree solutions in the
form of ground-events for a particular
TG or events with an emotional
connect e.g. Holding exhibitions,
conferences and internal seminars
for educative purposes and general
enrichment of the employees. The key
element being: establishing personal
connections with the TG, to make
business sense. Ultimately, these
connections lead to brand loyalty
and in course of time, reect in brand
revenue believes.
Jayent MishraNational Head - DB
Activation, Dainik Bhaskar
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
3/12
COVER STORY
enhance the image of the firm in business
and academia, and generate exclusive and
unique insights on the subject.
Adding on AdvertisersMedia brands solicit advertisers to further
their interests. Take the Times Interiors
exhibition for instance. This exhibition is
amplified in the media (Times of India) to
a large section of the purported consumer
base. Advertisers are doubly benefited
by being promoted firstly through the
advertisements about the exhibition in the
media and secondly through a face-to-face
interaction with a large consumer base of the
newspaper that turns up at the exhibition.
Radio Mirchi announced the entries for theMirchi Kaan Awards 2010. An innovative on-
ground activation was held at 10 creative
agencies in Mumbai. Through the awards
a unique stakeholder was targeted, in the
form of the creative agency that creates the
advertisements.
By encouraging innovation and creative
work in creating radio advertisements, the
radio station is nurturing relationships within
the industry on which their advertisers are
reliant and base their decisions to advertise
on the radio.
Drive Brand Promise
Certain media brands have unique
positioning, niche audiences. For e.g. most
radio brands have to differentiate from one
another through some unique positioning.
MY FM announced the MY FM ki Chhadi-
a campaign launched to replace physical
chastisement with knowledgeable
disciplinary measures; an initiative driven
to reform the society. While the connection
between these initiatives are not obviouslyapparent, there is none the less a core
agenda that they share in common. An
initiative seeded in taking a stand on an
issue, to appeal to the young society with
the same attitude.
Mid Day uses this strategy to reach out to the
youth. They create activations / promotions
for their brand, to drive in the awareness and
differentiation amongst audiences. The Mid
Day Happy Hours at Work events engage
audiences within their work place with a post-
work party and is the perfect manifestation
of the tagline Make work fun. These events
December 2010, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 22
Worldwide marketing budgets arebeing focused more on ground
activations and experientialmarketing properties to bring the
brand-promise and positioningalive for the brands. There is so
much clutter today that experientialmarketing is key to the success ofany brand. We have been focusing
on Experiential Marketing viaInnovations aggressively since the
last few years. The brands TG is theyoung urban mobile professionals
across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore andPune. MidDays marketing properties
have successfully engaged the TGvia innovations and establishing thebrand promise of Make Work Fun.Impactfully engaging the TG and
bringing alive the brand promise isessential for all marketers today.
Nevil le Bastawalla
Head Marketing, MidDay
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
4/12
COVER STORY
are designed to garner interest, curiosity,
patronage and goodwill from a young, urban
target audience.
My FM organized an initiative titled Paisoki Baarish for its listeners of Jalandhar to
spread the spirit of Jiyo Dil Se. This along with
the initiatives mentioned above, all have in
common the notion of living up to ideals of the
consumer through the brand positioning that
strives to relate with them. These events foster
positive associations to the brand recall aspect
because they garner the ideal, aspirational
values that they subconsciously ascribe to.
Reaching RelevantAudiences
CNBC, a part of TV18 Network, organizedthe CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards 2010 in
Mumbai. Engagement of audiences through a
nationwide survey of 4000 people across 20
cities and celebration of brands solves a dual
purpose and highlights the consumer centric
orientation of the channel.
MidDay engaged the young, urban population
of the city with MidDay Corporate Soccer
Championship. Bearing in mind the level of
involvement that such an event could garner
from the relevant audiences. The basic idea
behind these initiatives is one chosen with
great care, to correspond closely with the
aspirational values of the target audience,
YUMPIs in the case of MidDay. Consolidation
of positive images to be associated with the
brand and establishing an intimate connect
with the relevant people is the prime incentive
to undertake such events.
Brand Symbiosis
All media brands undertake smaller promotions
with their advertiser brands in addition to
promoting them through the primary medium.
This phenomenon is widely visible in Radio.
Both brands benefit from such collaborations
since the goodwill generated from events
executed in partnership are accorded to all
participant parties. Mahindra Xylo and Radio
One partnered for the second season of
their annual property, the Time of Your Life
Karaoke Contest.
Times of India with its Times experience
centered on induction cooking, neatly made
forays into the collective interest of a large
customer segment while fostering profitable
collaborations with Prestige.
December 2010, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 23
Communication has changedover the years and conversationsrather than communication with
the consumers have becomenecessary. Experiential Marketing
establishes a means of conversationwith consumers. Having consumers
experience the brand promisehas taken credence over plainlycreating awareness of it. Media
brands try to involve consumers so
they are receptive to the contentof communication. If a consumer
experiences a radio brand on-ground and interacts with it, the
next time he tunes in to the radio,my brand is the one hes likelyto select for listening pleasure.
Creating memorable and excitingexperiences enhances loyalty for the
radio brand.
Anand ChakravarthyCEO, BIG FM
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
5/12
GLIMPSES November 2010, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 50
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
6/12
COVER STORY
The success of the activation also solders the
equity of new brands that consolidate their
positioning by positive cognitive associations.
DB Activation, the event vertical of the DainikBhaskar Group (DB Corp Limited), provides a
platform in the form of experiential marketing to
brands that want to reach people and connect
with them emotionally and personally.
Enabling clients to engage with the consumer
directly where they can participate in a dialogue
with them, instead of the usual one-sided
communication it is a two-way communication.
Eventually, such ground events become
synonymous with the brand; the readers
looking forward to such events. It is a popular
tool to interact with the consumers / readers.
Evolution from Event to
Brand
Some events, because they have an intrinsic,
structured, consumer appeal, can then garner
brand status. While this phenomenon is not
restricted to events that are initiatives of media
brands alone, but what emerges essentially, is
a branded medium for communication. This
unique media platform evolves together with
message dissemination, brand association
and consumer engagement capabilities all
through the format of experience.
These motivations are further amplified on all
other ancillary mediums. Taking on the entity
of a brand itself allows the brand to enjoy some
level of media (conventional formats) neutrality
as well. Amplification benefits can then be
derived from telecast, television promotions,
radio and newspapers advertisements and on-
ground promotions as well.
Like telecast on a TV Channel, promotion on
Radio beyond promoting the event in their
own media, spread sheets in newspapers etal. The convergence of the messages sent out
on the different media result in a conflation of
it, magnifying the effects more than any one
or the other medium could achieve single
handedly.
With successful execution and mileage gained
from good reviews by other media brands, a
property takes on a brand status and becomes
an independent entity with its own perceived
set of values. This brand personality that is
developed by the property can be extended
unto other brands that associate themselves
with the primary brand.
December 2010, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 25
The promotional activities for one of
SETs biggest shows, Indian Idol was
very elaborate and was divided into
three phases, of which experience
played an integral role in each phase.
The rst phase was focused on
spreading news about the auditions
across the country, the second geared
towards ensuring maximum samplingfor the show, and the third on taking
the brand experience called Indian Idol
outside the TV for the audiences. The
focus is more on experiential marketing,
as a part of which the channel has set
up voting booths in places such as malls
and multiplexes.
Danish Khan
Head - Marketing
Sony Entertainment Television
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
7/12
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
8/12
COVER STORY
Like Gitanjali, which unveiled the exquisitely
crafted Collection G crowns specially
designed for the young beautiful contestants
aspiring for the prestigious PantaloonsFemina Miss India title. Femina Miss India
enjoys access and presence in any media
brand under the Times group umbrella while
also being telecast on a GEC each year.
The Filmfare Awards is another example of
such a brand, also from the Times stable.
On similar lines, the Stardust Awards is
MagnaMags innovation to tap into emerging
talent within the Indian film industry.
Properties that take on brand statuses become
assets to its owner. It merits its own audience
from the reputation it garners throughsuccessful implementation of experience.
These become avenues to recruit new brands
that want to associate themselves with a
popular property because they are assured
of being subject to increased attention from
the relevant target audience by simply being
seen at the right place at the right time.
More often these event brands emerge from
General Entertainment Channels stables,
like the Zee Cine Awards and even the Star
Parivaar Awards. But every now and then
we even get to see initiatives from the path-
making brands, like Red FMs Bingo Bajaate
Raho Awards proved to be.
The exposure that such inclusive practices
promise are immense since the many media
are amplified reciprocally whilst engaging
in one coordinated, orchestrated effort.
Experiential Marketing in effect proffers an
augmented synergy through coordination
within various media and custom made
execution.
Having invested in developing emotional
capital in minds of customers, to some extent,have a safeguard against the onslaught of
saturation and lack of differentiation between
brands in the markets. It also helps to build
on a unique differentiating element for the
concerned brands, giving the consumer more
reasons to choose that brand over another.
Given the relative economy of conducting
promotions in such a streamlined and
strategic manner more and more brands
are bound to venture into the domain of
Experiential Marketing. Such interactive
stimulus is serving to shape the future of
global brands.
December 2010, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 27
From a media owners point of view,
we have used Experiential Marketing
platforms like events extensively,
with very positive results. We use it
to enhance the brand in addition to
doing events for advertiser brands. It
is a great way to reach out and create
interest. It provides a creative platform
to do events and activations for the
brands associated with us.
Shivendra PariharMarketing Head
MagnaMags
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
9/12
IN FOCUS
India exchanges nightlife
with CanadaSmirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project - the day the world swaps nights!
Over 18,000 people from ve continents and 14 countries
were a part of the one-of-a-kind experience, The Smirnoff
Nightlife Exchange Project. The idea was conceptualised
by the Smirnoffs global brand team wherein the main
objective behind the project was to inspire people to
take part in and help create extraordinary experiences.
The Brand and the initiative
Positioned as a unique initiative that will enable people
to experience the nightlife of another country, Smirnoff
Nightlife Exchange Project was organised simultaneously
across 14 countries on November 27. In India the
event took place in Bengaluru at the Ashok Lalit Hotel.
Commenting on the objective on this initiative, Nakul
Pathak, Marketing Manager, Smirnoff - Diageo India,
said, Smirnoff believes in doing things differently; We
organise events that create something special, something
extraordinary a night people will look back on and say--
I was there. As a part of the Be There campaign, the
Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project was an ambitious
attempt to create a once-in-a lifetime experience on the
same night all over the globe.
Smirnoff reached out to people in fourteen countries to ask
them the simple question-- What makes your nightlife the
best in the world? These ideas were transformed into event
experiences across these countries.
On the lead time required to execute this global initiative,
Pathak added, Right from the conceptualisation to the
promotions to the actual on-ground event it took around
ve months to complete the entire project.
The countries selected to take part in the initiative were
done so to be representative of the world nightlife cultures.
India, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany,
Great Britain, Ireland, Lebanon, Poland, South Africa,
Thailand, USA and Venezuela were given the chance to
experience the best of nightlife from their exchange country.
Smirnoff Nightlife Project in India
In India, Fountainhead Promotions and Events managed
the execution of the entire initiative. Several promotion
activities were conducted as a part of the initiative to createhype about the event.
Subramanian Iyer, Project Manager, Fountainhead
Promotions and Events, said, After delivering one of the
best Smirnoff Experiences ever in Hyderabad, earlier in the
year, we were roped in to manage the activation and events
leg of the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project in India.
Elaborating on
the month-long
p r o m o t i o n a l
plan, he
revealed, The
c a m p a i g n
broke on
September 13
with branded
crates were
unveiled in all
the 14 countries
across the
world, selected
for this initiative.
In India, we had
huge crates
at High Street
Phoenix inMumbai, Saket
Mall in Delhi
and Garuda
Mall in Bengaluru. The next phase was the pub-crawl in six
cities where over 100 clubs were covered. In the journey
to decide Indias best nightlife, The Smirnoff Nightlife
Exchange Project hosted pre-parties in Hyderabad,
Kolkata, Indore, Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi. On October
22, the country whose nightlife India will experience was
unveiled, which was followed by the nale that was held on
November 27 in Bengaluru.
On October 22, it was unveiled that India would exchange
nightlife with Canada.
By Shweta Ramsay
December 2010, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 28
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
10/12
IN FOCUS
Execution
The theme at the venue revolved around the great Canadian
outdoors such as snow and ice; and was complemented
with Canadian specialties like the poutine and the famous
Canadian Mounties.
Iyer elaborated, We draped the entire venue in white
to represent the Canadian outdoors and snow. Multiple
LED screens were set up on stage. We also incorporated
various Canadian elements, like maple leaf and CN Towers
(Toronto landmark) in corners of the venue to give visitors
a feel of Canada.
Special instillations were created at the venue that
showcased Smirnoff bottle shaped trees. At the entrance a
white tunnel was created for visitors wherein two Canadian
Mounties welcomed them. A 60 feet long ice bar was also
set up with Smirnoff carved on ice.
J Davis Prosound and Lighting managed the sound and
lights for this event.
Challenges
Commenting on the challenges faced to execute the event,
Iyer stated, We were constantly in touch with the brand
team of all the 14 countries and had weekly conference
calls with them to ensure that the campaign is consistent
across the globe and we deliver a great experience to the
consumer.
He further added, Another major challenge was to set-up
the ice bar. We had to make the entire set-up in two hours,
just before the event began.
EntertainmentLike the event set-up, the entertainment also needed to
match world-class standards. Abanti Sankaranarayanan,
Marketing and Innovation Director, Diageo India explained,
The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project is all about
creating the most original events that reect the brands
global appeal. Its all about the experience - the worlds
best DJs, thousands of diehard fans, spectacular sound
and lighting.
As part of this spectacle, a diverse line-up of big names
and underground acts took to the stage on the same night
at venues around the world. Bengaluru saw DJ Sultan, DJ
Max Graham and Zara Taylor on vocals bring the sound of
Canada to India.
Indian bands, like, Jalebee Cartel and Shaair + Func also
performed at the event in Bengaluru.
Response
Smirnoff fans were really excited to be part of this ambitious
and innovative undertaking, the likes of which has never
been attempted before by any brand. In India over 1,700
people attended the event. Pathak elaborated, We
received ideas from a community of more than 1,00,000
people from across the country who submitted more than
7,000 suggestions for what best characterises nightlife in
India from fashion trends and musical styles to locally
inspired cocktails.
Form the pre-event activities it was learnt that the Indian
consumer loves to unwind, party and is open to trying out
new and different experiences. To make sure that people
would remember and reminisce about The Smirnoff
Nightlife Exchange Project, CDs with music from Canadian
and Indian DJs were especially created to gift to Smirnoff
fans. We are committed to creating many more such epic
experiences nights that people can look back on and say
I was there, concluded Pathak.
Coming soon
The event in Bengaluru will now be followed by series
of post event parties in small towns. Post parties are
consciously being organised in smaller cities by the brand
in order to engage audiences in those cities and not only
focus on the metros of India.
Iyer revealed, Beginning December 11 we will be
managing Canadian themed post event parties of the
Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project on a smaller scale, in
the ve cities of Bhubaneshwar, Raipur, Chandigarh, Goa
and Cochin. An International DJ from Canada will perform
at these cities.
December 2010, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 29
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
11/12
GLIMPSES
8/4/2019 experiential mkting
12/12
GLIMPSES