First there was what is now called traditional advertising,
consisting of print, television, radio and outdoor.
Then, agencies had to add in the interactive elements with all the
complexities associated with that.
And, if that wasn't enough, there is now something else to think about
in strategy and planning meetings: experiential advertising.
The concept - creating advertising that points to a memorable moment and
then producing that special time for the customer - is not new, but it
appears that it is rapidly gaining in importance because there are so
many similar brands in the marketplace with similar prices and benefits
that the average person has difficulty telling them apart.
Speaking at the Reader's Digest SuperBrands seminar in Singapore, Mr Han
van Dijk, the head of strategy at Orange Brand Visions, said that from
now on, leading edge companies would find that the next competitive
battleground lies in staging experiences.
He described an 'experience' as occurring when a company intentionally
used service as the stage and goods as props to engage individual
consumers in a way that creates truly memorable moments.
Mr van Dijk cited Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic as an example.
"You get picked up from your hotel by a Range Rover; driven to the
terminal with express check-in, after which you're whisked into the
Clubhouse, the Virgin Lounge, complete with a video games arcade.
"On board, you find that the whole middle row of seats have been
replaced by a standing bar in the front cabin and by two lazy couches in
the second cabin, where you can have a manicure and a massage," Mr van
Dijk said.
He said most retailers cannot provide the experience because they just
put out on display rows and rows of merchandise. They should learn some
lessons from outlets such as Niketowns, he said.
"Nike is almost in the experience business. This is almost where the
athletes live, breathe, work out and perform. The whole experience in a
Niketown is so close to what the brand stands for - athleticism," Mr van
Dijk said.
The changing business and societal worlds, brought on by the mass media
and accelerated by the Internet has caused a change in mindsets; the old
consumer, for instance, is synchronised, conformist and less involved
and informed compared with the new consumer, who is individual,
independent, involved and well informed.
Mr Greg Paull, managing director of Ammirati Puris Lintas Singapore,
said the importance of experiential advertising was underlined by the
Internet where consumers can compare products, services and prices with
effortless ease.
"Simply having a product list and prices with fancy graphics no longer
cuts it, because today's Web-savvy consumers don't want to be talked to,
they want to be part of the dialogue."
He said that building in a channel for dialogue gives all businesses a
greater chance to establish long-term customer relationship.
Dialogue can come in the form of on-line games, clubs and other
activities.
It can also be about providing tips related to products being sold or
offering the latest TVCs on demand to show consumers how they can enjoy
and receive benefit from a product.
"This is effective in building repeat visits because it creates a sense
of anticipation of new things that will be incorporated into a website
in the future," Mr Paull said.
Keeping in mind that the Internet is the only interactive platform for
one-to-one marketing, Mr Paull said that websites have to give consumers
a greater sense of pleasure, learning and fun.
"If you do none of the above your potential consumer will never come
back after the first visit."
