Another day, another humdrum branded event. Or so it seemed after Chivas Studio’s recent shindig in Hong Kong, which was billed as a “three-day artistic extravaganza” showcasing the “world’s finest in design, fashion, art, music, gastronomy and mixology”.
The event, which is set to spread across Asia, did not overtly disappoint. But it did not stand out either. It featured the usual blend of international talent and local B-listers, but left more than one observer asking why so few brand events, or experiential marketing programmes - as they like to be called these days - stand out from the crowd. And what exactly is the impact of an average event on a brand striving for cut-through?
According to Ben Taylor, Asia MD at Jack Morton, the key problem is that many clients, particularly in consumer-facing categories, see events as “fairly tactical”.
“We’re trying to change that desperately,” admits Taylor. “But the messaging, particularly on the luxury brand side, is more about the moment than the message. It is the same entertainment, same people and same lighting effects.”
Instead, Taylor believes that brands need to keep a closer eye on ROI metrics, rather than simply gauging the “wow factor”. The growth of specialist agencies, he argues, can only help. And the emergence of China, with a new slate of venue options, should help saturated markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
The big danger is that a mediocre event can actually cause harm to the brand. “The worst thing that can happen - and this happens often - is that people are there but no one really cares what the event is about,” says one event marketing source in Singapore. “The money is just wasted. People are just there for the free drinks and there is no connection with what the brand stands for.”
Ask around, and it becomes difficult for anyone to think of experiences that buck this trend. One that did, at least initially, was Heineken’s Green Room programme, which began in Singapore in 2000 and has since been exported worldwide.
A source involved in the platform points out that Heineken’s long-term, business-centric view sets it apart from most clients.
“The challenge was having the board at Asia-Pacific Breweries Singapore understand the longer-term vision, which they did. It had longevity, a clear purpose and was tied to specific business objectives - to broaden distribution and connect with young adults.”
For Jude Robert, managing partner at Proximity Live, which ran the high-profile Fendi Great Wall event in China last year, a good event means nothing if it is not promoted properly, targeting the right crowd. He points out that this can be an expensive proposition, noting that for Fendi, pre-event promotion began 10 months before the event. “A lot of agencies just give out invitations to everyone and they don’t profile each person.
“There used to be a time in Shanghai when you would get the same crowd going to each event. We’ve started creating different ways of targeting different databases, using a lot of cross-promotion. You have to invest money in updating and data mining.”
The payoff from a good event can be compelling. Taylor estimates 10-fold return on investment as a good result, but cautions that budgets should not be viewed through a short-term prism. “It’s hard sometimes to get brands to understand how and why,” adds a Singapore source. “But its been a long time since I’ve been to any brand event that was really unique - they do all blur into one.”
