as appeared on TheCMOclub.com 5/28/08:
#1. EMBRACE MARKETING AS SERVICE
Because “marketing as service” provides a real value, magical things happen, prospects turn into customers and customers turn into brand evangelists. When HSBC wanted to bring their position “The World’s Local Bank” to life in New York City, Renegade developed the HSBC BankCab. The iconic Checker Cab, wrapped in HSBC red and white, drives the streets of New York five days a week, offering free rides to existing customers. Research has shown that customers exposed to the BankCab recommend HSBC to at least 5 of their friends and are twice as likely to stay loyal to HSBC for years to come. For more examples, see Marketing as Service.com.
#2. EXECUTE STRATEGY, NOT TACTICS
In order to cut through, effective brand experiences must be borne of relevant strategic insights. Handing out free stuff might drive booth traffic but the end result is rarely lasting. Since the goal is engagement, the marketer must truly understand their prospects. At the AST Dew Tour, Panasonic understood the target’s desire to get closer to the athletes. So, Panasonic set up a free camera loaner program that let fans zoom in and record the cool tricks that they saw during the day’s competition. At days end, they got to take home a Panasonic SD card saving all their memories that they could then enter into a photo contest at the complementary online experience–ShareTheAir.net.
#3. SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATE YOUR EVENT AND ONLINE EXPERIENCE
One essential function of an event is to start a conversation that can be continued online long after the event. Not only will this defer the high cost-per-touch of the event, but also, it will extend the brand experience leading to a long-term customer relationship. For the most impact, the event and the online experiences should be planned at the same time supporting each other (event drives to online, online drives to event) and complementing each other. Consider hiring one agency that is equally adept at creating both event and online experiences. This approach is more cost effective and assures consistency across all channels of communication.
#4. MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE
The goal must be to cut through the first time. To do this, metrics for success must be established upfront. Marketers need to set benchmarks via pre-event research to compare with post-event data. In addition to tracking event attendance, time with brand and perceptual changes, sell-in and sell-through, consider adding Net Promoter Score to your measurement arsenal. NPS is a simple and reliable way word of mouth. Offline line metrics should be compared and tracked to online data including unique visitors, time on site, pre/post NPS and online commerce data (if relevant.)