Experience the Message

YOU DON'T HAVE TO TOUCH IT TO FEEL IT

Hey folks, sorry for the no-posts. The travel and client demands really add up. Blah!

Anyway, I wanted to share with you a piece of work that EMF's Erik Hauser has put together to drive home his latest message about experiential marketing: it doesn't have to be a sampling or event thing. It doesn't have to be tactile. (I'm on the fence with this point.)

Experiential marketing can encompass everything, including TV. He uses this video to prove the point. Is the clip experiential? You decide.

TAKE THE EXPERIENTIAL FORUM GLOBAL SURVEY!!!!

I strongly urge all to go to this link and complete the short global survey on experiential marketing, sponsored by the IXMA and Brandweek / Adweek.

Erik Hauser and his panel of advisers (Barbara, Robert, Bud, etc.) at the IXMA have done a fabulous job putting this survey together and forging an alliance with authoritative pubs like Brandweek and Adweek. Kudos!

TAKE THE SURVEY!!!!!

IXMA RESEARCH

I'm sure that for many of us experiential marketers and planners, reading white papers and studies on experiential or event marketing is du riguer. Not only do they help us understand the industry better, but they also give ammo to push it into the general marketing dialogue and help clients understand what the hell we are talking about.

Unfortunately, most of these white papers and studies are nothing short of a sales pitch by the agencies that release them. You may have already read my thoughts on this here on this blog.

I've spoken to Erik Hauser, founder of IXMA, about this and we've decided to launch a research arm through the organization, which has members from over 50 countries. Working with IMI International, we will soon be releasing independent studies and best practices that capture the knowledge and data from marketers around the globe who are pushing the boundaries of experience-based marketing.

Stay tuned.

GREETINGS FROM CARACAS

I'm writing from a wonderful conference in Caracas, Venzuela called Encuentro Creativo, hosted by a local agency here called ARS Publicidad. ARS is a DDB agency, but it is firmly in the hands of a wonderful family, the Frias. The patriarch, Carlos Eduardo Frias, started the agency 100 years ago, and this is a great celebration of his vision. There are so many top-level executives from all over Latin America here, but what is more interesting and important is that the conference is open to marketing students who are now bringing a whole new level of passion and creativity to this country and the region as a whole. It is a great honor to be a presenter, and the Frias family has welcomed me in the most gracious of manners...even if I am a fat gringo. I wish that all marketing conferences were like this, where we can come together and celebrate our industry and work, and share it with young people who are looking for their own passions. Most of the time, however, marketing conferences in the US are all about ego-stroking and drinking our own Cool-Aid. Alas.

International Experiential Marketing Association

I have been privileged to be a founding board member of the International Experiential Marketing Association (IXMA), which was started by a great friend and marketing dynamo named Erik Hauser, founder and CD of Swivel Media out of San Francisco. Erik is quickly becoming the go-to guy when it comes to experiential marketing strategies and tactics, or what he would rather call "experience marketing."

I urge everyone I meet to join IXMA. Not just marketers and advertisers, mind you. Everyone. Why? Because the members at IXMA are charting an entirely new course in marketing -- a paradigm-shifting outlook on the world of consumers -- or rather, prosumers. We are all prosumers in one form or another. It makes sense, therefore, that we are aware of the ways we want to interact with products and engage with brands. The world is ours, and marketers better wake up to this reality fast.

That's why its so great to read the posts from around the world on the Experiential Marketing Forum (EMF). It's amazing to read the thoughts, advice and rants from around the world. Erik tells me that we are signing up hundreds of members each week from China, India, the Gulf states and Latin America. Their insights are so refreshing. There is much to learn.

I'll end my panegyric here. But do take my advice and visit these hubs of intellect. You won't regret the journey.