Speech Summaries

Jim Nail Principal Analyst Forrester Research, Inc.

Marketing Track: Create A Marketing Experience

Jim Nail, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research, opened by asking the audience if they felt like things were slipping away for marketers because of spam filters, ad-blocking, the do-not-call list, and ad-skipping. These new challenges require marketers to focus on the experience of marketing, which requires a new mindset.

What is a marketing experience? Marketing experiences weave a variety of elements -- advertising, CRM, and promotions -- through the consumer buying cycle. By weaving these elements together, marketers can inspire emotion, create a meaningful customer experience, and build a relationship with consumers. In marketing experiences, marketers can engage the multitasking consumer, give the consumer the control he wants, and move the consumer along the purchase process. Marketing experiences are defined as "a sequence of marketing elements that work across channels to cultivate a deeper brand relationship."

Marketing experiences can be contrasted with marketing messages. Marketing experiences are intended to engage the consumer in a dialogue, whereas marketing messages seek to raise awareness about a product's attributes. Marketing experiences are of a variable length, whereas marketing messages are a fixed length (30-second TV spot). Further, marketing messages have multiple paths as opposed to a unique selling proposition. Lastly, marketing experiences are measured through engagement versus the breadth of distribution.

How do you create a marketing experience? Start with a big idea, connect the touchpoints, develop multiple paths, and finally, engage consumers. Some examples: Delta's "Hate Lines?" campaign, Miller's Virtual Racing League, and Buick's Tiger Trap campaign.

Implementing marketing experiences is a difficult process. Marketers must uproot established practices, change the language, and bridge the marketing/IT gulf.

Questions And Answers

Q: How do you measure the contributions of different departments or companies to a specific campaign?

A: Use correlative measurement, which is a statistical technique that measures the contributions at every step of the campaign and not just the finished product.

Q: Should marketers expect all of their channels to be integrated?

A: If you want your campaign to succeed, then yes. Integrating takes extra planning, but it will pay off in the end.