Building authentic relationships in the new media era – the old fashioned way

Building Authentic Relationships in the

New Media Era – the Old Fashioned Way

28 April 2014

• Authentic engagement is not new, even in the Internet age

• How do we define customer engagement?

• What is experiential marketing?

• What is really authentic? What is falsely authentic?

• How can experiential marketing bring true authenticity to life?

• Cases that worked … and didn’t

• Where does authenticity go next? How does it apply to you?

• Old fashioned techniques and mechanisms will never fully go away so long as we are human

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What we’ll be talking about

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Jean GiraudouxFrench diplomat, dramatist, & novelist (1882 - 1944)

The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve

got it made.

Wise Words on Authenticity

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Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. invited a panel of performers – including Celeste Holm and Shelly

Berman – to discuss the trends in show business. Miss Holm spoke of the vogues in acting, and said

she heard one actor say: “Honesty. That’s the thing in the theater today. Honesty … and just as soon as I can learn to fake that, I’ll have it made.”

Wiser Words on the Subject …

Authentic Engagement:

Old News(even on the Internet)

• In the mid-late 1990s, rumours began to spread about a new live-action movie adaptation of the classic J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy Lord of the Rings

• Disproportionate overlap in geekery – early Internet and Tolkien fans

• Producers had concerns about the ability of a fervent fan base to undermine the film,especially as the movie could not possibly becompletely faithful tothe original books

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Lord of the Webrings …

• TheOneRing started in 1999

- Originally “spy” website when they heard about LOTR production

- Turned into a way for Peter Jackson and production company to interact with fans in productive manner

• Jackson and Mirimax/New Line Cinema recognized value of hardcore fans as ambassadors for the movie

- But they had to be engaged with authentically

- Audience very highly attuned to transparency4

Lord of the Webrings …

• Solution: Unprecedented access for a select few fans

- Chance to participate in the process, understand script/book divergences and have discussions versus hearing about them after the fact

• Short-term result: Positive view of film and production by largest online fan site; previews and promotions

• Long-term: TORN became news channel for Peter Jackson to present POV on issues like Hobbit film lawsuits; Oscar party

• Today: a sterling example of how a small Middle Earth site with a lot of heart could make a difference

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Lord of the Webrings …

“Despite The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King's 11-for-11 win, the New Line party at the Pacific Design Center never really got going. By 1 a.m., only two hobbits (Sean Astin and Billy Boyd), one dwarf (John Rhys-Davies) and a Gollum (Andy Serkis) had put in brief appearances. Director Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood and the rest of the cast partied at a Lord of the Rings fan club event.” (USA TODAY 1 March 2004)

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Lord of the Webrings …

Customer Engagement

Definitions and Debates

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a typical form …Customer Engagement Cycle

Awareness

Acquisition

Satisfaction

Conversion

Retention

Referral

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a typical form …Customer Engagement Cycle

Awareness

Acquisition

Satisfaction

Conversion

Retention

Referral

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a typical form …Customer Engagement Cycle

Awareness

Acquisition

Satisfaction

Conversion

Retention

Referral

Experiential Marketing

Definitions and Debates

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Experiential/Engagement Marketinga general definition?

“Deliberate encounters that engage consumers' senses to create lasting impressions that drive our clients' brands in a measurable way online, in the physical world, or both.” (Experience the Blog)

“… attempts to connect consumers with brands in personally relevant and memorable ways. The alternative term customer-experience marketing emphasises the idea of communicating the essence of a brand through a personalised experience.” (Wikipedia)

“… connects audiences with the authentic nature of a brand through participation in personally relevant, credible and memorable encounters. Whereas traditional marketing has focused on mass communication using rational, left-brain directed persuasion, experiential marketing focuses on making a personalized connection using emotional, right-brain directed involvement.” (AdventResults)

“… gives customers in-depth experiences with products in order to give them enough information to make the purchase decision.” (MarketingScience)

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Experiential/Engagement Marketinga general definition?

“Marketing that involves one or more of the senses.” (Fast Company)

“Businesses will live or die not by the attributes they promise, but by the experience they offer customers at every touch point – in the store, at the website, with the product, and through events and advertising.” (International Experiential Marketing Association)

“Live, one-on-one interaction that allows consumers to create an emotional connection with brands.” (Promo)

“… gives customers an opportunity to engage and interact with brands, products, and services in sensory ways that provide the icing on the cake of providing information … refers to actual customer experiences with the brand/product/service that drive sales and increase brand image and awareness. It's the difference between telling people about features of a product or service and letting them experience the benefits for themselves.” (Experiential Marketing Forum) “Connected

relevance + meaning + interaction” (Decent Marketing)

“Interacting in person and bringing your brand alive.” (Digital Squeeze)

Effective Communicationsrational meets emotional

logicreason

problem-solvingleft brain

emotionfeelingideas

right brain

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Experiential/Engagement Marketinga general definition?

Providing first hand direct contact

EMOTION!!!!!!!

to create

Authenticity

Really Being Real

• Challenge for many companies/organizations

• How to balance marketing and positioning efforts with true authenticity

• Because true authenticity =VULNERABILITY

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Authenticity

• #myNYPD – Pollyanna without Cassandra …

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Forgetting Your Audienceand paying the price

• Between Two Ferns

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Authenticityis it real?

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Authenticityis it real?

• Jumping alone vs. Jumping with Derrick Rose (London)

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Experiential/Engagement Marketinga general approach

Experiential

Bringing It to Life

• Where all emotion lives

- Here is what you’re trying to reach and affect

• Very affected by

‐ People

‐ Sight/sound/smell/touch

• If you can’t reach here, you shouldn’t be doing experiential marketing

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The Lovely Limbic System

Is there …?

1. A definable target group?

2. A sensation or emotion the target audience is not getting or cannot get on their own?

3. An experience only you can create for them (expensive, technically difficult, celebrity, etc.)?

4. An experience they want or need to have that can deepen their relationship with the brand/company/person?

5. A measurable outcome (engagement numbers, sales)?

6. Shareability?

7. A long-term follow-up strategy? 4

Key Concepts for Experientialreasons to do it

Is there …?

1. Not enough of an audience to appreciate or experience (can also be due to location, timing)?

2. A rush to “do something, anything”?

3. A very logically-oriented proposition that still hasn’t found its human element?

4. Someone already doing it for them?

5. A skeleton (or ten) in the closet that you don’t want disturbed?

6. Something that either comes from a template (pop-up store) or isn’t sincerely related to the brand?

7. Potential for parody, co-opting or other unintended use? 4

Key Concepts for Experientialreasons NOT to do it

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What It All Comes Down to …humanity

action or activity emotion

closing remarks

check us out on

@SpectrumPR

Phillip RaskinSingapore Managing Director

phillipr@spectrumcomms.com

@ziquemu (Twitter)

+65 9173 8600