Joho the Blog
An Entry from the Archives

I'm at lunch the Boston Ad Club meeting where I gave a talk on blogging a few minutes ago. Josh McCall is the CEO of Jack Morton, the leader in "experiential marketing." He's giving the lunchtime address.

He takes Cristo's Gates in NYC Central Park as his model. They created an experience, bringing to NYC millions of people and hundreds of millions of dollars.

Example: Pontiac Solstice launched with a surprise concert by Jet. 75% of people say that participating in an event would make them more receptive to advertising. (All figures come from Jack Morton surveys.)

Word of mouth can reach resistant "consumers." E.g., Nokia made a "lifestyle connection" with "hipsters" by holding a party at a hip museum.

Experiential marketing can put products in the hands of "consumers," setting off "cascading waves" of word of mouth. Example: Levis set up the dressing room of the future that automatically measures you and presents you with a custom shopping list. "Over 80% of those touched by the experience actually tried on jeans" and in many stores, sales exceeded projections by over 100%.

Events can also turn employees into a word of mouth army. Example: Glaxo marketed through employees.,

"Word of mouth is more desirable than ever and experiential marketing is one of its most potent causes." 80% of word of mouth occurs in face-to-face settings. Online accounts for 7-10% of word of mouth.

Imagine if customs at Heathrow immersed visitors in an compelling experience instead of the endless hallway and bad lighting? [In Boston, you get endless lines for visitors and quick lines for citizens, plus CNN complete with Administration propaganda as ads. Delightful.]