Experiential Marketing; You do what?

I’m with the band.  I’m with the driver of the #12 car.  I travel with the AST Dew Tour.  I sample.  I go to professional sporting events.  I’ve been to both ends of the country in the past year.  I mingle with celebrities.  I know every major mall in every major city in all 48 states.  I’ve built custom vehicles shaped like candy and peanuts.  I’ve made it rain indoors.  I always know the newest devices.  I get to play with the greatest games.  I entertain.  I educate.  I leave lasting impressions with consumers wherever I go.   I am a mobile marketer.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked to describe exactly what it is that I do when I tell people that I work for a marketing agency.  Likely, it’s because when I am asked to elaborate, I say I am part of a highly successful experiential marketing agency.  This simple statement often evokes the timely face of bewilderment.  It’s true it’s not something that everyone thinks about, but it’s a very competitive and rapidly growing industry that most of us see every day in our natural environments.

It’s like this: you’ve got a product, and it’s pretty safe to say that you want people to buy that product.  You could spend your money on a highly paid celebrity to endorse it or you could think outside the box and do something different.  You could do something many Fortune 100 and 500 companies are doing every day; put your product directly in consumers’ hands and let them formulate their own opinions.  By creating a unique experience where the consumer is King (or Queen) you’re giving your brand much more than a commercial or print ad.  You’re giving your product the ability to live outside the store and reach consumers where they are open to listening to your message.  Odds are when they try it and truly experience it, they are going to walk away liking it.

So you see, it’s never as simple as a one-word answer.  We do much more than “market” things.  We bring your brand to life, and we have fun doing it.  So the next time you see me, and you ask: what do you do?  Be prepared.  This week I may be saving lives and next week I may be on the red carpet.