How much should a brand experience cost? How long is a piece of string may be an easier question to answer…
It’s an age old problem in our industry, when a great idea gets quashed before it gets off the ground, simply because the cost per interaction looks too high on paper. Yes, it’s possible to put a sample in a hand in a busy train station for a few pence, but that doesn’t always give value for money? More often than not, the product will have been drunk, eaten or dropped before the recipient has made it out of the station. More importantly, the brand name and message are likely to have met a similar fate.
A good friend of mine recently proved to me that a good brand experience need not cost the earth… He’s a guy in his early 30’s and works in marketing. We met for a drink recently and he could not speak highly enough of an experience he was recently exposed to. He likes a bet from time to time and is a member of a famous ‘peer to peer’ betting exchange. Due to a lack of recent activity on his account, he was contacted via a tailored email, inviting him to an evening at the betting firm’s London HQ for an evening of live sports betting.
The purpose of the evening was to drive lapsed users back onto the site by teaching them the numerous ways you can bet using peer to peer betting. He arrived at the HQ, was greeted by two friendly members of the HQ staff and was directed to a room on the first floor. The room was apparently very simply dressed - a dozen laptops, a projector screen showing a live match, and a flip chart. He was one of about a dozen punters in the room.
The evening progressed and he was introduced to all sorts of eye-opening and occasionally confusing (he’s no genius) possibilities, including laying bets, hedging bets and finding value. The beauty of the evening was that he was able to bet on the game in front of them as if he was watching on the sofa at home. Throughout the night he was fed on pizza and beer and on leaving the building, a few hours later, he was armed with a new found enthusiasm. In fact, I’ve not heard anyone talk so enthusiastically about a brand experience for a long time…
And what did this experience cost the client?
How much are few beers and a pizza?
Thanks,
Jack Daniels
Senior Account Director
iD Experiential
0207 428 1484
jackd@idinfo.com