Mogul Solutions

Experiential Marketing & “Inbound” Marketing

Voltierdigital.com defines “inbound marketing” as marketing channels that allow a two way conversation between a business and it’s consumer.  The infographic challenges older institutions such as direct mail and television commercials and touts the effectiveness of blogs and original content that go viral increasing their penetration.

Many experiential marketing companies have jumped into social media arena and adopted a Hybrid Marketing model.  It could be explained by the fact that experiential events make great content for social media  (and they do) but it is more than just the ability to take an experiential marketing event online that lead to this convergence.

Experiential marketing could be the original inbound marketing when done correctly by a competent agency.  A well choreographed event not only gives a consumer a chance to sample a new product or service but also allows for a two way conversation.

The best campaigns have well trained professional Brand Ambassadors that have used the product extensively and are themselves fans.  An engaging event is created where consumers can see, touch, and interact with product or service and talk about it.  Questions like. “why this is better than what I currently use”, can be addressed and an incredible amount of consumer eduction can be transmitted, driven by the consumers not the company.

The cost per head may be higher than social media but considering over 90% of event attendees share the information learned with one or more people and there is a similar increase in the likelihood of sample recipients to buy after receiving a sample.  The payoff is very attractive, and the the long term effects of those conversations last beyond the life of the campaign.  

If you suscribe to the efficacy of inbound marketing you likely subscribe to the efficacy of experiential marketing.  The two means of communication create a similar dialog and can be combined to make highly effective consumer interactions.  While social media allows for easy communication with the brand, those interactions do not have the power and impact of a 1 on 1 and face to face interaction.  A positive event interaction is passed on past the event attendee and is something that creates life long brand loyalty.

-MogulExp