Practical Vision Newsletter: “It’s Not What You Say, It’s What You Do--Brand Experience
is the New Marketing Imperative”

Companies that switch to a “show them” rather than a “tell them” approach to marketing stand the greatest chance of being heard by an audience that’s no longer listening.

Some excerpts:

    It’s not unusual for companies to spend millions of dollars each year in above-line marketing, attempting to convince a wide reach of audiences that their brand is the best choice. This strategy can be effective for raising brand awareness, but it does little to translate that awareness into sales. No matter how powerful the TV, print, or banner ads may be, there’s no marketing budget in existence today that can differentiate a brand with messaging alone. Not these days. Not when 65% of consumers report feeling “constantly bombarded” by advertising, and the only advertising they are interested in receiving is for products and services that will empower them to avoid advertising altogether. But there is hope. All these years we’ve been pushing information at our customers, but now we must make a radical shift--in both mind-set and practice--and begin pulling customers toward us, with experiences that engage rather than repel, and that connect them with the brand at their initiative, not ours. It’s the old idea of “fishing where the fish are,” but now the fish command the reel.

Show Rather Than Tell

    It has been said that a brand is the result of a thousand small gestures; it is our job as marketers to make each of those gestures count. The way to do it is by creating what we call “active brand experiences,” using every encounter and interaction a customer has with your brand as an opportunity to show them why your brand is best. When customers experience for themselves why your brand is the preferred choice, a virtuous cycle begins, as the very process of engaging in the experience enhances and reinforces the brand’s value. The cumulative effect of such experiences can be powerful and, in our minds, more effective than any other form of marketing today.

    There is no formula for creating active brand experiences. There are, however, a few principles to guide you. As you work to bring your brand to life, keep these three actions in mind: Differentiate, Translate, Activate.

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