Are promotional staff 'experiential marketing'?
I just wanted to clear the air on a little matter that seems to be popping up quite a lot recently. The question appears to again be around promotional staff- and if they are an 'experiential marketing' offering/service or not.
This issue has again rared its ugly head, presumably after I posted comments on the SublimeNZ facebook page about an experiential marketing campaign called the Woodstock Pit Crew that we developed (and are presently executing) for Woodstock Bourbon and Cola. It should be noted that this is New Zealands largest RTD Bourbon brand, owned by one of New Zealands largest liquor companies Independent Liquor.
If you scroll down my blog a little, you will see photos and footage of this brand activation.. it is going great, the client is thrilled, and I am very proud of it. The brief was as follows:
Woodstock sponsors the NZV8 Touring Car series.
Woodstock also sponsors the Andy Booth race team, competing in the series.
Woodstock came to SublimeNZ to help leverage this sponsorship, and activate their brand in a unique and engaging way.
Leverage Woodstock sponsorship of the series and the racing team,
Get air time (TV) and get the brand photographed more (to increase the PR value of the sponsorship and viral spread)
Long term: sell more product.
All 'promo girls' look the same at the race track, but are a 'part and parcel' of racing, all brands have them.. so this is the medium we are working with.
Promo teams tend to be untrained, non-choreograped, good looking, but non-engaging. Other (purely staffing) agencies have just sent along good looking people, but have not supported these staff with strategised thinking/planning,
The brand wants to get on TV to benefit from this huge audience cost effectively: how do we do this?
A fully trained/briefed/managed/organised unit of elite Brand Ambassadors (The Woodstock Pit Crew), hand picked by the client, perfectly on-brand,
Their job is to interact with customers, get into as many photos as possible, talk about the brand, drive customers to retailers, drive customers to social media, and most importantly - get on TV.
The engagement is unique: the talent are in character as the 'Pit Crew', with genuine tools, and are 'working on the car' in between races or while the car is on the grid.
The choreography is managed by one of New Zealands leading dance coaches, and is 100% unique- no one has seen this level of engagement and movement at the track before.
The girls primary job is to get on TV.
The result (after the first weekend):
- The Ambassadors are in hundreds of photos (see link here) .http://www.v8st.co.nz/gallery/photo-gallery/powerbuilt-tools-round-two/sunday/sunday-photos-19-295.html
- The Ambassadors get TV time (see link here) http://ondemand.tv3.co.nz/Motorsport-Super-Tourers---Christchurch---Race-3/tabid/59/articleID/6083/Default.aspx?UTM=3news-3sport
- The client is thrilled, and has never had such an organised and professional team representing their brand before.
So, here is my question to you all (including in particular to those who emailed and said "how dare you even mention a Woodstock Pit Crew in the same sentence as experiential").. WHAT is experiential marketing and where (if at all) do promotional staff fit in?
Is experiential about creating unique, innovative, brand engagement with a strong and measurable call to action?
Is it about speaking directly to customers, giving a brand a personality, and coming back to the client with instant consumer insights/feedback?
Is it about integrating with other types of media and narketing channels (such as sponsorship or PR) to leverage these associations and create more value for a brand?
Is it about specifically tailoring a creative idea to an audience, so that it is completely relevant authentic and credible?
I would argue, that for the target market of Woodstock Bourbon, who are predominantely male, motorsport fans, either at the track or at home watching the racing- this is the perfect way of engaging them.
I would argue that this cheeky, innovative, 'don't give a damn' approach is perfectly on brand for my client, and is both authentic and credible,
I would argue that the Woodstock Pit Crew is an extremely creative way of getting more air-time to get free exposure, to help the PR team have more of a story to tell, to create more brand awareness and therefore sell more product.
My client did not ring up looking for promo girls: they called looking for unique brand engagement at the race track- which is exactly what my agency delivered.
I am interested in discussion around this matter: because frankly I am sick of the jibes and insults around promotional staff. 'Skanks in hot pants' is one description I heard about promotional staff at a MARCOMM conference (of all places)- which to me shows complete ignorance about the power and influence that a well trained and managed promotional team can deliver for a brand.
As far as I am concerned, promotional staff/brand ambassadors/promoters/demonstrators/promo girls or whatever else you want to call the staff who are bringing brands to life every day should be treated with as much respect as an employee in the clients marketing team. The brand rests on their (often young) shoulders!
These are the people who have to look great, maintain big energy, be talkative, friendly, 'live the brand' and put up with agencies and clients changing goal posts and having all sorts of (often unreasonable) demands on them. Being a promotional person is not always a fun job, despite common misconceptions.. but it is these 'skanks in hotpants' who ultimately decide the fate of your wonderful experiential marketing idea. They are the ones who make it happen- not the agency Account Director, or even the client. It is their face that the customers see.
I believe, and our philosophy at SublimeNZ, is that experiential marketing covers a wide range of disciplines. We believe experiential is events, it is sponsorship, it is stunts, it is outdoor sampling, it is in-store sampling, it is activation at sporting events/music festivals/new years eve parties, it can be outdoor media, and it can and (and often does) include promotional staff. I challenge any 'experiential agency' to cut staffing from their offering and see how long they survive.
I understand that in Australia, a much bigger market (where for the record I got my own experience) there are experiential agencies and staffing agencies - and that they are very different.
I also concede that there is a difference between 'promo staff' who have just been sent along to give out flyers or (for the purposes of this thread) to wear lycra at a race track, to a team of trained brand ambassadors who are part of a strategised and planned experiential marketing campaign. I know the difference. But what I am saying, is that different audiences require a different approach- and sometimes, this could include attractive promotional staff dressed in an attractive way. Big deal! As long as the result is good, the client is happy, and the activity is achieving its objectives, then quit moaning and just make it happen. SublimeNZ will take the staffing work, if you don't want it.
Promotional staff are here to stay: so I suggest stop being so precious about their inclusion in experiential marketing campaigns, factor them into your planning, use a specialist agency if you do not want to deal with them, and get on with growing this fantastic industry.
