Webolutions Digital Marketing Agency Insight
At Webolutions, we work with our clients to engage their community with branding messages that focus on the experience they create. Thoughtful experience marketing offers the opportunity to change routine transactions into powerful events that demonstrate the value of your business. We reviewed different ways to deepen the impact of your brand in a recent post.
A great example of experiential marketing continues to be the Fun Theory from Volkswagen. The overall concept was to engage people to invent creative ways to make every day activities more fun. Over 700 people submitted different ideas to make routine activities like recycling, picking up trash and going to the gym more enjoyable.
The clear viral winner of the campaign was “The Piano Stairs.” A team transformed the stairs leading to the street from a subway stop in Stockholm, Sweden into a full-sized set of piano keys. Each step played a musical note when a commuter stepped on them as they climbed out of the station. The goal was to see if people would choose to take the stairs instead of the escalator if the stairs were suddenly more fun. The video claims that 66% more people took the Piano Stairs compared to a regular traffic patterns in the station.
While the original Piano Stairs video was posted October 7, 2009, the most recent six comments on the YouTube page for the video are less than a week old. The video has received 18,688,947 views as of this writing and the total views for the entire Fun Theory YouTube channel is currently at 30,347,859.
Here are some key takeaways from this delightful experience marketing example:
Surprise & delight: This experience marketing event was clearly a surprise to each commuter coming out of the station. It broke them out of the normal routine and created a unique and memorable experience. Look for ways to brighten you clients’ day that will take them by surprise.
Document the fun: The team that created the stairs also installed multiple cameras to document the reactions of the commuters who experienced the fun of climbing the piano keys. When you create an experience marketing event, give special thought to how you are going to record the fun. Video, photos and testimonials are golden content marketing opportunities that extend the impact of what could be a single day event.
Create shareable content: The total time for the video is 1:48. This is an ideal length for social media users to share this content on their networks. The video continues to pop up on Facebook on a regular basis. Facebook has also made sharing interesting content in two simple clicks. This increases the chances of smart content gaining reach beyond your network.
Open up to Crowdsourcing: The theme of the campaign was “the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better.” To encourage participation, a Fun Theory Award of 2500 euros was offered to the winner. The competition went on to receive over 700 entries. Look for ways to open up your experience marketing idea to your community through contests, comments and other social features.
Consider a soft sell: A brief mention of Volkswagen at the end of the video was the extent of the branding for the Piano Stairs video. Taking a conservative approach to overt branding boosted the shareability of the video because it didn’t feel like a sales pitch. If you can associate your brand with moments of happiness in peoples’ lives, you will make more of an impact than a standard features and benefits sales presentation.
How to use this Information
When you look to design an experience marketing event, consider different ways to maximize the impact and reach of your efforts. Careful planning will extend the impact of your event and give you additional content to continue to share your story long after the tradeshow or speaking engagement has concluded.
The different areas to consider when planning your experience marketing are:
- Surprise & delight
- Document the fun
- Create shareable content
- Open up to crowdsourcing
- Consider a Soft Sell
If you would like Webolutions to help design your next experience marketing campaign, give us a call at 303-300-2640 and set up a complimentary consultation. We will review your goals and help create an experience that will wow your community.
