We talk a lot about the importance of creating a Word of Mouth strategy to drive new visitation and bottom-line revenue to your organization. What we’re really getting at is - how do you create an experience worth talking about? There has been a lot of studies, new companies, and new revenue created by experiential marketing. The buzz these days amongst tourism leaders and leading tourism companies is about building ”better experiences” in more creative ways, in essence, building an organization where the totality of experience is the brand.
Using common sense approach to experiential marketing, Erik Hauser, Director of the IXMA, in his article “BrandAnimation: The Experience Strategy” writes:
“Deliver a great experience, and people will talk. When people talk about WOM as a strategy or a method, they are really talking about an experience marketing strategy. Without the initial great experience the conversation never starts –or if it does, it’s the opposite of what you want. It becomes a conversation that damages the brand, because a bad experience will spread even faster than positive interactions customers have with a company and its products or services.
So in terms of marketing, put all trademarks, catchphrases, and copyrights aside for the moment, and let’s agree. It all begins and ends with experience–yours, mine, and ours–and what we talk about and share with the world around us.”
This article appears on the International Experiential Marketing Association website: www.ixma.org
“Traditional marketing theories and practices are rapidly changing and becoming less relevant,” says Erik Hauser, Director of the IXMA. “Moving forward, experiential marketing is a fundamental basis for the future of marketing strategy”.
