Where they would surprise customers and offer
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 5:18 am
One of the most popular types of marketing is “aspirational,” or as Harvard Business Review defines it , the type of marketing for brands that “fall into the upper right quadrant.” Think luxury cars, high-fashion clothing, and private jets.
It is the latter, the private jets, that have managed to distinguish the Guinness Class experience. For a few weeks, brand ambassadors dressed in Guinness flight attendant uniforms would enter various bars in the UK, them the chance to win a variety of prizes.
To enter, those in the bar had to order a pint of Guinness. Then, after shaking a line database mobile tablet, they would discover which prize they had won. Prizes ranged from passport holders to key chains, but one player per night would win the top prize: a free trip to Dublin (on a private jet, of course) with four friends.
What we liked most about this experience was its ability to associate Guinness with something totally aspirational, like travelling on a private jet. According to Nick Britton, Guinness’s marketing manager for Western Europe, this experience helped them stand out as a brand that “ doesn’t settle for the ordinary ”.
That's important (and very difficult) for a brand that's almost 257 years old: maintaining its authenticity while adapting to a constantly changing audience and environment . Although in this case Guinness didn't have to change anything about its products.
Instead, it created an experience that addressed consumer preferences, such as the fact that 78% of millennials prefer to spend money on an unforgettable experience or event , rather than purchasing material goods.
Guinness Europe Video
☛ Key points for marketers:
Think about everything your target audience wants and would like to associate with your brand. Then, create an experience that builds on that.
If people have to buy a product to participate in the experience, it makes the situation practical. In this case, participants had to buy a pint of Guinness to win a prize, but they were already in a bar that sold them.
► 5. General Electric: Healthymagination
Experiential marketing is only for B2C brands and is also used by 75% of B2B marketers who claim that it has a positive effect on their sales.
So it made sense for General Electric (GE) to invite industry professionals to experience its Healthymagination initiative. The goal of the campaign was to promote healthcare solutions globally, especially in developing regions around the world.
GE Experiential Marketing Example
Image by agencyEA
To help people measure the impact of this initiative, GE worked with agencyEA to create scenarios that represented the different healthcare environments where Healthymagination worked: a rural clinic in Africa, an urban clinic, and an emergency room.
The idea was to have doctors share their stories (live and in front of 700 attendees), describing the key role GE healthcare technology played in each scenario.
When people measure the success of experiential marketing, one factor they look at is the impact it generated. In GE’s case, Healthymagination’s goal was to get people talking about a very important issue: access to healthcare in the poorest parts of the world.
When you offer a way for participants to engage with the issue, you allow them to acknowledge a topic that isn't always easy to discuss. And that can have a big impact—in fact, this particular campaign won a Tower Award from the Business Marketing Association .
It is the latter, the private jets, that have managed to distinguish the Guinness Class experience. For a few weeks, brand ambassadors dressed in Guinness flight attendant uniforms would enter various bars in the UK, them the chance to win a variety of prizes.
To enter, those in the bar had to order a pint of Guinness. Then, after shaking a line database mobile tablet, they would discover which prize they had won. Prizes ranged from passport holders to key chains, but one player per night would win the top prize: a free trip to Dublin (on a private jet, of course) with four friends.
What we liked most about this experience was its ability to associate Guinness with something totally aspirational, like travelling on a private jet. According to Nick Britton, Guinness’s marketing manager for Western Europe, this experience helped them stand out as a brand that “ doesn’t settle for the ordinary ”.
That's important (and very difficult) for a brand that's almost 257 years old: maintaining its authenticity while adapting to a constantly changing audience and environment . Although in this case Guinness didn't have to change anything about its products.
Instead, it created an experience that addressed consumer preferences, such as the fact that 78% of millennials prefer to spend money on an unforgettable experience or event , rather than purchasing material goods.
Guinness Europe Video
☛ Key points for marketers:
Think about everything your target audience wants and would like to associate with your brand. Then, create an experience that builds on that.
If people have to buy a product to participate in the experience, it makes the situation practical. In this case, participants had to buy a pint of Guinness to win a prize, but they were already in a bar that sold them.
► 5. General Electric: Healthymagination
Experiential marketing is only for B2C brands and is also used by 75% of B2B marketers who claim that it has a positive effect on their sales.
So it made sense for General Electric (GE) to invite industry professionals to experience its Healthymagination initiative. The goal of the campaign was to promote healthcare solutions globally, especially in developing regions around the world.
GE Experiential Marketing Example
Image by agencyEA
To help people measure the impact of this initiative, GE worked with agencyEA to create scenarios that represented the different healthcare environments where Healthymagination worked: a rural clinic in Africa, an urban clinic, and an emergency room.
The idea was to have doctors share their stories (live and in front of 700 attendees), describing the key role GE healthcare technology played in each scenario.
When people measure the success of experiential marketing, one factor they look at is the impact it generated. In GE’s case, Healthymagination’s goal was to get people talking about a very important issue: access to healthcare in the poorest parts of the world.
When you offer a way for participants to engage with the issue, you allow them to acknowledge a topic that isn't always easy to discuss. And that can have a big impact—in fact, this particular campaign won a Tower Award from the Business Marketing Association .