Experiential marketing is predicated to be one of the biggest growth areas within marketing over the next five years?and many organizations are beginning to adopt an experiential marketing orientation, placing live brand experiences at the core of their overall marketing strategies. This innovative form of marketing will become key to brands who strive to engage their customers, and Experiential Marketing will be essential in showing companies the way forward. In addition to numerous high-profile interviews and international case studies, the book includes coverage on: The benefits of an experiential marketing approach Outsourcing versus in-house marketing Setting objectives The target audience Bringing the message to life Experiential strategies Selecting locations and brand ambassadors Gauging effectiveness Measurement, evaluation and LROI Consumers are constantly inundated with repetitive traditional advertising messages which bombard their consciousness, interrupt their TV shows and get in the way of their everyday lives. Often, the consumer does not feel any real emotional connection with these brands ? and if they do buy, it is simply because the brand that shouted the loudest got their attention. This outdated approach to marketing communications is dying, and fast. This engaging new title is a practical guide to experiential marketing, a methodology that is revolutionizing the face of marketing as we know it. Experiential marketing campaigns are geared around live brand experiences ? two-way communications between consumers and brands, which bring brand personalities to life and develop long-lasting relationships with target audiences. Experiential Marketing explores this new era in marketing communication, which gives customers a fabulous brand- relevant experience designed to add value to their lives and ultimately increases customer brand loyalty. This book demonstrates how experiential marketing fits in with the current marketing climate, and it explains how to go about planning, activating and evaluating it for best results. Including interviews and international case studies demonstrating successful experiential marketing campaigns, it is essential reading for marketing, business, advertising and media professionals, as well as for marketing students. About The Author Shaz Smilansky is co-founder and director of the award-winning experiential marketing agency Blazinstar Experiential. Shaz resides in London, England, with her long-term partner Marvin Foster. Together they founded Blazinstar over six years ago and currently run the agency in Farringdon-a creative mecca in the City. Blazinstar provides innovative, creative campaigns for clients such as Nestle, 3, Calvin Klein, ITV, Media.Com, Palm, and many more. She also sits on the advisory board of the EMF, the internationally recognized Experiential Marketing Forum. Having made several appearances on the BBC and in national and trade press in the United Kingdom, Smilansky is a widely recognized figure in experiential marketing. Table of Content Introduction Why experiential?: The context ? marketing communication What is experiential marketing Traditional approaches are losing effectiveness Experiential marketing ? a differentiator The benefits Criticisms ? fact and fiction What level of resources? A shift in awareness Outsourcing VS in House: In-house Outsourcing to your media or full-service agency Working with a PR agency Working with a sales promotion agency Better: How do you use BETTER? IDEA: Using IDEA Choosing the idea Situation and background: SET MESSAGE Situation and background Experiential Objectives: Examples of experiential marketing campaigns Target Audiences: Analyzing target audiences Message?key communication: Bringing the message to life Experiential Strategy: STRATEGIES Integrating the selected elements to form the experiential strategy Scenarios Make the experience memorable and ongoing Selected Locations and Brand Ambassadors: Choosing locations Examples of live brand experience locations Live brand experience are like theatre productions Brand ambassador selection Recruiting brand ambassadors Systems and Mechanisms for Measurement: How much to spend on measurement Action: Contents of the action plan Gauging effectiveness: Systems and mechanisms for measurement and how they enable Gauging effectiveness Real-time reporting and online client access pages Flexibility and change management solutions Evaluation: Introduction The written evaluation section The campaign evaluation (post-campaign) Interviews International case studies Conclusion