NEW YORK CITY—Members of the Broadway Industry convened at the Whitby Hotel in Manhattan on November 27th for a roundtable discussion, hosted by AKA NYC, on the importance of brand experience and experiential marketing. Founding editor-in-chief of Event Marketer and author Dan Hanover (Experiential Marketing: Secrets, Strategies, and Success Stories from the World’s Greatest Brands) headlined the event. He was joined by experiential marketers Jeffrey Swierk, North American Sponsorship at Mastercard; and Zach Overton, Vice President of Customer Experience and General Manager, 837, Samsung Electronics America, in a lively discussion, moderated by Amanda Blackman, AKA NYC SVP, Creative Strategy and Experiential Design.
Experiential marketing is the fastest-growing form of marketing today, and AKA NYC has pioneered its use in entertainment marketing. “Today’s consumers don’t want to be advertised to, they want to be engaged with. Brand experience is therefore essential.” said Blackman. “It is especially critical for theater and entertainment as we engage with potential audiences in ways that are both authentic and effective.”
At the event, Hanover described the philosophy and principles behind experiential marketing, citing examples from top brands, and offered suggestions for how entertainment entities can develop their own experiential strategies. “Modern-day marketing is changing and the relationship has become the key driver of that bond between who you’re selling to and who they want to buy from,” he said. “When done really well you can get somebody to fly from ‘don’t know it’ to ‘want to buy it’ all in one shot.” Overton noted that with 837 Samsung shifted from “the store model to the experience model,” making “a transition from transaction to interaction.” “We said, ‘Let’s create a meaningful dialogue with people, an authentic interaction, then you have a credible relationship,’” he observed. “We saw a dynamic shift in the way people interact with the space, with our products, with our staff and with the brand by removing the pretense of retail.” Swierk said that, with Mastercard’s groundbreaking “Priceless” campaign entering its 20th year, the company “decided to make the transition from it just being an ad campaign to literally an experience-led platform.” “At Mastercard, we consider ourselves a human-centered technology company,” he explained. “It’s because we care more about everything about the person than just what their purchases are.”