INSIGHTS


Spring 2017


05


effectiveness, marketers are going to have to step up and connect person-to-person through personalization and emotion. Vincent Milligan, Chief Marketing Officer for


Forrester, explains in “The Whole-Brained Design of Signature Moments” that “humans rarely form emotional bonds from an aggregated set of experiences.” He warns marketers that “moments, not journeys, win (or lose) the hearts, minds, and wallets” of customers. Customer-experience marketing, or CX, is designed to help marketers create deeper connections in the moment. CX extends the brand story beyond websites and published content. Good experiential design shares a story in a way that defines a moment. CX is about connecting humans to a time and place and making that moment matter. Times Square is like a giant experiment in


CX marketing. It pushes the limits of the in-the- moment experience. All the moving images, lights,


people, smells, sounds, billboards, and experiences can be overwhelming. It’s a really hard place to capture someone’s attention and engage them face-to-face amid all the chaos and noise. In many ways, it’s reminiscent of a trade show environment, where a lot of different brands are vying for attention at the same time. It takes bravery and effort to stand out and distinguish your experience, but it can be done. Theatre, which is an enduring and meaningful


part of the Times Square experience, shows us how to succeed in experiential design. Every detail of the production is geared toward making the audience feel. The story is supported by layers of immersive details. Lights, costumes, visual effects, props, scenery, and sound complement the characters and the plot. There are often unexpected surprises, moments when characters fly through the air and new worlds materialize in the dark. The production is more than the message; it’s an immersive and emotional experience.


As a marketer, you may not be able to hire


a 40-piece orchestra for your next live event or trade show, but you can set the stage and create a mood for your customers. You can layer your experiences with light, sound, smells, and tastes that connect your audience to the moment and transport them away from their ordinary and stressful surroundings. You can do simple things to create dramatic entrances and memorable exits. You can do things differently. And you can delight your audience by making your space a pleasurable retreat from the usual noise. If content marketing made us better


publishers, then CX will make us better producers. We’ve gotten pretty good at making digital connections; now it’s time to go deeper. Our customers are emotional beings who


long for fantasy, meaning, and magic. It’s time to give them more. Marketers, take your places— it’s show time. 


2 MAKE BOLD CHOICES,


AND THINK IN TERMS OF CONTRAST. If you want to highlight a product benefit, think what life is like without it. Sometimes the best way to show strength is to illustrate fragility. Or maybe the best way to show the importance of environmental sustainability is to show pollution.


3 DON’T WORRY ABOUT


PERFECTION OR BEING TOO PRETTY. It is fine to be messy, loud, and off-center if it supports your theme. The goal is to stand out, surprise people, and be remembered. Authenticity isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being true to a concept or value.


4 EMPATHIZE WITH


YOUR AUDIENCE. Trade shows and conferences make people tired, dehydrated, and stressed-out. Create an experience that takes their mind off that. Let your space serve as a counterbalance to the rest of the show. Offer healthy snacks or get them reenergized—just shift their perspective away from the ordinary.


5 ENGAGE A MULTITUDE


OF SENSES. The five primary senses work together to influence perception. Use softer surfaces to absorb sounds, and try enclosing areas to limit interference. Offer refreshments that smell good, such as fresh-brewed coffee. Add modular elements that encourage touch. The more your visitors use their senses, the more they’ll remember the experience.


A herd of origami “cash cows” and custom scratch-off game pieces at an agricultural trade show made this exhibit both interactive and memorable.


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