Arts and Crafts Fair and Consumer Experience

As a second year events management student it is part of our course to create a live event. It was important for all students to focus on the marketing side of the event planning and make sure the consumer experience was as experiential and unforgettable as possible.

I attended the arts and craft fair held in floor 5 of Huddersfield Student’s Union by fellow students on my course. I found that the event was good in making all attendees feel valued. The event was free of charge and had the concept of allowing consumers to buy goods from other students, whilst joining in with activities.

Consumers enjoying the origami experience

During the event, there was a main touch point that I was very impressed with. The first was the communication with the consumer from beginning to the end of the event. When walking up to one of the stalls one of the members of the team would come up to you, explain what the event was about, who they were raising money for and what activities were available. Consumers were able to fully engage in origami whilst drinking tea/coffee and snacking on biscuits. Touches like these really help a consumer feel comfortable and relaxed; which can be seen on their faces. This was especially useful as floor 5 had an open space where other students frequently visit; therefore meaning that if they saw others enjoying themselves, they might want to participate in the event experience.  

The pre-event experience included the use of social media. Those with stalls also helped promote the event; bringing in a larger audience. From pre-event to the closure, I feel that the consumer was always put first, as they were checked up on regularly and were also thanked when they left. Throughout the whole event process, it was clear that the group were continuously updating their Facebook page, in order to make sure that people were aware of their event, where it was, the time it was held and also where to sign up, if they wanted a stall.

Two of the stalls and the type of goods sold

I feel that for this particular event, the event managers were completely in control of the experience. The event managers chose which stalls were suitable for students and also chose their own activities, making sure that they knew exactly what they were doing and what exactly they were giving to their attendees. However, it is possible that the outcome could not as been as great as it was, due to the event not being ticketed; therefore meaning that it could not be guaranteed how many students would turn up. This could have caused difficulty and affected the event experience, as it may not have had the exact same ambience or atmosphere.

Overall, I think the event was very successful and gave every attendee the same friendly experience. 

Snapchat, consumer involvement and the use of gamification

The use of gamification is social media has been rising in the past year and has proven to be successful, as many users have been addicted to having a bit of fun whilst actually helping brands spread their logos products and services. A great example of this is the use of photo taking app, Snapchat, which allows users to send each other messages using their faces for free.

Gamification is the use of game mechanics in a non-gaming environment and allows users to become attached or even addicted to the ‘game’ they are playing.

The well known Snapchat app

Recently, Snapchat have added an extra touch to their app by creating filters which allow users to change their faces and become part of the experience. This is a great idea for individuals to get involved by sending their friends all these nice/awful/hilarious changes to their face, but also a great idea for companies to join in and add a filter to the Snapchat experience. Additionally, Snapchat changes the filters almost every day and also allows them to change depending on the location. This means that individuals can take pictures of themselves wherever they are, whether it is a restaurant or a place of leisure and end up promoting the brand, whilst they’re playfully showing people where they are without even noticing that they are doing marketers a huge favour. For example, if a group of friends decide to go to KFC for a meal, if their location is set, the filter can be applied instantly.

W Hotels, cleverly telling people that they should be there and are missing out

McDonald's fun filter

Examples of professionals and organisations who have created their own filter for Snapchat are Britain’s Got Talent, Batman vs Superman marketing team, McDonalds, Cadburys, W Hotels, Skittles, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Starbucks and many others. Companies are now able to promote programs, films, premieres, food etc. easily by getting the audience involved and making them part of that experience; thus making them remember the brand and also send it to their friends as a form of entertainment. This suggests that by sending entertaining images to others, those who have received it can then be engaged with what is on the filter and then repeat the process of sending and receiving.

Cadburys Creme Egg's unique Snapchat filter

The promotion of the new Batman v Superman  film, allowing individuals to choose which character they want to be

It is also very useful for marketers to create filters, as Snapchat is so commonly used, even by celebrities who have started to upload pictures from several events. These events include award ceremonies and music festivals/gigs; therefore motivating users to follow the event and use the app more often, through using celebrity endorsement.  This form of engagement is a very smart way to market a specific product/service/event as the customer is already engaged in the celebrity who they expect to see snapchat stories from on a day-to-day basis and therefore anything the celebrity has, from a bag or clothing to food and drink can be seen an plotted into the individual’s mind subliminally, without the brands shown having to do anything. This can save marketers a lot of money and time on other types of promotion. 

Are apps and technology the future of brand success?

Creme Egg Cafe, Sensory Marketing and Brand Experience

It is that time of the year again, Easter. Personally, the first thing I think about when Easter is discussed is chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. This year, well known chocolate creators, Cadburys decided to open up a pop up shop in Soho, London to do something new and different with their Easter favourite the crème egg. The shop is open for 7 weeks and allows consumers to try out recipes that have been chosen and created based on their online recommendations.

The Cafe in it's glory, from an outdoor perspective

 The shop shouts sensory marketing with their bright, well known colours: purple, red and yellow, which are plastered on the inside and the outside. The glass window on the shop front also allows people who are passing by to see what is inside. This is useful, as it can help Cadburys draw in attention, as the first thing they see when they peer in are words and people; firstly making them wonder what the commotion is all about and secondly drawing them in to read the bright font/happy typography.

 The idea that consumers can also smell the wonderful sensation of what is being cooked, hints that by exploiting an individual’s smell sense, they can be drawn in. This is especially beneficial when trying to make extra sales from people who are already part of the experience, for example, if a consumer takes a friend with them who may not be interested, the sight and smell of other people’s orders may produce a reaction from their senses, causing them to want to share the same experience that people around them are having. This therefore shows that by drawing someone into an experience through their senses can actually condition the individual to do something the brand wants them to. E.g. The smell of something tasty can make an individual want to eat, or watching someone eat one of the crème egg creations, which is only available for 7 weeks, may lead the individual to buying a product too.

Popular creation, the 'creme egg toastie'

The café has 3 different floors of experiences, including an interactive ball pit, which allows all consumers to have fun and gives them a physical, tangible activity to remember and feel. The addition of a ball pool adds extra value to the experience, as it is an opportunity for the adult consumers to have a laugh and bring back memories of when they were young and had their own ball pools to mess around in. This is a form of nostalgia, which creates a great brand experience, as it becomes active immersion. This is because it allows consumers to actively take part in activities, but also allows them to choose which floor of participation they want to be on e.g. café, cocktail bar or ball pool.

customer enjoying her experience

 I reckon it is quite easy to say that the Crème Egg café’s creative, experiential ideas have definitely helped then in sales and marketing departments, as the engagement of consumers has led to the company getting recognition online though: Youtube, newspapers, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and also blogs; thus helping them gain a better reputation and also creating brand loyalty or even advocacy through those who have participated and shared their happy experiences; hoping it will be back next year! 

Would anyone else want to go if they had the chance, or is it possible that the cafe is actually overrated because of the hype?

Battle of The Bands Huddersfield

This year, as a ‘Managing the Live Event’ assessment, I had the task of planning my own event with some group members and then bringing all the ideas to life. The idea that was implemented was ‘Battle of The Bands Huddersfield’.  This live event consisted of three student bands that were chosen through a Facebook poll with over 1000 results.  The event was hosted in The Parish, a local bar/venue in Huddersfield.

The 3nine8 starting off the night and building tension

One of the touch points of the event was most definitely just before the first band started playing, as everything was in place. This was the ‘clearance’ and most definitely showed that all group members knew what they were doing and helped engage the audience; showing them a clear route of where they could go, what they could do whilst waiting for the first band and also signalling when the ‘experience’ was starting. This helped build tension, which is definitely needed for a ‘Battle of The Bands competition’. Other moments that engaged the audience was during voting and the announcement of the winners.

Personally, I think the pre-event experience was the most challenging and also the most successful part, when it came to consumer engagement. This is because the Facebook poll that was created to choose the top 3 bands had a lot of attention, as people from all over Huddersfield (not just students!) took part in voting. A Guitar Hero stand was also implemented in the Student’s Union, to try and promote the event and increase sales. This was useful as it created another experience for consumers and brought some fun into a typical day for a University student. The stand was very popular and many students wanted to participate. Many students highlighted that it was bringing them back memories when they used to play the game. This form of engagement is by far one of the most powerful that I had seen during our promotion periods. This is because the use of something nostalgic helps the consumer remember their past involvement with the game and the one they are currently experiencing; therefore leaving them with something they can talk and think about after playing; thus leading them to thinking about our event and buying a ticket. The stand was a form of sensory marketing and consumer motivation, as it engaged the individuals with the use of some of the human senses and also it gave them a sense of belongingness; making them feel valued by us.

A consumer playing Guitar Hero on our promotional stand

 I feel that for the actual live event itself, as the event manager I was not in full control of the event experience. This is because of the nature of our event. Our live music event is also controlled by the sound engineer, as they created the ambiance through sound their chosen lighting. It was also partly controlled by the bands themselves,  as the engagement of the consumers would have depended on their choice of songs on the night. Lastly, it can be suggested that the whole event experience could have been controlled by the audience, as they were in charge of picking the bands and those who attended, as their personalities and attitudes towards the bands that were playing and even the organisers would mean the experience that was planned out could be changed. However, as we organised and knew the set lists for the bands and collected enough market research about our target audience, this was not an issue and lead to a very successful night. 

Culture, McDonalds HK and UK

McDonald's is one of the world's most well-known and leading brands in the fast food industry. However, this does not mean that the brand is marketed the same in every country. The way McDonald's promote their portfolio of products varies depending on the market and the culture of the country; therefore it is necessary that each form of marketing is delivered in a different way, in order to catch their target audience's eye.

One form of marketing that McDonald's use in a large amount of their advertisements is storytelling, which helps connect the audience to what they are seeing and engages them to follow the story and think about the products that they are selling.

In January 2016, McDonald's Hong Kong decided to promote their brand during the Chinese New Year period. This was a very wise decision as they used one of the country's traditions and ideologies to help bring an individual closer to the brand, by making them feel that the brand wants to connect to them and make the part of the company. The key message highlighted in the commercial was "

有你，就是最大祝福",which translates as "Having you is the greatest blessing".

The advert shows a child giving their mothers love, bringing them gifts and sharing food with them. Chinese New Year- McDonald's Avdert This may seem quite strange, as not once does the advert show an actual McDonald's product; however this is where the aspects of high culture comes in. In countries such as Hong Kong, China, Korea, Taiwan etc. the population tend to obsessively follow dramas that include storylines that include love, sadness and romance. The love that is spread in McDonald's advert is sweet and shows that family is very important; thus reflecting a value that they have in Hong Kong, especially during Chinese New Year. The use of these values and traditions is extremely beneficial for the brand, as it means they can connect with an audience, even without using any of their products in the advertisement.

Child sharing a sweet with his mother

This use of storytelling works incredibly well in Hong Kong, although this is not the same case in the UK. Storytelling is used in the UK commercials, but very differently, as McDonald's creates an approach that allows all consumers to know exactly where their food is from and how responsible the brand is in sourcing their products. This reflects the ideology of how important sustainability and the country's economy is.

The start of the A-Z story

The UK advertisement consists of a story of where all the ingredients come from, how they get delivered and who benefits from it. This helps connect their audience by engaging them in what could the next letter represents. This is using the concept of content analysis, as the culture's beliefs and mass communications are used to find repetitive values that are trending; which happens to be locally sourced goods, sustainability and a good economy. A-Z of McDonald's Advert

The UK advert would not work in Hong Kong, as the values and culture of the two countries are completely different; so it would be difficult to connect to an audience. Vice versa, the HK advert would not work in the UK, even though it has quite a low culture with many segments. This is because the concept of sharing and giving is not as important and Chinese New Year is not celebrated by everyone in Britain.

In conclusion, it can be correct to say the McDonald's mainly use a storyline to help consumers to follow a value  that the company and culture both believe in. However, it is also necessary that the story also links in with social structures, ecologies and ideologies of the countries in order to interact effectively with their target audience.

Culture and the use of comedy in British advertisements

Culture can be explained as a society's personality and the way in which people may view certain subjects. Culture may help an individual shape their personalities and identities.

This therefore means that if a society does not have many sub-cultures, what they view as a 'social norm' will be viewed the same by the majority of individuals. 

Culture can also be linked with beliefs and values, as it reflects the idea that what people believe in and trust, can impact the way they react to certain matters and situations. 

For example, since 2009, British financial service comparison website Go Compare has been very popular with the British audience, for good and bad reasons. The company decided to base their marketing on a large, Italian man singing his heart out. The lyrics would include the words 'Go Compare' continuously to remind the audience of the brand name. The audience also get to experience the Go Compare man annoying a couple who are struggling with financial services. This reflects a UK ecology, which is the fondness of humour in almost every subject.  

Go compare man annoying a customer

This marketing of the Go Compare advert is very smart, as it is so random, novel and annoying that the whole situation is funny and worth talking about; especially as the jingle/song is very catchy and will stick in the minds of anyone who watches the advert. This is useful, because it means that if an individual is looking for a financial service the song will spring back into their minds, even in 2016. The idea of using humour in a catchy song is very beneficial for the company, as it reflects a part of the culture in Britain and therefore becomes part of an individual's life. This means that even if the advert is not on television anymore, if 'Go Compare' is ever mentioned, the individual will remember the advertisement and think of the song. By creating this form of marketing, it is implied that instead of the company repeating the advert and making their audience get bored of seeing the same thing, they are able to make the audience help market the brand because the song is already stuck in their minds since the first few times they have heard it.   

The one and only Go Compare man

However, it can be argued whether the 'Go Compare' advert would work in every area of the world. This mainly because each society will have different ecologies, ideologies and social structures, so therefore they may not understand the whole 'humour' concept. This suggests that one view of humour may not be the exact same in every other society. For example, what one culture may find humorous may not be looked at in the same way elsewhere and may actually seem disrespectful; creating a negative experience for the consumer. 

Overall, I think the 'Go Compare' advertisement was a very successful form of marketing, as it uses annoyance and humour to keep their website gocompare.com in the minds of consumers. It is quite clear that the company is able to bring in a lot of attention, as it has been voted "most irritating advert"; which therefore shows that individuals can actually remember the advert. This hints that if they are ever in need of finding the cheapest, highest quality financial service, they will remember the ridiculous, repetitive advert and continue to their website; thus increasing the amount of people using the company's website. 

Starbucks Experiential London Store- Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Sensory Marketing

In October 2015, Starbucks decided to create an 'experiential' store in London.

The new store was very different from any other Starbucks in the world and even introduced an evening menu that has a variety beers and wines. 

Starbucks is known to sell rich coffees and other hot beverages, however by adding a little twist and selling beers and wines, this meant that the store could expand their target audience; thus giving them a chance to gain more market share in the food and beverage sector. 

Starbucks displaying their choices of food and beverages

Another smart move from the brand is their involvement with technology. Starbucks typically is filled with businessmen/women with laptops or other devices, producing work alongside drinking a cup of coffee. Starbuck's idea to include wireless charging will be a great benefit to the company, as it means that customers no longer need to bring their chargers and search for a space with a socket. This will make their consumers feel valued and part of the brand; therefore creating brand loyalty. This sort of involvement creates a viable experience and links in with the 'belongingness' level on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, as it makes the consumer feel that they are accepted by the company and mean something to them. 

Starbucks may also meet the accomplishment-ego needs with their new store, as it includes hand-held payment units, virtual screens, table service and the freedom to wait wherever they want for their chosen drink. Their evening menu also includes prestigious meals, such as truffle mac and cheese and drinks, such as unique espressos that are not available in any other Starbucks stores.

The 'experiential' store in West End- London

Firstly, the upgrade in technology and service means that customers can order and pay for their beverages anywhere in store; therefore allowing the store to serve more customers, whilst bringing in more profit quicker. It also means that the company can also show prestige and status, because currently they are the only brand who provides this type of service. This sense of prestige and accomplishment hits another level on Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and creates a feeling that makes the consumer reflect their ego-needs, which are fulfilled. 

As you can see in the image, Starbucks have created quite a 'chic' look in their store, which looks very appealing in the eyes of a consumer. The layout and design draws in the customers attention, making them want to sit in and enjoy a beverage. This design reflects the theory of sensory marketing and explains that the way an area is set up can create an atmosphere that impacts whether an individual wants to come in or not. The design also includes glass windows everywhere, allowing consumers to look into the shop straight away and see the barista create the wonderful smell that they have just walked past. This form of sensory marketing is very smart as the strong smell of coffee helps draw in customers attention; making them want to go in and buy a drink. Another form of sensory marketing is the placement of the food, as seen in the top image. The food has been placed on high stands and some in glass cabinets, making it easy for consumers to see the tempting variety of products. Some of the baked good on the stands are not covered, which meets the needs of the consumer's smell and sight senses. Once these are fulfilled, the consumer can move on to the hear, touch and taste senses when they pick up the baked item, take the first bite and then appreciate the flavours. 

This form of marketing from Starbucks was an extremely good idea, as it really helped explore an individual's senses, gave them a sense of prestige and accomplishment, whilst still feeling valued by the brand. It is safe to say that this will lead to a good reputation of the brand, as it really shows that they take time in making their customers feel as relaxed and as happy as possible.