Are you experienced?
I was asked to react to some thoughts on the future of experiential communications in a digital world. Here's what I had to say:
Not a digital world.
I agree that it isn't about digital vs the other stuff: It is all the same. In terms of experiential comms, there is a cycle that should be used online as well as offline:
1) Initiation: People learn about it. From friends, billboards, TV ads, banners, web sites, wherever. They find out about the thing.
2) Participation: They do it. They experience something. They sign up. They upload something. They go to an event.
3) Reaction: They review it, either formally or informally. Online or offline.
4) Communication: They tell people about it. Good, bad or ugly.
It is the job of the marketer to figure out which channels to use. It is about an integrated approach. Don't pick a channel because you think you must have it. Do it because it fits the need. The medium must add value to the message.
Experiential and digital: one and the same?
Well ... kinda.
eCommerce is not too experiential. It could be, but it doesn't need to be. eBay and amazon are great businesses because they have low friction, not becuse they provide the greatest experience. I'd rather go to Macy's for the show. It will always be more fun than online.
I think there will be a role for pure efficient information gathering and exchange online for the foreseeable future. Search, email, IM, and all the data-driven formats will continue to work because of their efficiency, not because of the "experiential" part of the service.
All that said, here is the thing:
If you look at certain eCommerce and certain types of online information gathering, experiential comms will play a massive role. Broadband will enable this. Buying a car, travel and real estate come to mind. It will move beyond data ... It will become a much richer experience. Content from brands combined with user-generated content (including opinion) will create environments where experiences take place.
Will experiential be about content creation?
I'd be careful about this ... It is misconception to think that everybody is creating content. In fact, 1% of people create content and 99% watch, interact or share it. The Pareto rule (80/20) is dead.
Over time, this may change as more people upload photos, blog their stories and edit things like the Wikipedia. For the time being, however, it is about finding the 1% and encouraging them to create and then getting the other 99% to interact with it in some way. Maybe this could be divided into primary and secondary level participants or something.
Here are 3 posts I've written on the 99/1 rule: Pareto, revisited, Rethinking Pareto, What is the 1% rule.
Technorati Tags: experiential, pareto
Saturday, September 16, 2006
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