Experiential: Time to get involved

creation of events that get people talking online and offline is
booming.

'Experiential has become the new gold rush for PR agencies,' says Dan
Holliday, MD of experiential agency Not Actual Size. 'It's the "real"
that people value. Hence the boom in all things "live".'

Experiential activity is used to sell the benefits of brands to targeted
groups to increase brand awareness and sales by putting a physical
representation of that brand in front of them. And PR companies - with
their traditional strength in achieving media coverage - have the skills
to get that representation talked about. 'PR and marketing managers
within companies are becoming somewhat confused about how to reach out
to consumers,' says Sally Durcan, founder of experiential specialist
Hotcow. 'There is a definite role for both PR and experiential
agencies.'

Frank PR is among the agencies looking to capitalise, and it set up its
own experiential division, Sneeze, some time ago. But Johnny Pitt,
founder and chief executive of rival integrated marcoms agency Launch
Group, does not seem convinced. 'Lots of people misunderstand what
experiential is. It doesn't necessarily work so well as a standalone
piece of activity; it has to be about an integrated offer,' he says.
'Some agencies have separate divisions but how much experiential work
are these doing on their own? Probably not much, if they are
honest.'

But this seems to be the point as the PR industry becomes more confident
about using a live brand event as part of a campaign rather than just an
add-on. Sneeze boss Damon Statt says: 'We have real crossover in terms
of delivering on the face-to-face event level but also on coverage.'

And PR agencies are increasingly doing experiential work that appeals to
clients. Cow PR was behind the launch last month of the Vauxhall
Insignia, which saw an orb 'crashing' near Tower Bridge before it opened
to reveal the new car two days later. 'To be outside the motoring pages
we have to act like a consumer brand, not just a car company,' says
Simon Ewart, manager, consumer comms at GM UK and Ireland. 'But it works
only as long as there's integration of the product (with the activity).
There has to be a reason.'

Nigel Dickie, director of corporate and government affairs at Heinz,
agrees: 'You have to link your proposition (to the PR activity) rather
than just badging something.' Cow's work for Heinz included last year's
van tour for the company's Aunt Bessie's Mash frozen potatoes. The PR
team reinvented the 99 flake as a sort of 'all-weather cone' containing
sausage, mash and peas and the van's presence boosted regional
sales.

These are good examples of PR working with experiential, but this is not
always the case, says Cow director Clare Myddleton. 'I hate the fact
that we are often briefed after other people,' she explains. 'PR should
be recognised as the starting point of the storytelling. Too often
people will say: "We're doing a big event - you need to make it famous."
But the events team hasn't a clue what works for the UK media. Unless
you have the hook of a story, you're going to miss consumer touchpoints.
Experiential agencies have never sold into the hardest of
newsdesks.'

That may change as the lines between PR and experiential blur.
Experiential work is resource-intensive and can take 75 per cent of a
budget in production alone - thus squeezing other budget areas and
bringing the issue of return on investment into sharp relief. This is
one reason why experiential specialist Beatwax makes media coverage,
along with footfall, a key measure of success, getting newspapers, radio
stations and so on committed to promoting its events editorially.

'That generates quality coverage, certainly in relation to films: cast,
plot synopsis, opening date and embedding the artwork,' says MD Michael
Brown. 'We can say to clients: "We've had this idea and here are the
media partners we've got on board".'

It certainly worked for 20th Century Fox, which has gone down the
experiential route with Beatwax on movies including Silver Surfer, Alvin
and The Chipmunks and Meet Dave. Fox marketing manager Helen Davis
concedes: 'The first time is a bit of a step into the dark as there are
a lot of things to take into account on activity of this nature that
perhaps you haven't thought about as a client - dry-cleaning chipmunk
costumes, for instance.'

It is a good point: production requires core skills, such as knowing the
right people on the council for permissions, understanding health and
safety legislation and even how many toilets you need. For those wanting
to make it part of their offering, Holliday has some advice. 'Good
experiential activity comes down to three skills - production, creative
and amplification,' he says. 'PR companies have got the latter locked
down; now they need to make sure the creative and production is up to
speed as well.'

CASE STUDY - OPENING OF BEE MOVIE

Client: Paramount

PR team: Beatwax

Budget: undisclosed

The Dreamworks animation Bee Movie was aimed at family audiences over
the busy shopping period up to Christmas last year - although the
summer-themed film needed to be positioned as an alternative choice in
the Yuletide market.

Objectives

To get local media on board and generate advance coverage and
communicate key film messages. To secure brand partnerships to co-fund
activity and secure national media opportunities.

What the team did

The PR team created a tour, Bee Movie Live, that took in ten cities from
Glasgow to London, where it remained for four weeks at the Winter
Wonderland in Hyde Park. Attractions included an adapted aeroplane
flight simulator using specially created animated footage showing a
flight through the eyes of the movie's main character. There was also a
giant hive in honeycomb design, in which kids dressed up in Velcro bee
outfits and were catapulted on to a Velcro wall.

Who covered it?

Brand partners that contributed to cost included LG (plasma screens),
Piaggio (a customised scooter in black and yellow), Xscape Leisure
Centres and Activision (gaming pods with Bee Movie games were provided
in the hive). Features were secured in regional media including
thelondonpaper, Sheffield's The Star, Milton Keynes Citizen, Coventry
Telegraph, Yorkshire Evening Post, Brighton's The Argus, Empire Online
and Juice Radio.

What did it achieve?

Total footfall was 1.1 million and free media value was £251,000,
including seven half-pages in the nationals and ten days of online
coverage in the Daily Star. Despite lukewarm reviews, the film took
£9m at the UK box office.

CASE STUDY - FIRST NFL MATCH TO BE PLAYED OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

Client: NFL

PR team: Not Actual Size

Budget: £450,000

American Football's National Football League had never staged a
competitive game outside of North America before last October's Miami
Dolphins vs New York Giants clash at Wembley Stadium. Not Actual Size
was brought on board to promote the match to a public largely unaware of
the rules of the game.

Objectives

To create a vehicle with inherent news value, developing a mass
awareness campaign around the Wembley Stadium game, with an emphasis on
Miami. To drive ticket sales and use the match as a catalyst for NFL
fanbase growth.

What the team did

To create an experience with NFL brand positioning, the team focused on
the players. This would give the story a human angle, sidestep the rules
issue and connect more easily with non-fans. The solution was to create
the biggest animatronic figure ever built, based on a lifelike replica
of Miami Dolphins player Jason Taylor, dubbed the 'David Beckham of
American football'. It was 26ft high, weighed more than a tonne, had
moveable feet, arms and eyes and travelled at 5mph. The week-long tour
of London included Trafalgar Square, Canary Wharf and Victoria
station.

Who covered it?

There was a 417 per cent increase in Sky's average viewing figures for
American football compared with an ordinary NFL game. There were 354m
opportunities to see in national press (£3.91m in PR value).

What did it achieve?

Around 500,000 tickets for the match were requested in the first 72
hours of the campaign and a 150 per cent rise in NFL UK membership
followed.