Kevin Jackson, VP of Sales and Marketing at George P Johnson is a thought leader, speaker, strategic consultant and relationship manager. His organisation George P Johnson (GPJ) creates ideas and brings them to life through integrated experiential programmes which leverage online, mobile and physical brand interactions for clients in technology, healthcare, consumer goods, finance and other fields.
In this video (see below), originating from the Business Tourism Scotland Conference 2013, Kevin Jackson argues” The experience IS the marketing – there is nothing else” and asks key questions about engaging with your audience.
Kevin also offers tips on how to reach audiences and what to bear in mind when engaging with them. When focusing on creating unique and memorable experiences and events, Kevin Jackson highlights the "4D" process used by his organisation: Discover, Define, Design, Deliver.
Start with Your Audience
How do you…make connections, build communities, change behaviours, deliver results? Start with your audience:
- What should they feel?
- What should they think?
- What should they know?
- What should they do?
You can say anything but you have to deliver, it matters what you do and that’s important for the business tourism industry. Relationships are key in the real world and in the brand world too – brands want to have a relationship with their audience and their customers.
Reaching your Audience
- Consumers can now choose how they get their information via a plethora of channels and devices
- Consumers are in control and decide how and when they listen to you
- 90% of people still judge brands by the experience they have – that’s why experience is so important
- Decide what your brand stands for and where it stands in the world. Don’t forget about the power of word of mouth recommendation. Social media content is driven by experiences and events.
- Relationships are key in the real world and in the brand world too – brands want to have a relationship with their audience and their customers.
- Research shows that 70% of people that live through an experience buy more. 66% of people tell people or change the way they feel about it. 82% become more engaged with the brand. 85% talk about it and tell others. Driving word of mouth because the experience IS the marketing.
- Don’t forget that experiences are all individual. Each individual feels the experience differently. Experiences are drivers of action.
Planning, Creating and Delivering Unique Experiences
Discover - Define - Design - Deliver
When planning, creating and delivering unique experiences for the client consider the 4 D process designed by George P Jackson to identify what the key objectives are, the key calls to action, the business need and the design which will help you achieve these objectives.
- Discover: What do we want this audience to do? What is the business need? Buy more, visit the website?
- Define: Actions and measurement required – can you measure them?
- Design: In terms of driving results, what do we want them to do? Reduce costs, get more sales?
- Deliver: There is always a business need – we need to know what this is in order to provide an effective business solution.
Watch Kevin Jackson’s presentation at the Business Tourism Scotland Conference 2013 here.