As, I write this piece, the
marketing world is changing;
and with it the imminent
change in conducting business.
This change is being demanded
by savvy, empowered
consumers who is not swayed
by the big media instigated
"brand essence". Today, the
elusive consumers want
relevant and on-time messages.
The best way to covey it to them
is through experiences that are personally relevant, memorable, sensory, emotional
and meaningful.

"Return on Experience" is the marketing buzz word of the 21st century. “Experiential marketing is leading the way into the new marketing paradigm.” Know your target demographics. Deliver a memorable experience at every touch point. You are bound to succeed.

Prof. Bernd H. Schmitt, director of the Center on Global Brand Leadership of Columbia Business School writes, “Today, customers take product quality and a positive brand image as a given,”........"What they want is products, communications, and marketing campaigns that dazzle their senses, touch their hearts, and stimulate their minds – that deliver an experience.” In his book Experiential Marketing, Prof Schmitt discusses 5 strategic experiential modules of Sense, Feel, Think, Act and Relate that form the basis of experiential marketing.

(At the risk of being shamefully aggressive), with pride we may say Skyline Mirage is the perfect back wall for busy trade show exhibitors who are penetrating in small vertical markets. The experience is delivered in the ease of set up. Developing this product some 30 odd years ago, Skyline related to the multifaceted challenges of an exhibitor and since then, Mirage has undergone various evolutionary phases to evolve in its final form as self locking Mirage Plus.

Companies that deliver the right experience to customers will succeed in this tough competitive market place. Trade shows are great venues where your prospects and your clients get to feel and experience your brand. To deliver a memorable experience, use innovative approaches to engage your visitors in creative and interactive ways. For example, ask your customers to write down in a white board (which very well can be part of your back wall) the defining verbs that come to their mind when using your product.

Cause-marketing activities is another proven way to deliver a memorable, soul soothing experience. Allos Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company specializing in anti-cancer therapeutics, crafted its philanthropic, in-booth activity around a quilt donation to cancer patients. Eager to support cancer patients, attendees happily completed the activity — adding messages such as “Life is a gift!” and “May hope, faith, and courage be your guiding light today and always.” Allos would sew the completed squares into as many quilts as possible, each one of which would be donated to a cancer center for distribution to patients.......A compelling marketing campaign that touched hearts and inspired minds.

It is beyond any shadow of doubt the massive impression Pinterest has created in the digital media of sharing and knowing that we affectionately call social marketing. With more than 10 million active users according to AppData, it's difficult to ignore Pinterest's explosion in immense popularity.

The folks over at Socially Sorted and Mookoo Design pulled together the above infographic, "The 10 Commandments of Using Pinterest for Business," which guides you through best practices and tips for putting Pinterest to work in your social media marketing strategy. It is your very own Pinterest marketing cheat sheet!

Pinterest is a visual social network, so you will need to create a pinboard that highlights
some of your best visual content. A lot of big brands are taking notice of the power of online visual content for marketing and the emotions images elicit in readers. Instagram is one platform that has contributed to this movement and enabled real businesses to leverage photos as a an inbound marketing mechanism.

Life magazine has done an impressive job in refreshing its' brand legacy. Love the digital image board, especially as it markets itself as “the most comprehensive and iconic collection of professional photography on the web.” LIFE brings those images to a new generation on Pinterest for users to comment on and share. The inspiring boards include “Vintage Retrospect,” “LIFE Legends” and “Today in History.” Here is another great infographic that sings the laurels of Pinterest. Enjoy!

We are inherently creative. Yet some times we are paralyzed by our own critical thinking that brings our creativity to a jolting halt. We manage to strangle the flow. Creative thinking is crucial when we are trying to solve a tough problem, when we are presenting a solution for a brand make over or when we are giving birth to a new brand. The trick is I believe, to change the perspective and see things from a different vantage point than currently do.

The popular adage "think out of the box" is what we like to talk about. However, the reality is you still have to reside within the "box" to be accepted within the "existing paradigm": all you have to to do is make the box fluid; meaning you define the parameters of the box. I love the Japanese concept of kaizen. It is the idea that big changes occur not through a one time big action but through the accumulation of thousands of tiny little actions. What is so cool about this concept is that it fools the brain into thinking that you are not faced with any challenge. Our evolution dictates that when we are faced with a challenge the neo-cortex or the higher thinking brain shuts down and the primitive reptile brain takes over. And, when the amygdala takes over you shoot down the ability to do any kind of creative problem solving. You are operating on a fight or flight reptilian level. The key to hacking your brain is to get into the discipline of doing something creative, however insignificant it might be. After all, it took 10,000 experiments before the incandescent light bulb was manifested. Here are 10 mental blocks that we set up for ourselves. Sounds familiar?

During the launch of Levi's Curve ID jeans in 2010, Levis launched a 5 week integrated marketing campaign that touched on experiential marketing, social media and outdoor events in shopping malls and city centers throughout the UK.
Brand ambassadors for Levi's encouraged women to find their perfect curve jeans shape in-store for the chance to win a £1000 Levi's shopping spree. The idea behind the campaign was to drive long-term engagement with the brand and needless to say it was a stroke of marketing genius that has been reaping phenomenal results. Curves are emotionally and architecturally very captivating. It inspires us to excel in elegance and balance. It is the defining stroke of our postmodern age. In this age of hyper-modern minimalism, we frequently encounter sweeping curves, blended complex geometry, bold colors and inherent playfulness. Curves takes it lesson from nature; perhaps that is the reason why curves are deep seated in human consciousness. They’re smooth, refined, and pleasing to the eye. It dominates the organic world: the curve of the clouds, the gently sloped mountains, the rolling waves of the sea, the female body.

Curves add the feminine softness and tricks the eye into seeing something beyond. It unites the space in an harmonious rhythm. Incorporate the flooring of your booth design to mirror the curves in the architecture above. It gives the illusion of a bigger environment. Contrast your angled booth design with the curves of the furniture. By doing so, your space attains symmetry and resonates with the audiences of both sexes. As the Irish novelist, James Joyce so skillfully said “Men are governed by lines of intellect - women: by curves of emotion".

At the end of the day, it is all about memorability. It is worth keeping in mind: people will soon forget about your jazzy marketing pitch but the intangible force of your brand will be deep embedded in their sub-conscious!