| Who Knew That Experiential Marketing Came with a Lab Coat |
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| Monday, 28 May 2007 | |
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Who Knew That Experiential Marketing Came with a Lab Coat By Tim Collins A little over two years ago, I took on the role of creating the first Experiential Marketing group at Wells Fargo. There were many unknowns (budget, staffing, etc.), and I knew there would be many surprises. Shortly after taking the job, I visited my 86 year old mother back in Philadelphia and explained what I now did for a living. She was asking questions, and I thought "By George, she's got it!" But a few weeks later, my sister called to tell me that Mom was telling her friends that I work in "Experimental Marketing." I guess George was wrong. I have heard that term many times over the last two years. On many occasions, I have been introduced as the ³Experimental Marketing² guy. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if there was a field called "Experimental Marketing"...and I was just slow to catch on. But a quick check of Wikipedia allayed my fears. Now I joke that I should wear a lab coat. I have realized that my colleagues and family were not familiar with the term. Many equated marketing with advertising. Experiential Marketing is like the "New" Math they took as kids....they didn't understand what was wrong with the "old" math. As a result, a significant portion of my team's time is spent educating the organization about what Experiential Marketing is, and how it can be used in our many business lines. We are frequent presenters at staff meetings throughout the organization. Luckily, we work on cool stuff, so the presentations are always entertaining and we get positive word of mouth. It reminded me of some of the great teachers I had in school, the ones with great student reviews. Their classes always closed out first. We have also had to educate our internal collaborators, such as our legal team, on what we do, and why this is different than traditional advertising. Early on, I recall a discussion on why a lengthy legal disclaimer was not consistent with an Experiential approach. They looked at me like I was from Mars. A year later, they were so up to speed on social media that they were key contributors in our efforts to launch our first corporate blog. And I didn't even have to wear the lab coat! Two years later, things are much better. Most of my colleagues have heard of Experiential Marketing, and remotely know what I do for a living. But the world has changed in the last two and half years. What was Experiential two years ago can be passé today. When we partnered with Linden Labs two years ago, Second Life had 35,000 users. Last I heard they have over 5 million. We continue to spend a big chunk of time educating, and re-educating, the organization. As I look back I am so grateful that I was given this opportunity. My biggest surprise is that I also took on a second job as an educator. Don't get me wrong, I love it. But it was one of those questions others might want to ³ask in the interview.² I would be interested to hear from other Forum members on their experiences. Is anyone else wearing the lab coat? Does anyone else feel like they should have teaching credentials? Tim Collins SVP Experiential Marketing Wells Fargo |
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