"What? You don't want my email?" A marketer's perspective on a holiday experiential campaign

It seems I can never take my marketing hat off. I love the holiday season for more reasons than one, but this month I find myself more interested in how retailers are bringing their brands to life through holiday activations than scoring good deals.

While most of us are spending the week taking advantage of online and in-store deals, I spent mine thinking about optimization opportunities for some of the experiential marketing campaigns I’ve experienced the past week. The biggest question: “How are they going to track success beyond the holidays if they don’t collect data from the get-go?” came to mind. After all, tis the season to attract consumers, build awareness, and create those relationships you want to carry over to the next year and beyond to drive sales and loyalty.

This week’s thought came after a ½ hour experience at the President’s Choice Insider Boutique in downtown Toronto (if you haven’t checked it out, it’s open until December 19). I have to say this is one of the coolest pop-ups I have ever experienced. Through a series of sampling opportunities, you get to taste new products in the PC Insiders line and learn how you can put a twist on the way you create your brunch, mingle, and dining experience (my personal favourite is the maple bacon waffle topped with Speculoos cookie butter). I was so impressed with the boutique – the welcoming hostesses, the knowledgeable chefs, the beautiful décor, and of course, the delicious food we sampled! That’s where most people would stop and acknowledge how exciting the experience was, but my wandering mind went to statistics!

When we left with a full stomach, some inspiration for hosting holiday get togethers, and a little gift (I won’t spoil it for you), what surprised me at the end of the experience was the fact that I wasn’t asked for my email or received a coupon to redeem one of the many products we sampled in store. How can this be (says the analytical marketer in me)?

While the consumer in me loved the idea that PC didn’t want my information (let’s face it, we share our personal information with way too many brands), I didn’t understand how they would be able to attribute sales from this line to the boutique campaign. I was expecting one of two tactics to occur:

• The brand ambassadors would collect our emails while we waited in line so they can follow up with us after the fact and share recipes, locate our nearest Loblaws store, view offers in a flyer or encourage us to share our experience with friends on social media.
• The brand ambassadors would provide an opportunity to purchase any of these products on the spot since there was a nice display of all featured products – or be provided with in store with a trackable coupon code.

Neither of these tactics happened, and my non-marketing friends have brought up a (curious and somewhat foreign) thought to my analytical : “Maybe President’s Choice just wanted to inspire consumers and provide a unique experience without being ‘too salesy’ in their execution.” Well, if that’s the case, good for you President’s Choice because the consumer in me is incredibly impressed and can’t wait to try the ideas you’ve suggested this holiday season!