Why experience runs deeper
The “experience of emotion leads to a memory”, NRMA GM of Customer Strategy and Experience Tina Morrell said during a recent CX Forum in Sydney.
Speaking at the MaritzCX event, Morell explained how NRMA has learnt not to underestimate “feeling”, as when customers have a positive emotion this is the “strongest drive” for customer loyalty.
“Experience of emotion leads to a memory, which is really important because that’s really what a customer is left with,” Morell said.
“It’s important because we know that loyalty will drive customers to promote us and if we do have a little bit of a blip in our experience – which can happen in any business – they’re going to be more forgiving of us. We know that they’ll even pay a higher price premium,” she explained.
As a result, NRMA now zones in on the feels by trying to engage with consumers “logically and emotionally” by using experiential campaigns that showcase products and services in a way they wouldn’t normally be used or seen.
IAG-owned NRMA is not alone when it comes to trying to create experiences which resonate with consumers.
In April, ahead of the Game of Thrones final season launch on Foxtel, the pay-TV service charged its agency, DDB, to come up with ideas around promoting the popular TV show.
With such a such a supercharged fanbase, DDB felt it best to zone in on a live event by creating a unique interactive ‘Grave of Thrones’ installation. The exhibition of graves at Centennial Park, Sydney, built in a collaboration with Revolver/Will O’Rourke and The Glue Society, made national and international headlines, drew out the hardcore fans and created buzz ahead of the highly anticipated season.
Looking at the return on investment (ROI) metrics for such a stunt, given Foxtel had been warming audiences with TV teasers for sometime, it’s hard to quantify the exact impact the move had, with Foxtel not wishing to elaborate.
When it comes to ROI on more immersive and experiential campaigns, ex-Droga5 New York creative-turned DDB New Zealand creative director, Rory McKechnie, tells AdNews it does take slightly more of “a leap of faith” from all involved, as you can never be sure of engagement.
“But when you create one of those magic campaigns that take on a life of their own, it often seems to have a much more outsize effect than spending in other channels,” McKechnie says.
Foxtel is such a believer in experiential marketing that last month the pay-TV provider’s sales house, MCN, revealed that it would be scrapping the traditional TV industry upfront model in favour of a
