Dani's summit experience

A great moment can be described as follows:
Being told by my Marketing Communications lecturer that it is compulsory to read, self study and continuously refer to Berndt Schmitt in our final exam... and then ACTUALLY hearing him talk in real life! It was precisely at this awesome moment that I was absolutely blown away at the 2nd African Experiential Marketing Summit. Yet that was just one of the many highlights experienced last Wednesday at Monte Casino...
At the outset, I would like to take my hat off to the organisers and events coordinators of this event. Being my first professional summit, I was truly in awe of how everything was so magnificently orchestrated. Every detail was taken care of, and the little extras that kept on popping up throughout the day were truly conducive to creating a wonderful experience for all delegates! From the professionalism with which I was greeted and introduced to the main players (such as Martin Leong and Carol Abade from Exp.), to the calibre of local and international speakers that inspiringly commanded the stage, the day was seamlessly organised. Not a single feature was left unattended to – whether it was the ice cream carts and vendors that took me back to my childhood days, or the decadent display of pink and white cupcakes at tea time, or the dramatic and sensual tap dancers – the entire day revolved around emphasising the value of experiential marketing. And a good job it did at that!
I did not know it was possible to sit through approximately 7 hours of talks, and to not lose focus even once. The speakers were so gripping, interesting and passionate, that my attention was hooked right from the opening keynote by Bernd Schmitt (the novelty of hearing the author of one of my key university text books does not wear off - I literally get excited every time the lecturer mentions his name in class, and I proudly say “I have now heard him live!”) – right up until Kim Skildum-Reid who closed the conference. The speakers were in a league of their own, and I can only marvel at their sheer genius understanding of and insight into the marketing realm.
What I loved most about the Summit, was the way in which each speaker translated their message into real life scenarios by providing case studies and actual tangible examples of Experiential Marketing. I had always learnt about it in theory, but until each speaker wove it into a real life success story, I never grasped just how profound an impact creating an experience can have. I always learn about the world’s leading brands, but the ways in which the speakers elaborated on the experiences behind Starbucks, Apple and Mini (to name but a few) was truly an eye opener. There was no need for highfalutin and verbose complex language, the speakers were to the point and very clear in making their point.
Ryan FitzSimons (CEO of Gigunda Group) was a real highlight! He really got the message across that you have to create an episodic framework. And his case study of the Charmin Toilet Experience was mind blowing! Anyone wishing to understand the entire gist of Experiential Marketing in a few minutes needs to simple Google the Charmin story!
Carol Abade was equally interesting in shedding light on marketing in Africa, emphasising that Africa requires the same degree of sophistication as anywhere else in the world. Her reference to Johnnie Walker and the mosquito-net case studies were brilliant in conveying her message. She truly answered how one would go about utilising the influencer matrix, finding one person to influence the market, and then stretching out across communities of interest.
I took so much from each speaker and the Summit as a whole. I am truly grateful for having been given the opportunity to experience the Experiential Summit... Thank you!
Dani du Plessis

Cyndi's refections on the summit

I was one of the lucky students to get the opportunity to attend the 2nd African Experiential Marketing Summit. All the event coordinators did a spectacular job with their décor and the snacks. There were extraordinary things to see there; they had people dressed like robots and had dances during the Summit. The food was marvellously presented too. Why not make a giant cupcake as a table on which to eat off? Well, that's what they did.

The first person that I had the opportunity of meeting and the MC was Martin Leong from Exp. Martin is a lively, enthusiastic, friendly person, he constantly made jokes and was really awesome to talk to. In between each speaker's presentation he gave a short summary and intro. I believe that he was the best MC I had ever met and a perfect one for the Summit.
I received on entry a lovely lanyard with a card stating that I was a full delegate (I felt so honoured) and at the back of the card the Agenda. I also received a journal with a short intro on all the speakers. I met David Boon, Group Director at Exp, a quiet individual but very knowledgeable and very welcoming, a great pleasure meeting him, the Exp and Purple Apricot team.

Here's a photo of me and Martin:

Below are some of the topics that the speakers discussed, amongst others.

Speakers:

Bernd Schmitt

· How branding should encompass personality and not be fake.
· The case studies that he discussed were Mini, Ipod, W Hotels, Pinkberry and Starbucks.
· The end customer is not the only important entity, so are the employees. Thus, creating experience for the internal customers is required.
· Experiential marketing is measured by an Ex Scale and is reliable.
· The concepts and tools which differ between traditional marketing and experiential marketing is reinventing and breaking through markets.

Here's me with Bernd Schmitt:

Ryan FitzSimons (Gigunda)

· How to get the people to fall in love with your brand
· Product -> brand -> brand badge
· Price relates to the purpose of the brand
· The importance of Word of mouth - he describes the process of discovering a product, understanding the product , purchasing it, and then talking about it, to create what companies desire called BUZZ
· A way of maintaining the BUZZ is by using the EPISODIC framework
· The truth of the product is very important
· There are 3 moments of truth, namely First moment of truth, Second moment of truth and Third moment of truth (FMOT, SMOT, TMOT)
· Friction is fundamental
· How a product fits into a consumers life
· Involvement + Friction = Destination Devotion
· An amazing case study was done on Charmin Ultra toilet tissue, which was a topic I couldn’t help but tell everyone about. Public restrooms are dreaded, and the friction people feel towards them was used by Charmin to make people love using their restrooms and product, and ultimately achieving their desired goal.

Dr Jannie Hofmeyr ( Synovate)

· 30% is what people will do and 70% of what people promise to do
· you can predict your consumers (brains) quickly and accurately
· Attitudinal + Barrier effects = Total Equity
· Challenge relating to what goes into consumers mind
· How to sustain what goes into consumers mind
· How to create brand commitment- if you make people happy, they will reward you with loyalty (he showed this with diagrams)
· He said that exceeding expectations is the most dangerous marketing doctrine in the world.
· Nothing can delight a human forever.
· Case study: Bonaqua
· Repetition is very important

Andy Rice (Yellowwood Brand Architects)

· Changing face of brand communications
· Change the whole philosophy
· Consumer empowerment
· Corporate brand
· Internal alignment
· The media is extremely cluttered, so the companies' standard response would be to create new media
· Media proliferation
· New media is a catalyst for a handover of power from brand owners to brand customers
· The control of media has shifted from brand owner to brand customer
· As stated by Ryan and Andy both the consumer controls the brand
· There is no hiding place for companies – they need to use authentic and honest advertising and to deliver on promises.
· Distinguished “word of mouse” from “word of mouth”
· What a company offers is no longer enough
· We are all in the service industry – brand alignment becomes top priority
· When your brands leave the shop they must have: values, authenticity, personality, openness, to let them thrive.
· Just like parents are still held accountable for their children once they leave home, so are companies with their products.

Sharon Penhallrick ( Telmar SPC)

· Evolution and revolution of the communication landscape across Africa
· Sharon was very open and interactive with the audience asking questions and expecting audience participation
· Media source is not the same all over the world, it is unique
· Similarities and differences in countries with regard to: culture, continent, consumers and communication
· The difference between traditional African Culture and westernisation is a continuous struggle
· Communication trends
· Research is essential
· PAMRO and AMPS
· Television, the power of radio, print, outdoor, cinema, internet and cellphones.
· Win-win situations for all marketers.

Carol Abade (Exp)

· Influencing the influencer
· Traditional marketers view of Africa (this I found interesting)
· Information on Africa
· The market place
· How to approach african markets
· Companies need to have a new way of thinking
· Influencer matrix (aspirers etc.)
· Influencers connect people
· Advocacy
· Rules to marketing in Africa

Carl Monteiro (FIFA)

· Fifa World Cup 2006 and 2010
· Global brands
· Branding licenses
· Publications
· Broadcasters
· Fan Fest (something I wasn’t prior aware of)
· Fan parks
· Marketing platforms
· Stadiums to be built
· Budgets regarding stadiums

Kim Skildum-Reid (Powersponsorship)

· Sponsorship (very interesting topic)
· Brief introduction to brand marketing
· Product life cycle
· Customer continuum from being aware of brand advocating to others.
· Sponsorship is improving on something people care about
· 4 generations of sponsorship:
Ø Exposure driven
Ø Sales driven
Ø Objective driven
Ø Market driven
· Market driven the best alternative where a marketer can achieve win-win-win situation for the sponsor, sponsee and target market
· The event experience doesn’t end at the end of the game (very clever statement)
· Sponsorship is target market driven
· Explored how sponsorship works with case study Mazda (which I told many students about)
· Weetbix, Orange Mobile, Vodafone, Nambarrie Tea Company, Spirit and PMI case studies.
· Being sponsors does not align to the events but to their target market
· Recommendations are to get strategic
· get away from sponsorship package mentality.

That's me and Kim below:

I have never ever met so many amazing speakers who are so confident in what they know. Intelligent people and very good public speakers. I am so honoured to have been given this opportunity to experience it, it was above all a truly big eye opener and I intend using the information I know in my future as a marketibg leader. I look forward to the 3rd Summit. A big Thank you to the Exp group for giving me the ticket and to God for making all this happen.

“Nothing becomes real until it is experienced”
(John Keats 1819)

Cyndi-lee De Cerff
2nd year IMM Graduate School of Marketing student
Damelin