The experience factor

The writing is on the wall for traditional advertising, as experiential marketing becomes a sophisticated, engaging and important part of the mix, says Pete Brown

It's long been a cliché in the drinks industry: people "drink the advertising". For the last 30 or 40 years, tight regulations governing what you can say in ads meant that brands were built not by singing the praises of the product itself, or talking about why people drink it, but by being witty, irreverent, and occasionally beautiful - even artistic.

But no longer.

Advertising for alcoholic drinks has not been banned - yet. But in September this year, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) splashed the writing across the wall when it banned ads for WKD and Smirnoff Ice.

Smirnoff's "Uriplanet" campaign was developed in co-operation with the advertising authorities and was approved before it aired.

Nevertheless, the campaign was banned on the grounds that it might appeal to under-18s - not "would", or "did" appeal to under-18s - but "might". The grounds for this conclusion? The actor playing Uri used to be in Quarashi, a defunct Icelandic rap group which, in its entire history, never released a single or album in the UK, and remains unknown even to the likes of iTunes.

But the ASA had heard of Quarashi and that was enough. Therefore, one of its ex-members being in an ad meant there was potential appeal to under-18s. The number of complaints the ASA received alerting them to this hypothetical danger to our children? None. This was a statement of intent.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the case was the reaction of the advertising industry. Most of the commentators approached by ad industry journal Campaign expressed surprise that these brands were still even trying to reach a 20-something audience via the medium of TV. They don't watch TV any more, claimed the experts. You need to reach them via their computers, or even better, when they're out. Because when they're not tapping away, they're out enjoying themselves.

Maybe this is why, in October, InBev announced it was scaling down advertising support from some of its biggest brands - Castlemaine XXXX, Murphy's and Boddingtons - with the intention of promoting the brands in other ways. What ways?

Step forward the new marketing buzz-phrase on the block: experiential marketing.

"Experiential marketing is a way of creating and enhancing the connection between a brand and its consumers," says Rob Bruce, head of PR for InBev UK and Ireland. "By allowing our drinkers to experience a living, breathing embodiment of the brand, and by creating a social connection with them, they should and do stay more brand-loyal."

Sponsorship tries a new tack

A few years ago we had more prosaic terms for this. There was product sampling - getting pretty (or handsome) models to hand out your drink in trendy nightspots; and there was sponsorship - plastering your name across something your target audience might like.

Both these activities are still part of experiential marketing. But the new term is far more than a catch-all spin on hoary old promotional techniques. Increasing sophistication of the media choices available to brand marketers, coupled with necessity and adversity (the increasingly fertile parents of invention) have combined to give birth to an increasingly creative, colourful and cost-effective range of promotional activities.

A decade ago, sponsorship was a matter of splashing your logo across something your target audience was interested in. If it was good sponsorship, it would be a property that had a natural fit with your brand. Carling and football complemented each other perfectly. And when Stella decided to sponsor film instead of sport, it felt appropriate that a brand positioning itself as a little above the fray should sponsor something slightly classy.

There's still a role for it, but ultimately sponsorship amounts to borrowed interest - judging a brand by the company it keeps rather than what it says or does itself. All this really does is get the brand in people's faces and get them to notice it more.

A good experiential marketing programme now goes much further, allowing consumers to engage with the brand more directly, and giving something back rather than simply taking from a property.

Creating an event of your own

The next step from piggy-backing an event was creating an event of your own. In the last year S&NUK has invested around £5m into experiential marketing, with its Taste Tour the latest part of this. The tour took in more than 1,000 venues around the country throughout October and November and encouraged pubgoers through one-on-one conversations with sales reps to try S&N premium bottled drinks brands.

Sales reps, having collected drinks from the bar, tried to persuade customers drinking, say Grolsch, to switch to Kronenbourg, and money-off vouchers encouraged them to try S&NUK's brands when revisiting the pubs. The Taste Tour was designed to build on its Biggest Round initiative - in which more than 750,000 drinkers were approached in similar one-to-one marketing.

At the same time Tennent's has benefited hugely from T in the Park, recently voted best festival in the UK. As there were no music festivals in Scotland, Scotland's lager came up with one and won legions of adoring fans.Stella Artois did the same with Stella Screen, creating movie-based festivals and events that didn't exist before their involvement. But what do you do once all the obvious niches have been filled? Brands can try to "own" areas such as music or film, but of course, they never can.

Increasingly, drinks brands are becoming more creative about the events they put together, combining genuinely different nights out for consumers with opportunities to sample the product. "People are increasingly seeking interesting experiences rather than just products. This is reflected in what they are looking for in their choice of entertainment," says Rob Ward, brand manager for Smirnoff.

That's why Smirnoff has launched The Electric Cabaret, a night with a difference that brings together music, dance, film, magic and comedy. "We have come up with an eclectic mix of original acts delivering a contemporary twist on cabaret," says Ward. "Cabaret events are going through a renaissance. It will create a unique night out, an interactive experience that will enhance consumers' affiliation with the Smirnoff brand."

Other large spirit brands are following a similar route. Bacardi has been running "B-Bar" events at music festivals for several years. This year, the initiative was relaunched as B-Live, a platform for various artists.

"There are so many more festivals on the circuit these days," says a Bacardi spokesperson. "People want to be able to get into the experience of music, and it gives us the opportunity to have thousands of people sample the product."

In May, Southern Comfort launched Fat Tuesday - the literal translation of "Mardi Gras" - the signature festival of the brand's home town, New Orleans. By providing entertainment that includes DJs, music and Tarot readers, the brand is answering the same demand for interesting new nights out, but in a way that actively engages people in the brand and the drink. On the one hand there's product sampling, on the other, the embodiment of New Orleans comes to stand for something relevant and meaningful to consumers.

Dawn of a new age

Many experiential marketing events happen in special venues, but they are also being brought into pubs and bars. A box of T-shirts and a bit of tatty bunting is old hat - experiential marketing aims to transform venues and enhance the drinker's experience in a positive way. Grolsch has ploughed significant investment into its Green Light District, an attempt to bring some of the values and flavour of Continental drinking from the brand's native Holland to our shores.

Venues were given tastefully branded umbrellas and screens to create attractive outdoor seati