As studies show, people remember 10% of what they hear, 30% of what we see, and 90% of what we experience, making experiential marketing a valuable component in marketing plans for all types of businesses moving forward. While it includes the traditional elements of OOH, digital, and print production, it centers around in-person experiences. While this industry creates amazing opportunities for authentic connections with consumers, it also brings real world issues into play. While the term flawless execution often gets thrown around, we all know that perfection does not exist in the real world where nature, humans, and industry intersect. One important element that is always in our control is our ability to communicate with clients and other key stakeholders, which is why honesty and transparency is so important.
Incremental weather has always been a factor when planning events, as have traffic issues and malfunctioning equipment. As we turn the page on 2021, you can add in supply chain issues that cause material and shipping delays, labor shortages, and ever changing covid protocols to the list. While it’s a producer’s job to anticipate and plan for the unexpected, there are bound to be issues that require solutions. Rather than hide potential problems from your client partners, the GDX Studios team is committed to communicating these potential issues and working together to determine the best solutions and contingency plans. Not only does this level of open communication establish strong long lasting partnerships, it also allows for more input from different points of view. Ideally, agents, clients and vendors are all equally invested in the success of a campaign and are working together toward a common goal.
I’m not suggesting or would ever recommend trying to pass off potential problems to your client. Rather, I am advocating for a collaborative approach to the planning process, including any hiccups that occur along the way. Rain in the forecast? Let’s have an alternative location or event date approved in advance. Matte vinyl on back order? Here’s two similar materials to choose from. Even issues due to a global pandemic can be accounted for. GDX Studios spent months working with the leading health organizations to establish GDX Care, a program that applies the strict regulatory practices of the medical industry to event production. This has allowed us to continue to activate in jurisdictions throughout the country, often with vastly different restrictions in place.
Always be honest and work to not only identify things that can go wrong with a project, but also to establish backup plans and alternatives to ensure success, even while dealing with uncertainty and elements beyond our control. Doing so will lead to a public facing appearance of the “flawless execution” we all love to talk about, and strengthen relationships with your client partners.
