Every once in a while something comes along in marketing or advertising that just wows us with the attention to detail, authenticity, and execution.  This sharable holiday greeting from Grolsch is one of those.

The brand’s website states “conductor Thomas Blunt, seven percussionists, woodwind players and a timpanist create a beautiful rendition of the song using sounds dreamed up through each element of the legendary bottle – glass, air, beer and the uniquely ‘Grolsch’ Swingtop.

Well done, our Dutch friends, well done.

From basic All Stars in childhood to pink low cuts in high school and, currently, red satin Chinese print high tops and black sequined low cuts, I’ve walked, jumped, kicked, and danced in Converse shoes through every stage of life – including moments on stage. My experience is certainly not unique.

Because the shoes are well made, inexpensive, and come with a super-sized I-don’t-give-a-**** vibe free in every box, they’ve been favorites of the young and the restless for decades. Do a little shoe gazing at Bumbershoot, SXSW, ACL or NoisePop and you’ll see them everywhere, including the stage.

Geoff Cottrill, CMO of Converse, says the brand “has a rich history of supporting music and being embraced by the artistic community,”  and he’s not kidding.  Within the last couple of years alone, the brand has staged the “Gone to Governor’s” live music series, the “Get Out of the Garage” music competition, and the “Three Artists. One Song” series.

Deep in the heart of the creative wilds of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, they’re building their best venture yet – Converse Rubber Tracks.

The 5,500 square foot recording studio will be a place for emerging artists to record music in a high-quality studio operated by experienced engineers — for free. This will help new musicians overcome one of the biggest hurdles in their career: affording studio time.  Artists will retain ownership rights to their music, and the brand will have no influence on the content or style.

The studio is expected to open at the end of 2010, but the Converse is already busy promoting it within music circles – strategically enough, during the CMJ Music Marathon this week.  Emerging artists were invited to the West 23rd St creative offices/showroom to learn about the venture and get a sneak peek at the registration process.

Several CMJ artists, including singer/songwriter Charlene Kaye, performed on the brand’s permanent stage.  Emerging NYC artist William Lord was invited to debut his new song, “Good Riddance,” and was joined by additional musicians for an impromptu jam session which brought down the house.  Before leaving the event, attendees were given extra special swag: a pair of Converse by Jon Varvatos shoes, signed by the designer.

William Lord, singer/songwriter

As if all the sweet swag and studio time weren’t enough, Converse is giving bands a ton of opportunities to expose their music to a larger audience through content captured at the studio, including exclusive in-studio video testimonials, track-of-the-week features, behind-the-scenes footage, and unique rehearsal session clips. The word-of-mouth value alone is mind shattering – for the bands and the brand.

Over the last 6 to 10 years, experiential marketing has been a big buzzword. The general thinking was that creating exciting live experiences between brands and consumers drives results. Experiential programs were broadly focused without much of a focal point on measurement, amplification, or building long-term relationships with consumers.

Over the last few years as the economy tanked, marketers found themselves in a new world where they needed to justify their expenditures – especially when it came to experiential engagement. Programs had to pay for themselves or they simply wouldn’t get approval from upper management. Rather quickly the new buzzwords became digital and social media, word of mouth, metrics and KMI’s. Data capture became incredibly attractive . Who was actually attending those live experiences that cost so much to create? Some circles turned to virtual events to offset huge fabrication costs and create just-as-compelling experiences in a digital environment, thinking “Why not? More people can be engaged at a lower overall cost.”

Our industry, like all others, is ever-evolving. New priorities (and thus buzzwords) have entered our lexicon, and will continue to do so as the economy, marketplace, and our industry move forward. Transactional experiences. Narrow-casting. Ownable content. Always-on experiences that facilitate seamless engagements between brands and consumers through online and offline modes of communication. Marketing campaigns without a definable beginning and end. These are the new realities of our today and tomorrow.

Today consumers skip nimbly from medium to medium – from a live conversation to a Google search to a Facebook post to a mobile app to retail, back to mobile to perhaps browse through an online catalog for the store they’re standing in, accessing an augmented reality app through their device where they can actually visualize themselves trying on various outfits from that very store, then pressing a button to purchase the items online at a discount. Some even have an automatic update about the purchase post to Facebook, visible to their friends.

This is the world we live in. As an experiential marketing agency, we understand how savvy brands need to approach consumer engagement in this complicated environment. It’s no longer about who can create the best experience, who can best leverage social media or digital, or who has the coolest mobile app. Tactical execution is critical, but strategy trumps all.

We are Javelin.

Grey Goose treated attendees at Tales of the Cocktail, the premier gathering of top bartenders in the world, to exclusive experiential events that brought the brand DNA to life. First up was the filming of Beyond The Bar, a series of documentary shorts celebrating characters behind and beyond the bar.

The United States Bartenders’ Guild and Sundance Channel, the series presenters, selected twelve mixologists through a casting process based upon style, creativity and overall originality. These twelve hail from across North America, and embody the best in the business: April Wachtel (Boston), Evan Hawkins (Atlanta), David Ortiz (Miami), Joaquin Simo (New York), Scott Baird (San Francisco), Eric “ET” Tecosky (Los Angeles), Charles Joly (Chicago), Eddie “Lucky” Campbell (Dallas), Tony Abou-Ganim (Las Vegas), Danny Valdez (New Orleans), Willy Shine (New York) and Lauren Mote (Vancouver).

Key influencers and members of the media were invited to watch the filming of the series, which will begin airing October 2, 2010 during Grey Goose Entertainment’s acclaimed TV series Iconoclasts. TheBostonist.com summed it up best: “Iconoclasts, a show that features ‘people who are game-changers in their field,’ says executive producer Emil Jattne, “is a forum where said iconoclasts (from Maya Angelou to Tony Hawk) can showcase their process, their inspirations and accomplishments. The Beyond the Bar 1-minute vignettes will stud the 15- and 45-minute mark of 6 episodes.”

Next on the Tales agenda was an exclusive Parisian-inspired celebration at Latrobe’s, where guests enjoyed four satellite flavor bars inspired by the streets of Paris. Each one represented a flavor of the Grey Goose portfolio and featured specialty cocktails. Grey Goose brand ambassadors highlighted the latest mixers, unique fruits and fresh herbs, with a bird’s eye camera projecting the action for guests throughout the venue. Exclusive clips of Beyond The Bar were shown in a private screening room for guests to enjoy at their leisure.

Months in the making, the Grey Goose events at Tales of the Cocktail looked as effortless as ever thanks to several key members of Javelin’s Grey Goose team: Kristopher Curtis, Angie Maniscalco, David Catron, Casey Hunter, Jason McCarthy, and Sean Collins. Thanks for all you do, team – you’re awesome!

If you ask 5 different people to define experiential marketing, you’ll probably end up with 5 different answers (moreover, if you’re talking to the right people, all 5 answers will probably be on-target in one way or another).  Here’s a great piece by Erik Hauser from 2007 that comments on the “fluidity” of experiential marketing:

The definition of experiential marketing is fluid – as is the methodology itself. It was once little talked about, and is now being embraced as a silver bullet. I once posed the simple question of experiential marketing’s definition to the Experiential Marketing Forum (experientialforum.com), and received more than 200 definitions from more than 150 countries.

Given the wide range of views on what experiential marketing encompasses, it follows that literature on the subject abounds. Since many of these books rival college textbook prices, we thought we’d start a reading list challenge to lay down the definitive word on which titles are worth your time and money, and which ones are not.

We haven’t had time to read all of these experiential marketing books, so we turned to user reviews on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com to help sort through the mayhem.  We’ll ignore the reviews that read like the publisher wrote them for the back cover of the book, and focus on the brave souls who threw down their hard earned cash to discover if a book was a sleeper or a gem of marketing wisdom. The verdict will be a thumbs up, thumbs down, or when we can’t tell yet, thumbs sideways.

If you’ve read any of these books and have thoughts to share, please add your comments! If you add something particularly insightful, we’ll update the post with your thoughts and provide a link back to your site. Are you ready?

1. Experiential Marketing: How to Get Customers to Sense, Feel, Think, Act, Relate (1999),by Bernd Schmitt

The consensus on this book is that it treats old news (moving beyond features and benefits, marketing to consumer emotions, etc…) like it’s a revolution. Probably nothing you don’t already know.

2. Experiential Marketing: A Practical Guide to Interactive Brand Experiences (2009) by Shaz Smilansky

One 5-star positive review does not inspire supreme confidence but there’s no reason to believe there isn’t something worthwhile here. Jury’s out.

3. Experience the Message: How Experiential Marketing Is Changing the Brand World (2006) by Max Lenderman

Generally favorable reviews with a few thoughtful critiques. Lenderman hits the right notes with his analysis of the experience economy.

4. The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage (1999) by B. Joseph Pine

This one seems to have withstood the test of time. However, it reads like a textbook (because it is one).

5. Customer Experience Management: A Revolutionary Approach to Connecting with Your Customers (2003) by Bernd H. Schmitt

Schmitt’s follow up to the 1999 release mentioned above received more positive feedback, but he still got knocked for his somewhat academic approach.

6. Managing the Customer Experience: Turning Customers Into Advocates (2002) by Shaun Smith

Positive reviews abound, but it sounds like a new edition is needed to take into account changes in mobile connectivity and the social web.

7. Critical Thinking in Consumer Behavior: Cases and Experiential Exercises (2009) by Judy Graham

No reviews to go on here. Have you read it?

8. Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses – As well as the Classes (2005) by Pamela N. Danziger

According to one reviewer, the book lacks the why and how of marketing to the masses versus particular classes. Another reviewer thought it sounded an awful lot like this book, Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods and How Companies Create Them by Michael J. Silverstein.

9. Ageless Marketing: Strategies for Reaching the Hearts and Minds of the New Customer Majority (2003) by David B. Wolfe

Loads of favorable reviews.  However, I’m curious what Wolfe would have to say on marketing to the new customer majority in today’s economic climate.

10. There’s No Business That’s Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture (2003) by Bernd H. Schmitt, David L. Rogers, and Karen Vrotsos

Seems to be targeting those interested in learning about what it’s like to work with major brands and (relatively) large budgets, not those who already work with well-known brands.

11. Events Design and Experience (Events Management) (2007) by Graham Berridg

A different look at events than what you might find in the other books listed here. The focus is on design elements.

12. Brandscapes: Architecture in the Experience Economy (2007) by Anna Klingmann

Another look at design in the experience economy. This one scales it up to the architecture of buildings and environments. Kudos to Klingmann for the portmanteau title too!

13. Place Branding: Glocal, Virtual and Physical Identities, Constructed, Imagined and Experienced (2009) by Robert Govers, et al.

While not directly applicable to experiential marketing, there are lessons here for any brand manager.

14. Trillion-Dollars Moms : Marketing to a New Generation of Mothers (2005) by Maria Bailey, Bonnie Ulman

Like Wolfe’s breakdown of the new customer majority, this title focuses on marketing to a specific demographic. Anonymous reviews don’t cut it though.

15. Brand Enigma : Decoding the Secrets of Your Brand (2009) by Duncan Bruce, David Harvey

A how-to guide for placing your brand at the center of your business… no reviews yet. Have you read it?

16. Life after the 30-Second Spot : Energize Your Brand with a Bold Mix of Alternatives to Traditional Advertising (2005) by Joseph Jaffe

Worth a look. Jaffe makes the case for mixing up your ad budget with new media. Another title where an updated edition might be needed.

17. Greentailing and Other Revolutions in Retail : Hot Ideas That Are Grabbing Customer’s Attention and Raising Profits (2008) by Neil Stern, Willard Ander

Interesting premise. No reviews though. Have you read it?

18. New PR : An Insider’s Guide to Changing the Face of Public Relations (2007) by Phil Hall

Looks at the role of experiential marketing strategies in public relations. No reviews yet. Have you read it?

19. Before the Brand : Creating the Unique DNA of an Enduring Brand Identity (2002) by Alycia Perry, David Wisnom, David Wisnom III

With this title, the emphasis is on brand identity. We’ll need to read it or hear your thoughts on it before we make up our minds though.

Event marketing aficionados know that in-your-face authenticity is hot

There is something alluring about in-your-face authenticity. It’s sensational yet attractive, like Arthur Fonzarelli, better known as The Fonz.  People liked Fonzie.  He got what he wanted seamlessly, without sacrificing his values. That is, until he literally jumped the shark.

Jumping the shark is not

Jumping the shark, an idiom for when something well established begins a decline, originated when the writers of Happy Days had Fonzie literally jump a shark while on skis, wearing his trademark leather jacket and all.

Ride your Harley into the party

Losing your base can be pretty easy when you’re a big name with a known reputation like The Fonz or (insert your favorite brand name here).  A solid brand has already established where it fits, and has spent significantly to be there.  Any experiential marketing program, influencer event or otherwise, should be authentic to the soul of the brand, and honest to the expectations attendees have.  If you’re the Fonz, ride your Harley into the party. If you’re Grey Goose, showcase your signature cocktails in a super premium lounge. Event marketing is about more than just an attention grab.

Going over the top is not always better.  Simply slapping a well known name on something overly-sensational is unlikely to be good for a brand, even if it would get eyeballs.  You’ve probably already had an example or two come to mind, so I’ll politely refrain from naming any myself.

Cultivate an honest relationship

Experiential marketing — whether at a large event on in private — cultivates an honest, well-defined relationship. Isn’t that why we loved The Fonz?  He was edgy but he was true to the core.  Then…he jumped the shark.  So, aaay!  Learn from the Fonz.  Be cool. Authenticity is where it’s at.  Don’t be something you’re not, even if it promises to be a unique event marketing experience…or your brand may become the next symbol for jumping the shark.

As part of a highly integrated marketing program, Javelin partners with GREY GOOSE Vodka throughout the year to bring the spirit to major influencers and trend-setters at Best Of events across North America.

The latest in this series was the Miami Beach Polo World Cup 2010, where the world’s top players of the “sport of kings” competed for the coveted La Martina Cup.  GREY GOOSE spokes models welcomed spectators and players  served a variety of specialty martinis and signature cocktails made with GREY GOOSE Vodka Original, L’Orange, Le Citron, and La Poire.

A few readers (you know who you are) have requested more GREY GOOSE photos, so these are for you!

The human mind is the ultimate experiential consumer.

Where can we find some intellectual street cred and big brain support for our beloved discipline, experiential marketing? It is with keen insights and modern truths we can see and prove that the human mind is the ultimate experiential consumer—that experience drives all perception and opinion forming.

It is with great thanks (and enduring apologies) to Jonah Lehrer that I have done a mash-up of his great work, Proust Was A Neuroscientist, and our beloved discipline, experiential marketing. Briefly:

Proust had already discovered what Lehrer was trying to find out. He knew that 1) smell and taste produce uniquely intense memories, and 2) memory is dependent on the moment and mood of the individual. Scientists didn’t establish these facts until a few years ago, yet Proust made the point in 1913.

Smell and taste are the most intense of remembered sensations.

As we continue to learn more and more about the brain’s complex chemistry, we should – as experiential marketers – help our clients understand the primacy of the impact consumers will experience when they are addressed head-on in a sensory capacity. In fact, this bit says it all:

Proust’s goal in Remembrance of Things Past is to anatomize memory. His literary examinations teach him that smell and taste are the most intense of remembered sensations. Fast forward some 90 years to 2002, when Rachel Herz, a psychologist at Brown, shows that smell and taste are indeed uniquely potent evokers of memory.

This power, she speculates, lies in the direct connection the gustatory and olfactory nerves have to the hippocampus, which Lehrer calls “the center of the brain’s long-term memory.”

Establish the memories, then we can tinker.

Memories are not immutable as Herz and others have found; rather, they change as we remember them. I believe the key in experiential marketing is to first ESTABLISH the memories. We can then tinker with the nuance via social media and ad campaigns, but without base-line experiences to “fiddle with” we cannot gain serious ground in the consumer’s mind.

To me these are enlightenments equal to – if not more powerful than – ROI models. The discoveries of modern neuroscience, combined with the insights of these great thinkers, show that demonstration is king…that stimulating the senses is the coin of the realm in creating real, lasting memories…resulting in converted customers.

Enjoy Proust Was A Neuroscientist if you are so inclined. It’s a nice visit with Woolf, Stein, Escoffier, Stravinsky and of course Proust…our experiential forefathers.

Experiential marketing for Grey Goose takes place year-round in Austin.

Experiential marketing activations produced by Javelin for Grey Goose Vodka take place at luxury and influencer events throughout Austin year-round, but the one closest to my former-music-writer heart is South-by-Southwest.  Since not everyone has experienced it directly, allow me to share a slice of SXSW life.

Brands that can authentically participate in their consumers’ lifestyle events will achieve lasting results.

An irresistible draw to the movers, shakers, connoisseurs, and taste-makers of “what’s next”, SXSW is an extravaganza of music, film, and interactive goodies.  For ten days in March, Austin is home to thousands of national and international bands, agents, talent scouts, actors, producers, production companies, tech wizards, entrepreneurs and more who come to attend (and host) events promoting their work – plus the people who come to see them.  This convergence creates a perfect environment to for the right brands to authentically participate in their consumers’ lifestyles.   Enter Grey Goose and yours truly.

Grey Goose Vodka and SoBe Life Water sponsored premiere parties for the feature film Skateland, an official selection of SXSW, set in a 1980’s small town Texan skating rink.  First, guests crowded into Wet Salon for an afternoon of mingling and mixing Grey Goose cocktails.  The stars of the movie, Ashley Greene, Taylor Handley, Heath Freeman, and Shiloh Fernandez, mingled and occasionally gave interviews perched on a Love Sac.

Actor Taylor Handley (center) and friends, in Wet Salon’s hair washing stations

Brand personalization leads to ownership.

Experiential marketing thrives on tailored experiences. Cultivating brand ownership among consumers, bartenders invited guests to design their own custom cocktails using Grey Goose L’Original or one of the Grey Goose flavors: Le Citron, L’Orange, and La Poire. My personal favorite was the Grey Goose La Poire and SoBe Fuji Apple Pear, while not-so-sweet-drink-loving-fans preferred the Green Tea-ni, made with Grey Goose Le Citron and SoBe Green Tea.

Actor Heath Freeman analyzes his Grey Goose and SoBe concoction

Reinforcing the theme of the film, girls on roller skates zipped through the crowd snapping Polaroids of guests.

Girls on roller skates snap Polaroids to set the mood

The party migrated to the legendary Mohawk for ATX EMERGE 2010, an official SXSW celebration of Skateland’s premiere and showcase of Austin’s most adored musical acts.  Patrons queued around the block at dusk (in the rain) to see the twelve scheduled bands. Black Joe Lewis, an up-and-coming Austin phenomenon featured in Reversal Film’s new documentary Echotone, headlined the party.  Props to the production guys for pulling this all together and making it a branded entertainment success!

The stars of the day, Casey LaBow, Haley Ramm, and director Anthony Burns enjoyed the entertainment (not to mention the view) from the comfort of a 10’ tall roller skate atop the VIP rooftop lounge. Complementary Grey Goose cocktails flowed freely upstairs, while nearly 1,000 people downstairs enjoyed specially priced Grey Goose cocktails throughout the night. (Side note to all those in the liquor biz: sponsoring a VIP party in exchange for drink specials at the attached party is a great sales tool. Approximately 50 cases of Grey Goose Vodka were consumed that night, and only 15 were donated for the party above.)

Girls on roller skates walk out of a time machine onto the red carpet

Actor Heath Freeman and actress Kelly Monaco in the green room (literally)

Actress Ashley Greene and actor Shiloh Fernandez

The Grey Goose Vodka activations were a huge success as were a number of other experiential marketing programs I saw, including Bacardi USA’s Level 42 Vodka.  If only I could clone myself; then I could have experienced everything!    The sponsors and clients were equally pleased, and the SXSW action is never to be missed.

Like all good things, SXSW must eventually end.  It’s probably for the best; everywhere you look are exhausted Austinites. House guests crowd the airports. The city is littered with festival aftermath: band fliers, pasted movie posters, and hung over residents. There’s an audible murmur in the air as internal organs everywhere give thanks that nightlife is returning to normal.  It has been exhausting, but fabulous.