Responses from 57 senior marketers indicate that an increasing proportion of marketing budgets will be spent on the experiential sector as budget holders recognise its advantages over alternative marketing channels.
Senior brand marketers from a broad cross section of industries in the UK, Germany, France and the US took part in the survey, conducted earlier this year by consultancy David Burton Associates .
Experience-based activities were described as an important part of the marketing mix by 80% of respondents, who stated that it accounted for around one third of their entire marketing budgets.
A current lack of training and suitable measurement tools are cited as holding back the discipline, with marketers viewing live marketing as a tactical, rather than a strategic, activity.
Mice commissioned the research to help senior brand marketers understand better the role that experiential marketing can play. Group chief executive Brian Shepherd said: 鈥淔rom our regular conversations with our clients, we know they are becoming increasingly frustrated with traditional media, which they feel doesn鈥檛 always provide the most effective, long-term relationship-building platforms they need. The message we want to deliver to marketers is that experiential marketing, if used in a co-ordinated and effective way, is a discipline that can offer significant benefits.鈥
The report, entitled Experiential Marketing: It Works, also uncovered a feeling among marketers that experiential marketing provides better return on investment than other marketing activities. Similarly more than three quarters of the respondents reportedly welcome more effective measurement tools.