Do you think that online marketing will ever completely replace the physical branding / promotional activities and become the only experiential marketing medium? Having asked this question, do you think that the current online marketing is engaging enough to be classified experiential?

@phil-mershon So you believe that there will be no memorable experience between a person and a brand when relying on technology?! since a people to people experience will make the person memorable and rarely the brand.Your thoughts!

@eddysleiman I think it depends a lot on your terms. I think technology can create memorable experiences, but they will only live in our short-term memories. People inside a brand can use technology to create that lasting connection and experience. People feel loyalty to people, not brands or technology or anything else deemed impersonal.

What’s your goal in this conversation?

@phil-mershon I agree that a person-to-person relationship is always going to matter – we’re social creatures, after all, and we like to be in the company of others. We can definitely have meaningful online/virtual partnerships/relationships, but we’ll always welcome the chance to shake someone’s hand that we already “know” but have never “met” before.

@eddysleiman while we marketers may seek brand loyalty, quite often the loyalty is going to go with the person at that business that you have a relationship with, not the corporation. Manufacturer’s reps cultivate relationships with individual salespeople because they know that if that person goes to another business, that may very well be a foot in a new door. I love the staff at my local bank, however I can’t stand the policies of the mega-corporation they work for, and am transitioning my business away.

That being said, I think that technology can be used to entertain, inform, assist and educate customers in many of the same ways traditional marketing can. I mean, an online game that rewards players with upgrades and points that can be redeemed for merchandise is no different than collecting can tabs for that same branded merchandise…

I don’t believe that online marketing will replace branding / marketing and become the only experiential medium?   Whatever is most effective for a given audience and location will determine which approach (or combination of approaches)  is most effective.  We are digitally oriented today – but at some point the newness will wear down and we will better understand its limitations.   
To your second question (do you think that the current online marketing is engaging enough to be classified experiential?)  I’m not sure.   Our mindset when we are on the web is to scan.   Will we slow down on the web and really engage with content?    I think it depends.  If I love a given topic,  and I believe I can gain extremely helpful knowledge that I can apply and see results –  I think the answer would us.     

Regards, David Strategy-Keys.com 

@ndonelly I am sorry mate but I absolutely disagree with you especially that you have named Apple as an example. Apple is one of the very well known brands that has communicated its identity and positioned it in the consumers minds through communication mediums / tools. But when you talk iphone, ipad, even itune you talk Apple and people gets them because they are Apple and not otherwise….am not being subjective or defensive over Apple but people do frequent their store just for an Apple Experience or let’s say 85% does and will give you the credit of the 15% I vote for David  @dwillden and will repeat his quote “We are digitally oriented today – but at some point the newness will wear down and we will better understand its limitations.” Cheers!

People do business with  those they know like and trust! It is a natural progression the same hold true for businesses / brands, if one can create a know you like you trust you feeling from just digital media then they could replace the human element. 

I have yet to see any company or person do this, there are many thing that just need the human touch in order for the comfort level to go high enough for any real locality to occur. ( price hicks major changes to product or services to be a few).

Personally I never just go on line to purchase a product or service, unless the price is at or below a certain price point,after that seeing the product or service along with talking to staff, most likely visiting, playing with product, along with getting a good sense if I want to deal with those I will need on my team is a MUST.   Once the above  has been accomplished to my satisfaction on line buying to additional products or services is not an issue, other wise to me it is like putting the cart before the horse.
 Could I be the only one who feel this way?

David

I have been in business for the past 15 years and have had the privilege to work in different industries, countries and methodologies due to the need of adapting my methods in compliance with the wide variety of clients I had to deal with.

I have found that the difference between Online & person to person business is just in the numbers. It is possible to achieve a nearly 100% closing rate on a person to person method of marketing if done with proper insight & experience. However the volume of sales is limited. Online Marketing targets exponential volumes and depending on sight & experience, the closing rate can still never match person to person marketing. However, the volume of sales can far exceed any possible alternative method.

As an example, I was able to consistently sell an average of 20 Houses a month in my Real estate Business (& of course made a reasonable profit). However I could not exceed that volume personally without sacrificing my free time and lifestyle. However, in my online Marketing business, I am able to spend the fraction of time that I used in my real estate business & still earn exponentially more than I ever could before.

The reason people are reluctant to get into online business is due to increased challenges that need to be overcome to be successful in this medium. Major Corporations are forced to utilize traditional methods due to current market conditions. However Online business is fast growing and with reasonable certainty, has a growing role in all people’s lives.

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Osman

@osmanamg

Thank you for the feedback Osman. In my opinion you are generalizing a bit. we all know that the solution you are talking about differs from a market to another, form a brand or service to another.

If anyone has a different opinion please let’s discuss it