The Grateful Dead Lives: A Lesson in Experiential Marketing
The ultimate experiential marketer comes in the form of a rock ‘n roll band known as The Grateful Dead, who have been stimulating and inspiring feel-good emotions for their fans for 50 years. A marketing pioneer in creating the ‘ultimate experience’, the legendary band marched to their own drummer, inspiring a movement of peace, love and independence – allowing their fans to be free to express their individuality and market/sell their bootleg recordings of their concerts at will. They built up a direct mailing list and sold concert tickets directly to their fans.
The result: a dedicated, active community and lifestyle of “Deadheads” that spreads the legendary band’s music and beliefs freely across the globe via all channels of communication.
Ahead of its time? No.
Experiential is a newer term in the marketing world that many of us call consumer awareness promotion, publicity stunts, community outreach, word of mouth, etc. The goal of experiential marketing is to create a closer bond between the consumer and the brand by engaging them emotionally in a fun and memorable experience; one that stirs genuine positive emotions within people which makes them more likely to associate those emotions with that brand.
In the spirit of freedom and The Grateful Dead’s final concerts in Chicago over the July 4th holiday, this week I highlight one of the most brilliant and effective experiential marketing events that’s reach extends far beyond the experience on a variety of marcom and social media platforms. The Fare Thee Well Concert uses America’s Independence Holiday to build brand and fan loyalty, awareness, advocacy and ignite social impact.
Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead – These final concert experiences takes on a real-time and after-life of its own across all marcom channels including publicity, mobile, cause, content and social media marketing, promotion, video live streaming, retail sales and more. A sampling of their promotion includes: three live concerts, thousands of extended parties, livestreaming and pay-per-view events planned in Chicago and throughout the country.
Whether you’re “listening to Grateful Dead” live …, you can now share your status on Facebook by following these steps: 1. Click Status 2. Click on the smiley face 3. Click on “Listening To” 4. Click Grateful Dead and then your post will feature the nifty icon at the top of this post!
This weekend may mark the end of a musical era for the iconic band, but the Grateful Dead’s merchandising and charitable mission to make an impact for social change will not fade way! The rock band has been giving back to the community for 50 years through the Rex Foundation, one of the first band-affiliated 501c3 non-profits. Continuing their charitable mission, members of the Grateful Dead invited 16 nonprofits to form a “Participation Row” area at the final Chicago concerts, which will offer fans an opportunity to interact with the organizations that have formed such an important part of the Dead community.
So, for Experiential Marketing to be most effective, it should be an important tool in an overall marcom campaign. Taking a page from The Grateful Dead’s Song Book – “…wave that flag, wave it far and wide,” — do it well and you’ll create brand or fan advocates who will further spread your messages and become a loyal customer/fan for life. Have a wonderful weekend. Peace and Love. AS
Tags: #experiential marketing, #The Grateful Dead, #faretheewell #chicago #social change
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