The Experience Sells the Product (With Examples)

The prevalence of the Experience Economy has implications for product marketing.

For the uninitiated, the Experience Economy is the notion that it is the experience of using the product which sells it, rather than any benefits the product might inherently have. 

It actually derives from the late 1990s, but has come into its own in recent years, because of the nature of marketing. The digital world means that people prioritise feelings of tangibility and in-person connection more than ever. 

Obviously, there are bonus points if your product is good (and we're sure it is!), but marketers who seek to find ways to sell an experience, rather than an individual product create a sense of sentiment around their brand, which cannot be understated. 

Here are some good examples. 

Le Vieille Ferme and KFC 

La Vieille Ferme’s tasty wines are affectionately known on social media as 'Chicken Wine', and KFC are, obviously, one of the biggest purveyors of chicken wings currently on the market.

They've teamed up to create a campaign that really leans into the idea of the product experience. The two brands are running an August bank holiday popup wine bar.

In many respects, it's a partnership that just makes sense.

In others, it's quite a surprising combination: fried chicken and wine?

But what it really does is lean into is the idea of the experience economy. Pairing the satisfying efficiency and junk food nature of fried chicken, with the classy nature of wine-drinking, both brands show off their product in a new light. KFC gets made chic, and Chicken Wine gets made chill and relaxed. 

Customers will enjoy "a menu that's here to challenge everything you thought you knew about wine pairings."

In short, the pop up is a crafted experience, shining new light on existing products. 

It's creative, unique and memorable, and it slots right into the Experience Economy. 

The experience of eating and drinking is just as important as the taste. (Photo: KFC X La Vieille Ferme)

The Experience is Half the Product

The experience is half of the product. You may have a lovely cappuccino at a cafe, but if the customer service was awful, you're not likely to try that cappuccino again.

In fact, coffee is very relevant here because the food industry recognises this perhaps more than anyone. Food and drink are as much about connection and good vibes as they are  about delicious taste. 

Any product, then, is at least half sold by the concept of using it, and what that experience would look like.

See, for example, the post above, by Costa Coffee. How they preface their new range of protein lattes and mocha Italia with the situations in which people might enjoy them. 

You'll notice it's experience-focused, which makes it audience-focused.

New products are framed by the potential experience of enjoying them (LinkedIn post by Costa Coffee)

Scent is Experiential

Perfume adverts are another good example of experience being used to sell the product. 

It's hard, after all, to sell something that is, literally just a scent, through the medium of screens, where no one can smell it. You instead have to evoke a feeling through your advert.

That's why perfume adverts are so frequently experiential focused. Take the Gucci Flora advert, for example. We see Miley Cyrus run through a field of flowers, with petals falling all around her, evoking in our imaginations, the feeling of that experience: what the smell would be like, what it would feel like. Like that, through thinking about tactile experiences, we get a sense of what the perfume might be like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A72b17CHozw

Perfume Adverts often draw on the idea of experiencing scent (Gucci Flora Advert)

So, What Can We Learn from This?

From all these examples, we can see the power of experience in effective marketing.

In a similar way to how we can learn from hospitality when thinking about our branding, or use the concept of the experiential edge, these stellar examples demonstrate the role that human experiences play in marketing.

When considering the messaging around your product, think about:

1. The intended audience

2. The sorts of activities they might enjoy

3. The sorts of people they might connect with over your product

4. How you can frame it in an experiential way.

   
   

And, hey, if you want to give them an experience to remember, you can always try event marketing. Give us a shout... Let's give them something to talk about, eh?