Nelson Freitas, newly named director of strategy and planning for New York-based Jack Morton Co., makes brands his business. “I will be advising clients on building the right portfolio of brand experiences to engage their various stakeholders,” he tells Special Events Magazine.
In an interview in the April issue, Freitas praises events as an ideal form of two-way communication. “Like many in the marketing world, I absolutely believe that there needs to be a shift from one-way to two-way communications,” he says. “Live three-dimensional experiences are an ideal form of two-way communication, and they're often the most powerful marketing moments a brand has. Those moments need to be viewed as a primary channel in the planning process.”
He believes that the power of events is not only significant, but measurable. “If you were one of the 4 billion people who watched the ceremonies [the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, produced by Jack Morton Co.], you know how beautiful they were,” he says. “But they also achieved a significant business effect. The ceremonies were voted the most memorable moment of the entire games, and tourism increased something like 10 percent in the year after.”
And measurement remains the challenge.
MEASURING MILESTONES
“Measurement is the foremost challenge on marketers' minds, and it's incumbent upon us, as it is on all agencies across media, to demonstrate ROI,” Freitas says. “When all is said and done, the client needs to know the extent to which they've achieved the desired behaviors and what that means for the bottom line. We have best-in-class tools to ensure that experiential marketing solutions drive business results and brand advocacy for clients. Our tools track results across a consistent set of factors. How successful was the idea? How engaged was the audience? How much of an impact was achieved against defined business results? And finally, how much advocacy and word of mouth resulted from the experience?”
For the full story, see the April issue of Special Events Magazine.
