FM 2023 complete (1) - Flipbook - Page 10
Experiential Space
– Trends Report
nothing visited Waterloo station to promote their Spritz
brand and hand out cans to commuters. Sampling is an
especially effective way of getting consumers to try
something different and so to break market share for a
new product or challenger brand.
ExtraordinaryActivity
Whilst the functional end of brand experience was
healthy, the report also lauds some ambitious creative
work too. Palmer’s imaginative takeover of Palmer’s
Green station in Enfield North London, with
reforestation messaging was a case in point.
The 2022-23 trends report by SpaceandPeople snapshots
the industry via the venue sourcing and facilitating work
that it carries out on behalf of brands and agencies. As a
major supplier, the report is an invaluable guide to what
brand experiences have been going on as well as
indicating the likely direction going forwards.
Food and Drink
The 2022 report has been available for a few months
now, but the 2022 data still offers the FMBE industry a
host of useful reference points. The report came out
based upon 5143 days of live activations in 2022
facilitated on behalf of 180 different brands, data which
shows a robust return post-Covid.
With 32 per cent London has unsurprisingly attracted
the lion’s share. The mass sampling sector has a lot to
After Food and Drink (38%) Entertainment (12%) Retail do with that. The next biggest cities were Manchester,
(11%) and Automotive (7%) were the next biggest
Birmingham, Glasgow, Bristol and Liverpool.
sectors, with health and beauty (6%) seeing a welcome
return. The sector was one of the worst hit in terms of Feedback
experiential promotions, during COVID.
The report includes feedback from venues, brands,
agencies, and the public. The Monty Bojangles campaign
Sampling
at Bullring, which saw FMBE coverage last autumn was
With over 1 million samples distributed in train stations one example of a campaign that hit the spot, as
alone in the year, it’s clear that sampling grabs a large
endorsed in the report by Zennen Thomas of Walker
chunk of brand experience budget for relevant
Agency.
consumer products.
You can get a copy of the report via Experientialspace.
Summer was the peak for sampling
co.uk
A case study in the report showed that Something &
Venues
SpaceandPeople categorieses its bookings as Travel
Hubs, Shopping Venues, City/Town Centres and Other.
Travel hubs lead that portfolio in 2022 with Shopping
Venues taking the brunt of key seasonal Easter and
Christmas bookings.
The Food and Drink sector has been dominant with the
highest percentage of activity. Clearly sampling is a
major driver of transport hub activity, whilst the report
showed a return to more sophisticated activations that
included but did not focus exclusively on taste and trail
during holiday seasons.
Popular Cities
FMBE Awards 2023
The FMBE Awards 2023 entry process is
upon us. We also have an awards date
and venue to announce – Thursday
November 9th at The Pavilion, Ascot
In this issue of FMBE Magazine we have
heard quite a bit from the brand
experience agency of the year 2022,
N2O. We did nudge the Field Marketing
agency of the Year, 2022, Powerforce for
an update too and we’re delighted to
share the following reply from MD,
Bronwyn Andrew.
This reply says everything we hoped to hear. It’s great to
know that the agency that was going well enough to win our
coveted award is continuing to thrive but also to see that
some of the main ambitions of FMBE are holding true.
FMBE stands to provide recognition not just for the obvious.
We love the headline grabbing creative work that visible but
we also like the business engine that makes FMBE agencies
such a vital part in the success of some of the best brands
and manufacturers.
FMBE Awards stand to drive best
practice and to show new and
existing industry clients how to
find an edge by using our media or
techniques.
We see new industry business as
our biggest accolade. That’s why
we are client judged, so that we
can stimulate industry growth.
Anyhow, here Bronwyn telling us
what recognition means…
“The work that field teams do is extraordinary. And often
unrecognised as the vital part of the sales process.
Ensuring that your point of purchase execution is (at
worst) compliant and (at best) outstanding, is the
difference between turning your shoppers, into buyers.
The field team out there do exactly that – they
implement finely crafted brand plans, shopper marketing
ideas, supply chain sweat and sales director’s dreams.
When teams are celebrated for doing this work, it evokes
that warm fuzzy feeling and brings purpose to our
industry. When Powerforce was recognised by judges and
peers as Agency of the Year, I was blown away at the
reaction from the team on the night, and the weeks
beyond the awards. We are all so proud of the work we
achieve together.
Firstly, for field sales to be recognised is valuable and
thank you FMBE for doing that – and then for
Powerforce to be awarded as the best in our field is
8
Summer 2023
special. The team at Powerforce achieved this
through their unrivalled passion, authenticity,
and expertise at what they do. We work hard
to think differently for our partners – deliver
the real solution to their challenge and deliver
that solution with great people. An example is
the work we do through the Haribo/Molson
Coors team, who won Team of the Year. A
solution crafted by Rob and Cat, executed by
the team led by Adam, Jamie and Mel, which
is a case study of how Powerforce operates
with all our partners – real people finding the
right solution using the tools we have at our
disposal across the Advantage Smollan group.
Powerforce is growing, and we are excited as
we develop new partnerships however, we will
continue to approach each challenge with the
boutique approach that has given us long
tenureship with our customers and made us a
great place to work.”
Long tenureship… that is such a great
phrase to hear. In our estimation FMBE
agencies enjoy 40% more repeat business
and 55% more retained contracts now than
when we started in 2004. Our 2023 Special
Award is also dedicated to evolving
relationships over a period of years. FMBE
has stood to help clients understand the
value of ROR, or Return on Relationship as
much as ROI (Investment) and ROE
(Engagement).
We love to hear your agency ROR! It leads to
stability and long-term strategy development.
Best of luck to all FMBE entrants in 2023.