#11 - Experiential Marketing: 4 Es to Future-proof Your Strategy

Marketing has changed a lot over the last 50 years, so it makes sense that the marketing mix, which we use to steer our efforts, has changed too, right?
In the 1960s, Jermone McCarthy established his revolutionary model The 4Ps; these are:

• Product
• Place
• Price
• Promotion

However, in recent times, critics of the model have pointed to it becoming outdated. Theorists such as Brian Fetherstonhaugh, now call for a total overhaul of the marketing mix to replace the 4Ps with the 4Es.
But what are the 4Es?
In the 4 E's model:

• Product becomes Experience
• Place becomes Every Place
• Price becomes Exchange
• Promotion becomes Evangelism

This model is founded on the principle that the customers have seized control of the market place. We now operate within a customer-centric, experience economy.
Audiences are more diverse and demanding now than ever before. And our job, as marketers, has shifted its focus away from selling products and toward creating sublime, end-to-end customer experiences.

How Can You Implement the 4Es of Experiential Marketing?
Samee & Larimo put forward a model for creating emotional and memorable experiences for consumer audiences, believing that these 4 steps are the cornerstone of experiential marketing:

1) Offering or stimulus

2) Interaction between the customer and company

3) Experience and value co-creation

4) Lasting value
Forbes also recommends staying ahead of the curve by understanding and, where possible, implementing the current trends of experiential marketing such as Immersive Experiences, Virtual Reality, and A.I & Machine Learning.
To read more on the 4Es of Experiential Marketing, head over to our website and you can find links to our latest guide, The ABCs of Market Segmentation, right here.