Categories
Articles Insights

Is experiential an industry for life?

Recent research by Event magazine suggested that many people currently working in experiential agencies don’t view the job as a long-term option. Almost two-thirds (64%) of brand experience professionals surveyed said they did not see themselves remaining in the industry. On the plus side, 63% feel positive about their career progression and 69% say they have a good work-life balance. Meanwhile, there were signs that the industry is performing well, as 61% of agencies expect their workforce to grow in 2017.

So what does the fact that two-thirds of agency staff don’t see themselves staying in experiential actually mean?

Lou Garrod, Sense Deputy Managing Director, told Event that she believed the statistic was more about the changing nature of the industry, saying: “I do not think people ‘burn out’ and walk away from the industry. I think the stats are a result of the lines blurring between event/experiential/real world and ultimately advertising.

“We’re already seeing the type of brief that requires a discipline neutral response so I can see why people may not think their future lies in ‘events’. It’s up to agency employers to move with the times and not lose their best people in the process. Training, engagement, opportunity exposure are all key.”

Click here to read the complete article in Event.

Categories
Articles Insights

Sense New York appoints Ian Priestman as Operations Director

Following its recent launch, Sense New York has bolstered its senior leadership team with the appointment of Ian Priestman as Operations Director.

Priestman boasts an impressive track record in experiential marketing, most recently at Blackjack Promotions, where he spent 10 years – five as Project Director and five as Head of Experiential. He will be joining his partner, Sense New York President Sarah Priestman, in running the newly formed agency.

“The opportunity to join Sense New York was simply too difficult to resist,” said Priestman. “I’ve always admired the way Sense operates and the great work it delivers. Plus it’s always been my ambition to live and work abroad, and New York is the ultimate destination for me.”

Priestman will begin his new role on 1 April 2017, which will be split across three key areas: business operations, client project management, and new business support.

“The short-term goal is to grow the business in New York, with the long-term aim of opening more offices in North America and beyond,” he added.

Commenting on the appointment, Sense Managing Director Nick Adams said: “We’re delighted that Ian decided to join the founding team of Sense New York. He has an outstanding background in the operational aspects of experiential marketing, which is going to be a critical skill set for the work we will be kicking off from the east to the west coast of the US from April. Plans for the business are gathering pace since we officially opened our doors last week, and Ian is already in the thick of helping us achieve our ambitions.”

Experiential

Whether it be Festivals, Trade Shows, PR Stunts, Installations or Pop Ups to name a few, we believe brand experiences are one of the most powerful forms of marketing to impact consumer perception and attitude towards a brand. They can create real behaviour change when born out of a deep consumer insight allied to a compelling idea. And it’s these fundamentals we look to get right whatever the live, virtual or hybrid task in hand.

Sampling.

Sampling is all too often perceived as an unsophisticated, somewhat ‘blunt’ marketing tool. Over the last 16 years Sense has pioneered a set of strategic principles which underpin our unique approach to sampling and which are highly measurable from both an ROI and consumer behaviour change perspective. We will happily guide brands through the myriad of sampling channels and products available so whether it’s mass face to face sampling, in offices, digitally, at home or just a strategic framework that you are after, we can provide a blend of tactics to fulfil both brand and sales objectives.

Retail.

With many clients now focused on activating in channels more closely associated with a sale, our heavyweight retail experience closes the loop on a typical shopper journey by encompassing the moment of truth in store. Be it prize promotions, shopper toolkits, key visual creation, path-to-purchase communications, category strategy, B2B campaigns or Amazon optimisation, our goal is to create forward-thinking retail experiences that deliver demonstrable brand value. We aim to make ‘retail fail’ a thing of the past for ambitious brands looking to thrive is an ever-competitive landscape and believe our streamlined team is perfectly placed to do this.

Foresight.

Knowing what will keep a brand bright, exciting, and vital means we need to keep one step ahead of the curve. Our thought leadership hub, The Futures Lab, helps us to understand the marketing trends of tomorrow. It’s also the origin of strategies and methodologies which have created over 65 award-winning campaigns. 

Rigour.

Creativity is nothing without results. And we know that commissioning bold concepts, capable of changing minds, requires reassurance that it’s the right thing to do. 

Data, insights, and research precedes every campaign we do, and our proprietary measurement tool, EMR, gives us a decade of campaign performance metrics. Which is why we’re proud to have been recognised as industry-leading by brands like The Economist, Coca-Cola, and Molson Coors. 

Trust.

We believe brand experience is inherently more varied than other forms of marketing. No formula, no template, no cookie-cutter approach – and often no precedent. 

That’s why, Sense places trust at the heart of its business – grounded in teamwork between our people and yours. Our processes are efficient, our senior team stay involved and our partnership mentality had helped us sustain powerful client relationships, some lasting over 10 years.