This week I had a first hand experience in experiencing some real world marketing. I was contacted about helping with a Hair Show this weekend. This is an event that hairdressers/ beauticians would attend to see new products and techniques by popular faces in the industry. I worked as a camera man for the live feed at the show and experienced the entire show.
So, I noticed part of the show was devoted to trying to move product. If you looked back at my last weeks blog post you would see I did a review of the book UnMarketing. This book addressed this very same thing but in the context of other types of trade shows. The author, Scott Stratten, did not have positive experiences with the ones he had attended and did not endorse being a part of them.
I had a mostly positive experience at the show I attended, however. Even though I wasn't the person that was being pitched to I never found the product placements too in your face or annoying for the crowd. The products were actively being demoed and thus value being added for the customer. The people putting on the show also made it a point to try and connect with the audience, which is exactly what UnMarketing did endorse. By trying to engage with the audience and giving them numerous ways to contact them through social media a relationship was being built that could help their business.
Even though I read that on stage selling wasn't the best I experienced it first hand and didn't mind so much. After the show many of the audience bought at least a few products. So, I can't say it was a totally ineffective method of marketing and they did apply some of the more modern methods as well. I can see the value in engaging the customer in person first to perhaps get a larger turnout of people coming to your online presence.
So, I noticed part of the show was devoted to trying to move product. If you looked back at my last weeks blog post you would see I did a review of the book UnMarketing. This book addressed this very same thing but in the context of other types of trade shows. The author, Scott Stratten, did not have positive experiences with the ones he had attended and did not endorse being a part of them.
I had a mostly positive experience at the show I attended, however. Even though I wasn't the person that was being pitched to I never found the product placements too in your face or annoying for the crowd. The products were actively being demoed and thus value being added for the customer. The people putting on the show also made it a point to try and connect with the audience, which is exactly what UnMarketing did endorse. By trying to engage with the audience and giving them numerous ways to contact them through social media a relationship was being built that could help their business.
Even though I read that on stage selling wasn't the best I experienced it first hand and didn't mind so much. After the show many of the audience bought at least a few products. So, I can't say it was a totally ineffective method of marketing and they did apply some of the more modern methods as well. I can see the value in engaging the customer in person first to perhaps get a larger turnout of people coming to your online presence.