Pop quiz! What to do Meow Wolf, Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, Disney Imagineering and Ringling Bros. have together? They all looked for today’s guest as a consultant.
But today’s master is … actually not a master of marketing at all. In fact, he has never worked for a day in marketing. But he literally wrote the book about Interactive performance.
And since marketing executives incorporate large budgets in brand experiences, live events and interactive brand activations, they would like to hear what to say.
Name: Jeff Wirth, co -founder of the Interactive playlab
Work: Designs, directs and advises interactive experiences, applications in the virtual world and a lively fiction of live
Right to fame: Do you have? see The list of companies he worked with?!
Funny fact: Started his career as a clown for the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus
Lesson 1: Start at the end.
When designing your interactive experience, Wirth recommends thinking about what the participants should go away with. No, no shopping bag full of merch. Think more philosophical.
“What should the people understand after activation they didn’t understand before?“”
For Meow Wolf or Cirque du Soleil, this could discover a childish feeling of marveling. It will be a little less deep for brand activation or marketing event.
Sure, you could aim to go away with some product information – if you want you to forget when you return to your car. Really unforgettable experiences aim for something deeper.
Wirth says step 2 asks: “How do we do it so that we don’t do it tell you to understand what? We create a context in which you have the opportunity discover The.”
This context is the skeleton for your event or experience.
However, Wirth emphasizes that this can only be an opportunity – the attempt to force a participant to a certain conclusion is both unethical and potentially harmful to his opinion. That brings us to lesson 2.
Lesson 2: Allow your participants to think for themselves.
“Put the ability of the participant with a priority to think for yourself“Wirth advises.
As an anti-example, he tells the story of a pharmaceutical company that turned to him to create interactive experience. When Wirth portrayed her product for a number of options after the experience, the company quickly withdrawn.
This is a mistake. Apart from the fact that a participant is ethically questionable, the Railroading will certainly lead to an experience that is unforgettable at best – In the worst case, it could be harmful for the participant and your brand.
But that does not mean that they shouldn’t give their participants something to think about around. Wirth explains that you have to give you enough to play with you if you want people to play.
In addition, you have to give you the experience that you can play and be successful. “
In other words, their experience must provide enough context that their participants play – and even feel performance – but not so much that they simply follow instructions.
Lesson 3: Game is not just for children.
Playing can be a strong part of a live event. But “playing” means different things for different people.
You can play a game. You can play around. You can play along. All of these have different importance that affect the impact on which their participants are asked and what they get out of their event.
You have to decide which type of game the context you have defined in lesson 1. For Wirth’s experience, games means “for the purpose of authorization”.
Why to believe? This is a difficult word that you can put in front of stakeholders.
“First, you have the opportunity to be more authentic. Because they don’t have to hold the mask, they present themselves to society. “
And two? Make-Believe gives you “the ability to have a deeper empathy for people who are not as they are.”
“If you play make-ups, it doesn’t have to win and lose. The joy is simply in the production of faith. “
And what a participant goes away with “Joy” is a pretty good bag of Merch.
