Hands-on Facilitates a Faster Purchase Decision Jack Morton Worldwide, describing experiential marketing, quotes from publications to make the point. Prefacing these excerpts, he notes that experiential marketing - inspiring audiences with 360-degree experiences that engage hearts, minds and senses - isn't a trend. It's a 21st-century marketing imperative. According to Forrester Research, his presentation starts, experiential marketing spending has grown to $11.2 billion, capturing nearly 80% of marketing service dollars. Grocery Headquarters says that today's consumers are harder to reach... busier, more distracted. The Economist reports that media fragmentation and cluttered sales channels make it harder to impact customers with a focused message. James Gilmore, co-author of The Experience Economy, says "Marketers are realizing that it's becoming very difficult to differentiate their brands without an experience." Or as one marketer put it, notes Morton, "You need to create an experience that makes hearts beat faster. People need a feeling. Without emotion, a product is just a product." Emarketer summarizes the January 2004 report from Jack Morton, noting that 43% of female consumers and 29% of male consumers in the US say experiential marketing leads them to buy a product quickly. And the Morton report, compares these percentages to TV commercials and direct mail, and finds that experiential marketing is the most influential among women, while 34% of men say TV ads are the most influential. Extremely of Very Influential in Purchasing (% of respondents)MenWomen Presence of an on-site representative 83% 82% Ability to experience with friends/family 53% 67% Information about competing products/brands 54% 48% On-site kiosks to provide product/brand information 53% 47% Ability to experience alone 49% 48% Source: Jack Morton Worldwide, January 2004 You can find out more here at eMarketer.