I received a schedule for an upcoming conference (Forrester’s Marketing Forum 2011, April 5-6) presented by Forrester Research, and I was reminded several months ago of an enticing report that I have not gotten my hands on yet. It was entitled “Let Your Product Do the Talking“, by Chris Stutzman, David Cooperstein, and Corinne Madigan. Here is a quote from the excerpt which simply floored me because it speaks so directly to the message I’ve been trying to transmit:
Forrester has identified that consumers are tuning out marketing messages, but they are actually engaging more with the products they buy. This means that brands must be built on the experiences they deliver, not merely the messages they advertise. Forrester believes that a central component to building brands in the digital era is to develop a product experience platform.
Naturally, then, my ears are perking up around the idea of a “product experience platform.” I noticed this theme has recurred in their conference, with a track entitled “Crafting a Total Product Experience in the Digital Age.” In this track, James L. McQuivey giving a talk entitled “Product Marketers and Product Strategists Unite! It’s Time to Build Digital Product Experiences.” The blurb begins “[t]oday, digital channels are no longer being used just to deliver marketing messages. They are swiftly being enlisted to simulate and stimulate product trial and use.”
Love it! Too bad I can’t make the conference. I need to try to reach him and Chris to get their take on what is happening regarding simulation for product marketing.