Each year event marketing takes on greater significance. Though it remains composed of traditional PR methods, such as mobile tours and sampling, the practice has been elevated to a science and been given a loftier name: experiential marketing.

Those interviewed say brands are shifting more advertising dollars into experiential programs — everything from in-store demos to concert tours — and it is playing a more important role on the overall path to purchase. These hands-on experiences are viewed as a prime opportunity to interact directly with consumers, collect customer data and booth sales.

» Click here to read the full article in eBook or PDF format.

Maybe they’re flattering themselves, but lots of Americans believe they’ve become more adept as consumers during the past couple of years. However, an AdweekMedia/Harris Poll finds they are less inclined to believe that brands have adjusted their marketing to keep pace with this greater savvy.

The first of a pair of questions asked the respondents whether they think they’ve become savvier as consumers since the economy’s downturn began. The chart here excerpts the findings. In a breakdown by age group, the 35-44-year-olds and the 55-plusers were especially likely to say they’ve become much savvier as consumers, with 40 percent of each cohort voicing that opinion. The survey’s 18-34-year-olds, who may have thought they were pretty savvy to begin with, were the least likely to say they have become much savvier (27 percent).

One surprise in the data: While men are notorious for thinking well of their know-how, the poll’s male respondents were less likely than their female counterparts to say they’ve become much more savvy as consumers (31 percent vs. 38 percent).

» Click here for the full story.

In one of the most telling signs yet of new consumer frugality, annual coupon use is on the rise for the first time since 1992, according to Inmar, a promotion transaction settlement company. Coupon distribution last year hit the highest level recorded since Inmar began tracking trends in 1988.

For the first time in 17 years, consumers used more coupons than the year before; 3.3 billion packaged-goods coupons were redeemed, a 27 percent increase over the 2.6 billion redeemed in 2008. The increase in coupon use began in October 2008, as the U.S. financial crisis took hold, and led to five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth.

» Click here to access the full article.

» Check out the article in the December 2009 edition of Shopper Marketing.