Kirsten brings a unique perspective on experiential marketing with an extensive background in event marketing as a Brand Ambassador and Event Manager for over three years. She has represented a variety of Fortune 500 companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Porsche, eBay, Toyota, and Verizon Wireless. Kirsten utilizes her past promotion experience as she manages multi-state mobile tours for Jack in the Box.
How have your experiences as a Brand Ambassador and Event Manager prepared you for managing national accounts at Beyond Traditional?
Rarely do people working on the agency side of an experiential campaign have the experience of directly interacting with consumers at an event. My past involvement executing activations exposed me to various types of campaigns and the different elements incorporated into each. I have seen how technology can be integrated and what levels of consumer interaction are needed to reach campaign objectives. When looking to source Brand Ambassadors or staff for my clients’ campaigns, I understand the sourcing process and know what qualifications are needed to make an event successful.
Does your team ever come to you for advice on how to manage promotional staffing?
Absolutely! I can give an opinion from the “other side” on how something might be received by consumers at the activation based on what I have seen work amazingly and also fail. At times, I help my co-workers see how a situation might appear from the view of a Brand Ambassador or Tour Manager so they understand a situation better. Communication between you and your event team is crucial, especially when constructing event plans that are sent to them.
What is one experience you can take away from being a Brand Ambassador and apply it to your position now?
Dealing directly with consumers has allowed me to really analyze a campaign strategy from start to finish. You have to always consider the consumer standpoint when creating a campaign otherwise you may fall short of your ROI objectives if the consumer doesn’t feel compelled to participate. For example, I have worked activations that asked consumers for information that they were not comfortable providing and turned them off from learning anything else about the brand. I have taken this experience and applied it to how we promote sign ups for Jack’s Secret Society as part of the Jack Munchie Mobile tour.
What is different on the agency side of event marketing?
I used to wonder why an agency would make the decisions that they did and now I understand. I had no idea how many elements go into a single decision – client approvals, budgeting, maintaining certain image. I have really loved being able to broaden my scope of understanding experiential from all angles.
