Experiential Marketing Forum Debuts The Burns/Hauser Report -- Results From 2nd International Marketing Survey Highlights Cost Per Touch (CPT) Metrics

Erik Hauser, founder/moderator, and board member, Prof. Neal Burns, of the Experiential Marketing Forum (EMF) today announced the launch of their sometimes cooperative, always stimulating, marketing blog The Burns/Hauser Report. In conjunction with the announcement, results of the second global EMF Survey have been posted examining the controversial issue of Cost Per Touch in current marketing trends. Both can be found on the home page of the international think tank at www.experientialforum.com . The informal online survey of the international membership highlights:

* More than a quarter of respondents (26.4%) said that 50% of their clients are moving toward investing more of their ad budgets in experiential marketing campaigns
* In a close call, 47.4% said they are using Cost Per Touch (CPT) as a metric but 52.6% responded that they have never used it.
* 27.5% of those responding consider $10 or more an acceptable CPT for a live brand experience, while only 9.8% of their clients agree.
* When asked about CPT for online and virtual experiences, 47.9% think an acceptable cost is less than $1, and 58.3% said their clients would agree on that figure.
* 50% of respondents said the average CPT for their experiential marketing campaigns, both live and online, is $1 - $ 2 with 25% responding for each figure.
* The overwhelming consensus is that 87.3% of those responding believe the number of available media outlets and marketing tactics are outpacing the industry's ability to truly measure effectiveness.

Additional information in the survey is at available on the home page under Articles. The Burns/Hauser Report explores the vastly changing face of contemporary advertising including traditional and non-traditional methodologies, with a specific focus on the field of experiential marketing. It offers analysis and discussion from leading-edge thinkers with very different backgrounds and experiences, and promises to be the source of heated debates about topical issues facing the industry.

Prof. Neal M. Burns is Director for the Center For Brand Research at The University of Texas in Austin, with a formidable background in advertising, helping clients such as Harley Davidson, Roller Blade, Sam Adams Beer, Mack Truck, Norwest Bank, Gateway Computers, 3 M Tape, The Minnesota State Lottery, and the Sofitel Hotel chain to name a few.

Erik Hauser is the founder/moderator of the EMF, the networking newsgroup of The International Experiential Marketing Association (IXMA) (www.ixma.org) and boasts over 3,500 members from 159 countries and sovereign nations. Additionally, Hauser is the founder/creative director of Swivel Media, a burgeoning advertising agency in San Francisco counting among its clients Wells Fargo, TiVo, Careerbuilder.com, LG, Skippy, Toyota, AT&T Broadband, kajeet, Gaia Online and more. He is a columnist and sought after speaker for marketing conferences domestically and internationally.

"Asking Neal to join me in creating a relevant, thought provoking, and valuable blog about advertising in general, and experiential marketing in specific, for the EMF members was a no-brainer. He is an incredibly successful practitioner of the art, and is second to none as an educator. His knowledge of the traditional, combined with a constant focus on the future makes him a perfect collaborator for me. And we LOVE to argue and debate," says Hauser.

According to Burns, "Writing and talking with Erik represents for me a metaphor, of sorts, for the straddle point of the advertising industry itself. His orientation and mine bring together conventional and alternative advertising and -- hopefully -- the ability to create new concepts and genres. I hope the readers become blog partners and look at strategy and tactics as we move from mass to niche, from hyperbole to transparent candor, and from 30 sec. spots to new ways of producing engagement."

The Experiential Marketing Forum (EMF) is an international community of 3,500 professionals, students, and regular folks who share ideas and keep abreast of the newest trends and exciting things happening in the media world (e.g. viral marketing, advergaming, guerrilla marketing, word-of-mouth advertising, stealth marketing -- you name it). Feel free to invite all of your co-workers and friends to join this great think tank and share ideas that benefit marketers and their customers on a global level. Approximately 159 countries and sovereign nations are represented in the EMF. For more information about the EMF and the The Burns/Hauser Report visit our web site.

For media inquiries, or to arrange interviews with Erik Hauser, contact:
Barbara Pflughaupt, P&F Communications, 212-861-2100