Improving ROI (or whatever KPI you’re using) is constantly on the minds of those who want to keep working on an account (us) or keep running them (you). In our increasingly fragmented world, with alternate channels arriving daily, neither marketers nor consumers can help but doubt their command over the options.

Truth is, as distrustful of advertising as consumers have become, they are aggressively participating with brands that they want in their lives. And while you can’t control the popularity of your brand (in the near term); you can control whether or not you are creating marketing that invites participation.

In a business where word of mouth is an uncontrollable, immeasurable goal, participation provides something extremely measurable and valuable to brands. And, as unlikely as an ad is to cause a purchase, it is as likely to cause participation in a branded experience that is relevant, helpful, and, quite possibly, enjoyable.

A great example came this week from Dick’s Sporting Goods, when former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome “the Bus” Bettis encourages participation by high school football players in baseline concussion testing. A :30 second TV spot on the Protecting Athletes through Concussion Education (PACE) program does not directly mention sports gear sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods, a back to school event or a promotional cue.

Examples abound if you know what to look for. We have a client that wanted to promote eyeglasses and optometry services as they always had. But, in addition to traffic, their challenge was conversion, as more than half of their visitors left without interacting with an attendant, making a purchase, or making an appointment. We chose to create an opportunity for potential customers to have a retail experience prior to coming to a location (leveraging the fact that conversion increases by 45% when a customer comes in knowing what they want). Then we drove traffic to that experience.

Our approach is not rocket science. We are happy to share. The goal of our marketing programs is to get a customer started down the road to a relationship. A relationship certainly measured in revenue (ROI / CLV), but realizing that a marriage proposal is not the stuff of first dates.

Again, the attainable, measurable, controllable component of word of mouth marketing is participation. And, that is the goal of every program at Trumpet. Whether the ultimate outcome is a visit to a state, an evening at a horse track, new account at a bank, or quitting smoking, the sober, practical and realistic first step is participation in a branded experience. Because, you can repeat your unique selling proposition (USP) all you want. You can spend all you want on concept-tested messages. But, ultimately, what people remember is what they actually experience. And they share that experience across their universe.

Scene.