As an intern at Maxwell PR, I've been learning a lot in the last month watching as our team has been in the throes of planning and executing a number of person-to-person consumer events and promotions. Katja Asara, managing director of Henry V, talked about this kind of interactive and experiential marketing at Kitchen07 and shared the eight secrets for successfully taking your message on the road.

Katja believes that "traditional media as we know it is a dinosaur" and, while we might not go that far, we agree wholeheartedly that these days it's more important than ever for marketers to meet consumers face-to-face.

When executing a mobile marketing campaign, Katja's essential key elements are:

1. Know your audience. What resonates with them? What makes them tick?
2. Have a credibility platform. It's important to lend credibility to your product or brand. This translates to research or celebrity endorsement to support your platform.
3. Creat an umbrella theme. A mobile marketing campaign is part of a larger campaign. It becomes a key part of the marketing message.
4. Build in viral extensions. Find a way to connect with people and get them talking. This gives the campaign longevity.
5. Hook your audience. Draw attention to your campaign. Find something that makes people stop and think.
6. Have a good field staff. Your field staff can range from people from within your company to people selected at random to participate. They help make things happen.
7. Include interactive elements. Get people involved!
8. Provide trial incentives. Give something back to consumers.

It's important to have a story, visual and most of all, it is important to be authentic. People want to be involved and to feel that they can identify with a brand. This is what leaves a lasting impression on consumers.

- Beth

During Monday's session of Kitchen 07, attendees packed the room to hear stories of brand expansion from Joshua Onysko, the founder and CEO of Pangea Organics, and Shelley Gunton, co-founder and "Top Dog" of Castor & Pollux Pet Works.

Both speakers discussed how to tap into brand equity to expand a product line, including everything from packaging decisions to product information to supply chain management.

Shelley went first, talking about the incredible passion people have for their pets. The audience reacted appropriately when she shared that 56 percent of women love pets more than their spouses, and 94 percent of pet owners believe their cats or dogs understand exactly what they're saying. All quips aside, Castor & Pollux learned that every brand has a story to tell, and when they launched 150 products at the same time (Shelley cautioned no one else to take that on!), they had to recognize that each product has a different story and different attraction to pet owners.