What is a Good Brand Experience?
Advanced marketing strategies and the creation of meaningful brand experiences are two of the keys to success for next-generation retail.
Surviving and adapting to the new business environment has been the main goal of physical stores in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, they have seen their established physical consumer community decline, not only because of the restrictions, but also because of the rise of online shopping. To rise to the occasion, it has been necessary to find creative solutions, develop innovative projects and apply new technologies. But what is a good brand experience in retail? How can it be achieved and what are the steps to follow?
First, good brand experiences must first and foremost be meaningful to consumers and must foster an intimate brand-customer relationship. They must differentiate businesses, stores, and products from the rest of the competition, and they must do so through experiences that are unique to customers. Experiences that remain memorable.
One of the best examples of success in this area was the campaign to celebrate silence that Selfridges launched shortly after Christmas 2013. It’s The Silence Room was presented to the public as a space empty of products, designed to enjoy its stores in a different way, quietly, without noise. A project that is already a classic of retail experiences.
These characteristics have been part of Bottega Veneta, a pop-up store concept directly inspired by the art of Francois Bayle and his iconic Acousmonium. It stands out not only for the novelty of its inflatable structure and futuristic aesthetics, but also for the use of sound. The goal was to create atmospheric soundscapes through speakers of different sizes and frequencies, which transported visitors to different places as they moved through the space to contemplate the garments on display.
Surviving and adapting to the new business environment has been the main goal of physical stores in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, they have seen their established physical consumer community decline, not only because of the restrictions, but also because of the rise of online shopping. To rise to the occasion, it has been necessary to find creative solutions, develop innovative projects and apply new technologies. But what is a good brand experience in retail? How can it be achieved and what are the steps to follow?
First, good brand experiences must first and foremost be meaningful to consumers and must foster an intimate brand-customer relationship. They must differentiate businesses, stores, and products from the rest of the competition, and they must do so through experiences that are unique to customers. Experiences that remain memorable.
One of the best examples of success in this area was the campaign to celebrate silence that Selfridges launched shortly after Christmas 2013. It’s The Silence Room was presented to the public as a space empty of products, designed to enjoy its stores in a different way, quietly, without noise. A project that is already a classic of retail experiences.
The Silence Room by Alex Cochrane Architects
Another good brand experience example is Harbook Hangzhou, where the brand's identity and corporate values are transmitted through the architecture, the setting, and the storytelling of the space. An elegant bookstore-cafeteria designed as a multipurpose space to share a good read, enjoy a cup of coffee, work, or meet with friends in an environment conducive to cultural exchange. In this project the architecture is harmonized with a careful selection of materials and subtle visual merchandising to create an immersive dialogue between eras and cultures.Harbook Hangzhou by Alberto Caiola
Technological innovation and the fusion of retail with the range of art are two other essential items within shopping experience trends.These characteristics have been part of Bottega Veneta, a pop-up store concept directly inspired by the art of Francois Bayle and his iconic Acousmonium. It stands out not only for the novelty of its inflatable structure and futuristic aesthetics, but also for the use of sound. The goal was to create atmospheric soundscapes through speakers of different sizes and frequencies, which transported visitors to different places as they moved through the space to contemplate the garments on display.
Atmospheric and audiovisual experience for Bottega Veneta by Random Studio
Another striking project within the new shopping experiences that we have talked about in Sträbe is the Hi Panda flagship store in Tokyo. A unique retail space based directly on anime, technological art, and hyper-futuristic aesthetics. Its augmented reality solutions, touch screens to display catalogs, and gamified areas are part of the new brand experiences that are setting trends. In this project, the digital and the analogical range are completely merged to create an immersive experience in which customers participate in an interactive game inside a luxury store.Hi Panda Store by Curiosity
At Sträbe, we believe that there are two other essential aspects in the development of brand experiences: the creation of brand identity that truly respond to the business mission of the brands and the simplification of in-store processes through apps and screens that streamline purchases, eliminate queues and improve customer service.About the author.
