Leveraging Place as the Gateway to Brand Experience

We’ve taken our clients to some pretty cool and amazing places around the globe.?From incredible flagship brand shops in Europe, to fully immersive retail destinations in Asia, and powerhouse local brands in Texas.?But not all retail is created equal when it comes to the physical manifestation of place.?We often get asked if we think stores are dead.?And our answer is an emphatic NO…only mediocre retail is dead.?Many brands take a “set it and forget it” mentality with their largest brand touchpoints. If 85% of transactions still take place in physical retail according to Goldman Sachs, why aren’t more brands investing in place as the gateway to their brand experiences??Because true brand transformation requires an experience revolution.?And revolution is risky!

Creating tactile realities for brands to be experienced is one the most impactful ways to gain loyalty and ultimately brand love. While there may be “Apple as best-in-class fatigue”, we can’t help but admire their commitment to building “shrines to simplicity” all over the world.?Apple has embraced their physicality through trial, touch and immersion. It is a gift they have bestowed upon their customers by rewarding them for spending time with their products, their people, their brand. Yes, they’ve mastered the art of the functional in their stores as transactions are easy and seamless.?And their architectural prowess is unmatched from the amazing kinetic art?in Dubai to iconic glass cubes in NYC.?They have not slowed down in their exploration of new ways to forge emotional connections with their customers.?They know relevancy is at stake and they are willing to fight for it by continuing to invest in place.

Place as experiential can also be found at Lululemon’s latest flagship in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago. Yes, you can buy their iconic leggings and yoga pants here, but their elevated services are the heroes. From yoga classes to meditation rooms to food & cocktails, there is no doubt the brand sees value in creating a multisensory experience where customers can immerse first in the Lululemon lifestyle and second purchase products that support that lifestyle.?We see this “destination retailing” as the future for many brands who are struggling to differentiate themselves in a sea of sameness.?It gives customers a compelling reason to visit over and over. Two weeks ago we took clients to this location with the resulting debrief rallying cry?“what if we started to lead with lifestyle and payoff with products?” YES!!? Immediate scalability need not apply here.? Test and learn with a few locations, and voila, the return on experience metrics will guide this retailer’s next move.

Finally, for the last decade or more, brands have been challenged to create places that embrace and reflect local communities. The logic of local is contextual – being sensitive to customer needs and practicalities at both the macro and micro levels – easier for small, regional player, more challenging for big, global brands. As an American brand launching a store in Berlin, M&M’S needed to prove that they understood the ethos of the community. Bringing the local culture to life through the colorful lens of their brand while coming across as credible and authentic required an unwavering commitment to break the mold of corporate, one-size-fits-all experiences.?Experience Pods, created after the underground club scene, invite guests into glossy lentil pods to engage in digital experiences that revolve around movement and dancing. Reminiscent of the Sunday experience in Mauer Park, The Karaoke Garden brings guests on stage amidst M&M’s branded graffiti, greenery and the unforgettable karaoke bike features to snap a photo while singing along with Yellow.?Oh, and you can buy chocolate here. The result is an experience that locals and tourists alike can share in, enjoy and feel like they belong.? It’s their place, reflective of their community, leveraging place as a gateway to the M&M’S brand experience.

What I’ve shared above is only a snippet of how place can be leveraged to elevate brand experience.?One thing that is blaringly obvious through our Expeditions is that tangibility equals memorability.?Whether it be playful education, hands-on trial, or entertainment 101, investing in place has the potential for monumental payoffs.?Great retail is out there and even the most out of category experiences can be unexpectedly illuminating as they unlock revolutionary thinking for what’s next.