building a better brand experience

/1BUILDING A BETTER BRAND EXPERIENCE 2012

BUILDING A BETTER BRAND EXPERIENCEFROM IN-STORE TO THE TRADESHOW FLOOR


BRANDS ARE WISING UP. Many recognize the power of experiences to inspire people and drive business growth. They’re investing in unique engagements at touchpoints where they interact with key audiences. The best of these brands we call “experience brands”.

Too many brands, however, still miss the mark. And paradoxically, they fall short at exactly those moments of three-dimensional interaction between brands and people where they have the best opportunities to creative immersive, physical brand experiences. These include:

• Tradeshowboothsandexhibits• Retailstoresandkiosks• Pop-updisplaysandtemporaryinstallations• Mobileexhibitsandvehicles• Corporateenvironmentsandexecutivebriefingcenters

Brands miss the mark for two reasons: they don’t realize the opportunity physical brand experiences present, and/or they fail to design the experiences to optimize this opportunity.

THE POWER OF EXPERIENCE


DEFINING THE OPPORTUNITYThe design challenge is simple: people are barraged by messaging and media. They feel hunted rather than wooed by brands. Their time and attention is more precious than ever.

So fundamentally, an effective 3-D brand experience must be worth people’s time. It should leverage the special ability of physical brand experiences to be immersive and multi-sensory, to provide a place for personalized interaction and conversation. An effective 3-D brand experience must be more than a backdrop. It needs to be an active space for conversation and engagement versus passive scenery. And of course, an effective 3-D brand experience needs to be part of thelargerbrandandmarketingstrategy,withdefinedmetricsand outcomes.

To achieve all these goals, experience designers should pay heed to what we call the “three E’s” of 3-D brand experience.


THE 3 E’S: 3 PRINCIPLES OF 3D BRAND EXPERIENCES Brand experiences should be built around three core principles: ENTICE, ENGAGE, EXTEND.

ENTICE

EXTEND

Draw people in

Make them believe

Broaden the conversationENGAGE


Experience designers must take into account how people enter and encounter the space: physically, emotionally, and attitudinally. For example, unless someone has been invited quite literally to ‘attend’ an experience, they don’t necessarily want to engage; they have to be enticed into the physical brand experience.

Todrivetraffictoanexperience,it’simperativeto understand the audience and, when possible, become part of their agenda before the event. Offer something of value they can only get in the space. But have a plan to get them there and elevate your brand. If it’s a simple giveaway, prepare your staff to qualify guests to avoid ‘trick or treaters’. If you’re providing an educational opportunity, be clear about when and where, and design the space to accommodate.

Visitors can be drawn to an experience through onlineormobilemeans.Choosethetacticandthe message based on the targets’ behaviors and your setting. No one says, ‘Hey, I think I’ll go to a ballgametogobuyanewcar’.Consumersthinkinterms of what they intend to do for the day. Brand activations must enhance their plans, not interrupt them. If you preview an experience worth having and demonstrate you’ll respect guests’ time, consumers will be more likely to head in your direction.Madelyn Varella

In a physical sense, the ‘entice’ is the ‘shiny object’ that catches a customer’s eyes and makes them want tostopandfindoutmore.Whatitisdependsontheaudience you’re trying to attract and how you want to engage them once they’re in the space. Movement is good. It can be whimsical or serious, but it has to touch the customer’s sense of wonder and curiosity tofindoutmore.Marshall Bice

ENTICE

Trish Costello, Strategist


How does the environment facilitate face-to-face interactions, drive action and inspire advocacy? That’s what the ‘engage’ stage of 3-D brand experience is about. To realize this, the brand must connect people to the brand, motivate them to take actions tied to achieving business results and inspire them to talk about the brand and experience with their friends and colleagues.

The time a customer spends exploring and experiencing a product is the single-most important driver of purchase decision. To increase success, the experience should engage all senses, with the focus directed by the type of goods being sold. For consumer products, placing the iteminthecustomer’shandshasasignificantimpactonits perceived value. And the manner of the interaction whether it’s an active conversation with a rep or a more self-directed touchscreen demo has to be completely thought out with respect to the different customer psychologies.

Whentheyenterabrandspace,peopleexpectthattheir time will be rewarded. Brands must meet this expectation. That might mean the brand can’t just deliver the message; they must make it fun, add a gameorotherinterestpoint.WeseetouchscreensandiPadseverywhereinstores,onthetradeshowfloor, on the street but they often fail to motivate interaction.Warning:theseelementsdonotmakethemessage engaging on their own.Madelyn Varella

In unifying the look of a space, key messages or areas of the footprint can become muddied. Customersgetconfusedaboutwheretogoorwhat’sbeing offered. Intuitive design helps brands avoid this. Similarly, clear messaging hierarchy and tiered branding help distinguish what information is most important and directs the correct amount of detail to audiences with low, medium and high engagement levels. Trish Costello

ENGAGE

Marshall Bice, SVP Creative Practice Leader


Whileface-to-faceinteractionwithinthe3-Denvironmentisextremely valuable, building long-term relationships is ultimately moreprofitable.Extendingtheon-siteexperiencebygivingpeople a reason to interact with the brand outside the physical spacereinforcesandsolidifiesthatrelationship,andprovidesmechanisms for measuring success.

A brilliant ‘engage’ has the power to extend results exponentially. The catalyst is providing an experience and content worth capturing. Sharing is the action thatspreadsandamplifiesimpact.Brandscanenablesharing by providing ways to capture the experience, like photo ops and video confessionals, and uploading or emailing content for guests to spread. They can also leverage social media to continue and track conversations and distribute content from on-site after the event.Trish Costello

Extension of an experience is where the rubber meets the road in terms of measurable return on investment. Digital tools are key, as they offer immediate options for data capture. They can monitor trends such as customer product preferences based on requested/viewed digital content and individual customer issues. Theycancaptureandtrackspecificleads.Digitaltools map how a customer chooses to experience the brand and give clear direction on how to take the next step to strengthen the relationship with those customers.

In addition to extending an experience through digital interactions (capturing contact information, Facebook ‘likes,’ et cetera) brands can extend by sharing content online in real-time or stream outside sources into thespace.Connectingliveon-sitewithanaudiencevia the web or remote broadcasting helps to bridge communication and experience gaps between those physically present and those who are not. Through these techniques, content can be instantaneously shared. Opportunities to engage and communicate diverse perspectives increase. The event’s reach is broadened, which amortizes the cost of executing the live event and immediately improves return.Marshall Bice

EXTEND

Madelyn Varella, VP Digital Director


ENGAGEMENT FUELS ACTIONTARGETED EXPERIENCE DRIVES CONVERSION + ADVOCACY


MORE THAN A PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIP In today’s desensitized and time-starved world, capturing people’sattentionandaffectionisdifficultandrare,especiallyifyou’reabrand.Physicalbrandexperienceswhenproperlyexecuted can achieve both, and can result in the kind of long-term brand loyalty and advocacy that deliver business results, sustain growth, and breed brand-loving relationships.


TO READ EARLIER ARTICLES, VISIT JACK MORTON’S SLIDE SHARE CHANNEL OR CLICK ON THE INDIVIDUAL LINKS BELOW: Best Experience Brands Readnow >>

WhatisanExperienceBrand?Readnow >>

Experience Brands and the New Engagement Model (research) Readnow >>

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©JackMortonWorldwide2012

ABOUT JACK MORTON JACK MORTON WORLDWIDE IS A GLOBAL BRAND EXPERIENCE AGENCY WITH OFFICES ON FIVE CONTINENTS. OUR AGENCY CULTURE PROMOTES BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS ABOUT HOW EXPERIENCES CONNECT BRANDS AND PEOPLE—IN PERSON, ONLINE, AT RETAIL AND THROUGH THE POWER OF DIGITAL AND WORD OF MOUTH INFLUENCE. WE WORK WITH BOTH BtoC AND BtoB CLIENTS TO CREATE POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES THAT ENGAGE CUSTOMERS AND CONSUMERS, LAUNCH PRODUCTS, ALIGN EMPLOYEES AND BUILD STRONG EXPERIENCE BRANDS. RANKED AT THE TOP OF OUR FIELD, WE EARNED OVER 50 AWARDS LAST YEAR.

JACK MORTON EXHIBITS IS THE AGENCY’S SPECIALIZED DIVISION THAT DESIGNS, BUILDS AND DELIVERS BRAND ENVIRONMENTS INCLUDING TRADESHOW EXHIBITS, MOBILE VEHICLES, POP-UP, AND RETAIL AND CORPORATE SPACES.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT LIZ BIGHAM AT [email protected]

building a better brand experience

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