Store as brand space

This combines three things I'm pretty passionate about...

1. Innovation

2. Japan

3. Retail

Guess you could say the three fit together........just check out this great example from Adidas in Tokyo. Fantastic example of a brand that's using their retail space as an opportunity to provide a branded encounter. They've set up the store as a run club first, place-to-buy-stuff second. By doing so, they're creating a unique brand experience for Adidas that gives their fans another reason to stay loyal and keep returning over and over. Love it.

Full story + more pics here: http://weekenderjapan.com/?p=15968

Uniqlo Love

It's no secret that Uniqlo are headed our way. They're one of my favourite retailers - innovative, immersive branded experience creators. My first experience with them was in NYC back in '03 ...it was love at 'first shop'. They've just won another award for their '09 Lucky Switch Campaign (below). No surprises there.

Thought the above pic was cool - 580 people already signed up to "bring Uniqlo to Australia" on Facebook....(yes I'm one of them)

Talk about brand loyalty...this is brand love (and they haven't even arrived yet).

Cool.

Towards new dialogue for brands-at-retail.

When it comes to the retail space, I think we risk talking “POS” to death in the marketing media. It feels like POS has become synonymous with the whole ‘retail story’. Don't get me wrong - POS is critically important but it's just one aspect.

We need new dialogue about how to create effective, engaging brand experiences at-retail. Technology plays a key role in this.

Why? At its core, retail is about moving people to purchase.

We need to shift our thinking about retail marketing from its current focus on “the point of transaction” to a conversation about holistic brand interactions. When Apple created their new retail formats I'm guessing that they thought in terms of "brand touchpoints" / "brand experiences" and "retail destination". The POS was part of a bigger, holistic brand discussion. The places Apple looked for inspiration when designing their retail spaces were totally outside the box - to the point where they are now legendary. Apple have taught the market a lesson - the proof as they say, is now in the pudding!

I absolutely believe that when we talk "retail" we are talking "brand." The two go hand-in-hand. By just focusing on "POS" (the “point of transaction”) we risk limiting our thinking about what's possible for retail brands...........what we can do to really make retail work its hardest to deliver brand experiences, encounters and interactions.

It is these things that will drive sales, loyalty and repeat visit - POS should be just one touchpoint in the whole story - not the entire narrative.

Store Space As Brand Space: Disney Stores

I truly believe that the retail space IS the brand space. Anyone who works with me knows I harp on about it.......alot. Why? Because (far from being the ugly cousin of marketing) retail is the place to create experiences - powerful, tangible interactions that keep customers coming back for more.

Look no further than Disney for rampant innovation and turnaround in the retail space.

No surprise with Steve Jobs on the board ...........they're about to launch a heap of new stores in the USA (at the cost of US $1m each) creating retail destinations where customers are completely engrossed in total sensory magic (Disney-style, of course).

I could go on but perhaps you should just hear it from the source.

Full the full overview, check out The Hub's interview with Jim Fielding (President, Disney Stores Worldwide):

http://www.hubmagazine.com/archives/the_hub/2010/mar_apr/the_hub35_disney.pdf

Mecca Good

One of the reasons I love working with brands at-retail is the endless option for creating amazing and unexpected customer experiences.

Technology can really add wow factor but so can simplicity.

Case in point: Mecca.

I am a huge fan of Mecca Cosmetica. Love the space. Love the people. Love the products.

Mecca is brand not bland for the following reasons:

1. Sets its own playing field - no other competitor offers what it can (= scarcity).
2. Creates a brand experience each and every time via store lay-out, product range, packaging and staff experts ( = tangibility).
3. Treat customers like friends - you're welcomed, trusted, rewarded, engaged (= talkability).
4. Simple, beautiful POP. Makes you want to leave spending twice as much (= shoppability).
5. Take customer service and value to new levels (= loyalty + lovability).


Inside every Mecca store is a wall of individually packaged products that are swapped over regularly. Each of the products selected for this wall is moderately priced making it even more tempting to "add on" in your basket as you check out.

Recently, Mecca combined their wall of temptation (at least, that's what I'm calling it) with a fantastic promotion. They personalised products based on astrology signs then gave customers the chance to meet the well known astrologer in person, and naturally, in store. What a winning idea. No surprise it sold out. It really proved their knowledge of their market and their customers. Simple. Memorable. Effective.

A Super-Market Experience

In Coles today and had the most amazing customer service experience. This is the second time it's happened (different person). Really impressed me. I turned up for a 'transaction' and what I got was an experience (and now I'm talking about it). Cool.

Got me thinking (again) about how it is the human encounters that turn the retail experience from bland to brand. Those little details that make the difference between talkability and forgetability.

When Apple hire and train their people, they don't just look for "floor staff" they hire "brand ambassadors." They employ people who are fans of Apple - obsessed, tech-literate Apple-junkies who live and breathe every nuance and brand detail Apple has to offer.

What if we could do the same with a brand like a supermarket. Imagine if Apple or Virgin opened a supermarket - how different would it be from our usual experiences?

Here are my top 5 ideas for transforming the ordinary retail experience into something amazing:

1. Be a brand that stands for something beyond the expected. Be brave -dream big.
2. Create personal brand-value for each & every one of your team members.
3. Empower your brand ambassadors (staff) to surprise & delight customers in unexpected ways.
4. Transforming "customers" to a "fans" means consistent delivery of your brand promise every time. Create systems and processes that allow this (rather than inhibit it).
5. Make the experience personal. Build loyalty at every opportunity.

Vodafone WOW store

Vodafone has created a series of WOW stores in Europe.

It is a branded retail experience that utilises the latest technology in order to drive customer engagement, visitation, and ultimately sales.

Check it out on You Tube. I think it rocks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJmjaulpCBo

Retail stores: bland space to brand space

One of my passions is the retail arena - and more particularly, retail space. Over the past ten years there has been a shift, as I like to call it, from retail as bland space to retail as brand space. More prominent in markets such as the UK, Europe and USA, Australia is just starting to catch up which is great.

The brands which take a "brandspace" approach to their store space stand out a mile from those who don't. You only need to take a walk through any local shopping mall to sense this. Just take BankWest, T2 and Apple as a few examples of brands that achieve this in spectacular fashion.

The retail space is where brands come to life. Every single touch point inside the store is an opportunity for a brand to create a connection and create a seamless, integrated story that enhances (rather than compromises) brand positioning.

The store space is the coal face where brands need to work their hardest in order to convert browser to buyer. In my mind, every touch point (from packaging to the store headers) is media space that has a responsibility to communicate messages that are "on brand". From the way staff dress, speak, understand the service or product through to the the sales tags, merchandising, colour scheme......each touchpoint must integrate seamlessly to bring the brand story alive.

On this point, the other thing I think that we need to get better at thinking about is the Shopper versus Consumer. Consumers are the "users" of the product whereas Shoppers are the "choosers". Yes they can be the same person, however it is important for brands to recognise (and plan) for the fact that in many instances, they are two separate identities. This requires an understanding into the different motivations, needs and messaging requirements that will move each group.

Marketing companies around the world that realise the massive value of taking a "consumer" and "shopper" approach to their business are investing in Shopper Marketing whereby the in-moment needs of shoppers are analysed and understood in order to create a better shopping experience that puts the shopper at the heart of marketing decisions in-store.

I'm really interested in what Proctor & Gamble are doing - particularly in the US - with Shopper Marketing. They invest heavily in developing shopper insights and aligning closely with retailers in order to produce the best possible shopping experience for their customers.