Interbrand Design Forum » Retail Brands

Retail: The Most Important Question is “Why Not?”

Scott Jeffrey — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:46:28 +0000

One of my favorite parts of being a designer and working with brands on a daily basis is asking the question: Why not? I have always believed that design is a fluid activity, and in a lot of cases, a completely subjective endeavor. Our ideas against your inputs. It isn't black or white. It's gray in many cases. Unlike accounting, sometimes the numbers don't, and shouldn't, add up. A bit clichéd perhaps, but 1+1 can equal 3. And oftentimes innovation happens when you break a few rules. When I look around the retail industry, I see a lot of parity within categories when it comes to format. Take a minute and compare yourself with another brand in your particular competitive set. Are there any similarities? Are there any differences? Other than color, would you be able to tell the difference between your facility and the other guy down the street if your signs were swiped in the middle of the night? More importantly, can your customers tell the difference? I see a lot of categories defining the rules in which you, as brands, play and I wonder why it can't be different. I recently saw a video of Tesco's experiment with virtual stores in the subway stations in Seoul, Korea. Busy Koreans can shop large format digital images of existing stores' shelves by using their smartphones to capture QR-coded products. The order is delivered when the shopper gets home, fulfilled by their local Tesco Homeplus. This won the local stores new customers and drove higher sales out of their existing properties. They didn't build a new store, they came up with their own rules about how their brand could behave and present itself. They asked: Why not?

Elevating the Au Bon Pain Experience

Tom Kowalski — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:11:12 +0000

This is great video from Au Bon Pain describing where the brand is headed. We partnered with the bakery café to create an engaging and differentiating “marketplace” concept with a focus on giving the store more personality, distinction and improving the ease of shopping. Au Bon pain's CEO, Sue Morelli describes the company's focus on their three brand pillars and the importance of the environment and service to the brand experience. The new concept gives the brand credit for the things that it does really well. We’ve created destinations for core competencies and we’ve made it easier for customers to navigate the experience, inviting them to buy more. The new design is bright, welcoming and energized with color and comfort.Communication zones clarify the offer and enable customers to build their order with speed and convenience. The old pencil-and-paper sandwich ordering method is replaced with wireless devices. This new efficient system allows customers to maximize their dwell time in the space and explore the complete Au Bon Pain offering. New, deeper trays with handles enable customers to build their orders easily.

Retail: Shelf Talker

Scott Jeffrey — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:11:42 +0000

If you could put yourself in your product's shoes, I think you'd find that products are looking for the same thing as shoppers. The time-honored concept of the right place, the right price, the right time, for the right shopper is still the key to greater store productivity

Retail: Clearing the Way for Brand

Scott Jeffrey — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:30:39 +0000

Wouldn't life be that much easier if everything were optimized? All the stoplights on the way to work were green, the remote for the TV was always in the first place you looked, all the socks came out of the dryer paired off and accounted for? If everything were optimized, think of all the extra time you'd have, not to mention the extra space. If I optimized my garage at home, tools would be easier to find, the electrical extension cords wouldn't be tangled, I wouldn't have to shimmy between the bikes and the lawn mower and I might actually be able to get both cars in for a change. It would be....well...perfect. Most of us know that when it comes to retail, we are rarely, if ever, optimized. New brands sometimes take years to figure out just the right mix of what attracts and satisfies customers and what doesn't work at all. And since shopper passions can change, seemingly with the weather, it's difficult to keep aspects of our brands optimized. Optimization typically refers to assortment, but I believe optimization can be applied to many, maybe all, aspects of a store or space. When we optimize our assortments, we can free up space and give it back to the experience. We know that a wider aisle is easier to shop, and we've seen time and time again how a more focused assortment can lead to higher sales. Fewer, better choices, the right choices, can lead to more time, more exploration, and more purchases.

The Future of Customer Insights

Amanda Yates — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:32:02 +0000

As brand marketers, lovers of brands, or even branding neophytes, we all know a critical part of building a brand is understandings current and potential customers. Without this intimate customer knowledge, how are we expected to deliver against needs and desires, and provide a user experience that separates our brands from the competition? But how do we get to know our customers? Tried and true market research methods have been out there for decades, but we are in a new age…there are so many other great ways to reach out to consumers, build relationships, gather insights and innovate along the way. Seeking more insights, I attended the first ever Technology Driven Market Research conference put on by IIR, and was thrilled to see 200+ colleagues representing various brands and agencies, all there to learn and embrace the future (or I guess now the present) of customer dialogue. Market research, clearly, is being improved and informed by geo-location, mobile-based surveys, Facebook-based gaming analysis, even neuroanalysis – all provide relevant, and already accessible, ways to interact with your consumers today. The new insights that can be gathered about your brand through these methods are amazing.

The Store of the Future Looks Like my Bathroom

Dave Nixon — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:18:31 +0000

The Store of the Future is there when my wife suggests one fine day (in a sweet and casual tone) that we should "update the floor tile in the bathroom." It is there as I begin to visualize how the new bathroom will look. It is there when I have to pick out paint, fixtures, cabinets, countertops, shower doors and oh yeah, tile. More importantly, it is there long before I have to decide where to shop for these products for my now full-scale bathroom renovation. The Store of the Future is a convergence of technology and possibility that materializes exactly when you need it. Today we live in a world of consumer co-creation. Retailers can’t wait till the shopper hits the store to see what’s available. It is now all about being there at the moment the consumer realizes a need, and shepherding them along an adaptive path to the store, all while keeping the wolves from luring the them off into the forest of competing brands. Today, more than ever, retailers need to find creative ways to keep shoppers—even their brand loyalists—engaged all the way through the transactional process. That is the power and the risk of digital touchpoints in retailing. If retailers are willing and able, they can invest in effective digitally-based methods for reaching further into the shopper’s path to purchase, closer to that decision point of "should I or shouldn't I?" and influence the decision to buy. Keep in mind, however, that it’s the brand strategy behind the digital touchpoints that will drive more transactional traffic—not the digital tools themselves.

Groupon Erases Brand Voice in Favor of Daily Dude-speak

Dave Middendorf — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:37:29 +0000

It continues to amaze me. Every morning when I get my daily Groupon—no matter what brand the deal is for—every offer sounds exactly the same. Even when the offer is upscale, like custom tailoring or fine dining, its description is written in nearly unintelligible dude-speak. There is no alignment between the marketing piece (the coupon) and the brand that is being offered. Why are retailers big and small so willing to give up control of their brand? Especially to a company that doesn’t take their client’s brand images into consideration. Some would argue that these deep discounts are harmful to brands, training consumers to expect the kinds of deals that eat into a retailer's margins. I think the strategy is sound, but it’s the message and tone that are off. In light of the recent Groupon Super Bowl ad fiasco it seems that this callousness might run even deeper. I wouldn’t be surprised to see significant pullback from Groupon. At least until the company figures out how to present its clients in their best light.

Brand Disconnect: Urban Outfitters Bridal

Dave Middendorf — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:03:22 +0000

How many brides are eager to be ironic? We will soon find out as Urban Outfitters launches its new line of wedding dresses next week on Valentine’s day. Urban is planning on selling unique “heirloom” style dresses starting online and eventually in stores. The mass produced yet vintage style gowns will be priced between $1,000 and $4,000. For a brand that has built itself on ironic and often irreverent merchandise I would expect to see dresses that mocked tradition. One might feature a silk-screened slogan of sorts and another would be perma-paired with polka-dot leggings, but this is not the case. These gowns don’t look like Urban Outfitters, most likely because they are designed by the more refined, yet bohemian Urban brand Anthropologie. Wait…so…if Anthropologie designed them (and it’s obvious) why are they being sold under the Urban Outfitters brand? Even if brides-to-be can see past the obvious disconnect, Urban may still be a long way from sealing the deal. Remember, this isn’t an everyday transaction. This isn’t the perfect dress – it’s the dress. Women have been thinking about this one dress for most of their lives and the process is just as important as the final product. Buying a dress online may work for the bride who isn’t interested in taking her closest gals out for a day of fittings and personalized service, but for those that are, how will Urban deliver? However, offering the wedding line in stores may only add to the problem. Will a wedding dress feel special when it’s merchandised near an “I survived spring break” tank top? How will it look in the fitting room with the other girls and boys in their skinny jeans?

Why Retail Needs Anti-Mess Experience Designs

Scott Jeffrey — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:26:12 +0000

There's a LOT of talk under our roof here at Interbrand about the digital aspects of retail branding. Many brands are busy developing or executing digital strategies, some a little further along than others. If you don't have a strategy for how digital serves your brand, you need to start. Because it isn't a fad and it isn't going to go away anytime soon. A recent experience illuminated a key differentiator in experience between the digital and the tangible: the mess. A recent trip to a common mall brand illustrates why many of your customers would rather go online than come into the store. My shopping trip yielded a table of jeans that looked like someone had slept in the middle of them. Sizes everywhere. This wash here, that wash there. Little if any organization around style and fit, the two things I need to select a purchase. Not simple. Definitely not clean. A complete and absolute mess. The product, not necessarily inexpensive, certainly wasn't being treated well and in a manner which would actually help me buy it. If anything, it was a huge turnoff and the haphazard display made it frustrating to shop. (You don't want your store looking like my kid's bedroom. It isn't pretty.) It may not have been the company's intent to drive people out of the store to their website, but that was the outcome. When I log onto a retail site, the cheerful models peer back at me and give me a bit of the vibe of what to expect from the brand. If I need a size, no problem, I click to see if they have what I need in stock. A simple, clean, no-mess experience. Product looks great on or off a model. No stock, no problem, I know quickly and can move on. This isn't to say that the digital realm is mess-proof. Certainly, all web experiences are not created equal and some end up being hard to use. Even while a company may be lax tidying up after the chaos we shoppers leave in our wake, the tangible world still has its advantages. Try as they might, online experience can't let me feel something.

Sampling the Merchandise: Why Does it Work?

Tom Kowalski — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:38:37 +0000

Any given Saturday you can find me at the local Sam’s Club browsing the latest flat screen televisions or swooping down on the scratch and dent section like a turkey vulture. But what really keeps me coming back is not a deal on patio furniture or playground equipment. It’s the samples. One can enjoy a veritable feast, albeit in tiny portions, by browsing the bazaar of sample carts with friendly senior citizens pitching the latest dinner party delights and easy lunch solutions. Sam’s customers, especially my children, know and love a trip to Sam’s for this experience. It certainly keeps me coming back and I even find myself thinking, “Can I get that at Sam's?” just so I can hit the samples. Why does it work?

Multi-Sensory: Seeing is believing, but touching, smelling, tasting and enjoying are exponentially more powerful.

Value: Everyone loves something for nothing. The free stuff is only the surface level benefit. The bonus to the Sam’s brand is that customers give them credit for adding value to the time they spend in the store.

On-trend: Customers love brands that bring them the latest greatest products.

Anticipation: Any experience that customers look forward to and plan around is sure to build loyalty.

Other successful brands have leveraged the sampling model. iTunes provides a sample of every song it sells and retailers like Zappos have effectively enabled sampling through free shipping in both directions. However, poor strategy and execution can take a sampling program from a brand builder to a liability.

The Opening Ceremony, an Underutilized Retail Design Moment

Ryan Brazelton — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:55:05 +0000

Do you remember your first iPod? I bet you do. I bet you remember the feel of the box in your hand. How it looked. I bet you remember cracking it open Like a book! I bet the minimalist feel, crisp white look, and flawless shiny iPod was an experience burnt into your brain. That is power of delivering big in the opening ceremony. In fact if you had trouble connecting it to your computer I bet you never think about that. You only remember that first moment of joy. The opening ceremony is one of the most under-utilized opportunities to delight your customer. Whether you're talking about packaging, retail, or online, brands that make a memorable impact in the up-front can disproportionately win emotional attachment from their customers. Target is a great example of how simple things executed well can create an exciting "opening ceremony" experience. Who doesn’t look forward to walking into Target to see what the new promotional theme is? It's never just a sign hanging. It’s a fleet of visual eye-candy that tells a story and creates a sense of energy and change.

Kohl’s and Best Buy Provide Relief from Holiday-deal Monotony

Bill Chidley — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:13:57 +0000

It will be interesting to see if Kohl’s will have a better holiday season than their competitors this year. Their chosen message is not great price. They are making their liberal return policy a point of difference. In a world of deals, low price guarantees, extended hours, layaway and other value claims, is it risky making return policy your trump card? Likewise, Best Buy is making "product support available Christmas Day" its headline. Both of these brands seek to humanize themselves by showing a more empathetic side to retail.

I’m sure I will still be bombarded with deals from these guys via direct mail and Sunday inserts, but I find it interesting that they are investing national media dollars in non-price messages. Like four-wheel drive in New York City, both retailers are touting benefits we hope we don’t have to use, but will make us feel more empowered when we do have to make a return or call tech support to help us with our gift giving when we stumble.

Cloudveil: Expecting Too Much from Social Media

Ethan Smith — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:55:43 +0000

Recently an innovative outdoor apparel brand I admire, Cloudveil, was purchased by a group of private equity investors. The group snatched the brand from the jaws of certain bankruptcy with an eye on turning it back into a successful driver of innovation in the outdoor apparel market. On the surface Cloudveil as a brand seemed to be on top of the world, but the fog of creative financing and fast-paced expansion hung over their head and obscured the brand’s future success. After pulling the entire online catalog from their Internet presence, the new owners did what any self-respecting brand does to improve their brand awareness, they started a blog! That will fix everything right? Social media and Web 2.0 to the rescue! No doubt there was a marketing meeting where someone said something to effect of, “Let’s tap into the passion of our customer base, the hardcore cult following.” The problem, of course, is that in changing hands they closed their flagship store in Jackson Hole and alienated most of the cult following. What followed was a blood bath series of comments on their blog that will live in perpetuity every time someone types Cloudveil into their favorite search engine. Welcome to your new digital permanent record. OUCH!

Why Brand vs. Distribution is like Delayed vs. Instant Gratification

Bill Chidley — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:50:28 +0000

The more CPG client workshops I attend, the more aware I become of the tension that exists between protecting or gaining distribution versus managing the brand experience in retail. It is the classic tension between delayed versus instant gratification. But are they really separate issues? Few manufacturers have the cachet to successfully demand that their retail partners afford them carte blanche to create in-store experiences around their brand. In fact, most retailers are becoming more assertive with their own control of the store experience and merchandising standards. The reality is that distribution choices will always impact a company’s brand, and even impact or influence the success of product innovations meant to move the brand forward. I am more convinced now than ever that your brand and marketing challenges will be determined by where you choose to sell a product and who makes up the competitive set in that environment. For example, does private label dilute your name brand benefits and equities?

Who Said Customer Service is Dead?

Amanda Yates — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:16:42 +0000

While I, myself, have often complained about the lack of customer service in the world today, I recently found myself pleasantly surprised when an apparel store associate not only gave me needed assistance, but suggestively sold me into a larger purchase and, presumably, earned a larger commission. I'm not usually open to suggestive selling, knowing full well that associates are trained to offer more options in the hopes of increasing the ticket. But when this woman took the time to remember and use my name, note my size, and make suggestions that would flatter both my shape and my ego, how could I not include these items into the lot? With an approach that's so simple and effective, it really surprises me that more retailers don't train their associates in the fine points of customer service and the benefits they accrue from pleasing the customer. Not only does a shopping experience build loyalty--it can even build sales associate loyalty which means higher sales and commissions. Surely there are brands beyond White House Black Market and Nordstrom that could explore this opportunity. In the future I will definitely call "Emily" if I want to make an online purchase so she gets credit for the sale (and I get free shipping). And all it took was for her to give me her card, help me have a great experience and mention the benefit to me of calling her.

Experts Answer: What do Retailers do Next?

Lynn Gonsior — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:31:11 +0000

While our annual 2010 State of the Retail Industry report delineates the challenge for retail brought about by consumer behavior changes in reaction to the great recession and the rapid adaption of mobile technology—many of those challenges will take several years to address. To find seven things that retailers can do right now, we asked our experts. Scott Jeffrey, Chief Creative Officer Push for differentiation. There is no time to rest on your laurels. Realize that innovation isn’t a stage, it’s an ingrained brand behavior. In fact, stop thinking of innovation as a “next step” all together--"step" as in a phase of something that stops and starts, or merely cycles through. My ideal retail brand would be one that never completes a store design prototype. The “never done” mentality is always asking, “What else? What else can we do to make it better?” That type of thinking requires courage. Belief in the importance of change. Granted, not every one of your new ideas will be a game changer, but once you entertain doubt and back off, you pretty much lose momentum. Particularly now, when the customer expectations are so far ahead of what most retailers are delivering in terms of the brand experience. The minute you rest on your laurels and let your brand and your stores get outdated, you have a really big, hardest-to-do maneuver on your hands: a turnaround. If you have a fleet of any size, you’re in danger of being too big and too rigid to manage a turnaround. But if you’re a constant seeker, a brand that remains loose and nimble, the maneuvers are much smaller and easier to manage. Your creative adjustments and transitions will be happening all the time. Knock down any silos in your way and get to that mindset as soon as you can. Bill Chidley, Senior Vice President, Shopper Sciences Consumers’ rapid adoption of the smartphone means it’s time to start thinking about connecting and communicating through that little screen. To make the most of the opportunity to drive demand, mobile optimization should be a top priority for your brand. It’s all about being in the game. Don’t try to justify mobile initiatives with ROI. Move forward with a reasonable hypothesis and prepare to learn and adapt. Don Rethman, Senior Vice President, Architecture Consider doing a site survey. Do your shoppers expect to share their shopping experience instantly? Do you plan to make fast calls to action in the store? Your building needs a wireless-based backbone to support that, with wireless connectivity that allows for transitions. This goes even beyond the creation of mobile hot-spots. Buildings must have a distributed, robust and flexible IT infrastructure which will allow technical access to all spaces. It helps if you’re working with architects who are aware there is such a thing as a path to purchase so they can help create a store that increases productivity and doesn’t skimp on the brand experience. Amanda Yates, Vice President, Strategy & Analytics It’s vital to map the “customer journey” to understand where best to make the wireless investments, as well as other investments that help your brand drive choice. Mapping will provide the insights that will help you gain advantage and protect sales by offering shoppers what they want in the modes they desire. Not every retailer will need a full-blown program, but each must understand the needs of its customers, what information and access they are looking for and where or how they want to access it. Once these insights are known, the appropriate level of investment and how to spend it will become much clearer. Dave Nixon, Executive Director, Digital Strategy The multi-channel ideal is a seamless transition from the physical shopping experience to the virtual experience through every digital touchpoint--one that’s painless for the shopper and profitable for the retailer. However, for most retailers that’s not the first thing you can do. There will be silos to take down, brand strategy work and brand engagement initiatives to adopt before that nirvana is reachable. I’d like to elucidate further on what Bill says (above)—“Get in the game.” Companies that spend too much time planning their next technology steps will find themselves playing catch up to those that are already moving. One of the main benefits of digital is the ability to deploy it quickly and then modify or adapt the solution depending on the performance metrics for success. In that respect, adopting new digital platforms into your channel strategy is less expensive and presents less risk than physical channels. The time is now to leverage digital technologies for increasing revenue, efficiency and customer loyalty. Kris Medford, Ph.D., Director of Shopper Sciences Get to know your shoppers again. Segmentation that is a few years old is downright archaic so make sure your insights are recent and actionable. Who are your shoppers—both those in your store today and those you want in the future? What’s important to them from a digital perspective, and how can you use digital help to make your brand be more relevant to their lifestyle? Justin Wartell, Senior Consultant, Brand Strategy The physical store needs to evolve from its position as the “jewel in the crown” to a “tool in the arsenal.” For retailers, the most important thing that can be done right now is to (re)examine the relationship between the physical brand experience and all of the other expressions of the brand. Brand experiences are inter-connected organisms that create an overall customer feeling about the brand. By understanding the role that retail plays in the context of the other touchpoints that are, or can be, deployed, retailers can drive loyalty, reputation, efficiency and value across their organizations.

Create a Retail Brand Experience, Not a Mess

Scott Jeffrey — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:08:07 +0000

My kid will tell you that I make a mean chocolate chip pancake, but that's only due to my ability to follow the directions on the box. I'm not much of a cook, I'm afraid. I think the most difficult part of cooking a meal is the timing. I admire the planning that goes into starting one thing while thawing another all the while mixing something else and like magic, they all come to the table at the same time. I tried baking a layer cake once and didn't make it out of the frosting phase unscathed. I ended up with a sticky mess and a birthday promise that went unfulfilled. Thankfully, the local bakery bailed me out. Evolving a brand into a new, more engaging incarnation can be just as magic, or if improperly handled, just as messy, resulting in a brand promise that goes unfulfilled. Expectations are always high when we embark on the path that leads to transforming a brand, from both our friends on the client side as well as ourselves. Designers inherently embrace a challenge, and we see every project as an opportunity to make a brand all and the very best that it can be. A lot of teamwork goes into executing a brand—that is, following the recipe we’ve created for an engaging shopping experience. If the recipe isn't followed, your outcome can suffer.

To Create Memorable Brand Experiences, Engage the Senses

Scott Jeffrey — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:49:38 +0000

So it's that time of year again. Over the next three months, you can find me at my kid's high school athletic field, watching his soccer team practice four nights a week. I rather enjoy those days. They’re a combination of fresh air and pride watching my kid trying to be the next great Springboro High goalkeeper. As I sit here this evening, there is a slight wind that keeps the flag flying, pulling its cable against the flagpole, creating that hollow metal pinging sound. At the far end of the bleachers, a runner is doing some stair work. Her shoes make a sharp pop, I can feel the vibrations down my row as she hustles up and back down again. The evening sun is warm and the smell of freshly cut grass fills the stadium. Based on these sensations, you could blindfold me and I'd still know where I was. A few retail brands stand out when I think of sensorial experiences. How many times have you smelled a Cinnabon before you saw it? You can smell and usually hear an Abercrombie before you come across one in the local mall. A similar volume of music (not to mention the genre) somehow seems very out of place in an Orvis store. Bath and Body Shop does a nice job of seasonal scents to grab your attention. As retail designers, we rely a lot on the visual sense to communicate to consumers. But let’s not forget that those brands that engage all of the senses create the most memorable experiences.

Moving Beyond Signs to Intuitive Wayfinding

Ethan Smith — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:36:51 +0000

When people ask me what I do, somewhere in the description I inevitably use the “S” word: signs. However, in today’s experience-based socially driven marketplace, brands, retail brands especially, need to move beyond signs and think about wayfinding in terms of the whole experience of the built environment, and how every element in a space can play a role in defining what we like to think of as intuitive wayfinding.

Intuitive wayfinding, means a customer or staff member is able to navigate a space without stopping to think about it, and does not need to consciously keep track of where they are in the space. If a customer needs to look at a directional sign to figure out where to go, you’ve already lost the battle for an intuitive wayfinding experience. The intuitive wayfinding experience relies on a system of well organized, strategically placed visual cues to guide the consumer to their destination. Space planning plays a key role in maintaining an intuitive navigational experience. In the planning stages, if your plan looks like a lab rat’s maze then there is a pretty good chance it will feel like that when it's built. However, a layout with the proper adjacencies, strategic departmental hierarchy, and ample common navigational walkways is well on its way to achieving intuitive wayfinding right from the start.

QSR Wake-up Call. Drive-thru Focus Leads to Customer Drive-by

Tom Kowalski — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:25:19 +0000

For years, the majority of cash at quick service restaurants has gone “through the window." The growing car culture has dictated a focus on drive-thru efficiency to the point where the dining room has become an afterthought to operators and subsequently a barrier to customers. The cost of updating and maintaining a dining room has seemed cost prohibitive to many QSR chains and their franchisees, especially in light of the high drive-thru ratio. But by not offering a unique, pleasant dining experience, they have let the brand image wither on the vine. And it's now coming back to haunt them. I contend that the high drive-thru ratio is in large part due to customers avoiding the “ick” factor of enduring outdated, smelly, deteriorating environments with no sense of place or brand personality. The dining room is the brand.

Retailers Need to Think Like Revolutionaries

Scott Jeffrey — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:32:49 +0000

There wasn't an Evolutionary War for a reason. In the pre-dawn of U.S. history, the new settlers wanted more than to just evolve the British rule, it had to be overthrown. A new start, a clean slate. Imagine the pressure that those founding fathers must have felt when deciding that enough was enough, let's try something new. Today, many brands find themselves in the same place. The status quo isn't working. It’s time to differentiate. But I wonder if the ideas of "revolution" and "evolution" aren't being confused.

Gender Disruption: Boys Like the New Kotex Packaging

Kris Medford — Thu, 20 May 2010 01:15:22 +0000

As I was finishing up payment at the pharmacy, a young male employee strolled into the area and struck up a conversation with the staff by saying, “That new Kotex packaging is sharp!” Silence. Then, apparently mistaking the silence as a request for clarification, he continued, “You know, the black packages? They are really cool looking!” More silence. Based on a quick survey of their expressions, everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing, What is an 18 year old guy doing talking about feminine hygiene products?! Even as I grabbed my purchase and escaped the awkwardness, I began to contemplate what transpired. Given that I spend my days knee-deep in shopper sciences, I found the situation quite compelling. Good packaging should be, in part, disruptive, and the new U by Kotex packaging is definitely that. The sub-brand is unique in the category, both in shelf presentation and in the “get real” tone of the advertising. A+ on disruption.

Retail Rollouts: Sustainability is not an Afterthought

Don Rethman — Thu, 06 May 2010 20:28:35 +0000

To be most effective, a sustainability initiative must be approached holistically. Sustainability and brand thinking are alike in that they radiate outward from the heart of the business. Just as brand is part of everyone’s job, sustainability can be too. Both brand and sustainability strategies are ideally intertwined, well thought out and well executed from vision to prototype. Typically, companies with this kind of forethought get high marks for differentiation and credibility, such as Whole Foods Market and Starbucks. There’s a direct benefit to the value of the brand. Whether a company has a long history of social responsibility or a newly awakened desire to conserve resources, there are trusted ways to make decisions based on return on investment. If a large fleet of stores is in need of image refreshing, that’s an opportunity to look at controlling energy costs and sustainable building strategies. Even stores primarily in tenant spaces can look at a healthier environment and LEED certification.

Why Shopper Marketing is Too Aspirational for Most Brands

Bill Chidley — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:19:34 +0000

Companies under pressure to stem margin erosion may jump headfirst into shopper marketing before they are ready. In doing so, they could overlook the need to solve fundamental problems in the shopping experience and end up with unpredictable results in the store. The urge to dive in is understandably tempting. Brands that invest in shopper marketing are seeing three times the return as compared to traditional marketing disciplines. But the discussion revolves around a very small percentage of brands, such as CVS/pharmacy and Mars Snackfoods, ShopRite and Kellogg’s, Walgreens which just announced it will engage in a shopper marketing pilot with The Hershey Company, and of course the eminence of shopper marketing, Procter & Gamble. All have been working on shopper marketing for years and have an extremely high level of expertise.

How Brands Build Digital Bonds with their Shoppers

Lynn Gonsior — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:23:05 +0000

Retailers looking for great examples of wirelessly connecting with their shoppers have three great brands to look to: American Eagle Outfitters, Netflix and Amazon.com. The continue to differentiate their shopping experiences with intimacy, responsiveness and relevance. Even with millions of items for sale, Amazon connects intimately with customers, from its one-click ordering to its ability to become more relevant with each visit. The result is a “barrier to exit” that other brands envy. American Eagle excels at aggressively integrating multi-channel marketing tactics into both its traditional and digital campaigns. It connects at all the right touchpoints, which goes a long way towards achieving brand loyalty. This year, AE included a mobile filed in its loyalty program, and used mobile as a point of entry into sweepstakes as well as an alerts program. Calls to action were posted on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter in the form of banner ads, status updates and tweets.

It Takes a Strong Brand is to Inspire Shopper Confidence

Justin Wartell — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:23:33 +0000

While we can all agree that price matters more to the consumer than ever, it’s not the be-all, end-all of shopping. At some point, the hunt for best price has to stop. And why it stops is up to the retail brand. Shoppers attach to brand, not price. Brand—the distinct way you do business—needs to provide a reason to activate the purchase, a reason beyond price. It can be trust, convenience, fun, effortlessness, time savings, fashion or many other factors a brand makes itself known for. Many retailers have learned the hard way that price-based competition is simply not sustainable. To survive, they need a balanced value proposition unique to the brand that makes the shopper confident she has found the right choice among similar offerings of the product or solution she seeks. This year, retailers have made headway in the battle against “sameness” by negotiating exclusive famous name brands, making sure their private labels stand for something besides “cheaper” and by infusing the shopping experience with emotional appeal. One brand that renewed its value-plus-reason image is Old Navy. After veering off into fast fashion inspired by the designer runway, it has returned to bright basic family apparel surrounded and supported by its kitschy sense of humor. Shoppers are returning to the store and business is on the upswing.

Don’t Chase Shoppers, Engage Them with Creativity

Scott Jeffrey — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:22:24 +0000

Copying the latest “hot” retailer is an easy way to stay current, to level the playing field. But imitation doesn’t keep you at the top of the shopper’s mind. When a retail brand displays a unique, creative energy—the J. Crew Liquor Store comes to mind—I get a dose of inspiration like an electric charge. I’m not just browsing now, I’m fully engaged because a particular creative spirit permeates every touchpoint for an unmistakable experience. That’s when the brand stops chasing and starts engaging. Maybe it’s my emotions, my ego, or my sense of fun which is always looking to come out and play.

You Can’t Buy Creativity by the Pound

Bruce Dybvad — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:21:25 +0000

Businesses in search of competitive advantage are much more comfortable asking design consultants for “innovation” when they should be asking for “creativity,” the birthplace of new ideas. But creativity, with its faint air of mystery and associations with renegade, non-corporate types, doesn’t seem at home in the world of commerce, where goals are achieved through “procedure” and “knowledge.” Interbrand Design Forum has seen an increase in the number of retail brands deciding to bring creativity to the table, but a negative tendency to have their procurement officers treat it like a commodity—buying it by the pound. That’s a mistake. Few agencies know how to bring about the environment, the chemistry and the provocation that net the great, disruptive ideas that are actionable in terms of the brand experience. The kind that can move your business to a new place.

Innovation Reigns at Burger King

Beth Ling — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:27:39 +0000

Have you ever seen a client celebrate as if they’d just won Wimbledon? I got to experience that last night at the Association for Retail Environments awards dinner. The Burger King Whopper Bar took first place in the fast food restaurant category. We were thrilled to see a client who embraces innovation be rewarded for

Interbrand Design Forum Ranks the Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands; Walmart Remains the Top Retailer, Target Leaps to Second

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:25:00 +0000

Interbrand Design Forum Ranks the Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands; Walmart Remains the Top Retailer, Target Leaps to Second Report shows that the strong brands got stronger, while the bottom 25 fell.