Brand Experience on Online and Retail Platforms

by Adwright, 03 January, 2020

Holistic brand experiences can go a long way. In this age of accessible entertainment and short attention spans, brands will have to do more to captivate their audiences. That said, brands are now expected to sell more than just goods and services. Brands have to engage and entertain their audiences on online platforms and real-life situations alike. After all, engaging and entertaining people is what makes a brand personable and relevant, thereby creating a difference in the market.

Online Experiences

A brand’s content and interaction online is the surest way to differentiate one brand from another. Being relevant and relatable online is paramount to ensure the longevity of brand recall. Take Spotify for example, they embody and exude a young and trendy demeanour, which aligns with the behaviours of their social media-active audiences. Most of Spotify’s content is optimised for social media, leveraging on the possibility of going viral. Spotify’s yearly personalised top playlists were made to be shared easily on social media. Their social media pages are always filled with youthful and witty content that get interaction from their followers regularly. On top of that, Spotify is also quick to reply to comments, keeping followers engaged with the conversation. Although Spotify is not the first brand to harness a holistic online brand experience, its methods and style have led to a huge following and an appreciation of its wit.

Retail Experiences

Up till recent years, discourse about retail going dead has been the hot topic in the media. Some primarily brick and mortar brands have shuttered amidst the increasingly tough and competitive scale of the eCommerce landscape. Still, retail is far from dead. If done well, retail businesses can create a strong anchor for a brand’s online presence. One of these examples is Sephora, an MNC retailer, focusing on makeup and cosmetic products.

Sephora is a makeup and beauty phenomenon that has now become the mainstay wherever one thinks of cosmetic products. Their outlets are established in a way to elevate a regular shoppers’ experience. Sephora is meticulous in crafting a refined retail experience. Its “anchor tenants” receive experiential retail space that entices shoppers to be a part of the product brands’ narratives. Sephora’s retail spaces are decked with interactive gondolas and stands to millennial-crazed selfies wallscapes, boasting a retail experience unrivalled by its competitors. Adding on, enter any Sephora, and you will be greeted by product-savvy crew members – all equipped with the know-how to understand any shoppers’ needs. These factors lead to personalised individual-centric shopping experiences.

The future of commerce lies in experience

Evidently, with the influence of brand experiences, retailers will have to start incorporating rewarding experiences in their retail shopping and online shopping platforms if they want to make an impression. When the experience in both a brand’s retail stores and its online platform aligns – they can then capitalise the power of both platforms.

One of such experiential brands is WoBo, a smart AI companion and a child of GT Robot Technology. It was given a grand launch in COURTS, Funan, last year which featured a mix of retail and online experiences. COURTS even welcomed a group of WoBos to dance and sing for visitors. Inside the store stood a gondola with a few WoBos to play and talk to. Tablets were also displayed to showcase WoBo’s interactive launch microsite to educate shoppers on its functions. All these retail and online launch materials were weaved together to make learning and having fun with WoBo a seamless experience for children and adults. Overall, WoBo is an example of how SMEs can harness the power of brand experience to create a memorable impact.

While debates have been brewing between brick and mortar retailers and eCommerce, the real underlying issue still lies in brand experience. Consumers are now much pickier. They are more discerning with their choices. For brands to attract long-term customers, it is no longer about what a brand says, but what a brand does that validates it. At Adwright, we aim to strengthen your brand and bring out its potential through branding, marketing, communication or design methods. We place your brand’s experience at the core of everything we do. Call us today on +65 6227 7227 or email enquiry@adwright.com to find out more.

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