Successful brand managers think differently. The best brands act differently, how?
They don't see a one dimensional product to sell, they sell a brand experience.
Here is an example which I read about in Monocle
When Sao Paulo was thinking about how to get people to come to shopping malls...they didn't look at retail management, they thought about what places looked like when people wanted to spend time there.....
They didn't think about the mall as a retail space, they saw it as a space to create a place people wanted to spend time, a place people wanted to visit. The architect says
"I took the best of the hotel, the art gallery, the park and combined them"
I love that approach - they have nature combined in the mall, they even have free tandoms for people to explore the part. The concept is a leisure experience, knowing that when people enjoy going somewhere they will explore.....and that includes the retail environment.
Think about what that offers...it isn't just catering for the shopper but the whole family. It isn't pushing the product, it is creating an experience, it isn't think about what they want to sell but what environment will encourage people to visit....
Social media can help in creating a 3 dimensional experience - the question to ask is what do our consumers enjoy, where do they spend their time when not shopping with us...how can we learn from their lifestyles to incorporate into our brand experience.
