Buyer Personas: how brands “get personal”

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Holly McKie

~hello again…this blog has moved over to the new HM-2 website…here. Stop by.~

Buyer Personas are the foundation for effective marketing & they make everything so much easier. Consider…the other day a homebuilder friend mentioned how his weekly marketing meeting always included brainstorming ideas for upcoming blog or Facebook posts along with murmurs of “what about Pinterest…”

The Good: they realize the need for content to participate in social media channels. The Slightly Disturbing: the apparent lack of focus and plan to make content meaningful and effectively distributed for buyers. (sigh)

KEY POINT: To create marketing strategy & content that works, you need to begin by returning to the center of what marketing and business is about –The Customer.

“who is our buyer?”

In the home building industry where I spend a lot of time, you hear a lot about the ‘young professional couple‘, ‘young family with kids‘,’ mature family‘ and the ‘empty-nesters‘. Now we also hear about ‘multi-gen‘ where aging parents move-in or 20 to 30 somethings move-back (or never leave-yikes!).

But what do these few words really tell place designers, marketers and other ‘meaning-makers’ in creating product and content that is really valued by customers? These ‘customer descriptors’ are so generic that they are slipped into hundreds of marketing plans for communities across the country and few ever notice that the customer targets never change.

This stereotype approach to buyers is true of too many companies across categories.

THE RESULT: Generic and shallow communications that are meaningful to no one.

what is a buyer persona?

“Buyer Persona: (n) a composite sketch of the real people who buy, or might buy, products like the ones you sell. It should go beyond traditional demographics and delve into behaviors, motivations, likes/dislikes, etc..”

A good buyer persona conveys enough information that designers and writers can create products and content with empathy for the intended buyer – not in terms of being a set of statistics, but as a real-life person. It’s about his or her worldview, not you or your product.

why use buyer personas?

Marketing changed when social media channels (blogs, forums, review sites, Facebook, Twitter etc.) entered the picture and marketing moved to 2-way conversation, rather that broadcasting of messages (more on that here). Now brands are expected to talk with people and be human in what they say & how they say it.

Buyer personas help brands be more personal and authentically address specific needs of specific types of people. They shift marketing efforts away from broadcasting product and company-centric messages and towards providing useful, customer-centric content that a person would actually find valuable.

KEY POINTS: 1) It’s not about the product, it’s about the customer and the relationship. THEN – it’s about the sale and/or the referral. 2) Buyer Personas help you create engagingly relevant content and to know where to promote it.

how to create a buyer persona

STEP 1: Identify Your Most Common Buyers and Potential Buyers

First, take stock of what buyer insights you have and what you are missing. Begin by identifying your key customer segments. Review your current buyer, shopper and other market information. Typically buyer trends in life stage, demographics, motivations and behavior will emerge.

Next, give a descriptive name to each group of key targeted buyers and briefly note life stage, demographics, geography, motivations and other behaviors observed in online forums; through social media; anywhere. Include insights and feedback from sales and customer service in this initial exercise. [NOTE: For real estate developers and homebuilders, geo-demographic reports such as Nielsen’s PRIZM or Experian’s Mosaic can be quite helpful here.]

HINT: Keep in mind that you will need to generate meaningful content and experiences for each buyer persona. Given your marketing capacity, try to realistically narrow your number of buyer personas as much as possible by focusing on the most important customer segments to your business.

STEP 2: Get Up-Close & Personal With Buyers

Now your research becomes more qualitative. Interview customers (preferably who bought within the last 30 to 60 days), prospective customers and if possible prospects that purchased from your competition. The goal is to vet and refine the initial assumptions of Step One and bring greater dimension and insight to each profile.

Interviews. For each buyer persona conduct at least five 30-minutes interviews and more if you can as the larger your sample set, the more credence your data will have. At minimum ask to record the interview and if possible film it. The nuance and emotion of how people answer is very telling.

SOME SAMPLE QUESTIONS FOR BUYER INTERVIEW GUIDE:

The Buyer’s World Beyond What Your Company Does. Basically, the goal here is to discover what their life is about right now. Tell me about a day in your life. What is it like during the week? What about weekends? What is important to you? What would you say are the main challenges you are dealing with at this point? What do find motivating? What trends are influencing them? What are your top 3 favorite things to do?

How The Buyers Life Relates to the Product You Provide. What does [home] mean to you? Here we want a couple of very open-ended questions about the category and/or product you provide. Let them take it wherever they want. THEN – you can add in other product questions if you like.

The Buying Process. What happened on the day you decided to look for a [home or other product ] this? What process did you go through to find potential homes? How did you narrow the options down? What criteria did you use to evaluate the options? How did we fare against the competition by those criteria? What influenced you in purchasing? [NOTE: if you haven’t read “How people really shop”…you should.]

HINT: In this section, we are looking to understand how they shop and where they get their information as it directs where we promote. So, if needed be prepared to ask clarifying questions regarding media, including if they read blogs, forums or are active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or other social networks.

What haven’t I asked you that I should? Probably the best question of them all.

STEP 3: Create Your Buyer Personas.

Analyze the information gathered and craft your buyer personas to be easy to understand and useful. In sharing the personas with designers and marketing teams, consider incorporating buyer video and/or audio from your interviews for greater insight.

FINAL THOUGHT: Everything about your marketing efforts should be tied to personas. They are foundational to brand communication and experience design. Marketing today is personal and about the customer. Brands need to be able to see the world through their buyers’ eyes to be effective and Buyer Personas are the first step.

Thanks for stopping by & to get greater insight into your buyers -Let’s talk. Also, I’d love to hear your perspectives. Weigh in below or catch me on Twitter at @HollyHM2 . Until next time – Cheers!

what creates brand perception | a study of lambert ranch

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Holly McKie

~hello…this blog has moved over to the new HM-2 website…here. Stop by.~

We’ve all had times where we go in with one understanding of a product and after experiencing it further – we completely change our minds. This recently happened to me and got me thinking more about what creates our perception of brands. Enjoy!

context is where brand perception starts

Consider a new residential community that recently opened in Orange County. It is called Lambert Ranch, located in Irvine and developed by The New Home Company.

In that sentence, the two established brands of Orange County and Irvine (if you are familiar with Southern California) are influencing what you think about Lambert Ranch. The New Home Company is a newer brand and unless you know the “who” behind the company, the first impression may be that they create generic and maybe even pre-fab houses. This may form the initial context of the Lambert Ranch brand for many people.

Now, let’s add in what people have been saying about Lambert Ranch. A little time on Google and there is not that much there. A few press releases, a bit of bashing on some housing forums, social networks are rather quiet and the website a touch generic. So that area of influence was rather un-influential.

The Marketing. Most of the outreach effort for Lambert Ranch focused on public relations and email communication. Then there is the banner on the property…right next door to competitor Portola Springs. The homebuilder wisely used tracking URLs in their efforts and I would bet this banner diverted more than a few would-be Portola buyers to wait for Lambert Ranch.

The number of homebuyers visiting Lambert Ranch that grand opening weekend was about 3,000. The New Home Company sold out of their first phases and the activity continues strongly as of the time of this post. So that worked.

experience clarifies perception

I had just left Lambert Ranch which had its official grand opening the weekend before and was absolutely “blown away” by my experience.

“Why did I love that place so much?”

“Because you were expecting another Irvine subdivision” replied a colleague. She was right. From my online sleuthing, I just wasn’t excited to see this community. It felt like another Irvine new home neighborhood opening. Nice entry. Nice Parks. Nice Pool. Nice Homes and somewhat small yards…again.

It is hard to describe experiences as you feel them and they are personal. So some pictures (with MORE on Pinterest)…

Drove up…human sign people at each intersection (√ check). nice gate house (√ check). pavers up the entry road (√ check)…and then it changed.

Lambert Ranch feels like character – but not the type an architect, landscape architect or nature achieves alone. It’s the sum of the nuances that make the total.

Details like –

…the grasses waving in drifts under the mature pepper trees,

…the quiet trail behind the Ranch House (swim & event center),

…the lemons on the trees in front of the Ranch House, when you know this place just opened and the activity everywhere (even the inventive driving felt positive)

…the architecture that deftly conveys timeless authenticity in craft and blends indoor with outdoor life gorgeously.

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...the quiet hum, excitement and freedom of people exploring as they felt they wanted to. Explorations of backyards, balconies, side doors entries are all encouraged. Trap-fencing has been banished and replaced with encouraging hedges that let you escape as you like.

...the legacy trees that were preserved in place mandated using mature plant material in the new area to bring balance.

The result makes the place feel like a neighborhood in an older city – but everything is new.

cosmopolitan irvine?

I’ve been hearing Irvine described as ‘cosmopolitan’ for awhile, but never felt it. Irvine has a very strong brand for me and ‘cosmopolitan’ wasn’t it.

At Lambert Ranch, to hear the different inflection in the voices wandering quietly through the homes and along the streets feels worldly. At one point a man paused unexpectantly in a doorway as his friend called out to him one last detail of an office in a language I couldn’t quite place. When startled by the traffic jam he was causing, he quickly apologized in a local’s English. It was inspiring how he balanced two cultures so gracefully. Cosmopolitan Irvine? Yes.

it is the delivery the builds brand perception & equity

Upon driving out of this place, the brand of ‘Irvine’ and ‘The New Home Company‘ was changed for me. However, the brand of ‘Lambert Ranch‘ had taken a dramatic 180° turn in my mind.

The developer had delivered a story that was much more than another subdivision in Irvine. The story of Lambert Ranch is a story of design. The passion and care to pursue it and the love so many people have for it. It’s similar to the brand of Target, but with homes beginning in the $900,000s – it is obviously not for everyone.

Key Point: What you tell people via advertising may set an initial brand expectation. However, ‘who you are & what you do’ creates sustainable brand perception. Faced with a budget constraint, invest in being great over ‘telling people how great you are’.

FINAL THOUGHT: With 21 homes reserved, the first two phases of Lambert Ranch are sold out. They will be releasing 15 more homes very soon. I asked the sales people, if they believe they have already met the people who will purchase this next release. The answer was the same for all -a quiet smile and polite “yes we have an interest list that’s rather long”.

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Beyond Worth a Visit: Lambert Ranch

More interior & exterior images (that are not as good as a real life visit) – are on Pinterest here. Your thoughts are always appreciated, or let’s connect over on Twitter at @HollyHM2. Until next time…feel free to share and best wishes.

DISCLAIMER: I work in the building industry, but have never worked with The New Home Company or Lambert Ranch in any way. This post was not solicited and simply candid observations.

NEXT TIME: Buyer Personas: how brands ‘get personal” or “where to start to create great content”. (promise)

Great Place | a sexy parking garage where design is the brand

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Holly McKie

Part of “a great place” – a series of engaging spaces for consideration…and perhaps inspiration for the people who build places everyday.

“How much design is too much design?” – the on-going challenge in building any product, including places. At the end of the day, development is a business and a major economic driver with employees, suppliers, contractors and yes – a profit requirement.

Bottom-line- New places need to “pencil” and the art is finding the balance of aesthetic design to financial feasibility. On one side- the “finance guys” don’t like risk & cheaper feels so-less-risky. On the other side- the “marketers” like to sell a product that people will actually find interesting & well…boring or ugly is so-less-sell-able.

That said, at times going beyond the known in design creates a powerful brand that people find engaging and value (think Apple). The Result: premium pricing, faster sales and lower promotion costs.

consider 1111 lincoln road

This much-lauded Miami project by Robert Wennett brings together high-end architecture by Herzog & de Meuron with the lowly parking garage for a mere $65 million (NY times 1/11).

This complete re-imagining of a parking use responds brilliantly to the context of the property. Parking rates here are almost 400% the area average ($4 hour per car) and $12,000 -$15,000 (per event).(NY times 1/11).

design

First a brief recap of the land and the context when acquired in 2005.

The developer’s property (59,889 S.F.) outlined in red
Existing building with Brutalist architecture to remain.
South Beach climate is warm, tropical (with storms) and outdoor living oriented.
Famed pedestrian Lincoln Road outdoor mall almost adjacent to land.
“Quirky zoning regulations in the city made it profitable to build a large garage.” – (NY Times 1-23-11)

The model to the right is of an initial possibility. This less costly – concept may have appeared a great, safe answer to a “finance guy” – which would have been a shame.

Enter Herzog & de Meuron. The architects saw an opportunity. They set out to redefine the parking garage experience into more of a “car salon” with shops, bars, event and housing components.

The massing of the garage was increased to match the existing building. The garage is airy and open responding to the climate and in contrast to the existing building, which brings a certain balance to the overall project. While garage height and cost to build increased significantly, the 255 parking spaces allowed did not. The multi-use programming of the project provides additional revenue streams.

Luckily for the developer, the City redeveloped the block of Lincoln Road adjacent to the property into an extension of the Lincoln Road outdoor mall. That obviously added incredible value & facilitated prime retail into the ground level of both buildings.

brand

Once the decision was made to create a mix-use architectural statement of this caliber and incorporate it into the famed South Beach Lincoln Road lifestyle a brand began to develop of an uber-cool, high-profile international icon capable of attracting high-end leases, selling million+ condos and renting “parking space” for $12-$15K per event. The brand of 1111 Lincoln Road began at the design stage of development.

Promotion. 1111 Lincoln Road garnered international editorial press both online and offline. However the amount of user-generated content online is a huge component of the marketing mix and always focused on design – building the brand of an “uber-cool” design icon. For the truly interesting, social media is powerful.

The developer marketing by TCBC /NY stayed consistent with the brand by visually mimicking the architecture as much as possible and conveying “Modern. Fast. Adaptable. and Sensual.” Intentionally they built brand equity in 11 11 Lincoln Road that supported all uses -“retail, residential, dining and parking experiences”.

On the events. While most of the weddings, wine tastings, private parties and corporate events take place on the 7th floor of the garage, Ferrari used the 5th, 6th & 7th beautifully. Note: the 11 11 brand of high design, modern, fast, and sensual is in the same brand personality space as Ferrari – a strong synergy.

Worth a visit: 1111 lincoln road developer website & HM-2 Pinterest board for more

So do you love it..or not so much? Weigh in below or catch me on twitter at @HollyHM2. [If you would like an invite to Pinterest let me know below or on twitter – always happy to help ;) ] Coming soon…more on Pinterest – 10 million strong & growing.

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Interested in marketing innovation…

Click here to get our new whitepaper ‘3 steps to…marketing a planned community’

the definition of insanity

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Holly McKie

“insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” -Albert Einstein

So why is this the first thing I write in what is supposed to be an inspiring marketing blog on the latest best practices out there?

Well – it’s a bit of tough love if you will. As the building industry cautiously ramps up – things are tenuous at best. We can’t change the economy and demand…but we can stop hanging on to old methodologies and throwing cash out the window – metaphorically speaking.

traditional marketing – used alone – doesn’t work any more.

Traditional Marketing practice “pushes” a message out to targeted consumers with the goal of catching their attention and inciting an action. (Examples: cold-calling, print & on-line advertising, TV & radio advertising, outdoor, direct mail / e-blast to purchased lists and trade shows.) Here a company tells people why they should buy that product now, Now, NOW.

There was an intense shallowness in these customer relationships of the past and this seemed to work more-or-less for years. Until, of course it didn’t…and still doesn’t.

[Interesting Note: the 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer found that over 70% of consumers in the United States feel advertising lies.]

Used alone, traditional marketing’s results were on the decline years ago and it would be insane to again follow only traditional techniques.

Interestingly, I’ve seen traditional “push” marketing [“buy my product”-“buy my product”] used almost exclusively in Facebook posts, Twitter tweets and blogs. It not only doesn’t work there – it actually goes the extra mile and annoys people.

Just because it’s a social media channel – doesn’t mean that’s how it’s being used by companies. Indeed, I’ve been watching a builder with a “social media staff” & a budget PUSH messaging [“Grand opening at __” – “Get a home for only $___” -“Grand Opening Today…”] across social media without a break. It’s like watching a car accident in slow-motion. Painful.

Bottom-line – Using only “push” marketing techniques in isolation should earn a ticket to the asylum. However, integrating traditional techniques into a larger marketing strategy & mix… well that can be downright synergistic.

there are other areas that make me wonder these days

Still not having a defined brand experience strategy, when everything is more transparent and personal than ever before in history. Seriously…many companies just “wing it” .
Still not using analytics and data regularly to improve marketing return and customer experience. Is it really “ok” today to not actively pursue improvement? Do equity partners feel this way?

last word..

Innovation. There are so many opportunities to be remarkably great. The developers and builders that pursue those opportunities will become the next market leaders.

homebuilders are getting social…

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Holly McKie

Last time, we discussed how people use social media channels in real life …AND that by “going with” the culture & purpose of each channel, companies can build valuable relationships, brand equity and ultimately revenue. (click graphic to enlarge)

The following builds on that concept. Enjoy! ———

Below are a few of the brands in real estate that really “get social media” and why they are so engaging. (To find these inspiring examples, the following were reviewed: public builders, 2010 JD Powers listed builders for Southern California and their top regional builders and more.)

some social homebuilders…

LENNAR (National) – Hard to imagine that anyone would deny that Lennar leads in social media for this category. Over 87,000 people ‘Like’ them on Facebook and 94,000 follow on Twitter. However, that’s not why the nation’s 3rd largest homebuilder is listed here (but it sure doesn’t hurt!)

Responsive. Be polite and even gracious. With 94K Twitter followers, Continue reading →

social media – in real life…

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Holly McKie

Perhaps you know someone who shuns social media, but doesn’t really understand what it is they are rejecting. Then there are those who recognize the various social media names – enjoy Facebook perhaps – but they are still a bit fuzzy on what people use the various channels for. They know something interesting is happening… but what is it?

This ‘fuzziness” about what people are really doing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, Focus, YouTube, blogs and now Google+ isn’t limited to your mom.

Companies of all sizes jump into the social space and proceed to “go against the grain with what people are doing there”. It’s like sitting down suddenly at a stranger’s dinner, bringing out a sales presentation for insurance and then later wondering why you didn’t get the result you wanted.

2 reasons to “get” how people use social media

1. Social media offers valuable tools that can enhance your life…not replace it. It can open your world in ways that – inspire, teach, entertain.

When you do get involved, the thing that may surprise you is that in these very tech-driven spaces, most of the experiences feel quite “human”. I say “most” because there are people who will constantly try to sell you something, promise you’ll get “rich while eating pizza” etc.

However, that noise quickly fades into the background as you can tune out- unfollow-unlike as you like, similar to “tivo’ing the commercials”.

2. Social media can get you closer to customers to demonstrate a) who you are and b) why you are relevant. Do this well and you will build valuable brand equity and grow revenue. Consider the recent survey by Forbes Insights that found on average Global Brand Executives now attribute 52% of their brand’s reputation to how “social” it is today.

This is about sitting down to a dinner you were invited to and being an enjoyable guest…who is asked back. Then eventually invited to parties. Hopefully, lots of parties. (yes a metaphor for sales & recommendations)

a candid take on what’s happening

The key objective in the graphic below is to illustrate what’s really going on online, so you can make an informed decision on where you want to spend time and how it may help you. (click here for the pdf)

Key Takeaways for Marketers

For brands hoping to garner attention in the social space, build positive brand equity, and earn additional sales – a couple of key points:

Bring content to the table that fits with what people are really doing on that channel.
Mind the culture, be polite, be positive and above all be “human”. Remember behind almost every word, sound & image is a real life breathing person.

Next Post: Part 2 “Homebuilder are Getting Social” Stay tuned.

What a ‘Brand’ Is and 3 Reasons to Care – Now.

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Holly McKie

One of my favorite homebuilders got a new logo passed down from corporate recently. When proudly asked by the CEO if they liked the “new brand” – they answered yes. No deeper than that.

The slightly depressing reality behind this common story is that what could have been an amazing differentiation for a builder – won’t be. (Indeed, we are in a time when those in the building industry and beyond need to not miss a step, yet many of the steps needed today -never even enter the picture.) So…let’s start with…

what is a ‘brand’?

A Brand – is what people perceive about a product or a company. It’s everything that’s been heard, seen…felt about it. It’s your reputation from yesterday & today. To really get this – a favorite quote:

If you’re not metaphorically “standing in front of your audience” with promotion and people understand, like and/or talk about you positively – that’s worth something to your bottom-line. It’s known as positive brand equity.

However- if when you “leave the room”, the real stories come out and you’re basically looking like a jerk – well no logo is getting you out of that.

3 reasons to care about ‘brand’ – today

Some of you may consider this question a “no-brainer”. Still, Builders, Developers and other companies with millions of dollars in assets go no deeper than a logo, graphic continuity and maybe a surface competitive positioning when considering their brand. 3 reasons to care about your “brand” now:

#1 Your Real Brand Can Move Faster Than Ever Before in History.

Social media has lifted back the curtain on companies and transparency to the public continues to increase.

It used to be that a problem in the sales office- never got past our 10 closest friends. Now we go to our car – briefly “Like” the brand on Facebook and if possible “briefly” post to their wall telling their whole following that they suck. Then onto our wall to tell our 400 friends about it and for good measure we jump onto twitter to yell at them again. This takes us all of 4 minutes. Then we start to calm down, while corporate scrambles to get us to chat privately – or ignores us.

That said, social media also allows brands an interactive voice to build relationships like never before. Here when a “problem” arises, you think “Wow that’s not what ____ is about.” and you get in touch to let them know what’s going on. The heat is lessened in the situation. Sure you’re still pissed, but hopefully the relationship is deeper than just that one salesperson / customer service agent / superintendent.

Bottom-line: Social media communicates your brand in a new, more personal way and can spread directly to your target customer faster than ever before.

#2. Organizational Effectiveness.

Last week, I read an article titled “The 10 Most Hated Jobs” – 2 of them were in marketing.

“2 – Director of Sales and Marketing – … The majority who responded negatively cited a lack of direction from upper management and an absence of room for growth as the main sources of their ire.

10 – Marketing Manager – … respondents in this position most often cited a lack of direction as the primary reason for job dissatisfaction. The most optimistic respondent described it as “tolerable,” and gave it the faintest praise possible by saying, “It’s a job.” (In this labor market, that’s not such a bad thing.)“

These are the folks primarily focused on building brand equity and positive momentum for sales…and their biggest complaint is Lack of Direction. [sigh]

Here’s the question – “How can employees build relationships and demonstrate what their company/community/product brand is about – if no one ever clearly told them what it was about?”

People will try. They will interpret as best they can, but with no framework to refer to, the experience provided will vary for customers. The brand perception is muddled and not worth mentioning.

Bottom-line: It takes an intentional team approach to build a remarkable brand.

#3. Positive Brand Equity is Valuable.

Years ago a gentleman I worked for who is rightfully considered a leader in the community development industry told me you couldn’t build brand equity. It happened naturally – it was earned.

Today, with transparency at an all-time high – if you set your brand equity goals with your team; perform for customers consistently to meet that goal, and openly communicate the real experience as the social space allows like never before– you can build positive brand equity. It will be rightfully earned by the team, and not just a natural occurrence.

Become a truly remarkable brand and the value would be: a predisposition for people to consider your product/service/(–approval); a faster sales process; higher referral rate; lower marketing cost per sale (aka higher ROI) ; competitive differentiation; higher product value. It depends on the team.

Bottom-line: Companies can intentionally build positive brand equity & it’s worth it.

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KEY TAKE-AWAY: When you walk out of the room – what do you want people to say?

At HM-2, we help companies and planned communities clearly define their Brand, engage their teams and intentionally build valuable brand equity. It’s a journey worth taking to get ahead of competitors and excel with customers.

When Surf City becomes NikeTown: 5 lessons in brand experience

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Holly McKie

I may live in one of the most branded towns in the U.S.. Afterall, Huntington Beach threw-down with Santa Cruz to capture the trademark on “Surf City USA” . However – every year about this time, the big guns come to town with the US Open of Surfing and school everyone on brand experience.

It’s about that time again and I find myself thinking back to how well that 9-day experience comes together and plunges everyone into a world of surf – youth culture – freedom – accessibility creativity and lots of products. So what is it that these marketers do so successfully to take physical and virtual participants on this journey?

What follows are a few key take-aways to inspire new approaches to cultivating engaging experiences.

lesson 1 : review positioning

The U.S. Open of Surfing is a respected competition that dates back to 1959. Many might say, “don’t mess with an institution”, but in the late 1990’s the contest had fallen on hard times. The appeal of sitting on the shoreline for hours watching the best surfers in the world compete was limited.

In 2001, International Management Group (IMG) – one of the oldest and largest sports marketing firms – took over. IMG re-positioned the US Open of Surfing as the anchor of a massive beach lifestyle festival featuring several sports (BMX, skateboarding and volleyball), live music, fashion shows and an interactive festival.

This moved the event beyond the hard-core surf enthusiasts and tapped into a larger customer group that embraced the underlying lifestyle and values. Now, Continue reading →

great places and brands connect emotionally. meet replay.

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Holly McKie

“a great place” – a series of engaging spaces for consideration…perhaps inspiration for the people who build spaces everyday.

meet replay

Replay, an Italian denim company, reaches new heights in brand experience in their stores and view them as key to developing & quickly conveying their brand. The company seeks to redefine the traditional concept of a store as a mere “container” Here creating emotional connection is the goal.

And bottom-line what it appears these Florence city-dwellers are craving is a respite to walk peacefully through a forest and explore the timeless Americana-esque goods nestled with the leaves.

The ecological theme of this 3-storey boutique was inspired by the undergrowth of a temperate forest that can be found not far from the city. The stunning two-story vertical garden by Michael Hellgren is joined with a central fireplace, and a moving water wall to embody the basic natural elements of earth, water, air, and fire.

The interiors aim to “evoke industrial archaeology areas where natural materials like wood and iron are transformed by a skilled human hand to create a perfect balance between art, matter and sensorial impact.”

Replay Stores Design Philosophy

“Replay Stores are … based on an awareness of the wide-spread need to experience new emotions and find somewhere reinvigorating… This concept derives from…the relationship between nature, living space & emotions – and the desire to go beyond the classic conception of a store as a simple container where goods are displayed and only quantitative & aesthetic factors are important.”

Key Point: How places are emotionally perceived by people is critical to brand experience. This takes focus and a clear brand strategy.

Worth a Visit: Replay (note: their website is experientially great & corporate profile- really interesting) , Vertical Garden Design (prepare to be amazed.)

This is the first “a great place” series post, to learn more – click here.

HM-2 blog

Marketing Development: Insights for the Building Industry

Category Archives: brand strategy

what creates brand perception | a study of lambert ranch

~hello…this blog has moved over to the new HM-2 website…here. Stop by.~

context is where brand perception starts