Tweet

Brand differentiation by design

Written by: Steve Cranford

Article Overview: During one recent afternoon, we experienced a demonstration of the power of emotion and the human need for affiliation. By design.

Brand differentiation by design

During one recent afternoon, we experienced a demonstration of the power of emotion and the human need for affiliation. By design.
A visit to our local Starbucks found a line out the door. People waiting while doing their Holiday shopping to buy the new seasonal blend of coffee or a latte, and to enjoy a bit of personal time for themselves. It was obvious this particular Starbucks served as an oasis from the shopping hordes, as every perch point in the place was occupied.
We witnessed the importance of design and environment in framing successful brand/consumer relationships — often of more value than advertising.
Store design is an essential part of a fully integrated brand differentiation strategy and the ability to own the conversation. The goal is to provide a spatial context to generate emotional connections, to demonstrate how a relationship with the brand enhances the life of the consumer. The challenge is to “dimensionalize” the brand — what the brand is, its reputation, point-of-view and aspirations — and use these environmental and sensory touchpoints to support the brand promise you wish to communicate.
Good design supports development of consumer/brand relationships by exposing deeply rooted emotions through shape and color, and latent association with human senses such as smell and sound. There is an opportunity to differentiate a brand by making design, lighting, audio, display, finish and other in-store elements work intelligently to stir consumer emotions at the point-of-sale.
Just as the script of a feature film is critical to box office success, so is store and product design important to effective branding. As any accomplished interior architect or designer will tell us, great design addresses basic human needs, attracting the equivalent of members to a club by projecting inclusion and the opportunity for affiliation.
At Starbucks, a relationship is sold with every latte, an implicit membership to the club. By design.

Related Articles
  The Fear of Differentiation
  The Science of Differentiation
  Differentiation is the Key
  A case for rebranding - catalysts for brand revitalization
  MARKETING ONLINE - GET TRAFFIC TO YOUR BLOG FOREVER

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: 7 Top Blog Design Tips - You can get away with poor design if you have killer content. There's no doubt about it. But, I think at some point you should focus on the design aspect as well. As I said earlier, it can only enhance your blog. I feel there should be a good balance between the content and design.
Re: 7 Top Blog Design Tips - I have seen some very succefful blogs/website, that had traffic and were very popular and their design was the worst you ever seen. I do think the design should look good, but content is still the winner.
Re: Website Optimization - Using Google Optimizer - Does it mean i have to design three different sites, launch them before I will know which design my customers like best
Business Identity - I am myself a fairly new business owner who has been operating a freelance graphic design business from my home studio for about 2 years now. In the last year I have really been wanting to grow my business. I would like to help other trail blazers like myself who are starting up a by offering design of your business identity at a very economical price. Get a professional business logo for $50 (USD). My price includes unlimited concepts and revisions and I work until you are satisfied with the final design. Please contact me for more information and samples of my logo work. Thanks! Tara
Re: 7 Top Blog Design Tips - I only mentioned that the design of a site should be just as important because I personally won't stay at a site very long if the design looks like "crap." I'm not very picky by any means, but it's easy to tell if a site is just thrown together or whether the person took even a small amount of time to make it somewhat appealing. If the site looks horrible, it doesn't matter how good the content is, I'll leave. That's my own personal preference, so when creating my own sites, if I don't like how something looks, I'll change it until I like it. There's a good chance that there's someone else out there that will think close to the same as me. Meaning, if I think it looks appealing, then others out there will too. Hopefully, anyway. Also keep in mind you only have so many seconds to grab their attention, and chances are that they're looking at the overall design of the site before the awesome content.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Basic Operating Question (BOQ) for Empowerment

How To Be A Management Legend

Listen to Your Inner Melody

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.