The following provides a summary of some of the key issues it’s important to consider when developing a more effective experiential approach to products and services
The initial considerations for experiential engagement are not what messages to communicate or what media should carry them. Instead, think about what could make a great brand/consumer 'moment':
- Where would it be?
- What would it involve?
- How would it be staged?
- How would it be remembered?
- How would it be retold?
As mentioned earlier, the experiential design 'agenda' for any business could cover an enormous variety of experiences, from the enhancement of existing communications, products and services at one end to the development of permanent brand places and completely new business ventures at the other.
True engagement with a brand is not just about the experience that is created but, crucially, about what we each make of the experience we have. In this respect, the experiential designer must not only be concerned with the 'creation' and 'content' of a particular experience. But also with the 'context' within which it is to be staged, and the planned 'consequences' - in terms of how it seeks to encourage people to think, feel and behave after the event.
Experiential design requires us to think beyond the 'show, tell and sell' monologue of conventional marketing and consider how we might engage consumers with powerful stories that involve and intrigue them. Stories that enable us to feel greater affinity with the brand and - like all great stories - ones that we can make our own, adapt and pass on to others.
Location-based experiential design needs to be less rooted in a 'build it and they'll come' mentality and more about bringing to life the relevant and compelling propositions, promises and principles that such places stand for. There must be a mind-set that appreciates the difference between building a shopping space and creating a vibrant consumer place.
Experiential design encourages brands to see themselves less as the editors, producers and broadcasters of pre-determined, one-way communication and more as the promoters of an evolving portfolio of shared experiences. The aim is to create experiences that challenge and provoke, to provide buzz, drama, spectacle, inspiration and surprise; experiences that get us communicating with and about the brand.