(This list is intended only to provide examples of companies operating in this sector, and should not be taken as a recommendation of their services.)
The Edinburgh Consultancy
www.edinburghconsultancy.com
Independent consultancy established in 1991. Known for brand experience projects including work for Coca-Cola and Bacardi.
The Imagination Group
www.imagination.co.uk
Leading brand experience pioneers and specialists, established in 1978, known for groundbreaking projects such as Guinness Storehouse.
Interbrand
www.interbrand.com
WPP-owned branding consultancy, established in 1974, specialising in a unique range of brand-related services and activities.
Yamamoto Moss
www.yamamoto-moss.com
Established in 1979, this American-based company offers expertise to communicate brand messages across a variety of media.
The Brand Experience Lab
www.brandexperiencelab.org
The Brand Experience Lab is an agent of innovation that helps leading companies build and manage the most powerful, integrated brand experiences possible. It was created as a resource for clients and businesses to see and use a showcase of the latest and most groundbreaking technology.
Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University
www.etc.cmu.edu
The University works closely with businesses and agencies to develop the latest artefacts that are intended to entertain, inform, inspire, or otherwise affect an audience/guest/player/participant.
Live Brand Experience Association
www.lbea.org.uk
The Live Brand Experience Association has been formed to maximise the impact of live brand experience as part of the marketing mix. It defines live brand experience as 'a live interaction created to communicate a brand's personality and values'.
Centre for Creative Business
www.ccbusiness.org/home.htm
A joint venture between London Business School and University of the Arts London, this centre was set up to inspire, educate and equip creative industry entrepreneurs, to help 'the best of the best' in building more scalable, profitable and sustainable businesses.
European Centre for the Experience Economy
www.experience-economy.nl
Founded in September 2001 as part of the Prima Vera Research Program of the University of Amsterdam. The centre created a location and network for fundamental academic research on experiences and transformations in their broadest sense, as distinct economic offerings.
Global Brands
www.globalbrands.org
A global partnership of business schools who deal with brand and brand experience research.
Harvard Business School
www.hbs.edu
An excellent archive of brand and business thinking.
Institute for Brand Leadership
www.instituteforbrandleadership.org
The Institute for Brand Leadership is an independent centre for brand education. It was established in 1997 by Alan Bergstrom to promote brand excellence.
Centre for Research in Brand Marketing
www.business.bham.ac.uk
This centre based at Birmingham University Business School is well known for its studies on brands and brand experiences.
Kingston Smith
www.kingstonsmith.co.uk
Regularly produces surveys on media neutral planning and brand experiences.