Design Sojourn

Many brands are seeing the light.

From Nokia, Apple, Levis, Nike, Nintendo, to Bose, Samsung and Sony, companies today understand the power of branding and know that to allow consumer to fully experience their brand they must create an environment where the consumer is surrounded by the brand experience. Nothing does this better than putting the consumer in a direct sales environment or what we commonly call a “Concept Store”.

Within a “Concept Store, a you can fully manage the brand experience from the decor, design of the product placement, the background music, and even the smell! You can now create a truly 360 degree brand experience for your customers.

With a “Concept Store” you are able to filter out the “noise” of your competitors and now have the perfect opportunity to ensure your product is placed in the best possible light. No more have to deal with situations such as getting your product chucked on the floor just because the shared Point of Sales (POS) shelf has run out of space.

Really, this “Concept Store” marketing strategy allows you to build your brand equity in very authentic manner. You might, even sell more product while you are at it! (Notice selling comes at the very end?)

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see that a 120 year old “not for profit” organization is moving in the same direction to that of “for profit” organizations by taking concrete steps of focusing on brand management.

Last night I had the pleasure of being in the company of a number of friends and bloggers, to experience a sneek peek of the official opening (this Sunday) of the National Geographic Flagship store here in Singapore. This is the first in Asia and the second worldwide. The first store was open in London 3 weeks ago.

With National Geographic’s vision to “inspire people to care about the planet”, the shop’s experience is just a wonderful eclectic mix of products from all around the world. From technology products like DSLRs and digital photo frames, to candles, photographs, furniture, stationary and clothing; the store allows the visitor to experience a slice of our rich worldwide cultural heritage right out of the Nat Geo magazine or your cable TV. (Silly me, I forgot to bring my camera and my iPhone photos do not do the shop justice. I’ll see if I can get more photos for you!)

So if you happen to be in Singapore or London, do go and experience the store and all their great in-store activities like their heat loss measuring Arctic room. Enjoy!