- ELEVATE CONNECT
- 27, NOVEMBER 2019
How to Use Storytelling to Craft a Brand Experience (Elevate Connect)
Key Takeaways
- Brand storytelling is a powerful tool when it comes to iterating a company’s purpose, mission, and values. It is also a key element in designing an impactful brand experience.
- The popular Color Factory is seeking new frontiers to stay ahead in the “pop-up arms race” by investing seven figures in a new Texas location.
- Think a 4-day work week sounds good? Well, according to Microsoft’s Japan office, it also boosts productivity by 40%.
Event Storytelling: How to Use the Art of Narrative to Craft an Event
Storytelling has been a part of the human experience since the dawn of time. And studies have shown that the brain retains information better when it’s delivered in a narrative. A story can change the way a person thinks and feels. It can drive them to action. This is why Sparks agency believes, “event storytelling is a perfect opportunity for brands to use narrative to create a memorable and cohesive experience for their attendees.”
When an experiential event takes attendees on an emotional journey and offers touchpoints that support the activation’s theme, it is better able to deliver key messaging. Sparks encourages event organizers to invite attendees to be a part of the story through technology and multi-sensory strategies, and to remember that stories should be shared. Check out how brands like Airbnb and Spotify amplify their brand story through live experiences.
Behind Color Factory, One of the Photogenic Pop-Ups Trying to Conquer the Experience Economy
To get ahead in what The Verge is calling the “pop-up arms race,” the popular Color Factory has touched down in Houston. While other big-name pop-up producers have yet to lay claim in Texas, the Color Factory is seeking to “own the South” with a new 22,000 square foot space that cost seven figures to build.
Tina Malhotra, chief experience officer at the Color Factory, tells The Verge how important it is to “human-proof” spaces because “if they can touch it, they will.” Her team focuses on making the interactive pop-up a true experience, rather than just calling it one.
Read more to see how Color Factory is installing cameras, maintenance machines, and other secrets to out-experience the competition.
Four-Day Work Week Boosted Productivity by 40%, Microsoft Japan Experiment Shows
Microsoft’s Japan branch conducted a rare corporate experiment to test the impact and outcomes of a four-day work system. The shortened work week is especially unusual in a culture known for a stringent approach to work that celebrates overtime.
In the experiment, not only was a full day cut out of worker’s routines, but management also asked employees to avoid scheduling long meetings and encouraged them to use chat instead of email. The test resulted in a 40% improvement in productivity and reached 92% employee favorability. If Japan’s more extreme corporate culture can succeed with 4-days-a-week, the possibilities for the rest of the world may be endless.
Why Olympics Branding Is Such a Challenge
Although the summer Olympics will be in Tokyo next year, the logo design for Paris’ 2024 games was recently unveiled. The image paid homage to the famed allegory of liberty, (Marianne, France’s national symbol) and incorporated an abstract look that included a flame and feminine features. The reveal received a lot of attention – and not all was positive.
Adweek discussed the new logo with design professional Joe Stewart and explored what makes a good logo design. Click here to learn more about Stewart’s thoughts around what makes a great Olympic logo and why it’s nearly impossible to create anything that is universally liked.
Optimizing Human Flow: Rethinking Retail with Data and Experiential Marketing
The author of a Retail Customer Experience blog post posed a question: “What if you could create the perfect retail experience of the future for consumers and brands alike, sparing no expense? What would the consumer experience feel like?” When given this proposition, most marketers would likely include advanced tech, knowledgeable brand ambassadors, and a beautiful strategically designed space at the top of their lists.
It turns out that this idealized store of the future is very much alive and well in the present. Many brands are achieving this experience of the future with an experiential retail approach. When retailers allow themselves to let go of the “sales-per-square-foot” metric and focus on the commodity of human connection, their stores will flourish. Read more about what it takes to design the perfect store in 2019.
Patagonia’s Boulder Location Transforms into Used Clothing ‘Pop-up Shop’
Outdoor retailer Patagonia is known for having a bold culture and the utmost in corporate aspirations. In fact, in 2018, founder Yvon Chouinard declared that Patagonia is not just a retailer – the company is in business “to save our home planet.” And this is not lip service. The brand has always been ahead of the game when it comes to sustainable business practices and environmental activism. Not only does a portion of their proceeds go directly to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment, but many of their fabrics are made from recycled materials.
The brand’s latest pop-up effort in Boulder, Colorado is clearly on-brand. Often pop-up retail shops offer exclusive, brand new, limited edition merch. But Patagonia’s Worn Wear space offers used clothing and sewing machines, so visitors can repair old clothing items whether they are Patagonia-branded or not. Check out more features of the thoughtful pop-up here.
Getting Your Team to Do More Than Meet Deadlines
Why is that when we have loads of work, we tend to tackle the tedious tasks first rather than those that are significant? This phenomenon is the “mere urgency effect” and it points out that, when we feel busy, we are more likely to favor urgent, unimportant tasks. The busier we are, the less time we efficiently prioritize an important task over a frivolous one. And in the end, sometimes important items are put off and never get done.
Harvard Business Review offers a simple solution – set aside dedicated time every day for important tasks. Read more to learn how researchers tested the theory with an agency’s 46 full-time employees – but only if you don’t have a more important task to do.
What Is the House of BTS? Inside Seoul’s Colorful BTS Pop-Up Shop
In case you haven’t heard, BTS is a seven-member South Korean boy band that has achieved fandemonium levels to rival “Beatlemania.” Despite the language barrier, the band has fans all over the world, and the House of BTS is its home base.
The group’s official pop-up in Seoul contains elaborate photo ops, exclusive merch, and an area where fans can dance with band members using AR technology. And the pop-up has plans to visit other cities across the globe. The popularity and success of the House of BTS is likely to spawn other pop-up experiences that are dedicated to music artists. Check out what fans were willing to do to get a chance to experience the limited-time pop-up here.
