If you’ve ever played a video game on your Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo, PC, Mac, mobile…you name it, you will certainly have been exposed to fictional brands. Real world product/brand placements in games are increasing, but if it comes across as forced or awkward it won’t...
Let’s say you only have a couple of days in a new country and you want to get the flavor of the place and experience some local culture…what’s the first thing you’re going out of your way to see? Are you heading straight from the...
Imagine, after that stressful day at work you’re finally ready for a relaxing bath with your new favorite cup of herbal tea. The bath salt has colored the water in a purple hue, the temperature of the water feels just right, the tea tastes great...
James wishes everyone a Happy Diwali! Diwali is the “festival of lights” in India and here's the story behind the festivity and celebration. Renowned King Janaka from the Hindu mythology had once asked a sage the source of light for people when the sun set. The sage's...
In a day and age where people are always competing to look newer, younger, fresher, brands are no exception. 2014 was a year of big facelifts, and not just on our favourite celebrities—some of these makeovers were on our favourite brands!
Brands delivering high quality products (a product that does exactly what the company promises it will do) know that this is no longer enough to satisfy a customer and maintain a loyal consumer base. Why?
The retail market today is a highly competitive and fast moving, online shopping has changed consumer culture and is a significant threat to traditional bricks and mortar-shops. Customers are enjoying the convenience of sitting at home and having access to fashion and goods from all over the world at discounted prices. This space is becoming highly competitive and online retail brands require focusing on building a strong and unique brand presence, to differentiate themselves from competitors and encourage long-term customer loyalty. We have the obvious big success stories of online business and brands such as Amazon and Net – A –Porter.
Chanel, one of fashion’s most iconic houses that once only specialized in fine apparel and accessories, today specializes in cosmetics & fragrances alike. Similarly, Ralph Lauren that once only specialized in apparel now also offers linens, beddings and home accessories. In other words, extending from their “core” product offering, these brands ventured into new product categories under the same brand name. Seeming like quite the simple approach, other brands too, such as Ferrari with its caps and perfumes or Mont Blanc with its wallets and belts, adopted this technique, but with little success – why so?
According to Wikipedia, “sound branding (also known as audio branding, music branding, sonic branding, acoustic branding or sonic mnemonics) is the use of sound to reinforce brand identity. Sound branding is increasingly becoming a vehicle for conveying a memorable message to targeted consumers, taking advantage of the powerful memory sense of sound“.
In today’s saturated markets, the process and methodology through which we communicate brands requires constant innovation and evolvement, methods of reaching out to consumers are required to make the brands stand out and communicate effectively. Retail brands have taken efforts and investments in building environments and spaces that inspire and encourage pleasant customer experiences.