Brand experiences go through hype cycles like any other marketing strategy.
There was the era of the flagship store, when the likes of Nike, Apple and Topshop blazed a trail of destinations that heightened the shopping experience. Then the pop-up merged brand and retail to provide entertaining, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it occasions to wow customers. Now, we have the metaverse, with all the freedom and creativity of figuring out how to show up in the virtual world.
All these brand experiences still have their roles to play and are continuing to evolve to meet new consumer needs. But alongside them, there’s a new trend emerging that should be given more consideration: the brand home.
These are spaces not purely about the transaction, product or service, or the fleeting Insta Story, but about lifting the hood to show the inner workings of a brand and what it stands for. They offer the chance for the makers of a product and their customers to come together, for a brand to share its stories and values to create deeper connections and loyalty.
In a world where consumers are increasingly wary of brands, and they gravitate to those that represent their own values, brand homes offer a unique opportunity for storytelling and connecting with people in an inherently authentic way. They’re more than retail spaces; they’re destinations that offer social and cultural value. Take the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a French art museum and cultural center sponsored by LVMH with the mission of making art and culture accessible to all.
People are increasingly craving something more from experiences. B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore’s seminal work on the experience economy—the sale of memorable experiences to customers—has shifted to a transformation economy, in which people are looking to spend time in pursuits that enrich their lives. Meeting this demand and offering consumers something beyond a cool photo op should be a priority for brands looking to inspire lifelong loyalty that goes beyond surface-level appreciation of a product.
At the luxury end of the scale, this can look like the full immersion of Hotel Chocolat’s Rabot Hotel in St. Lucia. Its “tree to bar” experience—for example, taking guests on a rainforest tour of its cacao groves—provides guests with full insight into its brand story. Another example is Jaguar Land Rover’s Ice Academy in Sweden, which embraced the country’s frozen lakes to allow visitors to test its cars at their full potential.
