With this photo and some corresponding lines, I thought I’d add to the point Rob made on his blog about the importance of attention to detail and subtlety in brand communication, which Converse are doing very well.
UK-based retailer, Ted Baker are also doing a great job at it, at least in its newly opened Singapore shop (their first). This is possibly why I ended up buying a pair of steeply priced jeans there recently. Funny thing is, I didn’t actually think they were overpriced. I felt that paying ‘a little extra’ could be justified despite knowing my mother would have told me they were, had she known.
What really impressed me was that everything in their store, as well as everything about their products seemed well thought through, carefully planned to make a positive difference. And it worked, evidently, because I’m quite a careful spender who would normally deem the price too high by rationalizing (and make Mum proud). Only this time I didn’t. I liked walking around in the store as well, which I can assure you doesn’t happen in a lot of stores. I would like to go back even without any plans on buying anything. Yes, I do realise that last sentence makes me sound like a woman.
Too many brands are forgetting the importance of making positive, long-lasting impressions on us consumers. They care only about getting noticed and are happy by merely entering and hovering in the consumer’s consideration set together with a number of their competitors, thinking this will secure a satisfying size of the pie. But it’s not good enough to be a winner, to rise above the rest. Not in today’s marketplace where brand choice and product parity are increasing exponentially by the day. Logically, there will simply be too many players in the consideration set. The size of the pie each brand gets will shrink proportionately. Advertising has a role to play here, of course, but it’s vital that brand owners pull their weight as well. So well done Ted Baker.
From the wallpapered interior of their fitting rooms to the branded receipt envelope and the little tag on the inside of their/my jeans (which is probably about as much as you want to know about this particular space) it all made a really positive impression on me. It’s all done with the finesse, subtlety and style which ultimately set the brand apart. Are they as good at these things in the UK?
Lastly, I have to say that I won’t believe Rob’s actually bought those Converse shoes he’s talking about until I see them. Because I’ve known him and seen him almost daily for two years and he’s never worn anything but Birkenstocks. Never.
NP
April 25, 2007
Rob?
Rob
April 26, 2007
I have bought them but I won’t wear them until I live in a country that has snow – and even then that isn’t a guarantee.
fredrik sarnblad
April 26, 2007
They may be out of fashion by the time that happens. But then again, would that really matter to you?
lauren
April 26, 2007
i bet those converse are rob’s wedding shoes ‘cos jill wouldn’t let him wear the birkenstocks – and the cons were a compromise… ha!
fredrik sarnblad
April 26, 2007
Lauren, Rob isn’t a man of compromise by any stretch of the imagination (we know that), but on the wedding shoe issue, I think you may just be right. On second thought though, I still think that Rob and Jill want to “be themselves” on that very special day, even if it means Birkies and naked toes.
Rob
April 26, 2007
Can I point out that I will CATEGORICALLY be wearing camo-Birkenstocks when I get married … and not only does Jill know, she encouraged it.
[Then she’ll be in bling-Birkies so there you go!]
fredrik sarnblad
April 26, 2007
The definitive answer.
lauren
April 26, 2007
i happily stand corrected. and although i still think birkenstocks are a dubious choice of shoe in general, i CATEGORICALLY support them as the couture du jour for this particular wedding.
fredrik sarnblad
April 26, 2007
I second that Lauren. Emphatically.
NP
April 26, 2007
Wish I was rich enough to buy shoes JUST IN CASE it snows.
Age
April 29, 2007
I love this post Fredrik. I must admit, in the short while I’ve been hanging out in our little blogging circle, I’ve really developed an eye for noticing (assessing) the “little details” in places/brands. I think it was Rob who first brought it to forefront of my attention when highlighting some similar work with Virgin.
I love it now when I walk into a store (fashion or restaurants in particular) and there are so many subtle yet really effective little pieces of thinking in the most unlikely places. It’s really great, and speaks volumes about how much people care about bringing their brand to life.
I took some friends to Max Brenner chocolate the other week and they were blown away. I loved watching their reactions as they’d never been into a place with so much “brand personality”. I wanted to demonstrate to them what people working in my (our) field really aim to do with our job. It turned having a hot chocolate into an real experience.
fredrik sarnblad
April 29, 2007
Age, your story suggests to me that blogging is improving planning as opposed to killing it, which has been a topic for debate lately.