The other day as I was walking through the mall doing my Christmas shopping, (err… well I didn’t buy any presents per se, unless presents for myself count) I walked past a Starbucks and an Apple Store. As the huge line deterred me from even walking into these places, even though I could’ve really used a coffee, I realized how both of these stores had built their success on the ideas of design and environment.
Think about it, Starbucks sells coffee, tea and etc. Any coffee snob will tell you that it really isn’t the best and any true barista will rave about how it really isn’t an actual “macchiato.” Yet, they have grown to be one of the largest coffee chains in the world. They basically invented the coffee shop and the need for a $5 cup of coffee. Before them, people just bought their coffee with their breakfast at Denny’s. Starbucks effectively transformed the idea, the environment of a coffee shop, into a commodity.
Now let’s transfer our thinking to Apple. Put any Apple product next to its Windows match and you’ll immediately see how beautiful the design of Apple is and how out of Windows league it is. Apple has been known as being ultra user friendly and of late its been known for its beautiful design aesthetics. This has translated to any Apple Store. Walk into the store and you’ll be greeted with simply tables with iPhones, iPads, Macs and Macbooks.
People think that design and experience aren’t that important but I beg to differ. Experience can take a mediocre product and put it into the elite category. It can be the basis of an entire brand. Experience is a commodity.
Starbucks has began to leverage that. They’ve started to create locations that take into account the community in its design. This is awesome. Nobody wants a cookie cutter store, especially for a corporation as big as Starbucks. The more Starbucks can look less like a corporation, the better.
This article from AdWeek disagreed though. He called it “totally absurd” and said it still wouldn’t help improve the “mediocre coffee.” I agree with the second part of that, but it’s not “totally absurd” for a corporation to try to move away from its cookie cutter design, especially a store who’s created a commodity out of the experience. I feel like his hatred for this idea clouds his judgement, especially since in the next few paragraphs he goes on to talk about how the design is actually quite pleasing.
Something I want to think about for 2014 is how brands can leverage an experience to take their product to the next level. Is there someway that brands can create or suggest an experience that can be associated with their brand?
Bearing the Untold Story. 