We are in a time of a revolution… the technology revolution which has fundamentally changed the face of how we live, eat, transact. It is remarkable to witness how things have dramatically changed over the past 20 years. The world is moving faster than ever before, markets are competitive, companies are now more accessible via social networks. Businesses are now forced to have real-time conversations via social channels, customers are expecting responses. But not just any responses, they want human, authentic and engaging responses… they want businesses to have personalities…ones that they can relate to. Why? Because we are in a time where we have shifted from transactions to a need of greater humanization. People are buying from companies that they can trust, who have strong values, corporate mantras and who are contributing to make the world a better place. There is a need for relatability… people want to support and buy from organizations that they can relate to.
ASTOUND is in the business of humanizing brands, creating immersive and engaging experiences. When our clients approach us for work, one of the most important questions we ask them is “what emotion do you want your environment to ignite?”
If you look at the definition of the word human, it is defined as “relating to or characteristics of people or human beings.”
When ASTOUND goes through the creative design process of these physical spaces, we use this as the definition... as our north star. Some of our guiding principles around humanizing brand experiences include the following:
Create Your Persona; you need to define who are you… what is the persona that you want to create. Your brand and environment needs a personality from music, design, color palette and the people that represent your space. You could almost think about it from a characters perspective that you want your brand to represent. From that all of the details could follow; who is this person, what is their mood, what emotions do they associate themselves with, are they introverts or extraverts? These questions will help you imagine a real personality, emotion as you build your brand persona... and from there it will be easier to conceptualize. This is one way to humanize your brand.
Put your back into it; Humanizing your brand means that you open up your company, your culture by inviting customers in. Spend some time understanding what brand humanization would look like for your customers. How does it fit with their culture? Do you have the talent to set up the “soft” side of humanization. What is the dialogue with customers? Do your employees have the freedom, to express themselves? Have you created a safe environment for this?
Engage; to engage with your clients does not just mean to put out good content or experiences alone, it means to capture them, their hearts and minds so they shift from an observer to a participant. In every environment, we a Call To Action, something meaningful that we want customers to take away from, contribute to or participate in.
ASTOUND is an award-winning design & fabrication company that specializes in the delivery of state-of-the-art exhibits, events & environments around the world. We envision, design, engineer, fabricate, construct and bring to life anything you can imagine, and some things you can't.
#ASTOUND #BuildLove
