Open Mic is our new blog series where we discuss and explore trends related to digital strategy, brand identity, and digital experiences – to dissect their impact on businesses.
Experiences are the new black for brands these days. With consumers increasingly valuing brand experiences, the days of hard-selling advertising are fading fast. As brands compete to deliver engaging experiences for their customers, the combination of digital interactions and real-life experiences is becoming increasingly more important. In this "Open Mic" session, Julien, Katie, Craig, and Llorch sit down and explore the rise of multidimensional experiences.
Creating Experiences For The Many Dimensions of a Customer
At the crux of multidimensional experiences are great multidimensional brands. These brands go beyond just creating seamless experiences in real life and digitally. They recognize their customers aren't one-dimensional and look to create meaningful experiences for a full spectrum of their needs.
"Peloton does a great job. They've created digital and physical experiences that serve multiple needs for customers. From providing personalized workouts, connecting and creating community, to discovering new music and motivation to reach fitness goals, Peloton has designed its service based on the way their target audience's behavior."
Great brands are built on universal human truths. They are able to build on these truths to create personalized experiences based on customers’ needs.
- Nike - people's desire to be better
- GoFundMe - at some point in our lives, we all need help, and as humans, we like to help
- Bumble - human connection
Although the world lives in the fast lane these days, great brands can deliver new experiences on any platform.
"I love what Bumble did during quarantine. They created these dating benches that were socially distanced to encourage safe human connection."
Demand For Personalization Drives InnovatioN
Long story short, your audience is human; give them a human experience. The fact is that personalization has become a prime driver for a brand's strategy. And as technology continues to advance, companies' ability to collect and analyze data can create personal and "human" experiences across moments, channels, and buying stages.
Creating personal and meaningful experiences across multiple dimensions requires brands to pay attention to their customers' needs and how they use their products. Apple has recently done this by introducing new iMessage sharing features that allow their customers to customize their experiences based on how they interact with their contacts and other products.
In a world where the brands are turning their focus to improving personalization, and 2020's increased demand for digital-first solutions and personalized experience has driven companies to place a greater emphasis on innovation.
A More Connected World
With great difficulty comes great opportunity; as brands continue to face the challenge of their respective industries, they are being forced to innovate and engage with their audience in new ways. To thrive in this new world, brands will use ecosystems to personalize journeys end-to-end.
"I think the advancement of AI will have a major factor in how brands will try to increase personalization across digital touchpoints and real-life. Let's Think about Google Home speakers – it lets me know my schedule each morning and how long it will take to drop my son off at school based on traffic, any meetings I have, and when I get to my car, it automatically provides directions to my son's school."
The improvement in these personalization programs that can navigate the transition from one system to the next creates a more connected world. From our day-to-day routines to how we track our health to sharing our favorite music with friends, these multidimensional brand experiences seamlessly keep their audiences engaged with their products or services in meaningful ways.
"I love how Spotify has a shared playlist feature that allows people to add songs to a playlist. It's an enjoyable way to bring digital into real life. Or how Nike Run Club helps me track my miles, start exercise challenges with friends, informs me when it's time to get new running shoes based on my miles run, and sends me updates about local meet-ups."
The future of brand strategy will be driven by multidimensional experiences that respond to consumers' needs. The global pandemic has created a digital paradox causing brands to redesign their omnichannel experiences at the intersection of the physical and digital world.
