INSIGHT
Compelling Chicago
In a world that’s increasingly online where a lot of events are reduced to bite size pieces, what are the most successful brands doing to hold our interest in the physical store? Patience is no longer a virtue. Snapshots, quick stops, flashbacks, 5 sec stories, everything seems to be geared towards better equals faster. Creating a space to linger, getting to know your customer, is that still valuable or even desired? We explore Chicago to discover its experiential side.
The Chicago Roastery - Starbucks Reserve
The awe inspiring sculptural cask is the first thing you notice as you walk it, tying the floors together and raising your gaze up through the floors. A curved escalator wraps around the 17 metre bronze cask making the most of all the views, drawing your attention to all the angles, a dramatic wow feature. The pipes then run from the cask to the coffee bars along the ceiling and encourage you to explore and learn about the art and science of coffee. Three hours later and fully caffeinated, we felt we were now coffee connoisseurs.
AT&T North Michigan Avenue
Tech has taken over…and AT&T’s North Michigan Avenue store encourages you to explore how much fun it can be. Trying out the latest gadgets for vloggers to cyclists to art lovers, there’s something for everyone. The playful decor with its bold colour schemes encourages tactility, play and test. Not only are we immersed in tech, we are recording ourselves more and more. Moving on from static selfie walls, this is the future of retail. People want to be seen living and testing the experience.
Lululemon, Lincoln Park
Could we spend a whole day in Lululemon without getting bored? Stop for a meditation class in between picking up some yoga pants, then have some food, perhaps even a beer. More and more brands like Lululemon are moving towards creating activities for their customers in store - to live and love the brand. Clever design thinking where the reception desk replaces the cash desk makes it feel like a retreat rather than a shop and builds on the experiential expectation from the moment you step in. Unfortunately we didn’t have a day to spend here but suspect it wouldn’t have been difficult to do so.
Lululemon, Lincoln Park - Frame
Tabu
When in America, you clearly have to try Mexican food and we picked Tabu to tick this off our experience list. The interior theme seemed to take inspiration not only from the cuisine but also from the explosion of flavours translating to colour and vibrancy. Usually ceilings are left plain or ignored, but not so in Tabu. Ropes and murals made you look up. A change of pace cleverly carved out spaces with wall panels, lights and colour. Attention to detail right down to the toilets and door knobs truly elevated the experience.
Architectural tour
No trip to a city is quite complete without visiting its architectural sights and there are so many in Chicago that we couldn’t choose and went to all of them via the loop tour. A city’s history is written in its architecture and it connects the visitor to it, something that can only be found uniquely in situ.
In a world where retail is aligning closer to exhibitions and the experimental, it was interesting to watch people react to the famous sights such as the Cloud Gate or the Rookery. Visitors took photos and videos of themselves on location, immersed themselves into the history and into the experience. It’s not enough to view only from a distance, we need to be part of the experience to learn from and to make memories.
While there is definitely an appetite and need for bite size and quick retail and hospitality, the focus has pivoted to making these destinations worth visiting and less transactional. Immersive, experiential and getting to know your customers is still the best way to create brand love.