16 Nov Shop Talk 360 Panel Discussion Review

Last week KPA attended ShopTalk360’s panel discussion, titled The Value of the Built Environment, Creating and Sustaining Today’s Brand Experience. Moderator and producer, Grace Daly hosted the event at the Hafele America show room with panelists Dedrick Kirkem, Michael Fairclough, Carol Miller, and David Millican, from John Varvatos, Bild/Bildable.com, Bloomingdales, and Chick-Fil-A, respectively.

Panelists’ responses reiterated several themes that are currently driving the brand experience. Among these themes include: personalization with a level of exclusivity, consistent branding and messages, convenience for clients and consumers, and seamless transitions from the Internet to in-person transactions.

Panelists noted the trend of brick and mortar stores incorporating narratives in their design, not just to service the brand and consumers, but also to empower employees as customer service representatives and fans of the brand. Panelists also discussed the need for retailers’ strategies and physical spaces to remain flexible and adaptable as technology disruption continues its upward trend.

Perhaps most notable, however, is the generational influences on traditional consumption. Most often, customers research a product or service prior to ever setting foot in a brick and mortar store. This phenomenon further emphasizes the need for convenience, consistency, and a seamless stream of services from digital to retail experiences.

While KPA values all of these themes, personalization seemed to stand out among the crowd, particularly in what we do. Within the architecture and interior design realms, KPA strives to create a built-in environment that supports our clients’ strategy and branding while also creating an emotional connection based on experiential elements. Our projects create a brand experience that goes above a digital and e-commerce strategies, and prove to drive traffic and sustain increased revenues for our clients.