This past week, the Kaleidoscope team attended the Brand Experience Live conference in Bonita Springs, Florida. A healthy dose of Vitamin D wasn’t the only takeaway. Delivering consistent brand experiences for consumers, “the attention economy,” and purpose driven innovation; these trends and more offered a thought-provoking line-up that will help us better serve our clients. Here are our key takeaways.

1. Don’t Expect Forgiveness From Your Consumers

The importance of a consistent brand-experience has never been more important and shoppers are less forgiving than ever. If the experience is inconsistent they will move on as they strive to eliminate negative experiences. This pattern of behavior enforces the need for a consistent omni-channel experience. This, however, does not mean the same experience across all channels. Customers are looking for tailored messaging and interactions depending on the moment and device in which they are interacting with your brand. No matter the interaction, brands that are winning are recognizable regardless of the format.

2. Importance of Experience in Retail 

While brick and mortar shops are closing across the globe, there is one industry that has been unaffected by the conveniency of online shopping: the beauty industry. This industry has recognized the importance of a captivating experience and has capitalized on this consumer insight by transforming their stores into a playground of sorts. No one does this better than Sephora. By encouraging trial, and educating and inspiring without being constrained to one certain brand, the retailer has disrupted the way people shop for beauty. Retail is not dead, but mediocre retail is.

“While you can’t be relevant to all audiences, if you tailor your approach to be truly advantageous and personable to your core consumer base – you will cut through the clutter.”

3. Attention is the scarcest resource 

Welcome to the attention economy! Your customers’ attention spans are the scarcest resource in 2018. The explosion of information at our fingertips has led to the ultimate battle for attention. This situation may encourage you to scream louder or more frequently, but that is not the answer. Get to know your consumer base. While you can’t be relevant to all audiences, if you tailor your approach to make content truly relevant, advantageous and personable to your core consumer base – you will cut through the clutter.

4. How Your Brand Purpose Can Inspire Innovation

People are inspired and motivated to innovate when they embrace a meaningful idea. At an organizational level, this is often the “why” behind the organization. Why does your company exist? The answer is not to push out a certain product, increase sales, and turning those sales into profit. A compelling purpose addresses how your product/service betters your consumers’ lives by servicing an unmet need. A purpose beyond profit elevates the imagination of people across the organization. This ultimately leads to more relevant and compelling ideas that are focussed on the outcome of the solution, with the consumer at the forefront, rather than arbitrary line extensions or product launches.

Thanks to BXP for hosting another great conference. We can’t wait for next year!