Design & Deliver Brand Experience that delight customers - I AM

If you missed our latest finance webinar, Life-Led Banking, exploring how the role of branches have changed within the new model for retail banking –  check out some of the key takeouts here!

The need to re-think and re-design retail bank customer experience is exemplified by the transformation of branches within the mix of channels… This transformation goes across their purpose, their nature, their locations, what customers expect from them and their very raison d’etre in the post-covid landscape

‘Traditional’ banks, due to the impact of digitisation, well before covid-19 were facing two alteratives… Banks can either reduce costs, by shutting stores and concentrate on digital or embrace change and revise the fundamental role of physical spaces.

THE COVID-19 EFFECT: ACCELERATION AND AMPLIFICATION OF THESE OVERARCHING CONSUMER TRENDS AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC

Technology:

IN THE FIRST 2 WEEKS OF UK LOCKDOWN, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SHOPPING ONLINE ROSE TO LEVELS NOT ANTICIPATED FOR 15 YEARS

KEITH WEED, UNILEVER’S CMCO FORCAMPAIGN MAGAZINE, 2020

FINANCE WEBINAR : Life Led Banking Takeouts

If you missed our latest finance webinar, Life-Led Banking, exploring how the role of branches have changed within the new model for retail banking –  check out some of the key takeouts here! The need to re-think and re-design retail bank customer experience is exemplified by the transformation of branches within the mix of channels… This transformation goes across their purpose, their nature,…

In this report, we started to map out the trends that have risen or accelerated during Covid, and analysed how they may impact the future of  restaurant experiences and the food and beverage industry.

What might the new dining experience look like post-Corona?

What are the trends and behaviours that restaurants should consider once lockdown is over ?

How has the pandemic affected consumer habits and what does that mean for restaurants and the F&B market?

You can check out the highlights below, and should you want to view the full PDF report, you can get in touch with Lindsay Tarkian at [email protected]

MOMENTS OF CHANGE : Has Covid-19 accelerated trends in the restaurant world that already existed?

This unprecedented crisis, has transformed the way we approach our daily lives – changing our eating habits with the closures of restaurants. Many restaurant models were already broken. Covid-19 will act as an amplifier for themes driving change previously. It is also bringing some specific new challenges and a long-term legacy.

We’ve gathered these insights in the hope of shedding some light on what the future of restaurants and dining experiences might entail. We hope these various points can support and inspire you amidst this difficult time. Whilst during this period, delivery and online touchpoints are key, we strongly believe that physical restaurant experiences will still have a great role to play. “Moment of Change – Has Covid-19 accelerated trends in the restaurant world that already existed?” report introduces considerations for the future, on how you might adapt your physical experience and customer touchpoints efficiently.

Moments of Change: Restaurant Trends Highlights Post Covid

In this report, we started to map out the trends that have risen or accelerated during Covid, and analysed how they may impact the future of  restaurant experiences and the food and beverage industry. What might the new dining experience look like post-Corona? What are the trends and behaviours that restaurants should consider once lockdown is over ? How has the pandemic affected…

Here we explore the 4 key macro trends that affect every sector and any industry that might be consumer facing. It doesn’t matter whether you are a retailer, bank or hospitality brand, consumers are more self and socially aware, seeking solutions that genuinely benefit their lives and those within the community. From technology, wellbeing to accountability and social reconnection, these macro trends in peoples’  behaviours are affecting how consumers engage, chose and purchase from brands. These trends were already present before the pandemic, but they have since accelerated and become genuine consumer expectations. These leading trends will help forge strong connections with consumers thus, representing the pillars of successful brands.

Tech-solutions and digital integration has permeated across all sectors and industries – as consumers increasingly expect convenience and real time control of their purchases, transactions and various lifestyle needs.

Brands should take note of this change and make it a priority to support healthy lifestyles for consumers, shoppers and employees. Having a “wellbeing strategy” will be a critical differentiator for the foreseeable future.

Consumers are more mindful of what and how they’re buying. They are aiming to reduce food waste, shop more cost consciously and purchase more sustainable options. Brands will need to take this under serious consideration and make this a key part of their offer.

The desire to shop local and support the community is reflected in both the products consumers buy (e.g. locally sourced, artisanal) and the way they shop (e.g. supporting community stores). Brands will need to find ways to connect locally – whether by highlighting local provenance, customising for local needs/ interests or engaging in locally relevant ways.

Exploring global macro trends affecting all sectors

Here we explore the 4 key macro trends that affect every sector and any industry that might be consumer facing. It doesn’t matter whether you are a retailer, bank or hospitality brand, consumers are more self and socially aware, seeking solutions that genuinely benefit their lives and those within the community. From technology, wellbeing to accountability and social reconnection, these macro…

Today’s technological advancements have had an impact on all sectors and it is inevitably shaking up the telecoms industry – from the way customer engage, interact and connect with their telco providers. Below you will find a series of insights that aims to shed some light on consumer behaviour in regard to telco providers as well as the industry overall.

Over 60% of us view being connected and reachable as the most important experience associated with telcoservices.

Telco 2025 insights, Oliver Wyman (2019)

Covid-lense:  

45% of people working at home due to COVID-19 finding it difficult to connect to meetings due to poor internet connection

Moneyexpert.com, 2020

53% of people who attempted to make contact with ISP in last month faced difficulties: A new poll of UK adults has revealed poor levels of customer service from Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the last month (April 2020), due to the impact of COVID-19.

Djs research, 2020

Nutshell: The fundamentals remain largely the same, accessibility and connectivity are a priority, providers should not lose sight of this as technology continues to improve and providers diversify their offering. And let’s not forget, how customer service experience and the approach in managing user issues are vital to customer-retention in this competitive landscape.

49% of respondents nowadays would rather grab a smartphone than a wallet.

Telco 2025 insights, Oliver Wyman (2019)

Covid-lense:

The COVID-19 pandemic has also dramatically accelerated the use of contactless payments, accounting for a whopping 90 per cent of all ‘face to face’ transactions since April 1.

Barclaycard, 2020

Nutshell: This shows the importance of digital wallets and how the integration of zero-touch is becoming a standard in consumer’s lifestyles. Therefore, considering partnerships and collaborations with payment platforms and integration of biometric and security measures are essential.

61% would rather use Google maps than ask a pedestrian for directions

Telco 2025 insights, Oliver Wyman (2019)

Covid-lense:

Since Covid began in March, smartphone & mobile is device that has seen the largest increase in usage, up 70% worldwide (compared to laptop up 40%).

Statista, 2020

Nutshell: Consumers are increasingly leading digitally led lives, creating new habits and comforts that are embedded in connected devices. It is important to acknowledge behavioural insights as they allow telco providers to build successful solutions that are led by consumer lifestyles.

“The telecommunications industry and related verticals will continue to evolve dynamically over the next five years. Boundaries will blur among product categories as a range of industry actors shape customer demand scenarios” – EY, Global telecommunications study: navigating the road to 2020

Disruptors: Consumer Ownership

With the rise of tech companies becoming more than just manufacturers of hardware, customer ownership could be at risk. Especially with millennials and a younger generation that have engaged and become loyal to certain brands – they are likely to see the equipment manufacturers/ tech-led brands as legitimate options for telecom services. (i.e. Apple, Samsung, Google etc.)

Diversification: Decentralized communications

With the availability of new technologies across communication platforms and software, telco providers are seeing the market decentralize and move away from one single provider. In other words, the lines between telecom companies and technology vendors are blurring.

Transparency: Data Security & Privacy

New technology comes with great opportunities as well as emerging security threats. Consumers are fast to learn about hacks and are becoming increasingly aware of the value of their personal data. Setting up the operational and technical innovations are needed to meet customer expectations, but also being able to show the ways in which users are protected will be key to reassure, retain and sign on new customers.

What this means:

Telco providers need to raise their game to retain customer ownership.

Whilst virtual customer relationship is on the rise, telcos may need to start to reconsider their customer experience and journey and their branding – so as to build stronger emotional connections with their customers, the way many leading-tech brands already have. This can be achieved in various ways – through creating a new and improved customer journey, rethinking the brands’ image and USP as well as restructuring its offering to become more agile.

WHAT CONSUMERS WANT FROM TELCO PROVIDERS

Today’s technological advancements have had an impact on all sectors and it is inevitably shaking up the telecoms industry – from the way customer engage, interact and connect with their telco providers. Below you will find a series of insights that aims to shed some light on consumer behaviour in regard to telco providers as well as the industry…

If you missed our latest food & beverage and restaurant webinar, Life-Led Eating Experiences, exploring the future role of dining, and the trends that are forming a radically different picture for tomorrows customer  –  check out some of the key takeouts here!

It’s evident Covid-19 has had a major impact on all sectors and especially in the restaurant and hospitality environment. However, many restaurants were already broken models long before 2020. It’s not only about about the Covid impact, this presentation considers what other deeper changes in consumer behaviour and lifestyle demand a fresh look at what, where and when we eat?

Interested in more Food & Beverage and Restaurant trends & insight? Check out our Wellness in Food & Beverage insight piece.

EATING EXPERIENCES WEBINAR : Life Led Eating Experiences takeouts

If you missed our latest food & beverage and restaurant webinar, Life-Led Eating Experiences, exploring the future role of dining, and the trends that are forming a radically different picture for tomorrows customer  –  check out some of the key takeouts here! It’s evident Covid-19 has had a major impact on all sectors and especially in the restaurant and hospitality environment. However, many…

Even before the global pandemic hit, our world was already undergoing various disruptions. Our lifestyles, along with working practices were evolving, with the retail sector experiencing a significant structural transformation, offices breaking conventional barriers towards more collaborative working and mass-digitisation altering methods of customer engagement and purchase.

The spaces in which we live, work and play were developing into an interconnected, sophisticated infrastructure, which now is challenged and complexified by the pandemic.

Real estate was evolving by increasingly combining multiple sectors and services within one space. From a retailer with café areas, to a co-working office space with a gym and restaurant to a mall with a theme park…. Real estate was being re-imagined, as consumers expectation raised the bar for brick and mortar experiences, blurring the boundaries of different sectors and subsequently, creating the catalyst for urban disruption.

The pandemic has affected the various real estate sectors in different ways. Here we explore what those are.

Offices & Co-working Spaces

Corona disrupted workplaces heavily from a cultural, structural and design perspective.  It is affecting corporate hub location strategies, office design and organisation as well as new employee practices.

A report by MIT in April 2020 confirmed that 34% of Americans who previously commuted to work were staying home. Before COVID-19, the number of remote employees remained at 4%.

Moreover, according to the Savills Global Sentiment Survey of research heads in 31 countries around the world, 84% of respondents expected home working to somewhat increase, the remaining 16% expect it to greatly increase. Supporting this, is Cushman & Wakefield research that has captured more than 2.5 million data points from workers all over the globe in the pre-COVID-19 era and a further 1.7 million data points from more than 50,000 respondents in the current work from home environment – based on this, 73% of the workforce believes companies should embrace some level of working from home.

It is fair to say that office working will come back but not completely; the rise of digital adoption has played a significant role in transforming the way people work, given the flexibility it allows. Moreover, numerous employees have been liberated from time-consuming and expensive commutes, finding more productive ways to use that time. As for organisations, working from home and digitisation has made them realise that they can access new pools of talent without location constraints, embrace innovative workflows and significantly reduce real-estate costs.

Whilst it seems, many have enjoyed ‘working from home’, it is not the case for all. Every company and culture is different, and the ‘WFH’ set up has been propelled by an unprecedented pandemic, thus it is hard to say whether – corporate cultures and communities will dissolve over time without physical communication, and whether the current success of ‘WFH’  has been because people have considered it as temporary. However, the key aspect to note is the role of the office, which caters to human connection, culture and community; these aspects have gained greater importance after the emotional and mental impact of the pandemic.

REAL ESTATE SECTOR INSIGHTS 2020

Even before the global pandemic hit, our world was already undergoing various disruptions. Our lifestyles, along with working practices were evolving, with the retail sector experiencing a significant structural transformation, offices breaking conventional barriers towards more collaborative working and mass-digitisation altering methods of customer engagement and purchase. The spaces in which…

TOWER London is a multi-brand family footwear business stretching back four generations, trading both on and offline. The team at TOWER London contacted I-AM to help modernise their brand and reposition it across the full 360-degree experience.

The first step in the process of creating a unique brand experience was to identify where the brand is currently and understand from the TOWER London team where they aspire the brand to be commercially as well as creatively.

Once the outlook and brand strategy were in place, a full 2D review of the brand placation was carried out and a new brand mark created and applied. The modern brand positioning was then rolled out in a new flagship store design for TOWER’s new London store TOWER119 on Wood Green High Road in advance of their new flagship store in Shoreditch opening in 2015.

The design of the store brings to life London’s urban life and youth culture with the use of a strong, unique palette of blacks, greys and yellows and textures of concrete and re-enforced glass. The space is also home to a custom-made LED-animated screen, an interactive media wall, and a community wall with information on local events and a ‘last chance to buy’ section. The result is a truly differentiated footwear offer to rival the high street giants.

Giorgio Armani wanted to communicate the absolute essence of their brand in three-dimensional format in order to successfully compete in the unforgiving, ultra-competitive retail sector. I-AM were tasked with designing a range of concession retail formats, in a range of host locations, for Giorgio Armani’s cosmetics and fragrances.

Working closely with the team at L’Oréal, I-AM developed a set of distinctive visual elements and design language to reflect the qualities of the Giorgio Armani brand. I-AM visualised solutions for each location, detailed these for construction and implemented them.

The work enabled Giorgio Armani to establish its position at the ‘prestige’ end of cosmetics and fragrance sector and to deliver strong sales performance. Through their simple yet distinctive design, the sites stand out among the confusion of department-store beauty halls.

What we did

I-AM was selected by Deloitte Digital to curate and design a pop-up concept store for their client Eastpak – the global back-pack brand.

The pop-up concept brief was to test digital browsing and shopping within a real store environment with little product on display against the traditional store aesthetic.

In addition I-AM was tasked with creating an experience befitting the young Shoreditch urbanite. A market fully immersed with the latest experiences, technology and pop-up concepts. Our creation had to be enticing enough to draw their interest.

BOP is a real-estate agent based in Noida, just outside of Delhi. They came to I-AM in need of a total makeover of their brand.

Trading since 1994, Isherwoods have become the leading estate agent in the upper up-market sector. They are known for their ‘Select Cheltenham Lettings’, with a particular strength in the urban areas of Cheltenham, particularly the Montpellier and Landsdown areas.

Originally, I-AM were asked to create a new brand identity and environment design for the Montpellier office. The new office reflects Isherwoods’ local knowledge of the Montpellier area and is a physical manifestation of the customer-focused values they hold dear.