Hamburg, May 2019: Brand experience was the focus of attention in this, the sixth in the series of thought-provoking TRACK Forward lectures. Felix van de Sand, Managing Director of COBE, drew on many eye-opening examples to illustrate how design codes influence the brand experience. “Interfaces tell stories” was his clear message. This makes it all the more important for a brand to present a coherent brand history across all channels.
It became especially exciting when our guest expert gave us some interesting inside stories and described how a product or service can be positioned as a premium brand, for example, by using certain design signals. Consumers learn, however, in the course of a lifetime, how to decipher certain codes. Van de Sand referred to this as “wisdom gained from experience”. Wine in a classic wine glass, for example, is far more likely to be perceived as being of high-quality. The same wine in a water tumbler will probably come over as cheap and mass-produced.
He put it in a nutshell by saying, “Falling in love with a product is not a rational decision”. Most consumer decisions are based on emotional impressions. And it is more crucial and relevant today than ever to establish the right type of brand emotion – and translate this into a coherent brand experience.
After the presentation, the discussion continued well into the evening at a lively reception, accompanied by wine, snacks and music. TRACK Forward aims to provide an inspiring, thought-provoking platform for discussions on topics such as digitalization, latest industry trends, and innovative developments.
