In order to achieve my MA degree in Interactive Media at the University of the Arts London, I have written my dissertation about
IS IT POSSIBLE TO TEST IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES IN BRAND MUSEUMS?
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
The focus of this research is to find out the prospects to examine immersive experiences in Brand Museums and study its importance in the current and upcoming economic climate. The main motivation for this project is the emerging brand awareness and its direct involvement with the public. Brands are not only selling products but are cashing upon the opportunity to endorse and educate its customers about the brand’s history and company’s functioning. Such a study is important in order to find a platform for brands to save their time and capital on establishing a brand museum. A cost effective modus operandi is very necessary for new brands keen on venturing into an immersive environment.
Why should this be researched?
“The struggling global economy has created the fiercest competition between brands in decades. Forward thinking brands recognize the importance of differentiating themselves from the competition by creating personal, one-to- one experiences that emotionally connect influencers, buyers, partners and customers directly to their brand,” - Greg Lombardo, Creative Director, Brand Experiences for BRC. (BRC Imagination Arts, 2011)
Seeing the trend of major international brands turning to experience designers to create branded visitor experiences to promote their brands and build stakeholder and customer loyalty.
Hollenbeck, Peters, and Zinkhan (2008, p. 336) explored the concept of theme-and- brand - based attractions that they term the “brand museums” or in some cases more popularly known as ‘factory tours’. Such spaces are characterized by features similar to museums and their ambience, historical ties to an often nostalgically represented past of the brand or a person relevant to the brand, and a seemingly education-related mission. In the emerging stream of themed brand attractions literature, an unusually high level of involvement by consumers is quite evident. ‘Consumers go to themed flagship brand stores not only to purchase products, they go to experience the brand, company, and products. . .’ (Kozinets et al. 2002, p. 18). ‘Consumers even pay admission to brand museums, purchasing the privilege of learning more about the brand, company, and product.’ (Hollenbeck et al. 2008)
Evolution of Retail Environments - illustrates how the intensity of the brand experience increased with time. In terms of experience, technology and expenses. The retail environments are on a continuous pattern, which demonstrates how the focus on the brand experience intensifies, with brand museums offering the most concentrated experience. (Hollenbeck, Peters, and Zinkhan (2008, p. 338))
The research adopted in this dissertation includes the study of diverse literature available on immersive experiences, first hand visiting experiences to major brand museums in Europe, examining technical and usability aspects on site, evaluating design features and analyze user testing procedures. Chief design companies involved in pioneering brand museums have been contacted and valuable data has been presented in the dissertation.
The brand museum specific sites personally visited for this research were
✤Heineken Experience, Amsterdam Netherlands (recent experience)
✤Cadbury World – Birmingham, UK
✤Guinness Storehouse – Dublin, Ireland
✤Jameson Distillery - Dublin, Ireland
✤M&M World – London, UK
✤Whiskey Experience - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Immersive Non-Brand Museums
✤W5 Interactive Discovery Centre – Belfast, N.Ireland & UK
✤Titanic Experience – Belfast, N.Ireland & UK
✤British Music Experience – London, UK
✤Camera Obscura & World of Illusion – Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
The findings from this research provide evidence about various key elements such as design and technical strategies that are required to create successful brand environments. Inputs from design heads have facilitated in providing a pragmatic source of understanding the functioning of a brand museum.
The main conclusions drawn from this study highlight the paradigm of a brand’s hand on the decision making of an immersive environment and limitations of user testing on prototypes and on the contrary offer the customers something innovative. A unified model for testing experiences would not be feasible to construct; but the design progression to create a brand museum is parallel with all brands in the market.
Proposal for solution
A very intense level of research and permission to involve with a company creating brand museums would be mandatory for further study. This dissertation recommends that every brand has its own approach in creating an immersive experience. Cutting edge design and state of the art technology are very much necessary in today’s world to attract customers of all demographics to a brand museum.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you are interested in reading the original dissertation.
