While I have never had much patience for those who proposed opening a flagship store because no retailer wanted to stock all the product, I do believe that in our age of media-fragmentation a flagship is becoming a must consider for every major brand.
So, here are seven thoughts I’ve started picking up when running retail and marketing for Reebok and have refined over the years.
Start with the story.
Flagships are tactile story-telling machines that provide a three-dimensional picture of your brand and the essence of what it stands for. This means that before you even start briefing the architect you need to be able to tell this story in a way that excites your friends, parents and children.
Think beyond the walls
Architects have a tendency to think in bricks and mortar, yet there is no reason that your story should limit itself to the physical world. Look at it as an opportunity to reach out to your customers. Extend it to the internet, build communities, invite consumers to co-develop and shape your environment.
Be Bold
Real flagships are “larger than life”. At Reebok, we helped construct a complete football stadium, Apple’s 5th Avenue store is open 365/24, and Mercedes’ € 150 million museum is both an architectural as well as a branding feat of monumental proportions. If you don’t make the CFO nervous, you’re thinking too small.
Don’t forget the actors
The world of flagships is a stage, and for everyone visiting the facility the people that work there are your brand. That’s why you should approach them with both the respect as the discipline of a Broadway director. Ensure your story has a script and that every actor plays it to perfection.
Don’t forget business sense.
Opening a flagship is easy, yet making it successful is the hard part. Plan your flagship business as if subsidies don’t exist. Collect entrance fees, sell souvenirs, rent out facilities, sell media value to the marketing department. In short, stay true to the brand, yet run things like a business, not just a shop-window.
Get Support to Be Single-minded
When it comes to flagships, everyone is an architect. Get a senior level support to make sure you can avoid “design by committee” and ensure a pure expression of the brand. Yet never forget who’s bankrolling you … if the C-man asks whether that wall can be in blue, find a way to make it happen.
Break Ground as Quickly as Possible
As long as the bulldozers haven’t broken the ground, your project is at risk. A bad quarter can make people look for “quick wins” and flagships are easy prey as long as they are only maquettes. However, psychology ensures that once the masons go to work, things usually keep going.
And above all, don’t forget to have fun. Flagships are a celebration of your brand. If they become a drag to build, those who visit them will eventually notice.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnemo/152657928/
