experience matters

Celia Jones | Critical Mass Chicago

A couple weeks ago, I was returning home from a business trip and came across this scene at a gate in the United concourse of O’Hare.  I took note not only because United is a Critical Mass client, but also because of the brilliantly simple idea behind this display.

To promote their Economy Plus offering, they placed a couple of airplane seats in the gate and invited the captive audience of travelers to sit in the seats and feel the difference for themselves. Rather than a just battery of signage touting the benefits of extra legroom (the message), passengers could test out the seats, kick back with a magazine or set up their virtual office for a half-hour of extra productivity before boarding the plane (the experience).

Beyond those stretched out in the chairs, passers-by could observe these real people, relaxed and comfortable—quite a contrast to the typical airport image of crabby passengers stuffing themselves into cramped quarters, whether at the gate or worse, on the plane. Observers could log this “warm and fuzzy” scene, tucking it away into their memories until the next time they booked a trip online and maybe, just maybe, they might chip in the extra fee for the increased comfort and productivity.

The Economy Plus seating display is a great example of how the ability to “see, touch and feel” the benefits of a product or service can actually lead someone to purchase it.  The interplay between the message and the experience is a powerful combination—a “one-two” punch in terms of reaching consumers and driving them to a desired action.

Now translate that dynamic to the digital space. Digital, by its nature, invites interactivity. Touch screen technologies, devices like the iPhone and iPad, and augmented reality have added a layer of sensory sizzle to consumers’ experience of brands. Now more than ever, we can design experiences that mirror the “see, touch and feel” interaction that previously could only be achieved in person, in real-life.

Harnessing the power of this technology as a complement or wrapper to your message can be the difference between merely encouraging engagement and compelling action.

There are an abundance of amazing augmented reality apps that provide utility, like public transit apps that help ease the stress of commuting or travel apps that provide useful data about points of interest, but the use of these technologies in the retail space are especially compelling due to their ability to drive not only engagement but actual dollars through the door.

Being able to solve a customer’s pain point during the shopping experience is a sure-fire way to convert them into a sale. We’ve already covered great examples of retail environments using augmented reality to drive sales in our post on the LEGO POP display that enables shoppers to see exactly what the product would look like fully built. Another example often cited is the Zugara Webcam Social Shopper, which uses motion-capture technology to create a virtual dressing room in which you can see how clothes would actually look on you.

The application eliminates the pain of visualizing which color or style of shirt would look best, and gives the shopper the next best thing to holding up the sample to their body in person. As the application gets better and better, pain points like finding the right fit for your body type are surely next on the list to be solved.

The promise of these emerging technologies in the retail space (and beyond) is truly endless. And as we move forward, the interplay between the message and the experience will be more important than ever. At the end of the day, it’s also important to remember that we’re designing experiences for people and that sometimes the good old-fashioned ability to “see, feel and touch” your brand, product or service—whether in person or virtually—just may remove a barrier that leads them to buy.

Celia is the Marketing Director for Critical Mass globally, with a desk in our Chicago office.