The Story

I recently bought concert tickets for my current favorite band (the Foo Fighters-I’m absolutely obsessed!) and it was by far the most exciting part of my day - heck, of my whole week! It got me thinking - do I ever get this excited about banking? (answer: no.)
I got an email allowing […]

You know who has a strong brand? Birkenstock. Do you know how you can tell? Because there is absolutely no way in hell that I would ever wear a pair. Consumer indifference kills brands. Luckily for Birkenstock, there is no indifference here. No way am I donning those dorky […]

“What Flavor is Your Bank?” is the fourth article in a five-part series about using multi-sensory marketing and experiential branding in the banking industry. The articles were authored by CBC’s Jeff Stephens for ABA’s Bank Marketing magazine, which is running the series during this fall/winter.
Branding With All Five Senses
Part four of a 5-part Series on […]

A lot of banks claim to offer community support, but recently I came across a bank that really delivers on this promise. I first noticed Albina Community Bank’s presence in a few restaurant and shops on NE Fremont Street in Portland. These local establishments were displaying “certificates” on their walls that acknowledged their presence as […]

Have you been to Anthropologie? If not, visit one, at least to experience the store. This brand knows how to create the quintessential multi-sensory experience – one which gets women to pay an extraordinary mark-up for not-so-extraordinary clothing. Let’s take a look at how they accomplish this:
When you step into an Anthropologie, […]

I listened to a recent presidential debate on NPR and heard an excellent jab from one of the presidential candidates (which will go nameless to spare me from showing my favored party lines) claiming the rival candidate should “sell the cereal and not the box.”
My translation of the jab is that the candidate was painting […]

As a way to create a more engaging, interactive and creative way for consumers to experience brands, stores and events, expect to see more “blog bars” (computer terminals which give the public the ability to post in real time and on location) to pop up in such settings. Consumers will have the opportunity to post […]

“Setting the Tone” is the third article in a five-part series about using multi-sensory marketing and experiential branding in the banking industry. The articles were authored by CBC’s Jeff Stephens for ABA’s Bank Marketing magazine, which is running the series during this fall/winter.
Branding With All Five Senses
Part three of a 5-part Series on Multi-Sensory […]

I recently had an experience with a business who’s sign was a bit ambiguous - I couldn’t tell what the name was because of an unclear font. I think it was a design choice - the first letter and the last letter are the same, just inverted - so it’s cool from a design […]