Cutie Con, Cuteness Overload

Cuteness, who can resist it? The cute industry is one that is experiencing exponential growth. It’s quite prevalent that it isn’t going away anytime soon. In NYC alone there are cute retail stores popping up left and right. Line Friends launched the first flagship store in Times Square just two years ago. Smaller brands like Rilakkuma has opted for a pop-up shop while rumors swirl of a flagship retail store located in the Hudson Yards, NYC. Even more recently news broke that Japanese dollar store, Daiso which offers a plethora of cute items will also be making its mark in the New York City area.

Brands are looking to make their mark in NYC capitalizing on the expected population growth of up to 9 million by the year 2040 as reported by NYC. So it’s no wonder the cute industry is in a race to capture the NYC market share. But with all these cute retailers popping up is there any more room in NYC for yet another cute store? Most definitely!

Meet the newest player in the cute market that’s making its splashy debut Summer of 2020. Cutie Con Expo touts that it will attract over 100K in global attendees, influencers, and media while featuring 300+ exhibitors from food, beauty, media, film, books, accessories, fashion, toys, tech and more. In addition to new cute brands launching for the first time at the expo, Cutie Con will also showcase expert speakers in the cute industry.

This new expo is already planning its stay looking to expand overseas within the next five years. There are no specific details yet as to which countries they are looking to target. To date, the expo hasn’t officially announced where it will showcase this massive event but we suspect that it will take place either in Manhattan or Brooklyn. A representative from Cutie Con stated, “We are currently in the planning stages looking for sponsors and locations that can offer at least 125K sq. feet in order to house the event. The goal of Cutie Con is to bring a nostalgic, impactful, and joyous experience to global consumers and give brands an opportunity to network and elevate business endeavors within the cute market.”

So what exactly is the deal behind all things cute? There’s actually scientific evidence that proves cute objects bring feelings of joy to the users, hence so many brands use some sort of cuteness as part of their marketing initiatives. According to Google trends, the worldwide cute interest has exponentially reached its peak and popularity over the last 10 years.

If you’re wondering what else is in store for Cutie Con, we’ll just have to stay tuned to find out what cuteness they will be bringing to NYC. But we’re positive that whatever cuteness they have in store will have us all saying “awww that’s so cute!”

The Brand Experience That No One Talks About

Brand experiences are becoming a critical part of brands but there’s still so much that’s unknown about this concept. Here we want to break down the brand experience that no one talks about. In order to do that we need to start by understanding what exactly is the brand experience. Essentially brand experience is that subjective tangible experience that your customer has when they interact with your brand or products. In simple terms, it’s the way your brand delivers its brand promise.

Brand experience is a cycle that happens when consumers search for products, shop for them, receive service, and finally when they consume your products. That is why the brand experience needs to be consistent whether it’s online or offline. Brand experiences include a multitude of specific sensations, feelings, cognitions, and behavioral responses triggered by a certain brand-related stimulus. Brand stimulus can include a brand’s design and identity (ie: name, logo, signage), packaging, and marketing communications (ie: advertisements, brochures, Web sites).

The challenge is that just like brand awareness there hasn’t been a sure shot standard of measurement that’s been developed yet. But there are some goals that brands have used as a way of measuring brand experience. Some are brand love, brand loyalty, brand community or even through customer engagement and feedback whether it’s on social media, surveys, or offline. Another challenge is that the since brand experiences are subjective, it can vary in the way each consumer experiences your brand. This is where it’s your brand’s responsibility to really get to know who your customer is, not just the demographics of your customer but really painting a picture of who they are.

Here are some examples of brand experience from the perspective of consumers who are using these brands.

American Express

• It’s an interactive experience

• Part of luxury, sophistication, and exclusivity

• Because of sponsoring activities, I feel fun, excitement, and entertainment

W Hotel

• Being part of something fun, happening, and exciting

• It was an amazing feeling to hang out in the lobby

• Service is disappointing

Google

• The search is elegant; it creates a mood of playfulness and curiosity

• I feel happy and proud because I am “smart” and “in-the-know.”

• With Google, I change the way I organize and interact with information

Target

• Shopping experience is very pleasant

• Products are displayed to please the eye

• Many stores are putting in Starbucks for an even more enhanced shopping experience

Disney

• Stimulates my senses

• I feel like a child; I feel warm and safe; I want to discover things; the brand reminds me to use my imagination

• I feel part of the magic

What's Shaping Brand Experiences

Brand experiences have the tremendous responsibility of shaping our brands. Customers today have the deep desire to experience brands and be part of a brand’s journey. They don't want to be only told why a brand is superior. As brands, we need to be deliberate in shaping our brand experiences. It needs to be thoughtful and have the ability to change our customers’ lives.

It’s easy for brands to get lost in their own hype, forgetting that at the end of the day our brand is made up of customers who purchase our products. The question becomes how do we create meaningful experiences? What’s that secret formula to shaping brand experiences that get our customers’ to evoke curiosity?

Connect Emotionally
Emotions are the key to tapping into our customers' desires. It’s also through emotions that we create a bond. Most buying decisions are made on emotions, designing emotional experiences will give brands the ability to create better relationships.

Authentically Transparent
This has been something that’s been drilled over so many times but it’s worth the reminder. Transparency has been a big thing for the millennials. Today it's more prevalent as these millennial parents are raising Gen Z’s in the same way. Consumers want to know what and brands must make the information available in order to retain the trust.

Cross-Functioning Experience
The brand experience isn’t just outward facing to our customers but it also has to be represented in-house. If your employees are not on board with the experience, it becomes harder for them to really deliver that same experience to customers. The brand experience must be demonstrated across all departments whether it’s HR, marketing, sales, operations, etc.

Customer Collabs are Key
We mentioned before that customers want to be part of your brand’s journey, so getting them involved is a great way to also get feedback. For example getting them to participate in a challenge alongside your brand. Think about why Drake’s #inmyfeelings challenge was so wildly popular? It allowed listeners to be part of something that’s real. Who doesn’t have feelings and who doesn’t want to express themselves to be seen and heard?

Cross-Channel Marketing
Gone are the days of utilizing a singular form of marketing. In today’s hyper content-driven world we are consuming content in many various forms. Customers connect with brands through many different medians so brands need to have a 360 approach to how they reach their future customers which includes both online and offline experiences. Whatever channel you choose to express your experiences the one thing to keep in mind is that it must be consistent.

Food Loves Tech, A Fusion of Two Worlds

Today tech is beyond prevalent in what we experience with brands but it was at the recent Food Loves Tech Expo where the fusion of these two worlds collided in a perfect union. Food meet tech, tech meet food. This year we experienced, along with 3,500 other food enthusiasts some innovate brands from SproutsIO, Oatly, Equinox, Bowery Farming, The Honest Bison, Brodo, Real Eats and more.

Brands need to always be creative in how they utilize tech in order to really invite customers to evoke curiosity and engage with them. When it comes to food it’s a very basic need and you normally don’t think of it intertwining with innovative tech. But once it does some really unique brands are born.

Here are some of our favorite experiences:

SproutsIO

Experience a new approach to gardening focused on what you enjoy. Cultivate Personal Produce™ with SproutsIO, an automated indoor growing system. With SproutsIO you’re always growing. Enjoy the benefits of year-round, continuous access to delicious fruits and vegetables cultivated to your taste. Develop flavors that delight your senses and inspire your creativity.

Gotham Greens

Uses technologically advanced, urban greenhouse facilities, located in NYC and Chicago to provide year-round, local supply of premium quality, pesticide-free produce grown with the highest standards of food safety and environmental sustainability.  

Selffee

Uses exclusive technology to create edible food inks to print directly onto food surfaces and beverages to produce a high quality, edible image. They can print directly onto cookies, iced coffee, marshmallows, and more.

Food Loves Tech Expo also featured this year, GE's Connected Kitchen showed how to make the perfect pizza with Chef Duffy, rainbow pasta and Blue Point shared their mission-based beers, like the Good Reef Ale - brewed to help restore NY’s oysters.

The Chobani Incubator also featured some of the most interesting new food brands at this expo such as I Heart Keenwah, Rind, Apiterra Honey and more.

Experiencing Brands: The New Norm

It’s imperative in today’s world that customers are experiencing brands, this is the new norm. Brand experiences are the connective tissue between customer and brand. Customers are no longer just looking for a great product and great pricing, they want to know how your brand’s experience can change their lives.

Creative brand experiences translate into retail as well. Recently Guess partnered with Alibaba to launch its first experiential retail store in Hong Kong. Retailers are relying heavily on the use of technology as many stores have started to decrease the display of products while increasing the use of tablets and high definition screens. Guess isn’t the only retail giant shifting the way customers shop.

In NYC there’s a host of retail trailblazers crafting unique in-store experiences.

Coco-Mat

Ultra lux natural bedding brand offers products made from natural materials but some also Vegan, provide customers with nap time appointments. Customers can book a nap session to try out some of the brand’s most exquisite mattress options.

B8ta

The showroom co-branded with Macy’s offering a slew of tech devices from health to home. The products are on display allowing customers to touch and feel as they please.

Adidas

The fifth avenue store offers juice press to bleachers for customers to watch the games. They also offer customers the opportunity to get customized clothing and an indoor track on the retail floor, where you can get your stride analyzed.

Glossier

Disruptive beauty brand and giant created a theater like showroom allowing customers to sample products using interactive mirrors.

Amazon Books

Offers a collection of print books and as well as product demonstrations from Echos, the Fire TV, e-readers and tech toys.

Lululemon

Creates true tranquility in their store offering customers “zen pods” along with a selection of guided meditation.

In the end, brands who fail to humanize themselves will fail at connecting with customers and risk losing market shares rapidly.