Hallmarks and Rituals
JOURNAL
As creative, fun and exciting to uncover and create, as they are significant in creating a memorable, meaningful brand experience.
Dr Angelou’s philosophy is wholeheartedly evocative of our approach and ethos to building a living, feeling brand. Brand rituals and hallmarks form an essential centrepiece to the work and are as creative, fun and exciting to uncover and create as they are significant in leaving a memorable, meaningful lasting impression.
Think about it - in our day to day life, rituals are comforting and familiar, they give continuity, connectivity and belonging. Rituals give our experiences depth and meaning and in the life of a brand it’s no different, propelling its purpose and positioning into experience. Branding, after all, is about bringing to mind specific attributes that are desired and then curated. Thus rituals and hallmarks are the tangible actions that facilitate connection, the sense of a living, feeling brand.
Crafting a compelling and memorable brand experience doesn’t have to be complicated or operationally challenging. It involves being human, recognition of where the customer is in their journey, how they’re engaging with the brand, and anticipating their needs and desires, going on to surprise and delight them along the way.
Of course, rituals and hallmarks aren’t one dimensional, nor can they effectively be set and forget, or one size fits all across all touch-points.
We believe the richer the narrative, the more opportunity to add layers and intricacy to moments by including vivid, meaningful sensory elements.
The more purposeful, the more they subsequently are evocative. The more embraced across a business, internally and externally, the more powerfully embedded they become.
A beautiful example is our work with hotels, whose focus often goes far beyond simply providing a bed for the night but a place to create memories. It means the kids club is no longer just a room for parents to put the kids whilst they enjoy a signature cocktail by the pool; but a place to enrich their stay by trying their hands at a local craft or indigenous recipe. That well earned spa treatment isn’t a generic concoction dreamt up in a head-office 5,000 miles away but a holistic unique blend of ingredients grown locally and in-turn sustainable. The house hosts eager to share the secrets of local area and for you to discover the cuisine.
Another great example of a brand who gets it is Dishoom. A homage to the old Irani cafes of Bombay, it’s a restaurant experience like no other. Yes the food is second to none (the bacon naan roll is to die for!) but it’s so much more than this, so much more. The beautiful smell of incense as you step in the door, the genuine warmth of the hosts as they welcome you, the carefully curated vintage decor. The light, the sound, the taste, each touch writing an evocative line in the story.
One of the best things about brand hallmarks and rituals is the most powerful, memorable moments don’t have to cost the earth. They rely on creativity and thoughtfulness and considered attention. They need only be a hint or a glimpse of the brand story. They’re about enrichment and about doubling down. They’re about realising that for just one, not insignificant moment, your guests have trusted you to help write a special occasion or chapter in their life journey.
If we sparked a thought with this journal, we’d love to hear from you.
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