LOCALITY INSPIRED RETAIL

Ben & Jerrys shared their three-part mission to communicate a localised authentic brand experience in Europe at the Retail Expo.

Speakers, Chris Sherriff and Pete Champion described how Ben and Jerry’s were confronted with the problem of maintaining the brand identity whilst ensuring that their communication was altered to suit difference European cities including Paris, London and Amsterdam.

Whilst the menu and suppliers were localised, in order to connect with the community, exploring location was intrinsic to the design.

The pair detailed how for each location, a moodboard was created to reflect the nuances of each place. For instance, the moodboard for Amsterdam detailed Tulips, Cycling, Stroop Wafels and detailed how storytelling is a big deal for that particular location. These details informed visual direction of the Ben&Jerry’s scoop shops in that location. For example, bike seats were used instead of regular stools.

The moodboard for Paris on the other hand, reflected café culture, creativity and finer details such as the popularity of bakeries within the city. Due to the creative vibe that takes residence within Paris, ‘food as art’ was a theme the brand explored for the scoop shops in that location. This was achieved through Ben & Jerry inspired Mosaics and painting within the shops.

The key insight that makes this case study successful is that for every touch point within the retail space, the consumer is at the heart of every decision made.