Consumers may find it difficult to navigate the aisles of a grocery store, and trying to find the right product may feel like a game of Where’s Waldo? Consumer purchasing decisions are frequently influenced not by the name of the brand or the price of the product, but by the packaging in which the product […]
Packaging Design: Why Typography Matters For Branding Success Read More »
The bitcoin bubble might be deflating, but that doesn’t mean banks can afford to ignore the larger growth of cryptocurrencies. Even if they’re not the world-changing disruptor that some advocates trumpet, cryptocurrencies at Bitcoincenter are changing the way that consumers think about currency, investment, and the influence of blockchain on our financial system. Customers are
How to Leverage the Notoriety of Cryptocurrencies Read More »
The Financial Brand Forum is one of the most attended banking conferences in North America. It is a leading event globally, as it focuses on current and future trends in banking. This year’s conference, held in May, was attended by more than 2,000 banking professionals, in addition to more than 50 keynote speakers covering all
Digital Transformation Checklist for Banks Read More »
Your product is not your product anymore. Your brand experience is the real product you are selling. The good or service your customers pay for makes up one part of that experience – but increasingly, what makes a brand stand out is something quite different. An immersive experience is one that wows customers and at
Why Retail Brands Need Cross-Functional Thinking Read More »
Seniors are about to take over the world. Between 2025 and 2050, the number of seniors on the planet will double, and for the first time in history, there will be more people over 65 than children under age 5. How this massive demographic change will impact us is not entirely clear, but industries need
What Retirees Need from their Banks Read More »
2016 was the year an unprecedented shift happened in Canada’s demographic make-up: for the first time in recorded history seniors outnumbered people under 14 – and the US is likely to follow suit in the next 5 years. By 2050, seniors who may heed the help of professionals like Burzynski Elder Law, will make up
What Retirees Want from their Banks Read More »
Robots, chatbots, virtual reality, and geofencing are some of the hottest new tech trends that retailers are testing out — but how do you know what’s just a fad and what investment will deliver lasting results? Retailers know they need digital experiences, but at the current pace of change it’s easy to put the cart
How Digital Can Help Employees Deliver Better Service Read More »
The investment in developing a new supermarket design is significant, and the risk is enormous. With most supermarket and grocery chains consisting of thousands of locations, converting to a new concept can be laborious and span many years. On average, most good operators renovate about 5 to 10 percent of their stores per year, putting
What is the Lifespan of a Supermarket Design Concept? Read More »
Getting what you want from your design agency can sometimes feel like a game of Broken Telephone – you think you’re being clear and helpful, the creative team thinks they’re offering solutions that work, but at the end of the day, the final deliverables aren’t quite right and no one knows who is to blame.
Write So Designers Will Listen: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Design Brief Read More »
In the spring of 2018, we conducted an online study as a precursor to a more extensive NXT branch of the future neuroscience and VR study. The goal of this research is to better understand customers’ definition and perceived value of an immersive experience across a wide range of retailers. Fill out the form below
Retail Immersive Experience Defined Read More »
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it makes sense that ugliness should be as well. However, some brands are almost universally regarded as unappealing when compared to competitors. Many of those ugly packages, websites, and environments develop cult followings from loyal customers, much to the frustration of brand managers who pour their
Digital technology has impacted almost every industry in recent years, including the grocery category. You can now use your computer or phone to have someone else pick up your groceries and deliver them to your doorstep. These delivery and shopping services, such as Instacart and AmazonFresh, are meeting a key need for convenience and putting
Helping Customers Navigate Your Grocery Store Read More »
When customers think of your bank, does it have a narrative? Does it stand for something? If not, it may lack a compelling brand story – that means that it’s becoming lost in the competitive financial institution landscape. Not standing out can be a problem, especially when banking is a service that often has a reputation as
Does Your Bank Have a Compelling Brand Story? Read More »
With Amazon Go’s “just walk out” grocery store finally up and running as of January 2018, everyone in the supermarket industry from cashiers to CEOs are watching with bated breath. Is Amazon intending to implement throughout the Whole Foods network? Will other grocers adopt the same strategy? Will governments start taxing and regulating automation with rollouts
Will Your Customers Love or Hate Automation in 2025? Read More »
How far can self-service go? What conceptually is self-service, and what does it have the potential to be? Self-Service Banking Europe 2018 features more than 40 speakers from leading banks and industry experts from around the world. Join SLD president Jean-Pierre Lacroix as he presents on the limits of the channel and examines how banks can get
Self-Service Banking Europe 2018 Read More »
Banks are beginning to recognize that high value customers, if they are to be kept, increasingly demand recognition of their special status. Though this may be irksome to those of us with little more than a mortgage, credit card, and checking account, the reality is that banks are no longer in a position to be
Attracting High Value Customers with a VIP Experience Read More »
Supermarkets are as vulnerable to disruption, competition, and shifting customer needs as any other industry. Staying ahead of new technology and innovative threats like Amazon Go is crucial – but all the gadgets and gimmicks in the world won’t add up to success if your brand is not rooted in a strong, authentic brand story
Telling Exceptional Supermarket Brand Stories Read More »
Products, processes and people: The key to successful branch transformation Advanced self-service capabilities and innovative new business processes are fine and good, but if your employees aren’t buying the concept of tech-driven service delivery, you can be sure they’re not selling it, either. Some never will, but others just need effective tools and training to come up
Bank Customer Experience Summit 2018 Read More »
Maplewave, formerly Master Merchant Systems (MMS), has partnered with Toronto branding and design firm Shikatani Lacroix for a transformative rebrand of the company. To support the reinvention of the MMS brand, Shikatani Lacroix led a process with Maplewave’s company leadership to help develop a new name, logo, website, and cohesive brand experience across all collateral
Shikatani Lacroix Celebrates New Maplewave Transformation Read More »
Banks have been offering ethical funds as part of their investment offerings for some time now. However, the same way that packaged goods companies have been criticized for greenwashing, (using language that suggests environmentally-friendly qualities that a product does not actually possess), banks are also going to find themselves under increasing scrutiny when it comes
Embrace Social Responsibility with New Ethics Standards Read More »
