The Relentless Pursuit of Delight

Key Takeaways:

• Emphasis on Creativity and Detail: Opening an office in Mexico City underscored the importance of creative inspiration and meticulous attention to design details.
• Balance Efficiency with Delight: Brands need to balance speed with the time needed to create delightful customer experiences.
• Curators of Exceptional Experiences: Companies should see themselves as curators of customer experiences, from visual elements to service interactions, aiming for wonderment and delight at each touchpoint.

In February of 2023, we opened an office in Mexico City for several reasons: great creative talent pool, the gateway to LATAM and a city filled with creative inspiration.  As leaders of a brand innovation and design studio, the last point was extremely important to us.  So, Paris and I set off on a Sunday afternoon to explore another neighborhood this great city has to offer, San Angel.  It is an artisan neighborhood with treasures to be found.  As we moved from shop to shop, the creativity was on display.  However, I noticed something else in the background, well designed shops, incredible customer service, and innate sense of attention to detail.  My emotions overflowed that afternoon, and it reminded me of why we do what we do.  We exist to ignite the love affair between brands and consumers.  But what does that mean for us as an agency and for our clients?   It means that love affair must be based on bringing delight to consumers at every point of contact in every way.

There’s much talk about how AI will speed up processes.  How data will enhance performance marketing strategies and tactics.  Some clients are obsessed with fast, effective, and efficient but is it at the detriment of delight?  Great brands understand that it takes time to fine tune a customer experience.  They dedicate themselves to understanding the practical and emotional drivers needed to build great relationships with their audience.  Through a magnified design sense, they go out of their way to find ways to articulate the energy and warmth emanating visually and verbally from the brand.

I’m finding often companies are looking to skip many of these steps in order to get to market sooner rather than later.  However, often, it ends with lackluster results and disappointed consumers.  We forget that what we do is a science but more importantly an art.  Like the artists I encountered in San Angel, Mexico City, we must remind ourselves that creating art takes time, dedication, and a relentless attention to detail.

We should remember we are curators of experiences for our customers.  As a brand studio, the experience could begin with a logo sighting, a retail design, a perfect font and color palette, a tone and voice, taking the time to understand the customer service experience from beginning to end of an interaction, and much more.  Each time, our goal should be to provide a sense of wonderment and delight.  Will this take time? Yes.  Will this result in consumers obsessed with our brand.  Yes.  Will this increase revenue?  Hell yes!  We are all artisans of creativity.  Whether you are focused on strategy, technology, or design;  the product we deliver should be stunning.

I look around and see less stunning and more mediocrity.  All in the name of faster and cheaper.  Yet, the expectations we have for incredible results continue to disappoint.   Where’s the disruption…the surprise…. the elegance…the artistry?

I applaud some brands that dare to take the time to do it right.  Disney spends a significant amount of time on getting it right and making creativity the hero in everything they do.  Louis Vuitton, goes to great lengths to delight their customers and recently have moved from selling products to selling an experience which has resulted in an increase in revenue.

The three-star Michelin restaurant, Le Bernardin has held the Michelin distinction longer than most restaurants because they have not over-reached and launched many other restaurants.  They have stayed true to delivering exceptional meals with incredible service in an amazing environment.  IKEA is not a luxury brand but brings the attention to detail of a luxury brand to their consumers.  Yes, it’s big but it is approachable, with a nod to understand what different segments of the population want (right down to the Swedish meatballs and playrooms) because they take the time to focus on strategic and design creativity.

The Franklin Institute (one of our clients) invested almost 4 years into relaunching the museums brand by focusing on the needs of the museum visitors first and foremost.  They identified unserved segments, create positioning and messaging that went against the typical museum communications.  They created entertaining streaming content and began an overhaul of their exhibits.   This is dedication.  This is artistry.

We should all understand that great results take time.  Fast and cheap will disappoint you and will certainly disappoint consumers.  Push yourselves to an uncomfortable place and put creativity back where it belongs…on a pedestal.

About A&P

A&P, a brand agency, excels in finding innovative ways for clients to provide exceptional experiences to their customers. Their work includes consumer insight, brand innovation, creative development, mobile and technology solutions for global brands such as AT&T, Mini USA, DIRECTV, Newell Rubbermaid, Tenet Healthcare, and Barco Escape. For more information about A&P, visit them on antonioandparis.com.