A quick browse through LinkedIn revealed that even amidst the pandemic, job openings for UX specialists remain high. In fact, I've seen this number of vacancies growing for some time now. While this is very positive for the UX field, it makes me wonder: have companies only started to prioritize experience in recent years?
Immediately, I remembered my marketing classes in college, when I learned, studying the ever-relevant Kotler, that profit is intimately linked to consumer well-being. It's nothing new for companies that the experience of their products and services is important. After all, the most solid brands in history have always seen it as a pillar. So what has changed? Is it just the fact that bad experiences now go straight to Twitter and complaint websites?
My restlessness and a good Google search led me to a 2016 article by Kate Kaplan on the Nielsen Norman Group website: “"Brand is experience in the digital age"” . The main idea explains some of the recent buzz around experience in the business world:
“Although branding has existed since people began buying and trading products, its definition has evolved in the Digital Age. Consumers now have a wider range of interaction with companies and more options in product selection. Today, a brand is the holistic sum of customer experiences, comprised of visual, tonal, and behavioral brand components, many of which are shaped by interaction design.”
In addition to recommending reading the article, I also propose shortening the title: Brand is experience. It makes sense to link the two concepts, even though they are often separated in theoretical discussions.
BRAND IS EXPERIENCE
When we conduct research on brand perception, it's very common for respondents to justify liking a particular brand because its product is very good or because its customer service worked when they needed it. Similarly, in research evaluating experiences, many comments relate to the brand's visual appearance or personality. In people's minds, the brand is, does, and speaks, all together and mixed up at the same time.
It's no coincidence that the brands with the best ratings offer incredible experiences. And incredible experiences generally happen with brands that have a strong and well-defined personality, orchestrating the touchpoints of the user journey with consistency – something that only a good synergy between UX and branding can guarantee.
I'll give you an example of a brand that's a benchmark when it comes to consistency: Disney. My inner child still remembers that magical journey, the magic that's in every point of contact, from the movies and cartoons to the park and its rides. A journey full of "WOW" moments, the brand moments, like seeing the characters in the parade up close and getting their autographs.
This reflection confirmed something I've been certain of for some time: the silos between branding and user experience shouldn't exist. Yes, we should have professionals focused on each specialty. However, just as user experience is also the responsibility of the branding area, brand building is also the responsibility of the UX area. I say this with the authority of someone who benefits from this proximity on a daily basis.
INTEGRATION INTO DAILY LIFE
Here at Ana Couto, we're building the ideal customer journey. Insurance Company, We held brainstorming meetings with the organization's Consortium team, which clearly demonstrate this integration. In the project room, filled with post-it notes, business experts and Ana Couto's team asked themselves: how can we make this experience not only better, but also unique to Caixa Seguradora? The result: in addition to identifying more than 70 opportunities for the business and more than 50 for the customer experience, we built 19 improvement projects to create proprietary moments in the customer journey.
Recently, another case that well illustrates the power of the convergence between branding and experience in building a brand moment in the customer journey is the project of Levorin. Although I wasn't directly involved, I'm filled with pride for our team in seeing the creation of an iconic and engaging touchpoint that connects the brand strategy to something tangible in such a natural way.
The question is: is it possible to design an experience without looking at any page of the brand guide? Yes, it is possible. The insights gathered directly from user research are usually sufficient to plan a successful experience. However, there is a risk: an experience that is misaligned with the brand's personality can be easily copied by the competition. And the more competitive the market, the greater the chance that you are creating the next "experience commodity," that is, something that will soon be replicated by other companies.
Want to see a company that exceptionally integrates its brand strategy with its experience strategy? Nubank. Since its inception, they have developed proprietary experiences, and it's clear that their touchpoints have been carefully planned with a focus on the user, but without losing sight of the brand's innovative and irreverent personality. To this day, there has been no shortage of competitors trying to copy them, and what we hear from the end customer is: "Oh! Bank 'X' is doing the same thing as Nubank now.".
Moral of the story: A brand is an experience. And experience can be as much a brand as the logo itself. Integrating branding makes UX work not only deeper, but also more differentiated and assertive. At the end of the day, in addition to easy-to-use and interactive touchpoints, we can create memorable moments, the Brand Moments, true brand assets.
