Customer experiences contribute far more to brand perceptions than advertising, with brands that deliver meaningfully different experiences achieving sustainable growth while commanding pricing power that competitors cannot match.
When Starbucks arrived in suburban neighbourhood in the early 2000s, the purple armchair was more than just a piece of furniture. I vividly remember walking into that first Starbucks and being struck by the immediate sensory experience: the drama of pressurised steam, whipped cream towers atop coffees, and the rich aroma creating an atmosphere unlike anything else in town at the time.
Those purple chairs represented something special: comfortable seating in a 'third space' away from home and work where you could sit with friends for hours, nursing slowly cooling coffees and enjoying good conversation. What made it truly remarkable was the consistency worldwide; whether in Solihull or Santiago, the experience felt comfortingly familiar.
Fast forward two decades, and Starbucks has grown to over 38,000 stores worldwide. But something important has faded along with those iconic purple chairs. Despite rising NPS scores, Starbucks has seen a decline in brand power and uniqueness, leading to disappointing commercial results. As new CEO Brian Niccol recently acknowledged, "There's a shared sense that we have drifted from our core".
This paradox, improving customer satisfaction alongside declining brand strength, raises important questions for businesses. What truly makes a brand strong? And what role does customer experience play in driving long-term growth?
For decades, organisations have invested heavily in advertising to build their brands. Yet research shows experiences matter more than ads ever could. Paid media delivers only 25% of brand-building impact, leaving 75% of brand perceptions accounted for by all other interactions combined. Indeed, direct customer experience and word of mouth typically comprise around half of this (Kantar, 2023).
Download the full paper to learn more about why experience is a primary driver of brand growth along with:
- Difference as the best predictor of a brand’s growth potential, with the evidence to back it up.
- How the strongest brands balance being different with being meaningful, meeting real customer needs in distinctive ways.
- The six elements of Meaningfully Different Experiences
- Measuring experience through the same lens as brand
- The three elements of experience that will help brands thrive
When Starbucks arrived in suburban neighbourhood in the early 2000s, the purple armchair was more than just a piece of furniture. I vividly remember walking into that first Starbucks and being struck by the immediate sensory experience: the drama of pressurised steam, whipped cream towers atop coffees, and the rich aroma creating an atmosphere unlike anything else in town at the time.
Those purple chairs represented something special: comfortable seating in a 'third space' away from home and work where you could sit with friends for hours, nursing slowly cooling coffees and enjoying good conversation. What made it truly remarkable was the consistency worldwide; whether in Solihull or Santiago, the experience felt comfortingly familiar.
Fast forward two decades, and Starbucks has grown to over 38,000 stores worldwide. But something important has faded along with those iconic purple chairs. Despite rising NPS scores, Starbucks has seen a decline in brand power and uniqueness, leading to disappointing commercial results. As new CEO Brian Niccol recently acknowledged, "There's a shared sense that we have drifted from our core".
This paradox, improving customer satisfaction alongside declining brand strength, raises important questions for businesses. What truly makes a brand strong? And what role does customer experience play in driving long-term growth?
Experience as the Primary Driver of Brand Strength
For decades, organisations have invested heavily in advertising to build their brands. Yet research shows experiences matter more than ads ever could. Paid media delivers only 25% of brand-building impact, leaving 75% of brand perceptions accounted for by all other interactions combined. Indeed, direct customer experience and word of mouth typically comprise around half of this (Kantar, 2023).Download the full paper to learn more about why experience is a primary driver of brand growth along with:
- Difference as the best predictor of a brand’s growth potential, with the evidence to back it up.
- How the strongest brands balance being different with being meaningful, meeting real customer needs in distinctive ways.
- The six elements of Meaningfully Different Experiences
- Measuring experience through the same lens as brand
- The three elements of experience that will help brands thrive