Recently, Goodyear was able to implement their global rebrand using a prototype store in Australia to unveil its new look. It was the first location to bear the new image across Goodyear’s Australian and Asia Pacific region, and gave Goodyear the clear ability to visualise how their new branding would look like internally and externally when implemented. Such prototype stores are invaluable to companies planning to embark on a national rebrand, and offer myriad benefits.
Revamping the look for your shop has the potential to generate more customer traffic and sales for your business. But before you jump into a complete overhaul, consider testing your ideas with a prototype. Think of the prototype as the first model or template of your fit out.
Whether you have a network of stores or just one or two locations, a prototype is extremely useful. For both big and small businesses, it has the capability to road test ideas before populating it further. After all, you’d want to have a defined idea of what kind of fit out or branding works before plunging headlong across your entire store or network.
A prototype gives your ideas greater chances of success as they are three-dimensional representations of your designs. They also offer you and, if required, your customers the opportunity to understand the concept and refine the end result to accurately suit your objectives.
With a prototype, it’s a walk through, life-size preview of your new concept; an interactive market research laboratory where key answers to attitude, reaction and usage can be known early on – all of which are crucial to success when introducing new elements.
Customers are given the opportunity to trial elements and offer their feedback which is vital in determining if, and how well, your refurbishment will work. This is powerful. Any improvements and adjustments you make based on their input is able to ensure your new fit out directly appeals and engages your end-user.
With the odds of success increased through market testing, and ideas and elements trialled early on, your new look will be more likely to be spot on. Plus, the process of actual rollouts will be more efficient and streamlined. Key learnings encountered during the prototype’s production itself will be useful in reducing cost, or waste. Meanwhile, clearer estimates can be made on the time needed to implement the full and final roll out. It may take you one, two or three prototype stores to get it right, but this could add up to extensive cost savings, with significantly improved return on investment.
The tactile approach of using prototype stores is a worthwhile consideration, especially when it could significantly enhance the success of the shop design, construction and installation.
In the case of Goodyear, their prototype store gave them a model for a complete solution that would help them achieve a unified national rollout of their new shop fit out and brand reimage. It also resulted in increased customer traffic and footfall, a result Goodyear is extremely happy with, especially since it augurs well for the rebrand when it is fully implemented across the entire Goodyear network. View the metamorphosis of the Goodyear prototype store which Programmed implemented here.
To see how you too could benefit from a prototype developed for your next reimage, speak to Programmed.
