Designing Brand-Focused Family Experiences

Uncommon experiences break through the noise and meaningfully connect with people. Consumers’ appetites are changing, and forward-thinking retail brands are creating instore experiences to adapt to those changes and satisfy those appetites, creating key differentiation for themselves in the process.

“Experience is the new marketing currency, with the customer experience poised to be the main competitive differentiator. It’s time for organizations to turn their attention to return on experience.” – The Wall Street Journal

Adventure Design Studio (ADS) specializes in designing brand-focused family experiences. The studio is using the power of design to create unique experiences families with kids love. Young parents crave unique experiences to share with their children. To get this right takes a deep understanding of market analysis and comprehension of what motivates and drives parents to purchase experiences. ADS believes that by strengthening families through shared experiences they can build stronger families and stronger communities.

Adventure Design Studio is a team of experience designers and child development experts that create family-focused experiences for brands.

We had the opportunity to talk to Janelle Schroy, co-founder of Adventure Design Studio and the Adventure Clubs mobile app and author of , to learn more about this opportunity for brands and how it can help grow a customer base, social media engagements and a bottom line. Janelle shared a few stories of the brands they’ve worked with and the results they’ve achieved.

“Shopping is no longer a battle of price and convenience. It’s a race to create something customers can touch and feel.”- Janelle Schroy

Building an Individual Experience with Pottery Barn Kids

The Pottery Barn Kids store is so beautiful, casual and comfortable that kids might feel they are in a dream home, then immediately want the same style in their own house. ADS worked to create a unique individual experience. The idea was to provide kids the opportunity to play the role of an interior designer while their parents shop. Children receive a stand-up design board, a PBK magazine, scissors and glue. They are invited to explore the store in search of trending colors, styles and themes. Once they decide on their dream style, they can go wild arranging their dream house on their design board using cutouts from their PBK magazine. When finished, they are encouraged to share them with store designers and post them on social media using the company’s hashtags and social media handles.

“When customers identify with a brand emotionally, they’re more willing to purchase, even when the brand isn’t the least expensive or most convenient.”- Janelle Schroy

Designing an Inclusive Group Experience with the San Diego City Ballet

ADS works both with the San Diego City Ballet and ballet companies in other cities to inspire a new generation of dancers by inviting them to be part of unique experiences with the company dancers. The experiences are designed to inspire budding dancers by taking them backstage for their ballet company rehearsal, where a small group of families get extra special treatment. Kids meet famous ballet dancers and explore what it takes to put together a full production—the rehearsals, the lighting and staging, the costuming, and the final show. They learn that although ballerinas make their art look effortless, being a star also takes hard work and dedication. Families are sometimes invited to join the dancers in the studio for a mini ballet class with a leading ballerina. Other times, children are each given an autographed pointe shoe that has been worn by a real ballerina onstage. This experience creates lifelong fans, picturesque moments and a reason for families to share their experience with others, both in person and on social media.

Creating a Precious In-Store Experience with Tiffany & Co.

ADS worked with the team at Tiffany’s to design a group experience that educated, inspired and made each individual feel special. This group adventure invites families to share an actual breakfast at Tiffany’s, just like Audrey Hepburn. The group is given a specialized introduction to this world-famous brand. A diamond expert guides the group in learning the basics of precious stones—their cuts, colors, clarity and shapes, even origin and formation. They uncover not only knowledge about diamonds, but also invaluable life lessons for children—finding the preciousness in every human being, each one unique and priceless, made more beautiful through difficulties. Kids are invited to touch, feel and even try on some the diamonds. This rich memorable experience connects families to the Tiffany’s brand in a very meaningful way.

More About Adventure Design Studio

Offering family-focused experiences can grow your customer base, your social media engagements and your bottom line. From in-store experiences to the group adventures, ADS works and scales with your brand so you can roll them out locally, regionally or nationally, gaining market traction immediately. Working collaboratively, ADS helps execute an experience that bring families into your business. To learn more, contact the team at [email protected] for a free consultation on how they could work with your brand.  

Photo: Adventure Clubs