Brand Communication and Experience Recommendations

Rapid ideation.

Macro Trends

Apps replacing cameras.
The rise of photographic apps such as Instagram and Snapchat have become highly popular in the past few years. New apps are now appearing to give the feel as if you’re using the photographic process of developing film by making you wait up to an hour to see the photo you have just taken.

Image saturated society
Everyone is constantly being exposed to a rapid stream of images, whether it be on a social media news feed or television. This overload of images comes with an overload of ‘average’, meaning people are learning to block out mundane and uninteresting images. The tension between the ignoring of images and desire to be noticed means people are having to consider if the image they are uploading is worthy of enough ‘likes’. In a society full of people trying to make their images stand out, how does the average person find an edge?

Return to craft/analogue
There has been an interest in the return to analogue techniques across a range of disciplines, including photography. People are keen to learn the craft, and feel a sense of pride knowing they know how to operate a film camera, which has almost become a dying art. This is especially seen in Lomography photography, a new-age version of film photography that produce images that have a filtered and sometimes distorted effect. Because of this it has made film photography less technical and you don’t need to know as much about the camera to operate a lomo but you still receive the experience of developing a film and not knowing what your photos will turn out like. This serendipity is what technology lacks.

Collaborative spaces
Art and design isn’t about working alone anymore, it’s about working alongside other people and actively receiving and giving feedback. Collaborative and co-working spaces are a growing trend in both the creative industry and other sectors. In Wellington there has been a rise in collaborative working spaces such as, In Good Company, The Orchid and Biz Dojo.

Recommendations
In Store Workspace / Event Space
WPS suffers from a poorly laid out store. Clearing and purposefully re-organising the space would allow for a better customer experience. This would create an extra area which could be used for events and workshops. This workspace would include facilities that aren’t always available to photographers, such as a darkroom and photo editing software. By facilitating this workplace, WPS would be creating an encouraging and inspiring environment that empowers their customers to learn, develop and work collaboratively.

Event & Workshop Series
WPS lacks in any customer engagement outside of the store. Events that are promoted by WPS are run by third party groups. By creating a series of workshops, guest speakers and other interesting events, WPS are able to leverage their wealth of knowledge and equipment to help customers learn, develop and collaborate. These events would also help customers become familiar with the store and staff, creating a sense of belonging and trust. To extend the appeal of these events, they could be hosted at other locations such as Massey University to make use of facilities unavailable to most customers.

WPS Membership Card
We believe that WPS can increase loyalty of customers and create a better feeling of belonging in their store. This would give new and existing customers benefits they wouldn’t normally be able to offer, or ones they do offer but aren’t getting picked up by customers.
The Membership card will:
Give access to in-store workspaces
Alert users of upcoming events and workshops (if wanted)
Give discounts
Keep track of purchases including insurance and receipts
Allow WPS to monitor customers activity on a more personal level
Allow WPS staff to better understand their customers.

Big Idea
Forget about the membership card
Focus on adding workspace into store & events

current store layout/map

membership card mock up - white section would be clear