There’s a new acronym doing the rounds: FANG brands. For the uninitiated, that’s Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google; a.k.a today’s new mega brands. One thing these brands have in common is that they exist purely in the digital world. But with the experience economy driving a critical need for a physical presence, how can these intangible brands be made more tangible?

Define your architectural direction. From design that ‘holds’ the audience and creates a sense of community, through to playgrounds and landscapes that invite individual exploration; architectural language and materials have a fundamental role in evoking key brand characteristics and sentiment.

Ensure your style has substance. Detailing and styling that creates a movement towards behaving like a lifestyle brand can soften and humanise brand interaction. Although beautiful, aspirational Scandi-living has become a familiar go-to for tech brands and now runs the risk of becoming experiential wallpaper. Instead, create spaces that overtly trigger audiences’ emotional responses and let them project their own memories on to the environments.

Shape the narrative. Experience design weaves a narrative out of the environment to craft a truly engaging story. Leveraging both tactile and technology-led moments enable the audience to leave their mark. Once they sense ownership, they are more likely to talk about it.

Make the moment un-missable. Intrinsically shareable moments become a seamless extension of digital worlds. Populate them with social and cultural knowledge to drive engagement. Design them as socially-native to be captured in portrait for Insta Stories and Snapchat.

Make it live beyond the space. We all remember ‘that’ moment from a particular gig or experience. Curate one key takeout that people will remember beyond a single moment in time and ensure it amplifies out into the wider world.