Experiential marketing is not the future, it’s the now. With increasing online competition those of us working within contemporary bridal shops need more than good dresses. Our interiors need to say more, be more. It is not enough to have one jaunty baroque mirror leant against some wallpaper reflecting a chain store chandelier. There needs to be a story behind a brand that clients can engage with and shopping needs to become ‘retailtainment.
MMarketing Week “the new stars will be the retailers that become a destination and offer a social experience which is pleasurable and entertaining. This is where experiential marketing comes to the fore by bringing the brand personality to life and using sensory techniques to connect with people on an emotional level. We can call this ‘retailtainment’.”
The move to The Chapel and charging for Saturday appointments providing a unique and stylish space and taking the frantic pace out of the weekends has been designed for the pure pleasure of our brides. Luxury & expertise are easy to buy and , to quote the ever relevant Oscar Wilde, ‘experience is the one thing you can’t get for nothing’.
Luci’s thank you emails were, frankly, a gift of the marketing variety and shall from a cornerstone of my staff training.
“I’m such a fussy shopper – constantly walking out of the shop if the assistant is taking too long or god forbid, I have to go up or down stairs… It’s so lovely when shopping is an experience as opposed to a chore and you surpassed my expectations! “
Luci is wearing Suzanne Neville’s Lady with a custom Helen Pollington lace jacket over the top. Lady is an exquisite silk zibeline dress with Suzanne’s peerless corset structure that makes the dress look like it is poured out of molten fabric. The boat neck is the epitome of elegance and the sharp box-pleated skirt makes the full skirt graceful & perfect for some sweeping staircase shots.
Part of me knows that I shouldn’t simply cut and paste lavish praise of Miss Bush from brides emails. It makes me feel I am copying someone elses’ homework. It also flies in the face of my tendency to be self-effacing. This quote gets under the radar because the praise is for my Mum and for Suzanne herself.
Oh, how I miss Miss Bush! I had such a lovely time in your shop and really felt I got to know you and the dress so well before the big day! It was so refreshing how you let me just ‘hang out’ in the dress and I really think this helped to envisage how things would come together on the day. It really was a magical experience – one that left me on Cloud 9 and in no doubt that I really had chosen the right dress for me. Your Mum is also amazing and really made the whole experience one we will never forget.The Suzanne Neville Designer Evening was one of the best nights of my life – such an honour to meet Suzanne and to be made a fuss of without someone telling me I looked like a princess.
It gives me so much pleasure to receive emails & photos like Luci’s. Luci has had a dress from one of the best British designers, custom design from Helen but the praise for the experience is what motivates and moves me. The team at Miss Bush are professional but the relationship between our brides and us should be intensely personal too.
View the full gallery
Like a ‘proper’ wedding blog I asked Luci if she wanted to name check her favourite suppliers. fabulous endorsements were forth coming so I definitely recommend checking a few of the links below
“Feel free to blog away and share the love. I can’t really recommend the venue highly enough – no corkage and we were left to our own devices (as in no staff watching us) for 4 whole days. We had completely exclusive use and we could choose whatever we wanted when it came to suppliers. ”
Credits
Photography: Allister Freeman
The Dress: Suzanne Neville at Miss Bush Bridalwear
Venue: North Cadbury Court
Hair and Make Up: Claire Nicole
Flowers: Emma at Green Parlour
Cake: Katherine Cunningham Cakes
Magic man: Guy Portlock
Piano: Mark Fowler
Choir: Cheddar Male Choir
Band: Brightsparks
Emma xxx
Emma Meek, MD of Miss Bush Bridalwear
Miss Bush Bridalwear is Surrey’s leading designer bridal shop
