'Brand experience' should not be a catch-all term for events, ads, stunts and even products. Getting the terminology right isn't about semantics, it's about purpose. So, let's clear this up once and for all: what exactly is brand experience – and why is the term being so misused right now?
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What brand experience actually means – and why so many people are getting it wrong
'Brand experience' should not be a catch-all term for events, ads, stunts and even products. Getting the terminology right isn't about semantics, it's about purpose. So, let's clear this up once and for all: what exactly is brand experience – and why is the term being so misused right now?
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Did brand experience lose its soul in 2025?
The phrase "brand experience" is buzzing – and not just within the industry. My online feeds are flooded with brand activations, AI-generated spatial concepts, and ‘experience influencers’ reviewing builds like they’re Michelin meals. As the founder of HATTER, I love this. And yet… a question keeps bugging me: Are we so focused on how an experience looks that we’re forgetting how it feels?
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From ‘Waiting in Line’ to ‘Worth the Wait’
Experience makers should never overlook the queue. It isn’t an inconvenience, it’s part of the story. Handled well, this time builds energy and connection. Handled badly, it breeds irritation. The line is your first impression, and first impressions matter.
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How masterful branding protected American Apparel for way too long
American Apparel is a great example of how masterful branding and a clever internal brand experience can create a protective shield around a company.
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From Council Estate to Creative Heights
Growing up in a council estate with my single mum after my dad passed away was a challenging experience. The stigma and shame associated with our circumstances often felt overwhelming. Society's expectations and the harsh realities of our financial situation created a heavy burden that I carried into adulthood.
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The attention crisis: how brands have a business – and moral obligation – to snap us out of phone lethargy
INSIDE TRACKSEverywhere I look, heads are down. Street zombies bumping into each other on pavements, all staring at their phones. For brands who want to stand out, it’s all about participation. The brands that will make an impact are the ones that give people a reason to lift their heads up, to notice, touch, play, and connect in the real world again.
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Dutch Design Week 2025: HATTER’s highlights
INSIDE TRACKSDesign week may be over here in the Netherlands, but its impact is still buzzing. Here are some of our design team's favourite moments; inspiration they're bringing back to the studio...
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‘i’m Not Playing Your Game’: 5 Hard Lessons We’ve Learned From Working With Kids
There you are, about to launch the dry-run of an in-person experience that’s taken months of prep. You’re feeling good. You’ve planned this to within an inch of its (and your) life. Nothing can possibly go wrong. Then the ‘client’ comes in, looks at your beautiful creation – and kicks it.
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The rainbow flag, a sign of hope, deserves more respect from brands
Brands are using rainbow flags to monetize a marginalized community—pulling the (polychromatic) wool over our eyes without putting in even basic levels of work in advance.
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Easy brand experience wins when putting on an industry festival
Successful brand experience is all about understanding your audience and your environment. While that may sound like teaching granny to suck eggs (is that the saying?), it's amazing how those foundational basics can get lost.
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WHY ONLINE SHOPPING IS TO OFFLINE WHAT PORN IS TO SEX
For too long, retail brands and agencies have focused on digital shopping, prioritising online sales, service and branding, to the detriment of in-person store spaces. Focusing, in effect, on the porn rather than the sex.
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The art (and the agony) of brand repositioning
With brand repositioning the stakes are high. Get it right and you can unlock new growth opportunities. Get it wrong and you risk diluting years of carefully built brand identity and value. This is the challenge that HATTER recently took on. Here, agency Founder Simon Hatter and MD Henri Leon discuss their recent repositioning: why they did it, how they approached the process, and what they learned along the way.
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When Digital Worlds And Irl Collide
Digital communities will continue to seek out physical spaces to connect in-person – and that’s a positive thing for all of us, whether digital natives or novices.
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At Cannes we learned that agencies are showing up harder than brands for Pride
The 2023 advertising festival proved that the biggest crisis facing brands is the panic and confusion over how to show up for LGBTQ+ rights. Simon Hatter, founder of HATTER, believes agencies are handling the crisis much better than their clients.
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Why brands must resist jumping on every viral bandwagon
INSIDE TRACKSThe growing trend of companies inserting themselves into every viral moment, meme, or cultural micro-trend – whether it fits their identity or not – is a risky business. Get it right and you ride a wave of re-posts and good vibes. Get it wrong and you run the risk of looking silly, out of touch – or, worse, downright offensive.
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