Décor & Fixtures: How to Ensure Your Environmental Refresh Succeeds

Successful environmental branding requires outstanding décor and fixtures, which need to be both delightful and purposeful.

Décor and fixture programs therefore need to accomplish two things:

1. Connect with a variety of customers and build brand attraction and then loyalty.
2. Optimize the customer experience and solve pain points, whether that’s about wayfinding, queueing or providing clear, succinct information via print or digital signage.

But before décor and fixtures charm and serve your customers, the project needs to be efficiently developed, from concept (design) to completion (installation). And then deliver ROI.

A potentially fantastic-looking décor and fixture refresh can be ruined by inefficient, budget-busting production, distribution and installation shortcomings, just as haphazard design and shabby materials adopted at the front end for cost savings will fail with customers.

This is another area where true end-to-end services save the day

When designers, engineers, program managers, supply chain specialists, installation experts and customizable logistics technology collaborate under one roof — becoming, in fact and execution, a true partner with the client’s team — a campaign won’t falter due to a series of burdensome handoffs or vendor-to-vendor misjudgments or miscommunication.

Instead, the campaign is elevated because of diverse and creative expertise that is centralized, as well as a collaborative process that constantly seeks innovation, efficiency and cost savings.

What does a truly integrated fixture and décor program — from ideation to execution — look like? It requires:

• Industrial, environmental and computer-aided designers (CAD) supported by architectural services who start with in-depth research into both brand and customer, as well as a thorough understanding of the range of footprints and spaces they will be refreshing.
• Design development and value engineering that consider specification, fabrication details and program-wide cost impacts, along with maintenance, life cycle, ADA requirements, shipping, consolidation and installation, always with an eye toward scale.
• Prototyping before implementation that lets you test and measure before adopting at scale.
• Procurement management that offers expertise with overseas and domestic partners to navigate quality control processes and shipping logistics.
• In-house or outsourced print & production that receive value-engineered solutions, substrate selection expertise, internal artwork and color management for digital and screen large-format production, all the while focusing on meeting budget and time constraints. 
• Quality control processes and Service Legal Agreements (SLAs) that guarantee satisfaction.
• A logistics technology platform that can be utilized from end to end to ensure coordination, trackability and insight into the full program.
• A proven installation program that is guided by project managers who collaborate with design development, procurement, production, warehousing and boots-on-the-ground quality control.

Yep, it’s a lot.

That’s because executing an environmental branding plan efficiently, precisely and on budget is a challenge, whether it’s for 5,000 retail stores, 500 quick-serve restaurants, 75 bank branches or a facility at a major university.

Great décor and fixture programs can reimagine and transform a brand and improve customer and associate experiences. They not only can improve sightlines, wayfinding, merchandising and the overall look of a store, they also can be used to bolster app use and digital integration. Moreover, they can be localized to fit the needs and personality of various regions.

Great décor and fixture programs combine art, science, engineering and logistics. It not just about how they look but how they work.

It’s always about the bottom line: ROI

So, make sure you:

• Are informed and aware of the whole cost from design through installation.
• Understand what are the ideal material selections, fixture assembly methods and end-user ergonomics to best fit your environment, on-site resources and budget.
• Insist on seeing and experiencing a prototype of the fixture or décor environment so you can provide feedback before moving to procurement, production and adopting at scale.
• Will receive rollout-ready, clearly delineated kits of parts that will accommodate a range of footprints and investment levels.

Of course, Miller Zell has been bringing brands to life for more than a half-century. Our end-to-end services craft the optimal customer experience wherever people gather, shop or learn.

We’d love to chat with you about décor and fixtures and other environmental branding solutions we offer. Click here for more information.