第二波品牌都市主义
从北京到波士顿, 世界各地的城市都在投资自行车共享项目, 这是理所当然的! While cities have been keen to support these initiatives, these programs are expensive investments. Corporations such as Nike have seen this as an opportunity to get involved, 重新定义品牌与城市的关系.
No longer are advertisements pushed to the arterials; the city itself is now a billboard. 波特兰居民通勤上班 耐克的自行车而伦敦人则使用the 阿联酋航空公司 缆车. AzkoNobel的 我们的颜色 campaign paints a slightly different coloured story of this trend, 但无论如何, 这些都构成了所谓的品牌都市主义.
As opposed to traditional branding that uses media as a means of product promotion, brand urbanism uses human experience as the medium for marketing. While the goal of advertising has always been to tap into the emotions of its audience, brand urbanism takes this out into the world by creating either instagram上的弹出式(再保险:独家)经验 rooted in happiness and surprise or long-term projects that invest in community. The latter form of brand urbanism seeks to promote a reliable and friendly image of a brand, 好像在说"我在你身边.” Domino当前的 披萨铺路 Campaign就是这种方法的典型例子.
While brand urbanism first took to the streets in a lighthearted fashion, this trend has elevated and corporations have more influence than ever on the urban experience. 回到2017年, Apple announced that it would now refer to its new stores as “town squares” and would transition into convergence sites for retail, 教育, 以及公共生活. While the world was not exactly sure what to expect at the time, the first wave of Apple stores (all designed by Foster and Partners) are now complete and have set a new precedent for both the future and function of retail.
经过零售商的总理 芝加哥 Town Square, one could easily enter the space without knowing that it was an Apple store. The building is walled entirely of glass and hides its retail space behind a theatre-sized screen that’s tucked away on the lower level. Rather than pressuring its visitors to buy things and move on, the space is inviting and designed for people to sit and enjoy its warm, 生态环境. 商店的新闻稿 强调 the interest in revitalizing “important urban connections within the city” touting “community” over commerce. The store is heavily programmed with free events and workshops for people of all ages to learn more about all things related to technology and design.
Apple has adopted this model in all of their newer flagship locations, 直到最近开张的那间 自由广场 在米兰. Though Apple’s Town Squares underline community 以及公共生活, their proposed Melbourne store is stirring up quite the controversy over this idea. 他们的提议在最近的一场辩论后仍处于混乱之中 拒绝 of the updated plan for the city’s Federation Square building. Apple’s plans involve demolishing one of the original buildings to the plaza which infringes upon what is already public space. Though it’s still up in the air whether or not the store will come to fruition, it raises important questions about the relationship between commerce and community. 随着品牌对我们城市的影响力越来越大, it’s important to reflect upon these practices and explore whether or not this is how we imagine our future communities to be.
