Environmental branding: Why does it matter now more than ever?

Should we prioritize environmental branding for our organization?

The goals of environmental branding include:

• Reinforcing an organization's culture, mission, and values
• Visually communicating your brand's vision to customers and prospects
• Elevating an organization above its competitors
• Making a space memorable and easy to navigate
• Strengthening employee engagement, pride, and loyalty

Many considerations go into creating a successful environmental branding experience. And it starts with intention. While the best practice goals outlined above are great benchmarks of success, an experience should be defined before creation begins.

An environmental branding initiative may require cross-functional partnerships and various disciplines—including marketing, interior design, graphic design, landscape design, wayfinding, or architecture. In short, it's most often not just about how a space looks; it's how the space should function and what the desired experience should be.

Environmental branding resonates with all your audiences

And that includes your employees. Retaining talent is still a top priority for most employers. And the workspace plays a major factor.

As an organization, you should be asking what you can offer employees in terms of their environment. Beyond happy hours and incentives, what value are they getting out of your workspace? One of the top trends Qualtrics identified is that "people will demand better physical and digital workspaces." But the organization also identified a major gap between what employees want and what their employer is delivering.

Environmental branding can provide an avenue for employees to reconnect with your organization, reinforce your company’s mission and vision to its visitors, and elevate your branding among competitors. It’s an essential branding component that can aid in attraction, retention, and communication for employees, customers, and prospects.

When you leverage environmental branding for your audiences, it communicates your values and mission in a way that your employees and customers are excited to embrace.

As a marketing agency, our environmental branding approach focuses on bringing your brand to life and infusing deep meaning into every touchpoint. As storytellers, we take the conversation beyond visuals into your brand's narrative. We help clients experientially tell their stories to empower employees, inspire prospects, and reinforce loyalty.

"Lunne brings a unique perspective to environmental branding. As strategic partners to marketing and sales teams, we have a deep understanding of our clients' businesses, goals, values, and how to create spatial stories that compellingly engage associates and visitors," Matt Jeffries, environmental art director at Lunne.

Your work environment is an asset

While most marketing collateral is ephemeral, environmental branding tends to have a long lifespan due to the required investment. In our experience, rebrands or wear-and-tear might trigger an environmental refresh once a decade. With potential longevity, your environmental branding should not only be structurally sound but thoughtful, driving home your company’s mission.

Lunne is here for your environmental branding project at every step—from research and ideation to material sourcing and execution. Our experienced team will guide your brand's physical transformation. Throughout, we'll be your brand ambassadors, driving powerful emotional experiences that impact behaviors for your organization.

If investing in your space, take the opportunity to communicate your brand on a larger scale beyond fresh paint and furniture. Curious about what environmental branding can do for your company? Explore our case studies for inspiration.