Branding Feature: Branding Beyond the Products You Sell

Not Your Father's Retail Marketing
Beyond a keen insight into the lifestyles, priorities and preferences of your target audiences, most nontraditional marketing efforts will include one or more of these elements:

A benefit without necessarily an obligation to the customer: Of course the goal is to sell product, but the customer doesn't have to make a purchase to participate. For example, lululemon offers free yoga classes at its stores led by well-known local instructors, as well as sponsoring weekly evening "fun runs." No purchase is required, but participants presumably will feel more positive towards lululemon gear when they consider their next purchase.