Strategic storytelling can help brands win over customers, gain trust and loyalty, and ultimately transform transactions. The successful ones are the ones that invite their customers to be part of the story.

Brands do this with stories and content that balances both connecting with customers and potential customers on an emotional level and a rational level. However, you first have to have a vision — and define the foundation on which to build your stories. What are your values? What does your brand stand for?

When people think of storytelling, they often think of marketing content. Nevertheless, if a brand really wants to extend that connection to real life, they should think about their physical spaces. When was the last time you walked into a store and felt a strong connection that went beyond the product?

We’ve helped brands tell some great stories over the years and it was no different with Sundance. When the brand came under new ownership, it was ready to tap new markets by building from its niche catalog-driven core. However, they knew the two original store designs needed a facelift in a big way. That’s where we came in.

To actualize Sundance’s omni-channel presence, we knew the key was creating a seamless transition between the [digital] catalog and store. We retired the darker, more masculine Colorado and California designs and introduced a lighter, more open feel that expressed the freedom, independence and creativity of the brand in a more modern way.

Our vision was to combine instant access to select products in a way that customers could experience it in person. We wanted to bring the catalog and website to life in an experiential retail environment. We looked at how customers browsed the catalog and site and found we could organize it into stories that could play out in the real world.

We took the “ethos of the West with its open sky and sunlight” as inspiration. The result? A store that reads like a chapter out of the brand’s western novel.

Everything in the store is curated, so the design needed to reflect that. Products are presented with a high degree of casualness, intentionally creating a “walk in” moment for the guest who feels that they happened upon Sundance.

We’ve built a model that gives the flexibility and adaptability to address changing trends and sales. And we think that will help Sundance future-proof its stores.
See more photos of our fresh Sundance design. >