Raising the Candy Bar: Hershey's Las Vegas Now Open

Located at the New York - New York Hotel & Casino, Hershey's Chocolate World becomes a focal point on Las Vegas Boulevard. Visitors are greeted by an array of LED illuminated 15 feet tall Kisses dynamically "suspended" above the consumer that visually punctuate the architecture of the storefront, along with a super-overscaled

six-story high Hershey Bar and an 18-feet diameter illuminated Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Inside, iconic fixture elements draw inspiration from the products in the Hershey's brand portfolio; leveraging the highly identifiable and proprietary colors and materials unique to each of the brands. The sweet details.

James Avery Jewelry: Craftsmanship with a Touch of Tech

With a new prototype that integrates the in-store, collateral, and online interface to the selling approach; the Alpharetta, Georgia store creates a more interactive consumer experience connecting consumers to the brand. The design celebrates the joy of owning, giving and wearing the cherished James Avery jewelry collection, named the number one "engagement" brand on Facebook for July

with 100,000+ fans. The store's featured elements include pairs of dynamic video screens in each zone, rotating a series of messages related to product details, views of product from design-to-craft that share the James Avery history, design philosophy and product offers. A charming environment.

Delivering Fashion: Destination Maternity Goes Big

Two prototypes for Destination Maternity make it even easier for new and expecting moms to shop the brand's unparalleled assortment of maternity fashion. Both the "Town Square" format and the "Discovery" floor plan have differentiated

"lifestyle zones" for work, casual, sleep, intimates and nursing essentials. Their new superstores feature larger graphics, more mannequins and enhanced fitting rooms. The big reveal.

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Retail will never be the same again. And that is good news for customers. We have entered a new era, where the customer is king, again. So for retailers, understand that this new era was made to rethink everything, and to profit from incredible new tools, media and devices. Retailers need a refreshed mindset because they cannot discover a new world using old maps. Companies and brands need a new mindset to achieve, develop, and win in today's marketplace.

In this age of multimedia, the novelty in branding isn't storytelling. It isn't the experience, or human emotion. The biggest change is the emergence of digital technology. This massive wave has placed the majority of organizations in a state of crisis and disorientation. However, it also offers them opportunities for communication, business, analysis, information, and exchange that never before existed.

Digital Impact
The Internet is truly an innovation in branding. Its new tools, platforms, media, and channels present new opportunities and challenges for corporations.

Alongside this digital revolution, brands have undergone a profound transformation in the way they communicate, and fundamentally, in their relationship with the public. In fact, they are faced with the challenge of knowing who their consumer is and, above all, who their consumer will be.

In this context arises BrandOffOn, a neologism created by the fusion of brand, off ("physical world," also called offline) and on ("digital world," also known as online). Integration is mandatory. BrandOffOn summarizes the integrative and complementary vision between the different worlds (On + Off) in the same universe. The brand strategies of companies, especially those which operate in the retail field, require joint action framework, which can accommodate all actions that contribute to build a strong and memorable identity.

Retail is changing. Retail is never going to be the same.

The Offline world still has a dominant position in the business because "90 to 95% of all purchases and sales in retail" in the global arena are made there. Now you must love, seduce, create loyalty and, basically, be recognized. That's why Online retailers discover value in having stores.

So in essence, we are not only seeing the extension of the brick and mortar brands to the online world, but at the same time, the reverse action: Brands born on the Internet are migrating to an offline site; confirming that a physical presence is integral to their growth.

Social networks can be instrumental in getting consumers to feel like active tribesmen/members. The mass adoption of digital networked technology is transformative, but we are still only scratching the surface of what is possible.

Online shopping is predicted to grow continuously; to $370 billion in 2017. However, the online shopping cart abandonment rate also increased to 73.6% in 2013.

Thus, the term "BrandOffOn" represents a way of seeing and doing things in this new world, the "Digital Age." This neologism is manifested as a worldview characterized by the belief that change is here and the only way to achieve success is to be prepared to combine Online and Offline dimensions.

This Digital Age has turned the world into a global village. Brands must develop with the skyline of a single international market. A race of this type is deployed largely in the field of innovation, and talent should be the real engine of change we are living. The information available to anyone, the user-to-user contact and immediacy of communication have brought about a transformation of the parameters of individual and social relationships: Create permanent interconnection and real-time access to various information sources, possibility to interact without spatial boundaries, and with impacts and consequences difficult to predict. And all this is exacerbated by the primitive human attitude that leads us to want to share everything.

Attitude BrandOffOn: A New World Of Ideas
In this new paradigm, we are the protagonists. Indeed, we are the first generation to write this digital revolution in "first person." It is possible that after some time, we will understand that with no strategy, no ideas and no creativity, we cannot advance. A new way of doing things is required to leave behind the fear.

To achieve this, we need people to argue, to discuss and share their conclusions; and to formulate new questions. We must give creativity the attention it deserves. And since the classic ways of doing business are obsolete, now is the best time to generate debate, ask questions, and rethink existing models to design new ones. So in this time of change, it presents an opportunity for both brands and technology work to serve the human being.

If there is one thing that always stays the same in retail, it is change. The truth is that the digital shopping revolution is here to stay, and retailers can either try to beat it or join in.

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BrandOnOff book author, Andy Stalman, is a leading brand specialist from Spain and Latin America, regarded as "Mr. Branding" in several countries. As an identity expert for the past 20 years, he has developed projects in more than 25 countries. Andy is currently Partner and Managing Director of Cato Partners Europe, based in Madrid. He previously worked for Lacoste, based in Buenos Aires; and prior to that served as Marketing Director for Aeropuertos Argentina, leading business development for 35 of the country's largest airports. He may be reached via andystalman.com, or through his best-selling book's website, brandoffon.com.