Pink Walled Disco Bedroom

Here’s a typical bank holiday post.

I’ve got some admiration for the ad department of paint maker Dulux.

The trademark dog is, and always has been, rubbish. Yet their recent run of ads have all been terrific. This being the latest 60 seconds of fun.

I was at a Burger King in Manchester recently. A friend of mine had a craving. Despite schools having just chucked out, and the evident cheeriness of the (Spanish) girl serving us, it was cold and empty. The place was tired. It was stuck in a 1993 timewarp. It was grey and unwelcoming. Matching the town it was in, you could say. How anyone would seek it out to eat in such a drab, miserable setting was beyond me. I made this point to my friend. They agreed and scolded themselves accordingly.

The pink-walled student bedroom of the above ad and Manc BK have something in common.

They show the value in curating an environment that is tailored to your desired perfect customer.

The student is mocked no more by his video-game sofa-stranded loser mates when he has a room full of disco dollies. Burger King must be wondering why no-one sits in to eat their fayre.

In my cubrep days, my firm had a demonstration area.

I was always troubled by it. When it was created, I’m sure it was funky. But, seven or eight years on, it felt as misplaced and outdated as watching a sci-fi b-movie depicting today from twenty years ago. By the way, remember those old Nokia phones, supposedly the future in The Matrix?!

Most firms have customer areas. Not all b2b vendors encourage prospect visits pre-sale, but many do. And it’s a great opportunity to set yourself up as the ideal supplier of choice.

Yet thinking about it now, just about every demo-type area I’ve ever been in misses a huge trick.

They might be clean and tidy (sometimes!) but they don’t truly get across the personality of the vendor. They all suffer the same illness. Clinical, corporate construction. Akin to magnolia walls from the apartments of the 90s.

What’s needed is some kind of business decoration makeover show.

Not just a lick of paint, but wonderful atmosphere fillip too.

Turn your ‘sales’ area into a groovy pink-walled disco.

Shouldn’t be too difficult, hey… how does your client reception stack up?