SKINN TALKS
16.11 → BRUSSELS
EVENT RECAP

It’s one of the most iconic martial arts showdowns of all time. Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee go head-to-head in the colosseum in Rome. The former takes off his kimono, revealing a hairy chest. The latter does the same with his kung fu jacket. But the soundtrack to The Way of the Dragon is suddenly replaced by Careless Whisper by George Michael. The fight then looks like a sexy video clip... Through this example and many others, Steven Barbé, Head of Sonic Branding at Sonhouse demonstrated once again the power of sound and how it can strongly influence our overall perception and behaviour. He made a case for an intelligent, holistic approach to sonic identity - which can be fitting, memorable, different, ownable, coherent and alive - but also for a certain appreciation of silence. "If sound is not more powerful than silence, then it is useless", concluded Steven Barbé, confirming that sound branding is above all a question of meaning.

Stijn Geeraets, Business & Concept developer at 5AM, also took us on a cinema trip. A classic by Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg, The Fly, which he remembers watching with his brother at the age of twelve, while his mother was preparing liver in the kitchen. The combination of smells, images, sounds and emotions made the memory unforgettable. Even 30 years later, he still remembers every detail of the room. Creating these kinds of lasting memories and associating them with a brand, to build a long-term relationship with the customer, has since become his vision of spatial identity. From retail shops and outdoor festivals to coworking spaces, hotels and restaurants, it's a vision that applies to all kinds of spaces. With a strong motto: rethinking the past in a modern way. Refuting the apparent hiatus between the digital and physical worlds, Stijn explained how they can reinforce each other and how spatial identity can bring them together, designing spaces where the brand can be felt and remembered.

Yves Plees, Chief Strategy Officer at SKINN, invited us to discover the fascinating world of brand psychology. Or how a brand should not be seen simply as a design, but as the mental association that exists in people's minds. A decision support system whose aim is to guide consumer behaviour. For Yves, understanding the psychology of choice is the key to a genuine brand strategy, capable of combining authenticity, relevance, and differentiation. As studies show, 95% of the 30,000 decisions we make every day are quick decisions, based on intuition and automatism. Brands therefore need to be designed with this in mind, as the ultimate shortcut to help people decide. Yves Plees made it clear: branding has shifted to become the overarching component of every business strategy.