Tips for Turning Your Lobby into a Branded Holiday Experience

Your lobby isn’t just the spot where wayfinding begins for your visitors. It’s a space you can use to create a visceral experience, tell your story and shape your customers’ perception of your company. That’s especially important during the holidays, when people are more inclined to make emotionally based decisions about products and services.

Sensory marketing allows you to weave in your story with the nostalgia and excitement of the holidays. It helps you leave a lasting impression that guests can reflect on throughout the year. But it’s important to go beyond adding a few festive decorations. Strategic curation can trigger the emotions associated with the holidays and support stronger brand recognition.

Why Branding in Your Lobby Matters

First impressions matter, so the way you set up your lobby reflects how you want visitors to interact with your brand. Do you want to lead with your history or mission statement? Would you prefer to showcase your employees? The answer will determine what you include in your lobby.

As the first point of contact, the entrance to your building shapes each visitor’s expectation of the interactions that follow. You can use logos, images, graphics and décor to highlight how your brand “communicates.” For example, a simple setup with evenly spaced images and short snippets of your history or customer testimonials could suggest a straightforward approach to client relationships.

You can incorporate brand colors into a variety of visual elements, such as signage, paint and furniture. That consistency allows visitors to feel like they’ve stepped into a physical representation of your company. Integrating specific holiday elements allows you to shift the tone of your lobby’s atmosphere.

Branded Holiday Display Ideas

Before you add festive touches to your lobby, define your goals, identify your target audience and clarify your offer. What’s the purpose behind adding holiday brand experiences to the room? Proceeding without the answer won’t help you differentiate your products and services and may come off as disingenuous or generic marketing. Be specific when incorporating holiday branding through design.

Use Interactive Displays

Strike a balance between sharing your story and holiday messaging with physical or digital displays. There are numerous images that evoke the holidays: sparkling lights, falling snow and joyous gatherings with smiling faces. You can use those elements to showcase your products and services in those settings or highlight team achievements that enhance brand relevance.

Highlight Branded Décor

Traditional holiday colors are a bold choice to pair with your visuals. Iconic red and green motifs instantly link your brand to the most wonderful time of the year. You can also use your company colors with popular symbols and imagery create a unique seasonal palette. Holidays are the perfect time to incorporate those elements into assets like ornaments, garlands and tabletop displays. You can highlight specific cultural symbols or keep your designs neutral with winter themes.

Optimize Lighting and Ambiance

Use lighting to influence the mood in your lobby. Aside from holiday aesthetics, accent lighting can direct attention to branded signage and architectural features. Lighting your space with a soft glow or extravagant holiday colors allows you to link your brand to seasonal themes and emotions while remaining professional. Layer different materials to create a multi-dimensional display that immerses visitors in the spirit of the season.

Incorporating Seasonal scents

Your sense of smell can trigger emotional connections to past experiences, which is why it’s such a powerful sensory marketing tool. Think about the scents you associate with specific holidays: fresh pine, warm vanilla, woody cloves and crisp peppermint. Using those traditional smells in your lobby connects visitors to associated memories and links their emotional reactions to your brand.

Make the Most of Seasonal Sounds

You can use a combination of traditional and contemporary seasonal soundtracks to elicit a sense of nostalgia in your lobby. Music helps set the emotional tone of a space, so be mindful of the tunes you play based on how you want your visitors to feel. Soft, instrumental melodies suggest a more refined environment, while upbeat jazz can create a sense of energy and excitement. Be sure to pair the music with your company identity to produce a cohesive multi-sensory experience that supports brand recognition, especially across multiple locations.

Create a Branded Lobby Experience with SensoryMax

Making the most of the sights, smells and sounds of the holiday season allows you to produce a memorable branded lobby experience for your guests. The expert team at SensoryMax is well-versed in evaluating brand identities and pairing your values and sentiments with sensory marketing elements. Get in touch to learn about our unique services and schedule a consultation.