Tele2 experience store – Ban Jelačić Square

In cooperation with the Brigada agency, Tele2 has opened the first real experience store in Croatia. Brigada is the first agency in the region specialized for sales process improvement by creating a total brand experience at the sales point. Familiar with the experiences of successful international brands such as Nike, Apple and Nespresso, who consistently use their sales facilities to make their consumers part of their communication campaigns and of the brands themselves, Brigada and Tele2 offer Croatian consumers the first comprehensive Tele2 brand experience in one place.

Sales facilities today can no longer be seen only as areas in which products or services are sold. The development of technology has long ago made it possible for consumers to do their purchase in a much more practical and effective manner than going to the shop or point of sale. This is why sales points today must be seen as communication tools, perhaps the most valuable ones.

Having this in mind, the primary goal of the Tele2 experience store is to offer additional brand value to its consumers, instead of products and services alone. Seeing sales points in this light, Brigada understands that the experience consumers “take with them” after leaving the sales point is in fact the sum total of all the aspects of the existence of a brand. This experience is a combination of strategic positioning, product and services assortment as well as their visualization, price positioning, sales staff services and the marketing itself.

In order to create a true brand experience at the sales point, all these elements must be fused in the right manner. This is why we need to see the sales point today as the ideal communication channel for creating added value for all its visitors, particularly those loyal to us, because it is this very added value that directly effects the increase of brand equity (brand market value).

The decision to create the latest Tele2 shop on the Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb, probably the most attractive location in Croatia, implied the need to come up with a modified version of a new interior design concept. The location on a very busy corner of the main city square holds a special significance for the citizens of Zagreb who have traditionally been using the spot for gathering and meeting. The main challenge in setting up the interior were the specific architectural features of the facility consisting of the ground floor with a gallery and of glass walls on three sides. The building in which the shop is situated is part of a highly protected architectural complex, which required extreme care in all phases of project design and construction works.

After having analyzed the situation and taking all parameters into account, the Brigada agency team decided that the standard Tele2 interior design concept would not make full use of the potential of this very attractive location. In cooperation with Tele2, it has been decided that a conceptual experience store should be created for the first time in Croatia to offer an entirely new content in addition to the classical offer.

Existing and all other users can come here at any time and find out everything about the Tele2 offer and services, test the latest devices, surf the internet for free or simply come inside the warm and dry shop to wait for their friends, girlfriend or boyfriend. The main goal of this type of shop can be best compared to the flagship store idea in fashion industry, which is an area providing additional content, not necessarily related to the core activity, to boost the qualitative perception of the brand and to reinforce the emotional link with consumers. In this type of interior, design must, in essence, adhere to all the rules set out in the Tele2 interior design guide but adding certain new, attractive and custom designed interactive elements providing simple use of all interactive content.

The architectural design has kept and refurbished the very valuable architectural elements of the building itself, relieving them of redundant, subsequently added elements, by removing every last excessive decoration and creating a genuine space. By revealing and presenting the original 1920s constructive elements, such as the elegant steel window posts and the finely ribbed concrete ceiling construction, and by opening the shop window to the street, the beauty of the venue was unveiled. The only new interior design element is the dominant white perforated wall holding esthetic value and improving interior acoustics, which is very important considering the significant height of the room and the three glass walls. The perforated wall construction seems to float under the ceiling and the side wall, in an effort not to dominate but to reinforce the constructive role of the wall by contrasting the white against the black background. The floors were covered by carpets, a somewhat unusual choice of material for a street shop. The special, very resistant dark grey carpet entices in a very positive way the feeling of intimacy and accessibility with visitors, inviting them to stay in this comfortable environment.

A part of the sales area is organized entirely according to the Tele2 standards, reducing the number of glass showcases but adding two new zones in the centre and by the window. The central part is dedicated to test phones set on modular cubes of different sizes, displaced as required by the current offer whereas the top surface is used for the promotional activities of Tele2 or their partners. The experience zone, unique to this shop, is located by the shop window, allowing users to freely test the most attractive products on the market, surf, check e-mail or simply sit down and watch a film on YouTube while waiting for a friend. The gallery is a business zone with standard B2B displays but also a lounge area for the more demanding clients.

Opening the shopfront, removing all visual barriers towards the street, the use of the photograph of the old Ban Jelačić Square by Tošo Dabac in the back window and many other details have all been set up as a sort of an extension of the square surrounding them. The exterior street location was realized in a very simple and unobtrusive manner, with the large sign in the upper zone communicating with almost the entire surrounding area (seen from the Dolac as well), whereas the lower eye-level zones are completely transparent, bringing out the shop itself as the main attraction. The Tele2 experience store is perhaps the best Tele2 presentation solution at probably the busiest location in Croatia. After all, isn’t this the most effective way of advertising on the main city square?

Brigada / Damjan Geber (Creative Director), Srđana Alač (Product Designer), Kristina Jeren (Architect), David Kabalin (Architect)

Bruketa&Žinić OM / Tanja Škorić (Creative Director), Kitica Kekić (Senior Copywriter), Thomas Bauer (Copywriter), Dunja Delač (Art Director), Sonja Šurbatović, Damir Mazinjanin (Designers), Zorana Šafar (Account Director), Klara Šimunović (Account Manager), Vesna Đurašin (Production Manager), Marko Ostrež (DTP)

Tele2 / Ivana Pasarić, Sanela Đorđević, Maja Čulig, Silvana Ban, Mikhail Chernyshev

Domagoj Kunić (photographer)