Do you know what “the happiest place on earth” is or better yet “the most magical place on earth?”
I can tell you this – chances are, it’s not an executive boardroom.
Generations of kids and adults alike know and remember these places because they experienced them firsthand: the Walt Disney Company owns both of those taglines, the first for the Disneyland theme park and the second for Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom.
Now imagine creating an experience outside the boardroom that moves the needle toward curiosity and interest, and makes deep work more understandable and memorable – or ‘sticky’ in the way a good story is told, remembered and even better, retold. The concept isn’t new, but it often feels elusive.
It begs the question a lot of companies are asking these days: is it possible to create a brand experience that becomes the most interesting version of your company’s work ever told?
The answer is a resounding yes – and I have my son’s Montessori school to thank for a constant visual reminder I can apply to my work.
Forget Spreadsheets. Start Building with Blocks.
My toddler’s early education experience is mostly physical, tactile and interactive – perhaps the exact opposite of what you think of when recalling your classroom days. His schooling, at this stage of his young life, provides a hands-on experience that unlocks his developing brain where things click and stick. He’s like a sponge – after doing a task a few times, he remembers what to do and then stores that knowledge where he will build upon it.
Executive business leaders on the other hand, ascend to their positions as subject matter experts. They are required to continuously absorb, understand and articulate with clarity the new and emerging information across the entire enterprise, much of which is likely to be outside their expertise.
As such, they get inundated with briefs, reports, and spreadsheets to aid in their learning, which can prove tedious and uninspiring. They need a different approach that is more engaging.
Four Things a CEO and My Toddler Have in Common
While my kid isn’t responsible for closing multi-million-dollar deals, how he learns is a reminder, a blueprint for how CEOs – and other key decision-makers for that matter – should think about learning and conveying essential information. But first, the commonalities with my toddler’s tutelage:
- The need to learn a lot of information, quickly – from foundational blocks of information to specific solutions, a lot of learning needs compressed quickly in order to stack more and more knowledge, especially given the speed of today’s technology and rapid innovation.
- A preference to be entertained while learning – immersive and interactive is a winning combination for engagement whether you’re four or 54. This doesn’t dilute the learning because it seems playful or less professional. To the contrary, it enhances it to make it memorable and easier to recall, which beats reading reams of paper reports.
- A desire to share what they’ve learned – while kids might not always have the words to do it justice, they are quick to want to show you what they’ve learned. That same mindset of “show don’t tell” also applies to executive learning.
- An appeal to pique curiosity in others with a compelling story – as humans, we are hardwired for stories, both story-absorbing and storytelling. When the story we learn is compelling and clear, our drive to convey it to others is unstoppable and contagious, the real magic happens.
That’s also when the correlation became clear – Hyperquake’s approach to branded experiences is like the Montessori method of teaching.
For years, our Experiences team of creative storytellers have imagined and constructed experiential learning environments for clients. What started as external or event-driven opportunities to engage specific audiences has evolved into Corporate Customer Experience Centers, Innovation Labs, Flagship Stores, Brand Exhibitions & Heritage Centers, Immersive Installations, Cultural Art Experiences, Theme Parks, Pop-Up Shops, Brand Takeovers and so much more.
Today’s branded experiences, and those of the future, need to be adaptable and interchangeable; they must be immersive brand and cultural experiences with both digital and physical components designed to captivate audiences, inspire action, and strengthen loyalty.
For many Fortune 500 companies, brand experiences have become an essential component of the business development playbook. But the way they get built – and ultimately what people learn – determines success. A center that does its job well goes far beyond standard sales and product marketing.
Anticipating "Think, Feel, and Do"
What we seek to create is a carefully crafted storyline that is easy to follow, rooted in brand vision and purpose (what the client seeks to do, change or achieve), and conveyed through an immersive experience. As we develop the experience we keep “think, feel, and do” front and center:
- What did the experience make them think about?
- How did it make them feel?
- What action does it inspire them to take?
Our work is to tell a compelling story in a way that anticipates what the client wants them to think, feel, and prepare to do next.
Our work developing a first-ever Executive Briefing Center for Illumina showcases the power of reimagining physical space in tandem with their human genome sequencing work. Themed as “Science in the Service of” their center spans four floors with a custom staircase that conjures up a double helix; contains touchscreens and slider bars on digital walls and tables that allow for discovery and reinforce the heart of their scientific work; and reveals a robust library of custom content, on-cue video interviews and ambient digital content that tells the story of scientific discovery and service. Further accentuating the story and brand is a “decoding moment” on each floor where visitors can solve the visual wall design that reveals scientific breakthroughs throughout history while connecting to Illumina’s brand purpose.
Interchangeable and malleable, Illumina is actively analyzing feedback on the most impactful parts of the experience and enhancing their content, especially as they customize to specific audiences. This mindset of always evolving the content within a permanent experience requires a strategic partner who not only has the technical and story-led expertise to develop the content, but who understands the larger strategic narrative and business outcomes you are driving towards.
Creating Brand Spaces That Drive Business Outcomes
As brands compete in a high-stakes landscape of innovation, trust-building, and rapid decision-making, physical experiences have become more than just "nice to have"—they are strategic assets. And creating these assets demands more than good design or slick content. It takes a partner who can align your brand’s purpose with storytelling, space, and human behavior to transform how your most important audiences engage with your business.
At Hyperquake, we bring branded experiences to life that do more than impress. They clarify your story, accelerate understanding, and increase conversion. They are rooted in business strategy and built for adaptability, enabling clients like Illumina, Honeywell, Butterball, GE Healthcare, the Library of Congress, Boston Children's Museum, and others to turn physical spaces into engines for growth.
And while there may not always be a gift shop at the end, what your clients leave with—a sense of clarity, confidence, and connection—is even more valuable. It’s the kind of magic that moves business forward.
Want to create the most interesting version of your business ever told? Let’s build it together.
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