TELEFONICA

Brandimage - Desgrippes & Laga Brings Telefónica Brand To Life With Telecommunications Company’s First Flagship Store

20,000 Square Foot Retail and Experiential Space in Madrid Created to Help Consumers Understand How to Integrate Technology into Their Lives

New York Brandimage - Desgrippes & Laga, one of the world’s largest design firms, has partnered with Telefónica, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, to conceptualize and design the company’s first flagship store. Located in Madrid in Telefónica’s former headquarters, a 1920s-era building generally credited as the first skyscraper built in Spain, the retail and exhibition space was conceived of to represent not only the telecommunication company’s brand equity, but to also serve as an experiential learning center to show how its technology is relevant to all parts of people’s lives. Encompassing two floors of the historic building at Gran Via, 28, the flagship store consists of various retail zones on the ground floor, displaying the company’s mobile and fixed line phones, television and DVR services, prototypes and media packages, audiovisual services, live content broadcasts, areas for internet experimentation and gaming, and a special entertainment and learning area for children. The first floor is split into two main sections designed to show technology in context for consumers. The first area is a “House of the Future” where visitors can receive a guided tour of conceptual technology such as a mobile virtual butler, automated appliances and digital media networks. The second area showcases the various business solutions Telefónica can offer its customers, from the tiniest home office to frequent travelers to small/medium enterprise. The first floor also houses an extensive customer service center and a 100-seat auditorium for lectures and events. Additionally, Telefónica plans to eventually open the second and third floors of the building to host art and cultural areas, including Telefónica’s art collections and temporary exhibits to be mounted by the Telefónica Foundation. The ground and first floors are connected by an innovative promenade staircase, featuring LED screens on the risers that allow multi-media imagery to float up, down and across the stairs. It was inspired by the promenades and plazas found throughout Spanish to encourage people to congregate and rest during their journey. While the staircase literally connects the two floors, it also serves as a metaphor for the flagship's purpose of connecting people with technology and helping them to experience it in a new way. Brandimage - Desgrippes & Laga, a global brand design firm, was responsible for all aspects of the Telefónica flagship store from conceptualization to strategy, architectural design, graphic design, fixtures and signage. The assignment was handled by the New York office of Brandimage. The firm, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, also has offices in Chicago, Paris, Brussels, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai. “Telefónica presented us with a unique challenge in that their desire was literally to ‘invite’ people into their brand and help them understand how to best use technology in their lives,” says Jim Barrett, CEO, Brandimage. “We wanted to create a forward looking environment to accomplish this—in keeping with the technologically advanced nature of the brand—yet ensure that it was friendly and accessible and maintained the intrinsic qualities of the historic building they were housed in. “The assignment was ideal for Brandimage in that it truly required the integrated and holistic approach we bring. Beginning with strategy through to graphic design, industrial design and, of course, led by our architectural design practice,“ says Barrett, “virtually all services of the company were brought to bear. The result is not only a tangible representation of the Telefónica brand, but the creation of the major technology exhibition space in Spain, if not in all of Europe.” About Brandimage - Desgrippes & Laga Formed from the combination of laga, one of America’s top design and innovation firms, and Desgrippes Gobé, a global brand design firm, Brandimage has 300 employees in three regions of the world, Asia, Europe and the United States, with offices in New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, Paris, Brussels, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Brandimage offers holistic services designed to deliver rich brand experiences for consumers, from brand strategy and consumer insight, to brand identity, industrial design, package design, graphics, innovation, interactive, retail experience and architecture in one integrated offering. Brandimage represents clients in a variety of industries ranging from consumer packaged goods to luxury brands, health & beauty, retail, finance, technology, sports, entertainment and tourism. About Telefónica Telefónica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world in terms of market capitalization. Its activities are centered mainly on the fixed and mobile telephony businesses with broadband as the key tool for the development of both. The company has a significant presence in 24 countries and a customer base that amounts to more than 212 million accesses around the world. Telefonica has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy. Contact: Julie Anixter
janixter@brand-image.com
+(1)513-293-23-06