Double Dutch
January 16th, 2008
I got a great link from a friend yesterday that I just had to share.
HEMA is apparently a Dutch department store. Open since 1926, they now have over 150 locations throughout Europe. I’ve never been, but I’m sure they’re pretty standard as department stores go. However, they have managed to do something pretty interesting with their online catalog… the most unremarkable of all customer touchpoints in my opinion. There’s no interaction with people, no interaction with environment. In fact, the whole point of online retail seems to be to minimize the time you actually have to spend dealing with the brand. But HEMA took a different approach, and created a pretty interesting piece of brand experience while they were at it.
That’s all I’m going to say. Just go and check it out for yourself. Let the page load and wait a couple of moments.
Other posts by Jennifer.
Beth says:
Oh that’s awesome…and did you notice that, right there amongst the Dutch descriptions, there’s “ghettoblaster”? Too funny. Some words defy translation.
January 16th, 2008 at 9:59 amDavid Linke says:
I had never thought about visiting a Dutch Department store until this morning. I am now wondering what the real store would be like.
January 17th, 2008 at 2:36 pmOli says:
I’m not usually a fan of Flash at all, but that was truly incredible! Absolutely awesome, in the creation-of-the-universe sense, well almost.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:56 amTim Harrap says:
Great fun but would offer one word in conclusion: Honda
January 18th, 2008 at 4:35 amJennifer says:
True, Honda certainly did the chain of events thing better than anyone ever in the history of the world - and I’m willing to bet they did it better than anyone ever will. But what I love about this HEMA site was not the chain reaction itself, but the fact that they decided to let the online catalog surprise and delight where they usually just sit still and shut up.
January 18th, 2008 at 6:12 amTate Linden says:
I just love the way the personality of the brand comes across without needing to read a thing. Great find.
January 21st, 2008 at 7:28 am