We combine our diverse expertise to cover a range of topics, from real estate to branding, design, marketing and more.
Our Founding Partners at Spatial Experience explain the fundamental ins-and-outs of the brand development process, how an effective marketing campaign can serve to drive maximum exposure and the benefits of utilising visual imagery to communicate with your target audience. Supported by in-depth research, conversations with sector stakeholders and a wealth of experience, this three-part piece will guide you through your successful branding journey, step by step (part 3 of 3).
Our Founding Partners at Spatial Experience explain the fundamental ins-and-outs of the brand development process, how an effective marketing campaign can serve to drive maximum exposure and the benefits of utilising visual imagery to communicate with your target audience. Supported by in-depth research, conversations with sector stakeholders and a wealth of experience, this three-part piece will guide you through your successful branding journey, step by step (part 2 of 3).
Nowadays we find more and more senior people feeling isolated, lonely and anxious as they approach their retirement age, which mostly happens as a result of the lifestyle transition (e.g. retirement age, less contact with family or changes in routine). In order to help them adjust and meet their demands in the experience-driven economy, it is crucial to introduce a new alternative way of living for the silver generations of tomorrow. In this article we explore senior coliving as a modern solution set to revolutionise the way we age. The article was published in the Senior Housing & Healthcare Association Expo Real Report 2022.
Our Founding Partners at Spatial Experience explain the fundamental ins-and-outs of the brand development process, how an effective marketing campaign can serve to drive maximum exposure and the benefits of utilising visual imagery to communicate with your target audience. Supported by in-depth research, conversations with sector stakeholders and a wealth of experience, this three-part piece will guide you through your successful branding journey, step by step (part 3 of 3).
Our Founding Partners at Spatial Experience explain the fundamental ins-and-outs of the brand development process, how an effective marketing campaign can serve to drive maximum exposure and the benefits of utilising visual imagery to communicate with your target audience. Supported by in-depth research, conversations with sector stakeholders and a wealth of experience, this three-part piece will guide you through your successful branding journey, step by step (part 2 of 3).
Our Founding Partners at Spatial Experience explain the fundamental ins-and-outs of the brand development process, how an effective marketing campaign can serve to drive maximum exposure and the benefits of utilising visual imagery to communicate with your target audience. Supported by in-depth research, conversations with sector stakeholders and a wealth of experience, this three-part piece will guide you through your successful branding journey, step by step (part 1 of 3).
An enriching and inspiring spatial design strategy should always start and ‘end’ with one main objective in mind: the experience that will be ultimately curated and felt within that space. In this article by Karolina Sawicka and Aitana de Jong of Spatial Experience, they take us through the different kinds of experiences that they aim to curate when helping shared living brands design their spaces and communities. They explain a core principle of what any coliving brand needs to understand: that experience design needs to inform spatial design, and vice versa. Once this process is understood and embedded, coliving designers, developers and operators can get a few steps closer to curating a thriving community and (spatial) experience.
Building a community requires a holistic design thinking approach. This includes getting all the stakeholders around the table and developing both B2B and B2C strategies for your coliving concept. In this article, Aitana de Jong, Managing Partner at Spatial Experience, breaks down their hassle-free 360 degree approach to supporting the emergence and flourishing of shared living communities. We take you through our 5-step method of building specialist real estate concepts and brands, and the importance of a thorough stakeholder-driven approach along the way.
Coliving has a (r)evolutionary nature from its conception: for being centered in building community and fostering human connection instead of benefiting from individualism and ownership notions, for having sustainable principles embedded in its DNA and for understanding and factoring in current and future societal needs, coliving is not only a disruptive trend, but an adaptable and transformative force as a business concept. It is no coincidence that coliving gained traction during the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) which is now in progress. In fact, both concepts are profoundly intertwined.
In early 2020, the resilience of the student housing and PBSA sector was put to question: if people are not allowed to travel, how are students supposed to fill in the rooms? Will online learning make people postpone their university experience? The pandemic has casted a shadow of uncertainty in even the most stable of industries and made bespoke coherent and timely data more relevant than ever before in supporting decision making.
Real estate is considered the largest and most relevant asset class in the world by both institutional and individual investors. Despite the pandemic, the sector continues to hold its usual place at the top of investment choices. Even though traditional real estate assets are considered inherently illiquid, investors see the value in capital appreciation and the steady yields generated by them.
Subscription services have been offered by businesses since before any of us can remember. Farms have been delivering fresh milk by horse carriage to neighbours in their village, and collecting their monthly payment prior to Jane Austen’s first book. Nowadays we can hardly spend an hour without using one of the multiple subscription services that we have integrated into our lives. Your mobile internet, gym, entertainment and public transport are all paid per subscription; even your fridge might be stocked via a subscription box. Whether you might have noticed or not, you have been living by subscription for years.
A spatial experience is a multi-sensorial and simultaneous experience that involves built environments, people, context and purposes and is capable of enhancing emotional connection within space. A spatial experience condenses a complex assessment of atmosphere, feeling and ambience, together with a set of specific personal evaluations, that are then translated into a judgment concerning the nature and character of the space being experienced. In fact, people are able to grasp the atmosphere in a built environment before consciously identifying the elements that create that atmosphere, which highlights the power of positive spatial experiences. When entering a new space, one can be emotionally and mentally impacted by the architecture, art work and all of its elements even before understanding the architect's or artist’ intention, for example.
Today you might have started your morning using a Dollar Shave Club razor to trim your beard or shave your legs. Maybe you went to work driving a bike or a car from a shared service, like Share Now, while listening to Spotify, and your lunch was delivered to you by a supplier of healthy meals such as Home Chef. This evening you might relax with a fine pinot noir from your Wine of The Month Club while watching Netflix. Perhaps this is not the case, but have no doubt: the subscription economy is on its way to take over most aspects of your life.
With alternative work styles such as remote work being accelerated by the recent health pandemic, the concepts of the office and the home are blending. In this article Spatial Experience explores this trend and gives a few case studies that were already ahead of the game before COVID-19. They share how these concepts are having a social, environmental and economic impact and how they are helping both the coliving and coworking sectors scale.
Real estate has been lagging behind other industries for a long time, but a much awaited wave of transformation has started to reshape the market. Emerging sectors, such as coliving, must embrace innovation in order to thrive, and that means going beyond just adopting cutting-edge technology. The most impactful way towards success for alternative real estate sectors is through cooperation. Spatial Experience has created the place to foster partnerships that have already begun to transform the market.
As urban populations are growing at a high pace, cities tend to face new challenges. A common urban issue is the rise of abandoned, underutilised spaces and neighbourhoods. Every metropolitan city features this kind of areas and could benefit from dramatic improvements on an urban development level.The most efficient way to tackle these kinds of challenges is urban renewal: revitalising places and turning them into spaces where people can live, work and connect; spaces that are functional and enjoyable for citizens. The desire to be part of an environment that engages them on a personal, social and professional level is extremely strong. Citizens are looking for a sense of belonging, safety, wellbeing and global connectedness. It is necessary to understand that a genuine connection between people and spaces can positively contribute to the socio-economic development of cities. Urban regeneration projects are necessary for a sustainable development of our cities and for the process of placemaking, which leverages local assets to improve people’s wellbeing and happiness.
In our very first article, we talked about The Origins of SPX in order to show the world how SPX Agency was formed and how our journey began. The last sentence of the article was “Going forward, we eagerly await new challenges and opportunities to continue on our mission to create future-proof real estate brands.” Following our words, here we are, starting another exciting chapter of our history that will disrupt the real estate industry as we know it: the birth of Spatial Experience.
From a digital nomad writing a blog post in Palawan, to a manager checking emails from a ski resort in the Alps, to a full-time freelancer staying in a coliving space and a computer scientist building codes from his home office, technological innovations have blurred the boundaries between work and fun, professional career and personal time. In the quest of finding a fulfilling work/life balance, a trend that gained a lot of interest in the last few years is the hybrid model of bleisure.
Travel and tourism in the post-coronavirus world will certainly look different and many businesses in hospitality have to adapt dramatically to stay alive. Travellers are more scared, not convinced that their rooms will be virus-free and many will limit their holidays for the year to their country. Nicolas Vigier, co-founder of BNB Real Estate, manages 60 Airbnb apartments in France with his agency and mentioned that “before the crisis, our clients were 90-95% foreigners. We had very few French people booking our apartments”. The statistics have now changed and according to Airbnb, domestic bookings in the Netherlands and Denmark have increased respectively by 80% and 90%, compared to April 2019.
In these extensively digitized times, a generous part of our social life can be tracked online. We already talked about working remotely in a previous article entitled Remote Working during Coronavirus: a Blueprint for the Future Work. Now, it’s the turn of online communities to occupy our attention.Online communities should be one of the main priorities for those interested in improving their marketing and branding strategies. Following the results of GlobalWebIndex in 2019, 83% of internet users worldwide share on a monthly basis a great range of information online in the form of videos, photos and reviews & 76% participate in online forums, blogs and vlogs through multiple devices. Hence, the importance of creating strong online communities is and will be raising. Moreover, having a branded online community can lead to building a loyal customer base who is willing to promote the brand’s identity.
Our surroundings have a huge impact on the quality of life. The space we live in everyday is designed in a way to make our lives more comfortable and convenient, while not forgetting about the aesthetic aspect. In 2007, the United Nations estimated that for the first time ever, more people inhabited urban than rural areas. Since then the number has rapidly risen. By 2050, approximately 75% of us will be living in cities, meaning that the way we design, develop and operate them will significantly influence our wellbeing.
There is no doubt that the way we work and live during the COVID-19 pandemic will have a strong impact on the future practices and trends in the coliving segment. In order to tackle this hot topic, we were invited to participate as speakers in the virtual coliving meetup organised by Co-Liv on the 16th of April, an initiative gathering coliving experts, researchers and enthusiasts both from The Netherlands and from all over the world. The aim of the discussion was to exchange thoughts on how to deal with the coronavirus crisis at different levels.
The impact that coronavirus had on our workspaces is quite clear, as millions of people are being forced or asked to embrace smart working. Although the adjective smart is often used to enhance the coolness of new things, being forced to work from home does not exactly refer to smart working. We should consider smart as a way to reach satisfaction through technology. For instance, we refer to smart working whenever both employers and employees take advantage of technology to make workflows flexible in terms of space and time. Living in reclusion is the polar opposite of flexibility, so – without flattering ourselves – teleworking is the most appropriate term for the ongoing situation. Words are worthy, but we could consider this period as an opportunity to time-travel towards the future of workplaces.
Branding is more than defining a name, logo and tagline. Branding communicates values, emotions, recognition in the industry and the visual identity of a company. Efficient branding aims to create experiences both for consumers and all the stakeholders involved in the project.There is no defined way to brand a business, but nowadays it is necessary to invest in this asset in order to be successful and stand out from the fierce competition. Branding efforts can be performed in multiple ways, both online and offline. In this article we are going to analyse the spatial dimension of brands and the opportunity to design space purposefully.
On the 17th of February Spatial Experience, in collaboration with Salto Systems and Conscious Coliving, organised Coliving in 2030: Future Trends in Shared Living, an Amsterdam Meetup to explore the future of the coliving trend.The event was kindly hosted at Zoku and the discussion has seen the participation of six panelists with a diverse mix of expertise. The discussion brought together operators, developers and others market stakeholders, offering a diverse range of products, concepts, visions and business models.
We live in a time of change, disruption. Global forces, such as the growing population, the rising prices of houses, the emerging technologies and the mobile lifestyle of new generations, among others, are irreversibly shaping our cities and how we live.
Technology is updating and improving constantly, expanding the number of possible ways to promote your business. Evolving over time has now become a prerogative, common to all those brands that are choosing to stand out and get an advantage from the new technological offering.In our previous article of The Potential of PropTech, together with SALTO KS, we explored how PropTech is emerging as one of the most important trends in real estate. It is necessary to remind that the main goal of PropTech is to empower the end-user through the use of technology-enabled services, in order to improve overall resident’s experience. These solutions, in many cases, can indeed be a game-changer that can lead to an increase of bookings and enrich customer experience.
The growth of Netflix has been beyond belief if we think that only 10 years ago it was still a Blockbuster-type movie rental company. According to the latest research approximately 37% of ALL Internet users use Netflix and the brand has already reached 150 millions of subscriptions.One of the greatest potentials of Netflix, is that it facilitates numerous shows and documentaries from which we can learn and get inspired if watched with a critical eye.
We are living in an era where technology is rapidly changing the way we experience our everyday lives. Different sectors have begun to evolve and take advantage of the potential that technology can offer to improve the quality of the customer experience. A striking example developed in recent years is represented by FinTech. FinTech uses innovative technologies to distribute financial services and has already changed the approach with which consumers save, pay, borrow and invest.In more recent times the technological revolution has slowly arrived also in the real estate industry. This revolution is called PropTech and according to the most it will certainly represent a point of no return for the sector as it is already gaining momentum and emerging as one of the biggest trends in real estate.
The power of brand merchandise in real estate is often disregarded when it comes to building a strong brand. When in fact, branded products are a great way to gain brand recognition and to stay at the top of mind with your customers. They are not only a powerful promotional tool, but they are also valuable for your clients and can be used to create a sense of loyalty in them towards your brand as well as to invoke a conversation about your business.Promoting an experience, a lifestyle, is a key element of marketing strategies in real estate; it is about cultivating the idea, the feeling of being part of a community. Promotional products and/or merchandise can aid to create that sense of belonging, build an audience, pull people into your brand experience and eventually lead to sales conversion and customer loyalty.
From the smallest local businesses to the most well-established companies, it is becoming more and more crucial to have a compelling web presence as people head online to learn more about business. In today’s digital world, your audience’s first impression of your business is mostly based on your website, so keeping your website appealing and functional is not a task to take lightly.According to web credibility research from Stanford, 75% of users admit to making judgments about a company’s credibility based on their website’s design. Dysfunctional and outdated websites not only irritate users, but also damage your brand’s image.
Gone are the days when you would search for the real estate properties in magazines and newspapers. In today’s digital world, the internet has enabled and accelerated new forms of searching, giving more control to customers. According to the study titled “The Digital House Hunt: Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate” done by Google and the National Association of Realtors (NAR), real estate related searches on Google.com have grown 253% over the past 4 years. This indicates how vital it has become for real estate businesses to have a strong and attractive online presence.However, branding a property with an effective marketing plan can be like putting together different pieces of a puzzle. With more and more brands catching onto the power of visual communication with the rise of digital and social media marketing, professional photography is becoming an essential puzzle piece for stepping up the marketing game. As a result, it is more important than ever for real estate businesses to create photos that actually stand out and deliver results.
When it comes to stepping into college life, researching and finding the right university and the right place to live is like trying to find a life partner. It needs to be the right fit, as it is central to shaping a young adult’s future. And just like with finding a life partner, we increasingly let technology show us what is out there, and help us make the match.As internet has become a global means of communication in our everyday lives, we explore the growth of online platforms for students and the importance of digital marketing efforts to reach Millennials and Generation Z.
In recent years the Digital Revolution has sparked “The Gig Economy”, a new era of sharing, which has changed the way people work.While the advancement in technology has enabled businesses to operate more efficiently through intelligent information sharing; for individuals it has facilitated the ability to work remotely, across time zones, and from anywhere in the world.Characterised by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work, as opposed to permanent jobs, the Gig economy is expanding rapidly. More & more people are moving away from the confines of corporate offices to seek flexible work, where they have more time for family, friends, and other life-fulfilling priorities.
Gone are the days when aggressive advertising brought a stream of customers to your door.Today the Information Age is empowering customers through easy access to information along with the tools to make considerate buying decisions. That being said, it is crucial for companies to offer products & services that truly meet the ever-changing needs of their customers.This trend will only continue to gain momentum as the information available to customers increases. Hence, adopting a “customer-centric” approach to products and service offerings will be, and already is, a crucial element of a company’s success. (Su, B. 2017)
We have reached a time where it is no longer just about creating and selling better goods and services, it is about delivering value in the experience. Some would even call this the peak of the Experience Economy.First used in a 1998 article by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, the term “Experience Economy” was used to describe where the economy was heading post service economy.
In Europe – the coliving boom is very much alive and attracting more & more interest from investors than ever before. To get a better understanding of where the industry is heading, we narrowed in on four urban hubs in Europe & the UK where the coliving trend is developing at different paces.
As real estate prices continue to soar and urban city centres are increasingly embracing the shared economy model of living, it comes as no surprise that coliving is in full bloom and a popular housing solution for many.Determined to understand how coliving is evolving & where the movement is headed, we looked into the history of coliving, generational shifts & the growing presence of coliving schemes in the European market.
