Creating Connections Through Surprise & Delight
Using play and creativity to foster ongoing connections between people and place.
Who doesn’t like to be delighted by a surprise? Creating such moments is an act of generosity to those who visit public and shared spaces. Consistently doing so creates an emotional bond and encourages repeat visitations, with those visitors beginning to “expect the unexpected.” Looking at a calendar of events becomes less relevant as history teaches them that “there’s always something happening there.”
The best public spaces and commercial districts integrate surprise within a baseline of consistency. Visitors should expect that the basic amenities of a space will be good, while still leaving room for surprise, by not knowing the full picture of what’s in store; an exceptional storefront display; flowers in the bathroom; a live performance (the smaller the better); a hidden room; a door just for kids; a free giveaway.
These experiences can be created by participants too. The best public spaces inspire end-users to become participants, where the actions of the visitors are the moments that surprise and delight; an animated game being played; a planned engagement or wedding part; a birthday celebration; children running through bubbles; an old couple in a warm embrace.
To experience - or better, to be a part of - these moments creates a means of connection between those who are there to witness. These, in turn, foster stronger emotional attachments to the place itself, and will keep people coming back. The more people visit, the more they form relationships with each other and patronize local businesses.
Delightful surprises in places go further than evoking emotional connections; they bring a sense of humanness to a place, act as a conduit to connect members of the community together, and communicate a sense of care and attention being paid to the physical environment.
How to Create “Surprise & Delight”
When creating moments of surprise and delight, consider the following:
Start with the why: What’s most important to you? Creating awareness, lengthening time of stay, encouraging kids to play? Whatever you do, start with your goals
Know your audience: what are the desires and pain points for your audience? Magical experiences for their kids, solving for boredom, sharing something cool with friends. Get inside the head of what your audience want to experience.
Combine to Create: What unexpected combinations can stop visitors in their tracks and put a smile on their face?
Chances are, you’ve happened upon awesome examples of this concept in your life; whether it was a free little library found on your neighborhood walk, or a skeleton mascot in front of a chiropractor’s office, it probably made the place memorable and a more positive experience for you. Besides the above considerations, we encourage you to find ways to get creative, get noticed and get people talking.
In the Field: “Surprise & Delight” for Commercial Districts
In working with clients over the years, we’ve encouraged them to use this strategy especially in relation to activating storefronts and commercial districts. Below are some examples:
At the 50th and France shopping district, one of our more popular activations, “Llamas on the Plaza,” provided a joyful, high-end petting zoo experience which drew hundreds to its central plaza several times a year.
In working with businesses in Downtown Hopkins, we helped a new chiropractor gain visibility by bringing a demonstration skeleton dummy they had in storage out in front of their storefront. They took it a step further and began dressing “Bones” up for the holidays. The new mascot made passerby pay attention, ensured clients entered with a smile on their faces. Eventually landing them as the headline image of a story on Musicant Group’s work with them!
Down the block, The KiddyWampus toy store was looking for a way to take advantage of an unused doorway on the blank side of their building that sat across the street from a busy community arts center. They transformed the space by creating an imaginary creature that kids could send letters to using the vacated mailbox. The Wampus character would then post replies inside the store. What was just a blank wall becomes a new tradition and drives return traffic!
Surprise and delight is a strategy that creates meaningful results and puts a smile on the faces of producer and recipient.
Want more? Check out our full list of strategies for creating friendly storefronts in our free toolkit:
