This past weekend at the MET, Spinster launched its first beta-test of an upcoming experiential workshop series in partnership with global girl boss brand, experience, innovation, brand designer and strategist, Payal Vaidya.
Payal x Spinster’s, #ExperienceBrandThinking Workshops are a series of immersive experiences held around New York City focusing on empowering early-stage entrepreneurs to develop a human-centered design approach in developing their brands, along with the insights, knowhow, and skillset to manage their brand from the beginning of the startup process through their raise, and at various stages of scaling.
“I want to help founders think about their brands in a more holistic way. Brands are ideas that we create to connect with the consumers, to sell our products and services. So, it is critical to be able to think about brands from the consumer’s perspective,” says Payal Vaidya, a former creative director at Grey, Publics and Ogilvy, where she helped create national and global marketing campaigns, branding and innovative ideas for companies like Garnier, Pantene, Wella, Taj Hotels, Tata Group and many more.
“Through #ExperienceBrandThinking workshops, we intend to share cutting-edge techniques derived from the latest in design research, innovation strategy, branding and marketing for a fresh perspective on building brands,” Payal explains.
Spinster’s invite-only beta #ExperienceBrandThinking workshop was held at the MET’s Camp exhibit during its closing weekend. Eight entrepreneurs from Spinster’s community at various stage of their startup build were invited to the exhibit. Here, the founders worked as a group to identify what resonated with them, and how the exhibit could be more ‘user-friendly,’ based on their own experiences, and how to apply their learnings into their own startup brands.
Jena Min, founder of the VERBÖDEN – a beauty CBD company, was one of the eight entrepreneurs in attendance who found the interactive experience helpful towards her own brand process.
“#ExperienceBrandThinking is an authentic way to experience branding first-hand,” Jena stated. “The fun part is getting to break down that experience with fellow branders, which brought such new and interesting perspectives.”
Tania Chackmukal, co-founder of WESTxEAST – a popular contemporary bespoke bridal wear company specializing in South Asian weddings – also agreed that the new style of startup learning had an innovative edge to it.
"It was a fantastic way to see an exhibition and have thought-provoking discussions with like-minded people! You leave the workshop with ideas on how to better your brand,” she stated.
#ExperienceBrandThinking workshops will launch to the public for the first time this October 13, 2019. The first workshop will be A Taste of Fall, an immersive learning experience where entrepreneurs learn how to differentiate their products, services, and marketing campaigns during the busy holiday season to engage consumers in a new yet relevant way.
The sensory-driven learning experience will include under-the-radar New York City eats & treats, a product or campaign design building exercise with a curated group of fellow entrepreneurs, as well as perks and giveaways from our women-owned partners.
Apply for a seat in The Taste Of Fall branding cohort here!