Creating Unforgetable Brand Experiences

Amway’s XS Center for Optimal Fun immerses visitors in adventure and fun.

Brand experience is a term loosely thrown around in the direct selling industry. Maybe it’s hard to define, or maybe it’s undervalued. Creating opportunities for customers and distributors spread across the country or around the globe isn’t easy to execute, but it can be a terrific way to ingrain people in a company culture.

In the physical retail space, The House of Vans in London is a 30,000-squarefoot building merging music, art and skateboard/BMX culture. The bottom floor holds a full concrete ramp and skate/bike course, while other levels include live music, a café and art galleries. IKEA gave Facebook fans the opportunity to have a sleepover in a warehouse in Essex, complete with massages, salons, and the ability to select their own mattress and pillows customized to their sleep needs.

One unique direct selling industry example of a physical location offering visitors a total cultural emersion is Amway’s XS Center for Optimal Fun in Laguna Beach, Calif. Amway’s popular XS Energy drink has formed a brand and culture of its own, and the Center for Optimal Fun provides independent business owners a place to relax, work, and ultimately experience what the XS culture is all about.

“XS is a brand driven by experience,” says XS co-founder David Vanderveen. “We like to help people push themselves further and do more than they thought they could.”

Visitors to the XS Center for Optimal Fun can choose adventure experiences such as hiking, surfing, beach workouts, snorkeling, biking, or just a relaxing time in the sand. The location was a major factor for matching the XS Energy culture. Laguna Beach was founded as an art colony, and is now one of the top destinations for adventure, relaxation and fun. The XS brand is driven by art, adventure and entrepreneurship. The brand experience goal of the Center for Optimal Fun is to merge hard work and fun.