Muzak won the coveted Best Booth award, given by Visual Merchandising and Store Design at GlobalShop 2005 last week in Las Vegas, NV. With more than 25,000 attendees, the trade show is recognized as the largest international expo featuring the most innovative design, products, and technologies in the world of retail.
"Great design is fundamental to our brand and approach to music, voice, and sound. To stand out above all the other exhibitors is quite an achievement," said Bob Finigan, Muzak marketing director.
The concept for the booth was built on a question, "What does a red rose sound like?" The question and theme changed each day (from a rose to an eight-ball to a martini), as the company used basic objects to communicate its concept of audio architecture.
For example, the sound of a red rose was expressed through love songs and the music of artists like Etta James, Nat King Cole, and Stevie Wonder. Voiced elements were interspersed to drive the theme even further ... Remember your first kiss? The sound system was designed to create a warm and enveloping atmosphere. The overall design was supplemented with kinetic visual art, plasma screens and a chocolate scent.
"Every business has a certain look, feel and personality that can be expressed through music, voice, and sound. For many that can be an elusive concept, so we broke it down to the level of a simple object. From there, it was easy for attendees to extend the idea to their brand and understand what makes us different in the industry. To us it's not business music or satellite radio; it's audio architecture and there's a huge difference," said Finigan.
Muzak worked with Grant Design Collaborative in Atlanta to turn their ideas into the 30-by-40 foot structure. "This project was about expressing an idea. Once you get it, it all makes sense and you see that Muzak is way ahead of the game. What they're doing with audio architecture is having a profound influence on the way retailers are designing and building their brands," said Bill Grant, president.
The booth took three days to construct on site. Highlights of the design featured more than 3,000 pounds of ball chain, an interior "well" structure, 600 red roses, 700 eight balls, and 700 martini glasses. Hundreds of representatives from the top retail brands in the world visited the exhibit and gained a new appreciation for Muzak.
Photos: Muzak