Brand Masterclass: The Serato in-store experience

There’s something to be said for the shopping experience of Apple Stores. You walk in, and its wall to wall immersive experience uncluttered or polluted with other brands, and has you in no doubt that you’re leaving with something with an Apple logo on it. And while traditionally the DJ industry hasn’t been large enough to support a chain of brand specific shops, Serato has just recreated such an experience inside the Brooklyn Guitar Center store. Behold the Serato in-store Digital Experience.

The idea is clear — instead of being presented with a plethora of controllers and software that just serves to confuse, Serato skilled GC staffers will walk you into their heavily branded space and hone your attention onto a smaller selection of hardware, all running perfectly on one software platform. If you want Traktor or Virtual DJ, you’ll have to be on the outside of the cool kids club with all the other brands on the generic shop floor. I wouldn’t be surprised if your purchase wasn’t packed in Serato bags too. And the mall facing location will associate non-DJ types with the idea that Serato IS DJing.

This is a marvellous display of branding at its best. Serato has always been the coolest brand, and this has been underlined even further over the years to the point where using Serato has almost become the generic word for DVS. Recent years have seen this reinforced with a streamlined offering, ending up with “DJ” as their software brand, a pretty audacious move. How long before people in Brooklyn start talking about going down to the “Serato Store”, especially if this idea can extend to other Guitar Center branches?

Success in business isn’t just about having the best product offering. A whole world of factors come into play, and the strength of the brand is certainly a very important part of the bigger picture. And Serato absolutely have that nailed, more so than any other DJ company.

This event wasn’t just about Serato and GC though. The gathering of OG DJs was staggering. DJ and photographer Ignacio Soltero was on hand to capture the atmosphere, and below is the 8 minute Cash Money set.