T H E TO U C H I N G E X P E R I E N C E 189 W H AT I S BR AND E X P E RI EN C E? It's pretty easy to define brand experience by pointing to brands that de- liver it--Apple, Four Seasons, Lexus, Starbucks, JetBlue, Target, Williams- Sonoma. But it's a lot harder to describe what it is about these branded experiences that makes the brands great. The whole concept of what a brand experience is has remained somewhat elusive, even to researchers and indus- try practitioners. Brands have been delivering great experiences for a long time, but until recently they haven't had much data or practical advice to help them improve how they do it. Brand experience lives entirely in the mind of your audience. That's why it's so hard to define and discuss. A brand experience is not a package, it is not a retail environment, and it is not an advertisement. All of those ele- ments contribute to brand experience, but none of them are the brand expe-