My Approach to Brand Touchpoints

Creating Moments People Remember: My Approach to Brand Touchpoints

Every time someone at the office says, "Petra, we have touchpoints in the offer," I get excited.

No touchpoints are ever the same. Every client brings a different story, a different audience and a completely new challenge. For me, that's the exciting part. Every new task feels like what I imagine a blank canvas feels like for an artist or a blank page to a writer, waiting to be filled with ideas and research. I have the freedom to ideate, think outside the box and come up with moments that will eventually become someone’s experience of the brand.

If you and I were just two friends having coffee and you asked me what I do at work, I'd probably say: "I spend my days thinking of ways people will experience a brand."

What are brand touchpoints?

Touchpoints are every interaction a person has with a brand. At Fabular, creating touchpoints means designing those experiences intentionally so they all tell the same brand story.

Some are obvious, like a hotel’s reception, a restaurant menu, packaging or a website. Others are much more subtle like a welcome ritual, the story behind a signature cocktail, the scent that greets you when you enter a space, the artwork on the walls, the questions written beside a children’s playground or the souvenir you take home. Each of those moments communicates something about the brand, whether you realize it or not.

I've been creating touchpoints long before I knew they had a name

One of my favorite things about branding is that it gave structure to something I’ve naturally been doing my whole life. Whenever I'm planning a surprise for someone, organizing a conference, putting together a book club, hosting friends or creating any kind of experience, my mind always goes to the same place. How do I want people to feel? What will they remember? What's the little detail that will make them smile when they are feeling down and need a feel good memory to cheer them up?

I've always loved thinking this way. Maybe it comes from my mom, who always taught me to notice the little (big) things and to take time doing little things for others. Maybe it's because I just love people. Or maybe it's because I believe memories are one of the most valuable things we get, and can create and gift others.

If I can create something that makes a person smile, laught, think differently, feel inspired or simply remember a beautiful moment years later, then I’ve created something meaningful. That’s what touchpoints are to me. They’re opportunities to create memories.

Every idea starts with understanding the brand

For me, the creative process starts earlier than the brainstorming process and throwing ideas around. Before I write down a single idea, I need to understand the brand inside out. Firstly, I get to know the brand foundations that Fabular has defined (the brand essence, personality, promise, image and insight).

At the same time, I'm thinking about the people I'm creating for. Not just who they are demographically, but what motivates them, what they value, what makes them curious and what kind of experiences they remember. I often imagine they're simply my friends or I picture someone I love, who fits into the target group based on psychographics, at the receiving end of those touchpoints.

In one way, I think of touchpoints as introducing two strangers. One is the brand. The other is the guest, customer or visitor. My role is to create the place where they meet for the first time. Sometimes that meeting should feel playful and full of energy. Sometimes elegant and understated. Sometimes warm, comforting and personal. It all depends on the personality of the brand and the people it's trying to connect with.

The research nobody sees

One part of touchpoint creation that often goes unnoticed is the amount of research behind every idea. Sometimes that means spending an afternoon in a library, reading local history, digging through archives or learning about traditional crafts and forgotten customs. Other times exploring the destination firsthand.

Microlocation matters

The strongest ideas rarely appear out of nowhere. Kind of like sifting through rocks at the seaside when, out of nowhere, a beautiful shell appears. These ideas emerge from understanding a place deeply enough to discover the stories worth telling. The challenge is then finding a way to honor that heritage while translating it into experiences that feel fresh, relevant and memorable for today's guests.

Five senses branding

Another part of our touchpoint offer is five senses branding, where we explore how sight, sound, scent, taste and touch can express the brand in a cohesive way. And just like every other touchpoint, it all starts with the microlocation.

If we're creating a signature scent, we're not looking for something that simply smells nice. We're asking ourselves what naturally belongs there. A great example is the signature scent we created for Heritage Hotel Zagreb in Dubrovnik, Poetry of Nature, inspired by the rosemary and clementine trees growing in the hotel's own garden. The scent doesn't just smell pleasant, it smells like the place itself. The same goes for food and drinks. Sometimes we'll discover an old local recipe and reinterpret it in a more contemporary way, or create a signature cocktail inspired by local history. For Hotel Knopp in Novska, for example, we created Malinovac, a signature cocktail inspired by the traditional raspberry liqueur once served to railway passengers during the brief stop in Novska. A simple drink became another way of telling the destination's story.

Even our ideas for artwork stem from local architecture, traditions, landscapes or stories. The goal is that, whether someone is tasting, smelling, seeing or hearing the brand, every experience feels like it belongs exactly where it is.

Food and beverage concepts are one of my favorite parts of creating touchpoints because they leave so much room for creativity. You're not just thinking about what people will eat or drink. You're thinking about colors, textures, flavors, aromas, presentation, the names on the menu, the stories behind the dishes, the ingredients that connect them to the destination and even the conversations they might spark around the table. Besides being good food, the meal becomes another chapter in the brand story. When all those details come together, each one rooted in the microlocation and the brand's identity, it's a bit like watching the final pieces of a puzzle fall into place and everything suddenly makes sense.

Space Park: designing curiosity, not just a playground

One of my first projects at Fabular was creating touchpoints for the playground at Valamar's Pical Resort. The space-themed concept wasn't random. One of the first things we do in every project is immerse ourselves in the microlocation, and in this case, that led us to nearby Višnjan and its world-renowned observatory. Rather than inventing a story, we built upon one that already belonged to the destination. From there, the real creative process began. At first glance, it sounds like a project about playground equipment. For me, however, it started with a much bigger question: What kind of experience do we want children and their families to leave with?

That question became the foundation for everything else. We built the concept around creativity, curiosity and imagination, inspired by the belief that every child can become a S.T.A.R. – someone with strong character, tinkering with ideas, ready for action and adventure, and radiant. Instead of creating a playground that simply entertains, we wanted to create a space where children learn through play and where families discover new things together. Only after that did the research begin.

I immersed myself in astronomy, planets, gravity, constellations, satellites and space exploration. As I researched, ideas naturally started connecting. A climbing structure became the Moon's craters. A balance element became a lesson about planetary orbits. Every installation became part of a larger story rather than an isolated piece of equipment. Alongside each experience, we added playful mission challenges and questions designed to spark children's imagination and encourage conversations with their families. That's one of my favorite parts of the process. Research isn't separate from creativity. It's often where the creative process begins.

Hotels are one of my favorite playgrounds

I especially love working on hospitality projects because hotels offer so many opportunities to create memorable experiences. A hotel is a collection of moments. From the first impression when guests arrive, to the atmosphere in the restaurant, the artwork on the walls, the music, the signature cocktail or the gift they take home, each interaction contributes to the overall story people remember. Storytelling is something I’ve always loved.

In the end, it's always about people.

People have asked me where ideas come from. The truth is, ideas are never where I begin. I begin with people. Once I understand the brand and the people it's trying to connect with, the creative process becomes about building meaningful encounters between the two. Because that's what touchpoints really are. They're not just signs, menus, souvenirs or collabs. They're moments where someone gets to know a brand. And if we've done our job well, they won't just remember what they saw. They'll remember how it made them feel. Just like with people. That’s another thought my mom engrained in me – that we always remember people not for what they’ve done, but for how they made us feel. I’d say that’s what guides my work in branding.

Petra Crnički