Office Matters: Why real estate needs to act like a consumer brand

The commercial real estate industry spends a huge amount of time asking what occupiers want. But according to architect and strategist Fakhry Akkad, we're still missing the point.

In this fascinating episode of Office Matters, Akkad, founder of architectural practice Manufacturing Taste, argues that while the sector has become highly effective at refining the supply side of the equation - designing better buildings, improving specifications and adding ever more amenities - it has paid far less attention to understanding the people those spaces are ultimately for.

Drawing on lessons from consumer brands, retail strategy and behavioural psychology, Akkad explores how developers can move beyond simply following market trends and instead shape demand through meaning, identity and storytelling.

From the campaign to save the former London College of Fashion building to the industry's ongoing obsession with amenity arms races, he challenges conventional thinking and asks whether real estate has become trapped in an echo chamber of its own making.

This is a conversation about culture, consumer behaviour and competitive advantage. Most importantly, it's a reminder that people don't fall in love with products. They connect with stories, values and experiences. The workplaces that succeed in the future may be those that understand that best.

Listen in to:

• Learn why developers should think more like consumer brands and less like commodity providers.
• Discover why amenities alone are no longer enough to differentiate a workplace.
• Hear a powerful argument for putting culture, meaning and human behaviour at the heart of real estate strategy.

Enjoy!