A great heritage? A killer identity? A much loved ad campaign? There’s no doubt that all of these help, but at Goosebumps, we think that the truth behind what makes customers fall in love with brands often comes down to something much more simple, humble, and best of all, much less expensive to do.

We’re talking about what we call ‘Atoms of Delight’: little, tangible gestures that spring a surprise, and sum up what a brand is all about in one marvellous moment.

Take Virgin Atlantic: When their flights are delayed, and their customers frustrated, they give every one of them an ice cream. A daft thing to do? Probably. A cheap initiative? Definitely. But the result? Instant appeasement.

By making the kind of a placatory gesture that your Mum might have used when you were a kid, Virgin raise a smile at the most unlikely of times. They could have just said “We would like to apologise” and “We hope you enjoy your flight”, but no words could compete with such a powerful gesture.

Knowing the importance of these subtle gestures, Virgin have rolled them out into every other area of the Atlantic experience: from the putting green in the upper class lounge to the website that greets you with “hello gorgeous”, here’s a brand who knows how to replace rhetoric with small gestures to make powerful, personal connections with their customers.

At Goosebumps, we specialise in helping clients achieve a big impact with little gestures, and the Atoms of Delight brochure was created to showcase some of our favourites. If you’d like a glossy copy, please do get in touch via hello@givemegoosebumps.com, and if you’d like to know more about how we can help you find some Atoms of your own, then don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Either way, we hope you share our fascination with those little, physical gestures, and agree that whilst the pen may be mightier than the sword, a single scoop of raspberry ripple will trump them both every time.