Pop-up shops are seen as an opportunity to bring brands closer to their target audience, and engage consumers through unique, personal experiences. A recent article in Marketing Week discussed some great examples of pop-up installations from brands including Radox, Electrolux, Puma and Magnum, who all encouraged consumers to immerse themselves in an original and branded environment.
The pop-up phenomenon started being explored by restaurants, galleries and retailers a few years back. Back in 2004, Trendwatching.com dubbed this trend, which involves creating temporary installations to showcase exclusive collections, products and services with strong media impact, as Pop-Up Retail.
The success of a pop-up generally depends on the ability to find suitable high footfall locations, creating the element of surprise for consumers and bringing the brand to life. The limited time span of a pop also guarantees an air of exclusivity and generate desire to participate.
As a temporary operation, the pop-up strategy allows brands to tap into new markets and entice consumers with unique, immersive experiences that can help build brand awareness and educate consumers about products or services. To further engage with customers, social media integration is paramount. This will not only help brands to generate online conversations, but will allow companies to interact with consumers and get their feedback on the experience.
A great example of successful experiential pop-up with social media integration is ‘The Generous Store’ from the Danish chocolatier Anthon Berg. Expanding on their ‘you can never be too generous’ motto, Anthon Berg created a pop-up shop where consumers could pay for the products with a promise of a generous deed to a friend or loved one. When choosing their product at ‘The Generous Store’, shoppers had to share their promise on Facebook with the person it involved.
Online retailers such as Ocado and eBay have also jumped on the pop-up bandwagon, bringing the online experience to the high street by showcasing popular items using interactive displays, which consumers could buy from using their mobile devices. The eBay Christmas Boutique was set up for one week in London, filled with brand-new goodies which could be bought using the eBay app.
Pop-up stores can be a great tool for brands to wow consumers with great experiences. So where will your brand pop-up next?