There is little doubt about the rise in popularity of ‘pop-ups’ and it’s clear there is a role and desire for these in our towns and cities across the UK. Pop-ups are now seen not only as a retailing but also a marketing opportunity for brands. There are a number of factors contributing to their rise in popularity, which are mainly as a result of the changing face of retail on our high streets:
- Shorter term leases:As more traditional retail models are struggling there has been an increase in properties becoming available for shorter term or pay-as-you-go leases, demonstrated through the growth of business models such as Appear Here who have gone from strength to strength since launching in 2012 and offer brands and landlords an Airbnb style experience for booking retail and pop-up spaces.
- The experience economy:Consumers are demanding far more from brands and have higher expectations on what a retail experience should comprise of; it’s a competitive landscape with brands such as Nike, Apple and IKEA leading the way. Brands are using unique pop-up experiences to drive footfall on the high street, which then leadsto both in-store and online purchases.
- Online vs offline:Online-only eCommerce brands, accounting for 17% of purchases according to the Office of National Statistics, are also seeking out opportunities to create real world connections with their consumers. Pop-ups provide them with a cost-effective way to create live experiences without huge overhead commitments.
So perhaps the high street isn’t as dead as we have been led to believe in recent years. In fact, if brands get it right, it’s quite the opposite, and retail on the high street has the potential to flourish.
Despite all this opportunity and optimism, it does feel that some brands aren’t using pop-up concepts as wisely as they could be and still don’t understand how they can strategically build them into their wider marketing and commercial plans. For every brilliant brand experience and pop-up seen there are twice as many who miss the mark and aren’t using their investment to their advantage. Here are our top tips for creating impactful pop-up experiences, which will deliver against both commercial and marketing objectives alike.
Define your purpose
Taking the time upfront to define the purpose of your pop-up concept will keep you focussed during creative and concept development stages and act as a continual and objective sense-check and reference point. There are a number of potential reasons you might be considering a pop-up and generally these will likely fall into the categories of test and learn, launches, and marketing campaigns.
Pop-ups offer a great opportunity for brands, from start-ups through to established ones, to test new concepts and products in a live environment – getting invaluable consumer feedback and the ability to refine a concept before finalising and taking to market on a larger scale. Our activation tour with RBS & NatWest aimed to test how the brand could inspire customers’ trust in digital banking, through Digital Adoption pop-ups in locations other than their bricks and mortar stores. Insights and learnings from the tour were incorporated into the roll-out plan for their digital banking offerings.
More often than not pop-ups are used to launch a new product line, brand or sub-brand. This might as a stand-alone retail opportunity - like the launch of Nars’ new mascara, Climax, at the “House of Climax” - or as part of a wider marketing campaign, where the pop-ups aren’t only used as retail hubs and are used to promote a specific marketing campaign, creating an experience for consumers to attend. Spotify created a pop-up exhibition for Ariana Grande, where the interactive “Sweetener The Experience” activation turned each album track into a colourful, multi-sensory moment for fans to experience room by room.
Consider design and programme
Once you have agreed on the purpose of your pop-up you can start to consider the design and programming, which is always the fun part and should be applied whether focussing solely on retailing or a more in-depth brand experience.
Design has always been an important consideration for any brand, but increasingly with the ‘Instagram generation’ it’s of even more importance to think about how your pop-up space will look and feel, ensuring that it’s not only aligned to a brand’s culture and values, but also offers a unique visual experience for consumers to capture and share online. Glossier does this really well. Starting life as an online beauty brand, Glossier has replicated its social success and currency offline by creating show stopping and highly instagrammable showrooms.
There is a rise in creative selling but getting the basics right is important too. Consider what and how you’re selling in your space. Are you offering up a limited-edition range only, if so, could you also consider selling some of your more established product range alongside to draw consumers in who might not be looking for the limited edition? Again, leading the way here, Glossier and its London pop-up, that showed brands that there are ways to replicate online shopping experiences offline. Their omnichannel retail experience allowed customers to order via brand assistants on iPads and head over to a collection point where their personalised package arrived all neatly wrapped. It made for a painless shopping experience according to consumers who visited.
As we now firmly live in the age of experience it’s really important to consider the experience journey of your pop-up too, from the basic retail journey and experience through to what else could happen in the space which creates a multi-purpose offering beyond retail alone. Brands like Apple and Sweaty Betty have been using their bricks and mortar operations for so much more than retail for many years; Apple with their in-store talks and Sweaty Betty with their weekly programme of classes held in-store.Amazon used its "Home of Black Friday" activation to show customers the breadth of products available on its site.
Amplify your pop-up
If you can, work your pop-up into a wider communications and marketing plan to maximise your return on investment, drive footfall and allow your concept and message to reach more than just the people who have the pleasure of stepping over the threshold.
If your concept is unique and has a compelling hook, then PR amplification can extend the reach of the activation beyond its physical footprint. Through establishing a strong call to action, there’s an opportunity to pre-promote the offering via traditional media and listings coverage. Furthermore, where possible seek to inject ‘made for media’ style content, that could secure additional press interest during the activation period, giving it a life beyond and prolonging the longevity of the execution. Baileys, the creamy Irish liqueur brand opened The Vegan Treat Shop in Soho last year giving away free - you guessed it - vegan treats, picking up tonnes of regional and food and drink PR coverage.
When it comes to influencers, aligning yourself with the right ones who feel authentic and affiliated to the brand could create a real social buzz around your pop-up. This works especially well if you can invite them to the event space or an exclusive opening as influencers are all about experiencing the new, must-visit places. You can even offer them opportunities to host followers and create bespoke and exclusive content in the space. Aperol produced the Big Spritz social, a fun and immersive Aperol themed playground that brought the Italian spirit of spontaneity to Shoreditch last summer, and with the help of influencers createda desire for audiences to go down too and be part of the unforgettable experience.
From a social perspective, through using geo-targeted posts you can drive footfall to your pop-up, especially if you are offering unique content and experiences. Also, once in the space, encouraging people to follow your brand and share organic social content will increase the reach beyond those physically in store. Two SXSWs ago, Pinterest, the visual discovery engine, Airdropped personal invites to guests inside the Austin Convention Center to get them along to their activation at the festival.
Frankie Speakman is the managing director at Seen Presents.