In our ever-changing digital world, it can be a difficult task to capture the attention of the masses through traditional marketing means. Consumers are incessantly exposed to an endless reel of ads, both digitally and physically, and as a result, we’ve become indifferent. So, whether you are an established household name or an up-and-coming brand, it’s imperative to look toward innovative and experiential techniques to secure engagement. Predictably, that’s exactly what a pop up is!
Pop ups provide a unique opportunity to refresh typical marketing strategies – offering consumers an inventive and immersive shopping experience to remember. However, they can only be successful if planned correctly. For example, if constructed as a temporary shop in a new location with no notable features then you’re unlikely to see any remarkable results. But, create a pop up that exemplifies brand values, pushes the boundaries of what is expected and focuses in on a specific target audience, then the benefits will speak for themselves.
So, what persuades consumers to visit your pop up? Well, we decided to find out.
We circulated a survey to 1000 UK consumers that investigated what they want to find when attending a pop up. From there we compiled their results to give you the 3 best techniques to get you pop up on the map!
Provide the opportunity to try and test new products
Our survey found that having the opportunity to try something unfamiliar and original was of most importance to potential consumers. A substantial 51% of entrants displayed a clear attraction to pop ups holding a sense of exclusivity by providing something that they could not find in a usual retail experience. Not only does this technique draw consumers into your pop up, but additionally provides a great opportunity for you to market a specific product to them!
For instance, on behalf of our client Merchant Gourmet, we created a pop up restaurant that was tasked with taking pulses and grains to the masses for a three month period.
The pop up’s skilful and strategic design managed to not only inspire consumers to try the product range in their own homes, but also prompted major retailers to stock the brand’s products through an immersive business-to-business demonstration area.
The pop up resulted in the several new listings, a roll-out of the concept in a major grocery retailer’s stores, served 30,000 dishes and reached 5 million new consumers.
Give access to exclusive products or special offers
Over one-third of individuals acknowledged exclusive or product offers as their foremost motive to visit a pop up!
So, if your plans revolve around merely opening a small and temporary pop up in an unexpected location with the same products and pricing that is already available in other channels, then you’ll be alienating a huge proportion of potential consumers. By providing exclusive products or special offers that are only available at the pop up, consumers are likely to part with their pennies so that they don’t miss out on a one-time offer! If you’re looking for inspiration on how to do this then read up on our Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Trailer campaign.
iD was approached by the notorious skincare and makeup brand to boost the launch of a new ‘Hollywood’ range of products. To do so, we created a one of a kind pop up that took to the streets of the UK and provided a glamourous escape to the dreary every day – allowing us to create further noise, awareness and footfall to nearby stores and concessions. The trailer hosted some of the brand’s best beauty experts that treated participants to a show-stopping makeover that left them with a red-carpet glow.
To enhance the atmosphere of exclusivity and overall experience for participants, the Hollywood range of products were only available to buy at the pop up before the full market launch.Over 10 days of activity, across 5 key UK cities, the pop up drove £88k of sales through both the pop up and close-by stores.
Present a new or exciting experience
A final insight from the research highlighted the way to draw people into your pop up is by creating a new or exciting experience. So how could you bring to life a novel and disruptive experience for the public?
Cornetto decided that they would do so by providing something completely original and bespoke to their brand. With the help of iD, Cornetto chose to surprise and delight consumers by challenging cinema expectations with ‘Beyond the Screen’. To do so, we were tasked with creating an immersive experience to resonate with consumers’ everyday lives, whilst amplifying the brand and creating a buzz. As a result, we transformed a prime retail unit at Westfield Stratford into a unique cinematic art-deco theatre pop up that used a combination of 3D-sound cinema and a live theatre to create a unique storytelling experience.
It didn’t stop there, however. The Cornetto ‘Tear & share samples’ offered a further way of engaging with consumers by sampling the product upon entry to be enjoyed during the screening – meaning that the target audience was fully engaged with the brand. This multi-award-winning campaign boosted both online and offline engagement significantly with 83,000 experience visitors and a staggering 6.3 million online impressions.
The Winning Formula
By creating something tailored specifically to your brand - whether it be a new product, experience or special offer - consumers are left with a distinct impression that generates wider word-of-mouth conversations both online and offline.
So, what do you want them to talk about?
If you want to learn more about how pop ups can help your brand test new products, drive sales and make more meaningful and sustained connections with consumers in the real world, then get in touch.