Businesses all over the world spend a great deal of their time trying to establish intellectual concepts and interactive experiences.
These experiences are often the result of intensive rounds of research that aim to establish something that sums up everything about a company’s brand identity, in a recognisable and interesting way.
But what if a consumer could walk into a room and experience your brand with all five senses? Pop-up events are just the ticket if this is what you’re trying to achieve. This gives consumers the opportunity to really get up close and personal with their favourite brands in a setting that is truly immersive.
In the purest and most impactful form, pop-ups most commonly take the shape of temporary retail spaces that give brands the chance to sell products in a customised environment designed to exacting specifications.
By their very nature, they are only temporary structures, which gives a company the license to take some creative risks that ultimately generates buzz and introduces consumers to their brand in new locations.
Consumers love the idea of exclusivity, and brands will often jump at the chance to stretch boundaries and experiment.
In this blog, we’ve put together five of the most captivating and innovative brand pop-ups shops to inspire your next event.
Nike
“Makers of the Game”
Nike unveiled its “Makers of the Game” pop-up show in Los Angeles to celebrate the start of the NBA All-Star Weekend. The shop offered customers the chance to express their style and individuality with a range of exclusive products.
Visitors could also choose from a number of activities from playing basketball on a full-size court, sitting in on a Q&A session with the late, great Kobe Bryant and even book an appointment to create a one-of-a-kind custom pair of Nike trainers from Nike’s 90/10 collection.
This latter activity, was, unsurprisingly, the major attraction of the event as visitors could collaborate closely with Bryant and Nike’s design staff to personalise their own unique trainer design.
Bark & Co.
“BarkShop Live”
The ecommerce company Bark & Co, creator of the BarkBox, created “BarkShop Live”, to give dogs the chance to shop for their own toys.
Over one week back in June 2016, the pet accessory retailer set up in Manhattan and invited dogs and their owners along to try out their offering for themselves.
The dogs that came along were fitted with special radio-frequency identification vests, which were able to track which of the toys each dog enjoyed playing with the most. From here, owners were then able to access these toys to purchase through the event’s dedicated mobile app.
Pantone
“Pantone Café”
Image from Mental Floss
Pantone set out to answer the rather philosophical question, “what does colour taste like?” And if any company is qualified to answer this question, it’s Pantone.
The best-known colour company on the globe ran a pop-up café across two summers in Monaco selling a menu of simple pastries, lunch choices, coffee and fresh juice – all branded with Pantone’s most popular colour samples.
However, this doesn’t mean that Pantone is permanently branching out into catering space. The seasonal café was absolutely perfect for social media, which is why it generated massive buzz in local, national and even international press.
This is a perfect example of what we mentioned earlier when a company is willing to take a creative risk by stepping outside its typical comfort zone and into different sectors.
Nando’s
“Feast Your Eyes Exhibition”
Image from Nando’s
While restaurant chain Nando’s is known for its signature PERi-PERi chicken, what is not common knowledge is their South African heritage.
To highlight their origins, the company turned their Soho restaurant into a temporary art gallery. The “Feast Your Eyes” exhibition showcased artwork by seven prominent South African artists – Henk Serfontain, Zemba Luzamba, Shakes Tembain, Norman O’Flynn, NomThunzi Mashalaba, Patrick Bongoy and Marlise Keith – handpicked by Nando’s themselves.
Visitors were able to experience a unique menu and were given the opportunity to learn more about each artist through VR headsets.
In addition to being able to purchase the artwork, customers were able to attend workshops on zine-making, mosaic creations and macramé.
Adidas
“Adidas Originals”
Is there any structure more appropriate for a footwear brand than a shoebox? That’s exactly what the Adidas Originals pop-up shop was modelled after.
Initially created for the Primavera music festival in Spain, the Adidas Originals pop-up was certainly a talking point at the event. With incredible attention to detail, the store had everything from meticulous labels to a couple of laces poking out from the lid.
The festival-goers were given a chance to look at and buy exclusive items and make the most of trying on trainers in such a unique setting.
Creating Unique Pop-Up Experiences
A selection of pop-up experiences we’ve worked on
All of these branded pop-up stores have one thing in common: they aren’t necessarily asking their visitors to purchase their products. The main goal of all of these pop-ups is engagement.
These brands are looking to do far more than sell a product to their customers; they are looking to encourage their audience to interact with the brand by giving them a chance to experience something truly memorable.
Engagement will make or break a pop-up store. Nike arranged a design session with basketball great Kobe Bryant. Bark & Co. flipped engagement on its head by letting dogs take the lead in their choice of toys. Pantone took a creative risk to move away from its traditional business model. Nando’s immersed their visitors in the world of South African art, and finally, Adidas gave visitors the chance to try on trainers in a giant shoe box – who wouldn’t want that?
All of these pop-ups encouraged a great deal of enthusiastic new customers who were able to enjoy a uniquely, immersive experience with the brands, their values and their products.
If you have any questions about anything we’ve covered in this blog, or you’re interested in discussing anything with us, get in touch today.