So you want to open a pop-up shop? There couldn’t be a better time.
The 2015 Global Powers of Retailing report from Deloitte says shoppers flock to flash sales, limited-time-only products, and “fast retailing” because it helps improve their access to products.
But what makes a pop-up really stand out? We asked three experts – Greg Spielberg of Imagination in Space, Jill Rudnitzky of The Michael Alan Group, and Rosa Ng of Young & Able – for some pro tips. Here are their field notes and some retail magic you can try for yourself.
The best way to get feet in the door and eyes on your space, hands down? Engage the community. That’s straight from the mouth of Greg Spielberg, founder of Imagination in Space, an experiential pop-up company. But don’t rush to the nearest bodega to flier just yet. He says it’s more crucial to think about communities of interest instead of communities of geography.
“Community doesn’t always mean neighborhood,” said Spielberg. “A community of interest can be an incredibly powerful and efficient group of people.”
And by letting the community aspect dictate the event outreach and promotion, he crafts a compelling platform of products and personalities for press coverage. “Focusing on the community makes storytelling easy. If you reach out to press and say, 'We're doing something amazing!' your story ends up in the trash. If you say, 'We're helping support local manufacturers in all five boroughs; here they are, come see them, come say hi,' you pique curiosity and coverage.”
Guests of The Allies LES Pop-Up Gallery. Partners were We Are Pop Up & Brooklyn’s Martenero. | Image source: Imagination in Space
Talk about surprise and delight, why not bake transformation directly into your space? Jill Rudnitzky, a senior vice president at experiential marketing agency the Michael Alan Group, built dynamic pop-ups for a series of Intel Experience Stores in New York, Chicago, and LA.
Via a pretty nifty movable wall (yes, a whole wall!), those stores grew in size throughout the day. By sectioning off areas of the venue, the morning crowd encountered an intimate and cozy room, the afternoon customers had more room to spread out, and with the venue at full capacity in the evenings, guests had plenty of floor space to party. Of course, along with the moving walls, the experiences changed, too. Because why not.
If a moving wall isn’t in your budget, you can still reimagine your displays. Rosa Ng, founder of online lifestyle and fashion boutique Young & Able, engineered movable merchandise into her holiday pop-up shop for local designers and artisans.
Having products on rolling racks meant she could easily scoot items out of the way for events, but it also allowed her to redesign the flow of her store on a whim. Side bonus? She could gauge customer interaction based on the new configurations she tested.
“You can’t wear the same outfit everyday. And the same goes for your pop-up,” says Spielberg.
You may not be everything to everyone, but can you build an event calendar inside the constraints of your pop-up that speaks to each of your target audiences. Creating opportunities for new and different experiences helps keep your pop-up feeling fresh–and customers coming back.
For his street art pop-up “The Allies,” Spielberg created a calendar of programming aimed at word-of-mouth marketing. He saved the opening night for press and art intellectuals who didn’t want to bother with crowds. Night two was his bigger launch party, which helped spread the word about the store–and made for more sharable photo opportunities.
During nights three and four of his pop-up he hosted “innovation dinners” where guests could listen and be part of “pop-up conversations” about art and real estate and he ended his residency with open-door barbecues–come one, come all.
Every pop-up needs an HQ. “The landing page is essential,” says Spielberg, who often uses Splash to build pop-up event sites.
In order to create an anchor for people to rally around, he usually starts with a blog post telling the story of the pop-up. (Like this post.) Then, his RSVP page – which is linked at the bottom of the post – helps people find the when and where. (Here's the Splash page he built for The Allies opening party). By linking them back and forth, anyone who discovers the store through organic or targeted outreach will be able to grasp the why as well as the where.
Group photo time at The Allies, "a prototype of the new gallery" in NYC's Lower East Side. | Image source: Imagination in Space
What’s good for one is good for many, right? Ng realized she had her hands on a hot item during New York’s holiday season: A space for a holiday party. So she encouraged fashion bloggers use her pop-up space to host their company holiday celebrations and it totally paid off. By allowing like-minded entrepreneurs a unique venue for networking and socializing, she simultaneously helped her designers meet potential new customers.
Another sneaky tactic: She also sold tickets to exclusive designer-led workshops – like holiday wreath making and holiday card watercolor painting – which were hosted at the pop-up, cozied up right next to her merchandise. (Click here for more about "Series.")
Spielberg’s business shares the same sentiment of brand symbiosis. Imagination in Space recently partnered with London's We Are Pop-up to bring Shopshare, a program that allows retailers to rent sections of their store to other entrepreneurs without stores of their own, to New York City.
Illustrator Billur Kazaz taught a holiday card painting class as part of Young & Able's collaborative pop-up space called "Series." | Image source: Young & Able
Just because your shop may only be alive for a few days or weeks doesn’t mean it can’t have the same visual and emotional impression as a permanent store. Ng built a space that seemed more rooted than random, and many her of customers were shocked to discover her space would only be around for a few weeks. “It looked like a boutique,” she said. “When you walked in it really felt like a store.”
Creating a feeling of professionalism and permanence with a once-in-a-lifetime feel is impressive when done right and can also be super conducive to “limited-time-only” sales.
For as much cool product or presentation you may merchandise or muster up in your pop-up, nothing really speaks louder than making someone’s day.
Rudnitzky weaved this into her Intel experience stores on several levels. Along with offering free yoga classes in the evenings, they created afternoon sessions where customers could stop by and troubleshoot their computer and tech problems with on-site experts. They also invited a troop of Girl Scouts to the pop-up to learn about the products and awarded them their much-coveted technology badges. (Adorable. We know.)
If none of those acts of generosity fit the bill for your store, feel free to fall back on the easiest customer gift of all. “We had breakfast available in the store each and every morning,” said Rudnitzky. “And because of that, we had regulars that would come by to grab a coffee on the way to work. We became a neighborhood spot.”
Yep. If all else fails: Free coffee.
Ben Hindman is co-founder and CEO of Splash, the country's fastest-growing event marketing platform that helps businesses and brands more effectively market through their events. An event planner turned tech entrepreneur, events are in Ben’s DNA. Prior to starting Splash, Ben was the Director of Events at Thrillist, where he produced large-scale events from concerts to mystery fly-aways.
