Done right, pop-ups create buzz, grab attention and boost brand engagement. Here are 10 inventive examples to inspire you…
From parties to retail, bars to dining experiences, pop-up events are increasingly popular. So what’s the appeal to the consumer – and the companies behind them?
Pop-up events offer the chance to get up close and personal with brands in a truly immersive setting. In their simplest form, pop-ups are temporary spaces that give companies the opportunity to sell their products in an environment designed and controlled by them. Since they’re temporary, they can be a low-cost, low-commitment way to take creative risks and introduce their brands to new audiences. Consumers love the idea of exclusivity, and brands love the opportunity for experimentation. And done right, they grab media attention and generate buzz.
So, to inspire your next brand experience, here are 10 of our favourite creative pop-ups:
House of Peroni
Peroni recently brought its long running House of Peroni pop-up to London, this time with an immersive art-themed angle. The beer brand commissioned three artists, including Fabio Giampietro, winner of the Lumen Prize for digital art in 2016, to create pieces around the theme of ‘craftsmanship’ to reflect the Peroni brand. Guests could experience the art with VR, stepping inside the artwork before exploring their own artistic creativity using Google’s Tilt Brush.
Sky Kids Cafe
Sketch worked with Fever PR to launch a Sky Kids App by creating a temporary Sky Kids Cafe in London’s Vinyl Factory. Following a celebrity launch, the event introduced the app to families and kids during the summer half term. The cafe featured cartoon worlds for three of Sky’s favourite kids characters: Scooby Doo, Ben & Holly and SpongeBob SquarePants. Sketch worked with a child’s play expert to create tailor-made play experiences in each world, complete with familiar houses, scenery and characters. Over 1000 people passed through the café over 4 days. Press coverage included the Daily Mirror, Daily Mail Online, Closer, Now and Event Magazine.
COS Los Angeles
Experimental architecture firm Snarkitecture was inspired by mirrors and monochrome surfaces when designing a pop-up shop in LA for fashion label COS. The designers transformed an empty industrial space into two identical, monochromatic rooms – one white and one pale pink – leaving the focus on two racks of minimal clothing. The reflected space “creates an unexpected and altered world for visitors to experience and share.”
Birchbox Pop-Up Tour
Pop-ups give online retailers the chance to show off their goods in person, interact directly with their customers, and take their brand to a new level. Birchbox – which sells subscription boxes of beauty products – went on a US tour, opening up temporary brick-and-mortar stores in a number of cities. In addition to selling beauty products, they offered manicures and astrology readings to entice beauty-lovers inside.
Fendi Spring/Summer 2016 Flower Shop
The mobile flower shop that botanical designer Azuma Makoto created for Fendi shows that not all pop-ups need to be big or expensive. The artist dressed a Piaggio 3-wheeler with an intricate floral display and fitted an open shopfront. Limited edition Fendi bags and Makoto floral arrangements were available for sale to promote the label’s 2016 Spring/Summer collection.
Comfort Intense Garden
Comfort created an immersive 1-day pop-up, the Comfort Intense Garden, at London’s Covent Garden. The idea was inspired by children’s book The Secret Garden and featured flowers made from clothes from Oxfam and washed in Comfort Intense. More than 6,000 people visited the garden and more than 12,500 samples were given away.
Sipsmith Winter Lodge
The Sipsmith Ski-lodge at The Well in Clerkenwell was a pop-up bar created for Londoners looking for a gin-fuelled refuge from the cold. The London distiller opened the festive pop-up in venue’s lower level lounge, turning the venue into an alpine ski lodge. The scene came complete with pictures of the Alps, an open fire and fur rugs. Specially created winter cocktails were the order of the day, including Mulled Sloe Gin.
Deliveroo Garden
Sketch was approached by Deliveroo to produce a unique, experiential event called the Deliveroo Garden. This summer-themed pop-up in Hoxton Square encouraged workers to get away from their desks and enjoy an urban picnic. The secret garden was a picturesque space to escape the city and enjoy Deliveroo food deliveries.
Visitors ordered food from local restaurants and had it delivered direct to the garden. Each evening saw a guest DJ and popular drinks partners providing drinks.
The garden was visited by 1,000 people over 3 days; anyone who uploaded a selfie pic from the event with the hashtag #DeliverooGarden were given a print of the pic. Press coverage included Event Magazine, The Drum and Time Out.
The Poundshop
This design collective is a recurring pop-up showcase and shop for artists to offer their goods for affordable prices. “The aim of The Poundshop is to spread design to a wider audience by making it accessible through price and engagement,” the website explains. The pop-up shops are just as visually interesting as the art they sell.
Ribena Colouring Cafe
Ribena staged a pop-up ‘Colouring Cafe’ event in Covent Garden, bringing influencers and fans together to colour-in individuals tiles of a giant Ribena illustration, created by artist Alex Lucas.
Designed for people who like to “grab life by the felt tip,” the stunt capitalised on the adult colouring book trend. A short-form film captured the best moments and received over 1.5 million views on YouTube. A dedicated microsite made the experience more accessible by allowing people to colour online. The microsite was also shoppable, allowing fans to get their own Ribena Colouring Book.
