Shop Until You Pop: How To Market A Pop-Up Shop

A pop-up shop is becoming a very popular method of doing business in the 21st-century. For companies that don’t have a permanent residence, it allows them the flexibility to appear out of the blue for a couple of days and maximise profits. By doing it randomly over a few months, the novelty doesn’t disappear and the pop up grabs people’s attention. Considering 90% of sales happen in bricks and mortar buildings, it’s an excellent loophole.
However, there is one issue: marketing. A surprise is the aim of the game, so how do you advertise it without losing the element of shock?
Network With Influencers
You shouldn’t spread the word because it isn’t cool. Instead, get someone else with an impartial and unbiased reputation to get the ball rolling. Social media influencers are the modern day reporters as they hunt down exclusives and break the news to their fans. By leaking it to an influencer, two things will happen. Firstly, there will be plenty of exposure as the news of your pop up shop will transcend platforms. Secondly, it will maintain its coolness as it has the stamp of approval from a legitimate influencer. You can use modern publications to the same effect too with the help of a press release.
Make It Organic
The result should be a host of people online and offline who creates the buzz. When this happens, there is no need to do any marketing as you can sit back and watch it go viral. Shoppers will take and post images and videos online and share them with their friends willingly. However, it’s important to give them a push with strategic content that gets people excited. Click here to find out more about potential trigger points. Remember the story of the Stone Roses and their simple yet effective advertising slogan: “Who the f**k are the Stone Roses?”
Run A Competition
The opportunity to win prizes encourages people to take action, and you get to control it. Why? It’s because you are in charge of the competition and make the rules. So, this is when you need to get creative and think about your strategy. You want people to take notice and for the buzz to be organic, which is why a best-picture-or-video-wins promotion is perfect. Shoppers will turn up and snap as many images and vids as possible on the off chance of winning. Use Instagram or Twitter or any popular platform for the best results.
Go Again
Once the pop-up shop is almost ready to come down, that’s when you need to strike. The concept and the brand are fresh in everyone’s minds, and that means they are more likely to shop with you again. With that in mind, don’t be shy – give them details concerning the next location and the timeframe. There’s no need to be specific with the latter; instead, tell them to follow your social media pages for updates.
A plan of attack is essential if you want to carry your momentum over to the next pop up.