Pop-Up Craze!

In an age where we have everything at our finger tips and know what's going on at any given moment (via smart phones and the Internet) the "unexpected" sells!  Pop-up events are beginning to be all the rage in marketing, event planning, and promotions.They are not your typical event planned and executed to perfection with months of lead time: instead they are set up in temporary sites, and are done so with whimsy, flair and at times with a bit of urban grit and humor!  Usually they are set in an unexpected place; think impromptu art galleries in abandoned store fronts, temporary designer shops in market squares, or surprise yoga classes on college campuses. Their short life line tends to grab the interest of people for its randomness and draw them in before it's gone forever.

Benetton's Pop-Up Experience

Pop-up shops have become popular with retailers.  Large corporations such as Target, have pitched random tents all over the US for week-long pop-up fun and then tear down the next week.  Target celebrated the release of designer Isaac Mizrahi's fashion line for Target by pitching a 1,500 square foot pop-up in Rockefeller Center.  United Colors of Benetton has also opened a pop up store in Soho,NYC from early September to December 31st to honor the "art of knit."  The store is a mixture of retail and an art gallery featuring the provocative works of You Nguyen.

Pittsburgh's Project Pop-up Night Market

In Pittsburgh, the Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership has been on the Project Pop-Up: Night Market. It first "popped-up" at the July Gallery Crawl, in a parking lot on Liberty Ave. between two buildings.  The night market featured 15 local vendors, food from Conflict Kitchen, and Tugboat Printshop, while a DJ accompanied the entire event.

In London, The London Fashion Bus tours the streets of Britain and visits areas that may lack in the popular  uber-trendy shops and boutiques that London is known for. The bus parks and opens its doors to the public to reveal a lovely boutique on the inside that showcases over 1,400 pieces by 40 designers.

The pop-up craze fits right in with the entertainment economy, experience economy and surprise economy.  It's all about surprising the customer and getting a viral outburst of marketing.  It also helps make use of the space that is already provided and doing something fun, productive and entertaining with it.