Pop-up events are one of the most creative ways to promote an event, a product or even a service. But you might be confused about how they should actually look.
The good news is that there aren’t a lot of rules around pop-up events — the creativity is the best part! If you’re considering hosting a pop-up shop, SpeedPro has you covered for all of your signage needs.
What Are Pop-Up Events?
Pop-up events are temporary and unexpected, in-person promotional events. They’re hosted in one-of-a-kind spaces, and can only be enjoyed for a limited amount of time before disappearing.
They have become more popular over the years, and there are now entire industries and pop-up event organizers devoted to planning and executing these events – especially in Los Angeles and New York.
The appeal is that they can be anything—you can go big with a multi-day festival or small with a one-night affair—and they can be as simple or complex as you like.
The only rule is that they have to have an element of surprise!
These special events typically occur in unique pop-up venues like warehouses, vacant storefronts, college campuses, art galleries or even parking lots. They can also involve collaborations with influencers or stars for increased exclusivity.
Anyone with an idea can organize pop-ups, but they do require some event planning and preparation if you want them to succeed. Whether you DIY or hire an organizer, SpeedPro can be part of your team by offering signage and graphic solutions that will wow your guests.
Benefits Of A Pop-Up Event
Pop-up events have many advantages, including:
Attracting new and old customers
Pop-ups are an excellent way to get your business in front of people who may not be familiar with it yet. Pop-up events can be used to announce new products or promote existing ones. They offer companies a chance to engage with their customers in an unusual way and encourage brand loyalty, while attracting new customers in your target demographic.
Testing out products or services
Pop-up events are designed to draw attention and build excitement around an upcoming product launch or event. They’re a great way to test new products or services before you roll them out on a larger scale.
Testing your marketing strategy
Pop-up events are also a great way to generate buzz about what you have to offer before you launch into full operation. This allows you to test drive your marketing strategy, see how well it works and make adjustments before pulling the trigger on it.
Types Of Businesses Best Suited For Pop-Ups
There’s no question about it: pop-up events are a great way to get expose people to your brand. But what kind of business is best suited for a pop-up event?
We believe that almost ANY business is the perfect candidate for a pop-up event – even those that don’t have a physical location yet. Or at all.
Pop-up events are a great way for small businesses to try out new concepts at low risk—if one doesn’t work out, they can try something else next time!
Here are some examples of types of businesses that are well-suited for pop-up events:
Retail
If you’re selling something, there’s no better way to get people interested than by bringing it directly to them. A retail pop-up store in outside of the main retail space is a great way to increase brand awareness and attract customers that weren’t aware of your shop.
Dining
If you run a restaurant or coffee shop, you know how important it is to have consistent foot traffic through the door (and how hard it can be). Pop-up shops for bars and restaurants provide an excellent opportunity to attract new customers FAST.
Not only does this strategy help bring more people into your establishment, but it also gives existing customers something fun to do with friends and family members!
Immersive experiences
If your product or service involves an immersive experience—like VR games or movies—you’ve got another great opportunity to attract new customers through pop-ups and make some money.
Another good way to do this is by creating an experience around a product or service that isn’t available elsewhere. For example, if you’re making ice cream, instead of selling it out of a stand at the beach where everyone else does it, create something unique like an “ice cream forest” or “ice cream castle.” The idea behind immersive experiences is that if you can create something unique enough, people want to come back again and again
Components Of A Successful Pop-Up Event
Pop-up events are a great way to get people excited about your brand and bring in new customers. Here are the components of a successful pop-up event:
Generate Buzz With Pre-Event Marketing
First things first: before you throw yourself into planning an actual event, try to generate some hype with pre-event marketing. This can be as simple as posting messages on social media or sending out ads about your upcoming event. The more suspense you build around it, the better!
Have A Product Or Service People Need Or Want To Try
Next up is making sure that your event has something to offer—it has to have something that people need or want to try.
Make sure you hire all the right people.
Even if pop-ups sound like they are spontaneous and like they just pop out of nowhere, there’s actually a lot of event planning behind them—so make sure you hire all the right people to ensure everything goes smoothly—from parking to food service.
Staffing should include:
- Hosts/hostesses who can welcome guests and guide them through the event
- Bartenders who can provide drinks and snacks at their bar area
- Chefs who can provide delicious food that matches your theme
- Creatives who can great visual experience, like SpeedPro (more on that in a minute)
- Friendly staff that provide a great customer experience
This is one of the most important parts of any pop-up event. The whole point is to give people an idea of what they can expect from your brand in the future.
Make the whole event an experience in itself. You want people to walk away feeling like they got something special, so think about how you can make that happen for everyone that comes through your doors.
Emphasize The Visual Elements
Last but not least, the event has to be pleasing to the eye. SpeedPro can design special colorful menus for your pop-up dining experience, eye-catching banners for immersive events or high-impact step and repeat banners for guests to take selfies in front of. And, there’s no reason not to go big and bold for this one-time event!
How To Make Your Pop-Up Event Stand Out
Here are some elements that can make your pop-up stand out and be memorable:
QR codes
What if your customers want to know more information? Additional QR codes can give customers access to more information about your company or even direct them to your website if they want more information about what you do.
They can also send guests to your social media sites to participate in a hashtag contest (instant free advertising when people post their selfies in front of your banner and tag you!).
Virtual aids
You can also give people the option of interacting even more by using a mobile app that helps them explore your product or service while at the event.
Big, bold graphics
Generally speaking, people are more drawn to visuals when considering a brand or product. If your pop-up event is in a public area, big bold graphics can help draw in foot traffic.
Why Work With A Professional For Your Next Pop-Up Event
You want to make sure that your pop-up stands out in a sea of other shops, restaurants and bars. While you may be tempted to go the DIY route or stick with the basics, we recommend going big and bold: think of massive graphics that are eye-catching and fun!
Need help with sign ideas for your upcoming pop-up event? SpeedPro has years of experience helping clients create imaginative graphics that get people excited about their brand.
Find a studio near you and schedule a free consultation to learn more about pop-up event signage.