Erin Page

Innovate aims to rejuvenate consumer interest in bricks-and-mortar stores by providing brands with a tool to create exciting and memorable pop-up shop experiences that meet the needs and interests of the modern consumer. Innovate aims to make the process of creating an unforgettable pop-up shop experience simple by providing pop-up shop management services from start to finish including research, finding the perfect location for the pop-up, visual merchandising, marketing and even finding special guests to attend. Consumers now require more than simply a functional shopping experience. They want excitement and Innovate’s pop-ups are an easy way for brands to achieve this.

Innovate serves brands within the fashion, beauty, lifestyle and wellbeing sectors. Innovate’s offering will be promoted through four campaigns which make up the communications strategy. The communications strategy will help achieve five objectives: reach 1000 Instagram followers within a month of the first pop-up shop to increase consumer awareness and make Innovate noticeable to brands, get five repeat bookings within the first year, organise 20 pop-ups within the first year, expand Innovate’s network of special guests and influencers by collaborating with at least 20 different people within the first year, and organise pop-up shops in at least three different cities within the first year.

The popularity of bricks-and-mortar stores has been declining for some time now because consumers desire more than the mundane shopping experience many bricks-and-mortar stores offer (Dolan, 2018). Therefore, there exists a gap in the market for a new form of shopping experience that is more exciting, more interactive, and more entertaining than traditional bricks-and-mortar stores. This will allow small businesses to grow their consumer base by raising awareness and help larger brands to retain their consumer base and continue to appeal to and meet the needs of modern consumers.

The main macro trend that Innovate’s research identified as impacting a consumer’s decision to visit a bricks-and-mortar store is how experiential it is (Kickert and Talen, 2022). Consumers now expect more than ever from bricks-and-mortar stores including, to name a few, innovation, social interaction, an opportunity to learn and a sense of community (Kickert and Talen, 2022). Consumers crave excitement and for brands to remain relevant in an ever-evolving industry they need to create that excitement in their physical stores (Mintel, 2020). Consumers do still want to shop in-person but only if stores meet their constantly evolving needs (Theko, 2016). Research has shown that pop-up shops are seen by consumers as experiential, which could explain their rise in popularity in recent years (Roshitsh, 2019).

An integrated marketing strategy was created, consisting of four promotional campaigns. Each campaign embodies Innovate’s brand values: creating fun and exciting experiences for consumers through the form of pop-up shops in order to refocus attention and interest on bricks-and-mortar stores, working with brands to tell the stories of their identities and values to a wide range of consumers, and changing the way consumers think about bricks-and-mortar stores by positioning them as events.