Promo - September 2008 - (Page 22)

Amy Johannes RETAIL pop a shop Temporary stores do more than just drive sales “Pinkitude,” a pop-up store, appeared in Los Angeles last month selling a new fashion brand inspired by the Pink Panther. But despite the neatly arranged racks of designer clothes ready to be purchased, the kitschy shop has one main mission: to teach teens and young women about the importance of breast health and early detection of breast cancer. Pop-up shops are about driving sales—no doubt. But they are also taking on additional tasks, like the Pinkitude store did. They often play dual roles: In this case one was breast health, to entice people to visit. A second was to be a retail outlet. Their exclusivity and elusiveness are appealing. Here one day, gone the next. MGM Consumer Products, the creator of Pinkitude, is using the shop to promote its yearlong cause marketing effort. Educational materials are distributed to visitors and dropped into shopping bags. MGM plans to donate at least 5% of the sales to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The 800-square-foot space is open through mid-September at Xin Boutique selling apparel, jewelry and accessories. “It was the right size due to the number of licensees we had,” says Warren Schorr, MGM Consumer Products’ executive director of worldwide retail business development and international licensing. “Anything bigger than that, then we would have needed more partners.” FINDING A NEW CUSTOMER For Mattel, a pop-up shop was a way to expand its customer base in Japan. Despite being one of the largest toy markets in the world, Japan has a very small doll market. And even though Japanese girls did not necessarily grow up playing with Barbie dolls, as they grew they recognized the doll for her fashion heritage and leadership, says John Cullen, vice president, international, for Mattel Brands Consumer Products. To tap into that fashion sense, Mattel created a Barbie apparel and accessory collection by designer Patricia Field for these 20to 25-year-old women. It opened the store for three months this spring in Tokyo’s fashion-foward Shibuya district. “We wanted to bring fresh excitement to the brand to go after a broader customer base,” Cullen explains. The company chose a two-story, 1,000-square-foot shop, complete with full-size windows. TESTING TESTING Procter & Gamble popped a shop near Ohio State University last fall for six months to test a new line of fabric refresher products called Swash. It featured a selling area and demonstration stations for each of the “between-wash” products, which are marketed under the Tide brand. The store also offered a lounge area, video games and computers to entertain students. MGM Consumer Products is using a larger-than-life-size version of its iconic Pink Panther to draw passers-by into its Pinkitude pop-up store . The firm is promoting the shop with print ads, e-mail blasts and online efforts. W For more articles on retail marketing go to www.promomagazine.com/retail Newsletter Web RSS Webinar Conference Podcast 22 September 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.promomagazine.com/retail http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - September 2008

Promo - September 2008 Contents Editor's Note Consumer Driven Magic Makeover Free Flight Legal Checkup Lasting Impressions Pop A Shop Commentary Squeezed Q&A: Eco-Friendly Champagne Tastes Safety First Resource Center The Agency Center Web Marketing 101 Index of Advertisers

Promo - September 2008

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