Popup stores aren’t just in Times Square anymore. The temporary branding outlets are opening in galleries, salons and on the streets in targeted neighborhoods.

Meow Mix’s Café for cats and Delta Air Lines’ Song in the City are popups that caught media as well as the public’s attention. Smaller, boutique-style popups are snagging consumer attention in trendy, upscale neighborhoods.

To find out how to get your client’s product into the hands of consumers in shopping districts, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts

What
Temporary retail outlets are set up to showcase a new or existing product or service.

Who
Several companies on both coasts have programs to assist advertisers with establishing a popup presence. For this article Media Life spoke with Grand Central Marketing of New York and Alt Terrain of Boston.

How it works
Advertisers showcase their product or service in temporary retail outlets.

Over the past five years the concept has moved beyond holiday merchandising in empty mall storefronts to include space devoted to branding a product using sampling, giveaways, performances and celebrity appearances in addition to sales. They can be existing facilities, like storefronts, or display areas created for the promotion.

“It’s creating something unexpected,” says Grand Central Marketing CEO Matthew Glass. “It’s taking a product or service out of its traditional confines. If it’s a retail product, instead of being restricted to a certain shelf space in a store, it’s taking over the store.”

While many popup stores are placed in Times Square and other high-profile, high-traffic locations, Alt Terrain specializes in neighborhood settings.

“We focus in trend-setting neighborhoods, places like the Lower East Side of Manhattan or Newbury Street in Boston,” says president Adam Salacuse. “The idea is to do something that becomes part of the fabric of where consumers live, shop and hang out.”

Galleries, cafes, bars, salons and sneaker boutiques are some of the venues Alt Terrain uses. For example, placing cell phones in a salon for customers to try out while they’re waiting for an appointment.

Events are an element in many popup campaigns. Examples include movie screenings, concerts and parties. Street teams as well as more traditional broadcast and print advertising are used to draw consumers.

How long a popup store is open varies, Glass says. “If it’s up to create some buzz and is not selling product, about 10 days or two weeks. If selling a product the range is four weeks to six weeks. What we wouldn’t want to happen is have a popup stick around so long that it no longer feels fresh or just blends in.”

Markets
New York is the primary market for popup stores, Glass says. “In terms of media and foot traffic it’s crowded in Manhattan all the time.” But they are increasingly common in other markets.

Alt Terrain has popup programs in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Diego, Miami, Boston, Cleveland, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Detroit, Seattle, Houston, Denver and other top 20 markets.

How it is measured
Consumer engagement is the primary end of a popup campaign, and among the measurement tools are store traffic counts, sales and event attendance.

Media coverage is also key. “So much of this is about generating awareness and buzz, so PR is one measurement,” Glass says. Contemporary communications venues like blogs can be used for tracking. Sweepstakes or bounce-back offers can also be used.

What product categories do well
Any product can fit into a popup format, Glass says. “It’s taking whatever the product or service is out of its traditional confines and creating something unexpected, regardless of what it is.”

Demographics
Location is key to targeting groups.

Making the buy
Alt Terrain: Lead time varies, with a full retail store taking three months to set up. Costs range from $25,000 to $200,000, depending on the scope of the plan, including variables like staffing and events.

Grand Central Marketing: Lead time can range up to six months. “Timing can also be a factor,” Glass says. “The client might want to do something fashion-related around the fashion shows on Sixth Avenue or do a popup around and benefiting from an existing event.”

Who’s already used popup stores
Meow Mix and Napster have worked with Grand Central Marketing. Alt Terrain worked with Deutsch Los Angeles on an Expedia.com campaign and with StreetVirus for Helio cell phones popups.

What they’re saying
“Popup stores have a shelf life, so to speak. When a corner store is always a popup there’s no surprise. To keep doing it, to serve the purpose from a selling perspective, we’ll find different ways. That’s the fun of it, putting a client in unexpected places, always looking for unique venues, empty spaces.” – Matthew Glass, CEO of New York-based Grand Central Marketing

Web site info
Alt Terrain at www.altterrain.com
Grand Central Marketing at www.grandcentralmarketing.com