2013-03-09 16.10.17

How to launch your ShopShare

So, you’ve found the ShopShare brand match of your dreams, fitted and kitted out the space, and agreed a launch date with your ShopShare collaborator. But how do you get the most out of your pop up, and the partnership with the collaborator brand(s) to really stand out from the crowd?

Do you have a launch party organised?

Screenshot 2014-08-21 18.54.51Talk to the shop owner and any other collaborators about a launch party. This doesn’t necessarily have to be your first day of trading – you might want to have a ‘soft launch’ couple of days trading before you go large with a party. Once you’ve set the date, tell your customers, press, fans and family. A top tip is to send a quirky invite to press, to make you stand out from the crowd. For example when McQueens florist and Black Vanilla gelato launched their ShopShare, they sent a press release and invite with a small posy of flowers and gelato samples, which got the media’s attention and secured them plenty of mentions in the press.

If you’re an online only brand, coming offline into a phsyical shop for a short time, why not take a leaf out of Elisa’s book from Wandering Minds and supply a voucher that your online regular customers can use in-store. This will encourage them to pay you a visit whilst you have a bricks-and-mortar presence.

When it comes to marketing your pop up, think about your various channels and tweak the message to be appropriate to each one. Have you thought of a catchy #hashtag, and told your team and collaborators about it? Why not share your mailing lists with your ShopShare partner – this is a great way to access each others’ target markets and gain wider coverage with new customers.

Once you’re ready to launch, don’t forget to tell We Are Pop Up about it! We’ll promote you to our networks, and as always, we’ll try to come along to say hello.

Can you tie in with any local events whilst you’re popping up? Is there anything going on locally, such as a festival, or regular late night shopping night, that would be a good opportunity to piggy back?

Don’t forget to also check out the neighbours and make sure they are all on board and excited about your launch. Perhaps you could team up with the local café and invite them to do the catering for your launch event, or maybe the local beauty bar can come and give manicures and makeovers on your opening night. So long as it’s suitable for your target customers, these types of collaborations all help to amplify your message.

And finally, let us know how it went, and keep us posted about your hopes for your next pop up – we may already have just the venue or collaborator for you!

Blog button