Pop-ups are fun. But do they give you the right bang for your buck?

With online advertising getting more popular amongst consumers in Hong Kong, physical promotions and pop-up stores can be an interesting way to cut through the clutter and promote a brands’ campaigns and products across the city. While a survey by YouGov found that 54% of Hong Kong consumers prefer brands to engage with consumers via online means, interestingly a small segment of 22% do enjoy pop-ups.

The study also found that different generations also seem to have ranging affinity and awareness to pop-up events around them. It also revealed that within the age group of 25 to 34, 52% tend to be more aware of pop-up-events near them. Meanwhile 36% of Gen Z population said they are always aware of pop-up stores nearby. For the age group of 45 to 54, 40% of respondents are aware of pop-up stores around them, according to the findings.

So clearly, when it comes to awareness, pop-ups tend to leave a mark.  Pop-ups also emerged as one of the most common types of advertising in Hong Kong.

On the marketing front, pop-up stores could help a brand create awareness and engage with customers by drawing people to a spot within a short period of time, shared Ivy Wong, head of marketing of mobility at Shell Hong Kong & Macau.

“I think the more valuable part is the before and after viral discussion on social media platforms, which helps maximise the branding and promotional effectiveness," Wong said, adding:

It is a good demonstration of omnichannel marketing which integrates various touch points to lighten the customer experience and bring cohesiveness to brand value.

Agreeing with Wong is Vanessa Yeo Barger, vice president of brand at Love, Bonito, who said pop-up stores subconsciously create a sense of urgency in the customer, which in return can incentivise visits or traffic and build brand awareness, as well as allowing brands to reach out to different customer segments.  Love, Bonito recently launched its operations in Hong Kong with a city-wide campaign. 

“Pop-ups let us provide exclusive product assortments and study market conditions where other brands are present. We get to test and leverage alternative high-traffic locations with diversified customer types, while re-engaging with existing customers by offering them another touchpoint to shop and journey with the brand," Barger said. She added that through the exploration of pop-ups, the brand also tests potential locations, showcase its assortment and storyteller,  and is "able to continue building our brand equity and gain market share." 

Being seen as part of a successful omnichannel marketing strategy, some online retailers also start to extend from online to offline such as Hong Kong-based men's clothing online shop DETERMINANT, whose associate director of operations management Luke Ng believes that pop-up stores could allow consumers to feel and touch the high-quality products the brand offers and reach out to a wider audience.

Meanwhile, some brands could also rely on their supporters to promote themselves. Sarah Garner, founder and CEO of Retykle said: “Pop-ups are part of our marketing mix but we continue to acquire and engage with our customers across different channels. We are fortunate that we can largely rely on our incredible Retyklers to share our mission to grow our community and collective impact organically.”

What compliments pop-up stores best

Love, Bonito’s Barger said besides pop-ups, the company often runs initiatives such as influencer and media product seedings, and hold social media conversations.

“Another way a brand can promote its presence would be giving back to their community, the biggest supporters of any brand," said Barger. These could be through corporate social responsibility initiatives or even partnerships with students or universities or workplaces outside of the consumer realm, by offering them an opportunity to connect with the brand through collaborative design projects, or by bonding with the brand via community events and experiences.

Shell Hong Kong & Macau’s Wong, believes that tying any initiative with digitisation is also key. For example this can come through a loyalty app, eDM, push notification, flash offers, influencer marketing - all of which allows a brand to reach and engage its target audience.

“You can also add human touch by bringing online and offline together tactically. One challenge is to find the right frequency of communication with quality content to ensure your audience would subscribe and read your message,” Wong added.

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