Pop-up events are one of the most agile and exciting tools in experiential marketing. 

Designed to surprise, delight, and disappear just as quickly, pop-ups thrive on their sense of immediacy and guests often being hype by word of mouth after experiencing them.

The short shelf life of these events, however, means there’s little to no room for missed opportunities. Every second has to count when you’re running on a timer!

So how do you maximize the impact of a pop-up event in such a compressed time frame? 

Here’s a few tips for how you can turn a fleeting activation into a lasting impression.

Define Your Objective Ahead of Time

Before you build anything, ask what’s the one thing this pop-up needs to accomplish?

Having a single, focused goal will inform every design and staffing decision, whether it’s:

• Building brand awareness
• Lead capture
• Product sampling
• Testing sales in a new market

Be sure to have set benchmarks and expectations before you go on so that afterwards when you debrief you can easily determine whether your event over or undershot expectations.

Choose the Right Location

As for most in-person events, as well as retail outlets, the same rule is true for a pop-up. To perform, location isn’t just important – it’s everything. 

When planning for your event, be sure to consider:

• Foot traffic volume versus accessibility for car parking
• Demographics of the area (as in, is your audience nearby?)
• Proximity to complementary businesses or events (everyone loves some curious spillover from one event to the next)
• Accessibility and visibility of your pop-up

Whether it’s a busy mall, city plaza, or inside a conference, the right spot puts your brand directly in front of your target audience, while the wrong one can make you go unnoticed. 

So why not let your location do half the work or more for you? (of course a little research never hurt)

Design with Speed and Simplicity in Mind

Pop-ups should feel fresh and frictionless, like they’ve always belonged there!

The ideal design should:

• Be visually eye-catching at first glance
• Communicate your brand or product instantly
• Allow for quick entry and interaction

Tight spaces and quick visits mean there’s no room for confusion or clutter, but you gotta make sure your guests get what they’re looking for. There’s no point having a cute little boutique site if it takes people too long to work their way through, causing delays for the rest of the curious!

Smart, modular builds can also help with setup, teardown, and transport, especially for multi-city tours.

Staff It Like a Showroom

The success of a pop-up hinges on human interaction. However, your event staff need to not only be trained to interact with customers, but to promote your brand.

With a pop-up, you’ve often got only one, brief shot to show your guests who you are and what you stand for. Make sure your staff are the type who are comfortable driving engagement in fast-paced settings, and know your values.

Ultimately, from welcoming guests to guiding them through an experience, your staff should feel like brand experts, not extras.

Remember to Make It Shareable

Pop-ups live in the real world, but their reach can grow exponentially online when guests start to share their experience. 

To maximize exposure include a photo-worthy moment or backdrop. Don’t forget to include branded hashtags and QR codes too!

The more memorable and Instagrammable your pop-up, the more free buzz it generates. 

This is something we can never say enough! Let your audience work for you. 

Work in a Follow-Up Strategy

What happens after the pop-up matters just as much as what happens during. After all, a pop-up event is just a sampling of something bigger. Now that they’ve had their first taste, remind them of where things go from there.

So, be sure to create a simple follow-up plan that might include:

• If you collected leads, send a thank-you email or special offer (promoting similar messaging on your social channels works too!)
• Sum up things with a recap post on social or your blog
• Let them know what happens next!

That’s how one short event becomes the start of a longer brand journey.

Time for High-Impact Pop-Ups

At Tigris Events (powered by Simon Pure), we know how to make every minute count. From creative design and location scouting to staffing and execution, we help brands launch memorable, measurable pop-up events across Canada.

Contact us today!