How to Create a Pop-Up Event for Your Business

In city squares, hotels, empty storefronts, and more, companies are “popping up” with creative activations. But pulling off these eye-catching events requires the right execution.

Pop-ups aren’t new, but they’ve become even more popular since the early 2000s. Through these temporary shops, brands can connect with customers in person, share giveaways, host fun activities, and more.

Some pop-ups are more extravagant than others — Kim Kardashian’s underwear and apparel brand Skims, for instance, hosted a Rockefeller Center pop-up in May complete with a waterfall. But even with something as simple as a decked out van, a pop-up can be an effective tool for driving new business, customer engagement, and the like.

Here are three tips from companies that successfully pulled off impactful pop-ups.

1. Start with purpose and audience

Before splurging on décor or fretting over logistics, brands should hone in on the purpose of their proposed pop-up, says Sabrina Cherubini, senior vice president of brand and digital at Hanky Panky, the New York City-based lingerie brand.

For Hanky Panky’s Valentine’s Day campaign earlier this year in Union Square, the team aligned on a central mission: celebrating both love and the brand’s New York community. At the pop-up, attendees received a “one-size-fits-most” thong wrapped as a rose along with hot chocolate and wrote love letters on a large purple wall.

While brand exposure was the event’s main objective, Cherubini says the pop-up was also an opportunity for “connecting with women in a more emotional and deep way, understanding what they’re going through, and being part of their lives.” And in doing so, the team was able to strengthen both their reach and engagement, Cherubini adds.

Additionally, brands need to think about the community they want to reach with their pop-up experience, says Katie Welch, chief marketing officer at Rare Beauty, an El Segundo, California-based makeup brand.

For Rare Beauty’s “Gratitude Truck” pop-up in September, the team focused on thanking the loyal fans who helped the company reach its third anniversary. The pop-up experience in Santa Monica, California included a prize wheel, a “Rare Reminder Wall” to share positive messages, and a giant-sized blush included as a photo op for fans. People started waiting in line for the pop-up at 6 a.m., Welch says: “It was all very unique to Rare Beauty. It was very unique to this community.”

2. Be wise with resources

The structures or “buildouts” for these pop-ups — often complete with photo opportunities, merchandise, and activity stations — can be pricey. Allison Ellsworth, the 36-year-old co-founder and chief brand officer for Poppi, the Austin-based prebiotic soda producer, estimates that a buildout can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000. It also requires manpower to run, which can make this hard for smaller teams to scale, Welch adds.

Thus, it’s important to effectively use resources. The Poppi team learned this lesson after its first pop-up in New York’s Hamptons in the summer of 2021. The brand rented a house for a month, and while the pop-up was successful, it was a heavy lift for the Poppi team, Ellsworth says. This past summer, instead, Poppi rented space in a Montauk hotel for a few days — a much more manageable experience. “Be really smart with your money,” Ellsworth says.

One way brands can save and potentially draw even more attendees: partnering with another company. Hanky Panky partnered with Pomp Flowers for its Valentine’s Day experience. Rare Beauty partnered with Blue Bottle Coffee for the September pop-up to offer “Positive Light lattes,” named for the brand’s Positive Light products.

For Poppi’s first summer in the Hamptons, the team combined forces with Beyond Meat, which sent a chef to Poppi’s pop-up one night per week to provide attendees with a meal. It provided brand exposure for Beyond Meat while also alleviating catering costs for Poppi, Ellsworth says: “We’re partnering, and then we’re building relationships.”

3. Think broadly about success

With these events, measuring the exact return on investment can be complicated, Cherubini says. Outside of the number of attendees or social-media impressions, greater questions of brand awareness and customer acquisition often aren’t so straightforward. That said, brands can consider how the pop-up fits into their overall campaign goal — and measure that more holistically, Cherubini adds.

Thanks to its Valentine’s Day campaign, Hanky Panky’s site traffic tripled for almost three months. The Poppi team, meanwhile, sees its pop-ups playing a key role in brand awareness, which it reports is going strong — an estimated 86 percent of customers that hear about Poppi will ultimately purchase the product, Ellsworth says.

For Welch, the Rare Beauty pop-up was a “thank you” more than a business driver — but she says the opportunities for business benefits are plentiful, from creating eye-catching social content to forming a new brand partnership to supporting a successful product launch: “All of those things could move a business forward or help amplify whatever your business objective is at that time.”