By Alicia Fiorletta, Senior Editor
Pop-ups are always fun. I personally enjoy them because they present retailers with the opportunity to extend their brand to new audiences, hold fun events, develop profitable relationships with other businesses, and most importantly, experiment with new brick-and-mortar concepts and in-store technology.
In a way, I find pop-ups to be the breeding ground for innovation. A retailer can test something completely out of the ordinary and take significant risks. If something doesn’t work, no harm done; it doesn’t have to be done again.
A number of brands, such as BaubleBar and Fendi, have used pop-ups to roll out cutting-edge technology. But for Ode à la Rose, it is more about brand awareness.
Advertisement
Located on Lexington and 47th St. in New York City, the Ode à la Rose pop-up is smack-dab in the middle of a thriving business district and blocks away from Grand Central Station. Rather than pull out the stops, the flower delivery company is getting back to basics, using colorful vignettes and playful design to showcase the brand’s personality.
Check out the front windows of the store:
Ode à la Rose partnered with the Lionesque Group to develop the store concept, which was designed to support a “spring renaissance” theme, according to Melissa Gonzalez, pop-up guru and CEO of the Lionesque Group.
The most interesting part of this pop-up experience, though, is that the commerce connection is nowhere to be found. Rather, passers-by are encouraged to come into the shop, learn about the brand and pick up a free rose. A brand representative is on hand to tell the Ode à la Rose story, and more about how the customer can order bouquets online or through the brand app.
Ode à la Rose also will be holding events through the pop-up’s duration to generate buzz around key holidays. The brand will be celebrating Administrative Professionals Week during the week of April 20th with in-store specials. There also will be a two-day Mother’s Day In-Store Gifting event, in partnership with Modern Luxury on May 5-6, 2015.
People who venture into the pop-up are encouraged to post an image of their favorite bouquets in the shop with hashtag #rosepopup. Founders Olivier and Louis will select one winner per week to win an 18 rose bouquet.
I personally loved the experience. I thought it was fun, light and really spoke to what the Ode à la Rose brand is all about. In my opinion, that’s the core goal of a pop-up and the company has achieved it!
