To find the perfect place for your pop up, you have to do some footwork and visit potential locations. But the first step in finding a pop up actually takes place before you set a foot outside. The following questions help determine the places you look at so that you’re not running around on a wild goose chase:
Does a local space particularly match your pop up? Sometimes, a building or public space seems ideal for a project. For example, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night features a shipwreck, so Rainbow Shakespeare thought Worthing beach would be a perfect stage set. The film Brief Encounter is set in a railway station cafe, so for the On Location Film Festival, the local station’s waiting room was the perfect place for a pop up cinema screening.
Where would your pop up have the biggest visual impact? Sometimes you want your pop up to scream your brand from the rooftops – maybe literally. Part of the The Beatles’ legend is built on staging their last performance on the roof of the Apple headquarters – a legendary pop up concert! To celebrate Barbie’s birthday, Mattel chose the very ordinary terraces of Ash Street, Salford, but painted them bright pink.
Look for places where your pop up can stand out, grab the attention of passersby, get media attention and be remembered.
Does a pop up put your brand right in front of your target audience? If you’re selling to a target audience, put your pop up right where it will be. During every London Fashion Week, top designers fill expensive spaces. The London Fashion Bus pulls up outside the venue, and the converted Routemaster red bus gives young designers an opportunity to be seen.
If your pop up has an ethical angle, does a venue match it? Lots of pop ups are about more than just selling, and many highlight a particular issue or debate. Scottish food writer and cook Christopher Trotter wanted to celebrate his nation’s seafood and highlight issues of using only local food, so he opened a pop up restaurant in a small fishing village. Finding the right venue helps make the point.
The perfect space for your pop up increases customer interest, brings the media along and ensures that the pop up is talked about after it’s closed.