The local experiential expertise and the power of the Pop-Up
Experiential Marketing has quite rapidly evolved as a solid cornerstone to any viable marketing campaign and is a key factor to the all-important Customer Lifetime Value, a metric that assesses if the customer will keep coming back and for how long.
At Pluto, we are witnessing first-hand the power of experiential; and it’s something we pride ourselves in for nailing with clients. So what exactly is experiential marketing?
It’s easiest to explain this on the premise that experiential marketing’s purpose is to create a closer relationship between brands and the consumer by immersing them in a fun and memorable experience.
People are tired of experiencing brands through a screen. The space is over-saturated and brands will struggle to create a lasting bond with potential customers. For a brand to stand-out they need to tap into the emotional psyche and this can easily be achieved through a live experience.
Word recently spread at Pluto HQ about a drive-through coffee shop just outside our neighbourhood of Clonskeagh. Thru the green is an excellent example of experiential marketing and it utilises the best features of the pop-up concept in terms of scale, intrigue and uniqueness.
I spoke to Kiz, one of the founders of TTG, on her inspirations for the vision and her views on the pop-up scene in Dublin.
How did the idea for Thru the green come about and what inspirations (if any) did you draw from?
I originally saw the idea of a drive thru coffee shop in Australia and thought it was great, but I really wanted to put my own stamp on it. Like anything, the first time around its hard to get people to see your vision, but after a LOT of hard work and preparation Thru the Green (TTG) was created! We have great customers, amazing suppliers and have met so many people along the way that are hugely clever and we are delighted that we were able to turn our vision into a reality.
Major inspiration was drawn from travel; firstly my home country of Australia where the cafes’ are ridiculously good! And also a trip to South America and in particular Colombia, the origin of my favourite coffee – I love the chocolatey/nutty notes. Here, we got the opportunity to visit the farms and see the process and journey of the beans before it gets to us in Ireland – you don’t realise how much goes into one tiny bean.
Do you think the pop-up scene in Dublin will become increasingly popular over the next few years? What makes them work? Any examples of your favourites so far?
Explaining the concept of a pop up to someone 15 years ago would have been difficult, however its becoming the norm in society as everyone wants to latest, coolest, newest ‘thing’. The pop up gives business a great platform to be that newest ’thing’ getting their opportunity to dip their toe in the water to test the market.
The pop up scene gives the business a forum to test their product and get into a groove without a huge long term commitment or investment. For society, we don’t have to walk past empty, unloved buildings as the pop up can bring the life and soul back to the community. Finally, the customer gets access to new products they may not have heard of or seen before.
My favourite pop up’s are Sevenwood (homewares) and Green Beards (juices), both have had pop ups which have been a great success. But next, I would love to see fashion pop ups, particularly for local labels. I love the idea of Irish design having spaces to share their wares with their city.
What does the future hold for Thru the green?
TTG is as busy as we have ever been. We would love a second location, but we’ve been saying for a while now that we would prefer 1 business running at 100% rather than 2 locations running at 80%. To enable this we have been focusing on process and systems to allow me to step back and let our brilliant staff run the show.
We have seen the mistake many have made before, trying to expand too big, too quickly and we want to make sure we are ready when we do. The personal side of TTG is so important to me and so critical to the business’ success.
The increasingly fashionable pop-up shop is a current major player in the experiential scene. Brands create a unique space that will immerse their customers in their vision and hopefully create that human bond that can’t be achieved on a digital platform. Consumers love them because they have intrigue. We all like to be involved with unique things that won’t be around forever.