Nordstrom engages festival crowd with pop-up appearances

Image from Nordstrom See Anew video

Department store chain Nordstrom is giving festival attendees a place to relax and recharge, fostering a sense of calm in the middle of what can be a chaotic scene.

Speaking to a millennial crowd, the retailer’s Pod contains phone charging stations, a photo booth and a bevy of beauty supplies, giving consumers a reason to visit and return for touchups or photo opportunities. The retailer’s pop-up premiered at Austin’s South by Southwest March 17-19 and will continue on to other music events in the United States this spring.

“Our spring festival tour is an extension of our ‘See Anew’ brand campaign,” saidPamela Lopez, spokesperson for Nordstrom, Seattle. “By providing a relevant Nordstrom experience at these festivals we hope to connect with customers in the festival environment and add to her festival experience.  

“Our core customer is definitely going to these festivals,” she said. “This is a big part of her life and we felt it was important for us to be where she is.

“The idea is to be where she is and to inspire her to see a new perspective – in life, in herself, and in her fashion—through three pod experiences.”

On tour
During last year’s festival season, Nordstrom worked with agency OutCold to launch a Pod tour. With the festival crowd typically younger, Nordstrom saw it as an opportunity to reach new potential customers.

The experience was split among three boxes, or pods, each of which hosted a unique experience. These included a live screen printing station where visitors could have a tote bag made, a dream closet and sweepstakes and a beauty bar.

Pleased with the results from last year’s multi-city tour, Nordstrom is returning to the festival scene in 2016.

Nordstrom Pods at SXSW

This year, the retailer will make appearances at four festivals through interactive pods.

In one of the spaces, consumers can have a Polaroid aura photo taken by Radiant Human. Each aura photo is unique to the subject, and an expert will be on hand to explain what the aura means.

A kaleidoscopic beauty pod is outfitted with mirrors in all shapes and sizes. Nordstrom will provide beauty samples for both men and women, including dry shampoo, lipstick and fragrance, so that consumers can give themselves a mini makeover.

Nordstrom’s beauty Pod

After being at the festival all day, this gives visitors a chance to refresh their look, and may even spur selfie taking.

The third pod features a GIF photo booth. Each of the three walls of this pod depict a trendy destination, including Las Vegas, Palm Springs, CA and New York.

Consumers can pick their destination, throw on accessories corresponding to the locale and have their picture taken. Consumers can then enter their email to have the GIF sent to them and enter to win a $20 Nordstrom gift card.

Within the email, Nordstrom includes a call to action to shop similar items at Nordstrom.com/trend.

Nordstrom at SXSW

As a gift to those who visit the photo booth, consumers will receive a screen printed tote bag.

After SXSW, Nordstrom’s Pod tour will travel to the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, TN April 29 to May 1, Shaky Knees in Atlanta, GA from May 13-15 and BottleRock in Napa, CA from May 27-29.

New look
This is an experiential extension of Nordstrom’s “See Anew” brand campaign.

The See Anew marketing campaign includes a kaleidoscopic short film as a centerpiece as well as print, online, out of home, social and television components. The emphasis on digital and social platforms, along with the joyful spring theme will endear Nordstrom to a younger consumer (see story).

While the broadly millennial audience of music festivals may not at first seem related to luxury brands, a number of labels use the events as an opportunity to reach out to emerging consumers.

Last year, when the outdoor music festival season kicked off with The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, a number of luxury brands looked to be a part of consumers’ experiences.

From highlighting bohemian warm weather attire to taking consumers along for the ride via social media or sharing style advice, brands sought to reach out to the affluent audience in attendance. This provides an opportunity to reach VIPs, including celebrities attending, while reaching out to a younger generation of consumers, who may see a particular label in a different light (see story).

from
http://www.luxurydaily.com/nordstrom-engages-festival-crowd-with-pop-up-appearances/