Self-caring is a lifelong lesson, said Summer Fridays
Last spring, Summer Fridays launched a unique campaign — — to celebrate its fifth birthday, Summer Fridays opened a limited pop-up shop in Upside Pizza Soho for two days. The event included a limited-edition product list: crewneck, baseball hat, and the famous cloud pouch.
Although pop-ups sound like a regular routine for a promotion plan, Summer Fridays had its idea to carve it in a new way: to care, celebrate, and travel as a COMMUNITY. Scanning the ranking of clean beauty, Summer Fridays may not be the most expensive one, but indeed, it is the best one in terms of keeping brand image.
Why pop-ups, it’s the attention grabber
Summer Fridays wants more than a skincare brand, the brand’s VP of marketing stated, “We want it to be a lifestyle brand.” Following the “self-care” concept, the pop-up store was painted in the signature baby blue which is similar to the star product jet lag mask. The store was hosted offline, but online platforms were the dominant battlefield:
Before the pop-up started, Summer Fridays had already begun to post videos and images to announce this big event. The frequency was quite rapid while the content was qualified enough to catch people’s attention. Each Instagram post gathered around 1800 minimal to 8000 maximum likes, and on TikTok, videos won a maximum of 10,000 views.
The content focused on the outside view of the pop-up, and also with a “treasure hunt game” secret benefit provided by the brand: customers need to visit the location spot shown in the video and provide a secret code then they can receive a gift card or other prizes.
I 100% understand why when talking about promotion, pop-ups seem to be the ones that cannot be skipped — — it is straightforward, fun, and visible. Despite all the costs and budget concerns, building a temporary shop is a good way to interact with the public and customers.
One-time effort pulling in potential customers while retaining relationships with existing followers. A pop-up shop is like a festival or open party: people who get invitations will come and they will also bring new people to the circle.
The campaign kept a sense of consistency with the brand concept — -chill and intimate. People can enjoy a lovely social moment with pizza and friends, in the name of “Summer Fridays’ 5th Birthday.” Besides, limited merchandise such as crewneck and baseball hats further enhances the community vibe. Cohesiveness increases customer loyalty, and loyalty cannot easily be bought with money.
Still, it’s a promotion
With the opening of the pop-up, Summer Fridays also launched two new shades for its lip balm. This lip balm is one of its best-selling products. As usual, the shades convey a natural glossy look and run out just a second. Although during the event, the lip balm stayed at a low-key level, the number of sales was outstanding.
Just like mentioned previously, pop-ups are made to grab attention. Visibility gives customers more time to be exposed to the product and eventually purchase it. Summer Fridays renders tons of user-generated content along with collaborations with influencers. To create “word of mouth” in an approachable way is Summer Fridays’ melody. As soon as the release of the pop-up shop, influencers, and make-up-savvy form a long line on the street. After they got back home, videos would be posted reporting their trip and what they got from the store.
“I waited for two and half hours for Summer Fridays’ pop-up…” In case anyone doesn’t know the brand, after they watch those videos, curiosity rises and whether or not they actually pay a visit to the store, it does not matter. What matters is they hear the brand name and start searching for it online, or simply, just be familiar with it.
Besides that, the NYC pop-up was not the only pop-up Summer Fridays did. The brand left its footprint in LA, Chicago, Miami and Dallas. The shifting setting matches the brand concept once again: self-care whenever and wherever. On TikTok, the brand presents its product on a plane or hotel, instead of displaying the stunning effectiveness of the product, the brand chooses to display a consistent lifestyle, just like it always does.
To determine whether a campaign is a success, look at how much eyeballs the brand earns, how much content people voluntarily did for it, or how much influence it brings to people. Based on this metric, Summer Fridays won a golden medal.
