EXPERIENTIAL RETAIL conCept - HALLMARK

A self-initiated passion project with the goal of capturing a wider consumer audience’s attention while attracting widespread attention on social media to differentiate from competitors. Concepted, researched, designed & pitched an experiential retail concept targeting millennials & consumers new to the Hallmark brand. Ultimately presented by the designer to the designer’s home division of 50+ (including leadership), as well as the Senior V.P. of Creative. Awarded recognition in innovation within the designer’s division.

CONCEPT
Brand & outfit a truck, trailer or shipping container to present curated & exclusive product at various music festivals, shopping areas & other locations across the US. This would provide an unexpected shopping experience for new consumers where they could already be found. Consumers that had just finished shopping in retail-dense environments could enter the Hallmark space to purchase a card, gift bag or wrap & complete their shopping & gift preparation in one convenient area, while also having a memorable, exclusive & very shareable experience.

EXPERIENCE

Partner with & park near areas with a high concentration of the target consumers.
Leverage existing retailer relationships by parking near stores that already featured Hallmark product. Offer exclusive items & discounts in the mobile retail space.
Have a Hallmark lettering artist on-site to address envelopes &/or a gift wrapping station to create perfectly giftable packages that shoppers could depart with.
Concept could be promoted for the winter holiday shopping season & other high sales holidays in the US, like Mother’s Day & Valentine’s Day.

PROMOTION

Promote stops in various cities on social media via posts, story updates, live video/stream updates, etc… to build anticipation & engagement.
Partner with local retailers & makers to optimize social media engagement with consumers in new markets. Create a customized experience from city to city to draw consumers in that may be new to the Hallmark brand, but already know & trust the partnering/local brand.
Possible hashtags for the mobile retail space:
#merrymobile #cheeron4wheels #cheermobile #12daysofgifting #giftingtour #cheertogo #mobilegifting #hallmarkmerrymobile #wrappedup #wrapitup #readysetwrap
Examples of retailers who have executed similar pop-up and nomadic retail campaigns:
- Everlane: Embarked on a “cashmere tour” during the 2018 holiday season. Search #cashmeretour on Instagram for visuals.
- True&Co: Debuted a mobile “Try-On Truck” in 2016 that traveled the U.S. for 12 months to enable women to find better fitting bras. Search #tryontruck on Instagram for visuals.
- Warby Parker: Repurposed a school bus and took a “class trip” to select cities to let shoppers try their trendy glasses on in person. Visited 9 cities over 6 months.

RESULT
New & increased awareness of the Hallmark brand via heightened engagement with in-person interaction, social media posts, live streams & story updates. Offering curated, trend-forward & exclusive products in a new, fresh environment could engage with consumers that otherwise would not be exposed to them in brick & mortar retail stores. This interaction could create a new audience of loyal consumers & bring a fresh perspective to the company as an innovator that is embracing changing consumer habits & trends, while also further differentiating Hallmark from competitors.