Today's NY Times has an excellent article about the soon-to-be-opened Meow Mix Cafe here in NYC, but it also speaks to the entire opportunity of creating compelling, brand experiences. The trend of pop-up retail is certainly not going away in the foreseeable future! And, we're always happy to see our FOB's in the press! Here's some excerpts from the article (emphasis ours):
The Meow Mix Company, the maker of dry cat food, is to open a temporary store for felines later this month on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, to be called the Meow Mix Café. The store will help promote the company's first foray into the so-called wet category of the cat-food market with a line of Meow Mix products in pouches.
The Meow Mix Café is emblematic of a major trend that is remaking the way marketers peddle products to consumers: They seek to bring their brands to life in tangible ways, mostly through showplace stores that they, rather than retailers, operate.
"It's a lot harder to get your message across, so the more impactful you can make the consumer's experience interacting with the brand, the better," said Paula Balzer, a partner at Mktg Partners in New York, which specializes in what is called experiential marketing.
"We like to call it active communication," Ms. Balzer said, "as opposed to passive communication" through traditional marketing methods like television commercials and print advertisements.
"Great branding is great storytelling, and the question becomes how can you create a story that's more compelling than your competitor's," said Brian Collins, executive creative director of the Brand Integration Group.
"Advertising traditionally works in the margins, between the television shows you like to watch, the articles you read, the buildings you go into," Mr. Collins said. "With stores, you're creating experiences that people who love brands, who want to bring them into their lives, can actively seek out in ways that give the brands depth, sense, sight, smell, dimension."
The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising > Advertising: Cats Allowed, but No Dogs
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