Is the pop-up dead and dead dull? Or does it remain one of the more interesting and (by definition) dynamic features of our retail and experience landscape?
I'm definitely in the latter camp, because while I fully subscribe to the broadly-accepted thinking on good pop-ups (that they should be unique, curious, and fresh, and should be driven by a story beyond temporary retail) I think to dismiss the idea of time-limited and pop-up activity as a passing fad already past its sell-by date would be akin to dismissing television advertising because too many people have made bad ads.
That was a long sentence. Sorry about that. But the point stands...new, fresh, short-term, surprising, and constantly-reinventing stuff is interesting. Just as long as it is...interesting.
What's interesting me right now are things like...Banksy's ultra-stealthy exhibition that has suddenly popped up in his home town of Bristol...London's collaborative art-cum-drinking space The Doodle Bar...Andre Balazs' summertime-only hotel Sunset Beach (where I'm heading for a weekend break in a couple of week)...and the brilliant public art programme in my local park.
Why should everything last forever? Aren't some things better in shortish bursts of relevant fun? That's the thinking that will ensure that pop-up activity reains a big part of our experiential landscape for the foreseeable future.
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