no. 15: we are living in a poppi-fied world.
buzzy brand experiences in CPG + tech
in case you missed it, there have been some serious brand popups lately. over the weekend, i had the pleasure of spectating from afar and participating in lots of brand and product commentary in my free time. let’s run through my highlights - poppi world & lemme x fellini coffee - then jump into some of this intense commentary.
poppi world
a performance by 50 cent, influencer galore, and neon lights - poppi world is the most insane brand experience i have seen to date. spoiler alert: i didn’t attend, but i did walk by. everything from the subway ad placement on spring street, to the launch of the new cherry cola flavor, was perfectly executed. before this, i would've probably still bought a competitor like olipop, but poppi solidified their brand recognition to the highest degree. i will probably be talking about the poppi world brand experience 10 years from now, and that says a lot.
the first day of the popup, poppi hosted a party with hundreds of influencers and celebrities posing with a poppi can: “the store, which is open through sunday, was filled with a young (and expensively dressed) crowd as well as loads of celebrities: emily ratajkowski, jasmine tookes, jake shane, camille kostek, devon windsor, brooks nadar, georgia fowler, leah kateb, emily didonato, kevin love, suni lee, patrick ta…” the social content was plentiful and so was the free merch inside the storefront.
lemme x fellini coffee
what do a kardashian-founded gummy vitamin brand and a west village coffee shop have in common? the exact profile who would buy both them both. this brand activation was harder for me to wrap my head around because there was nothing done to the coffee besides the addition of whipped cream and purple sprinkles to a latte (which is the antithesis of a wellness-inspired drink). this was truly a brand experience intended to create social buzz and nothing else. regardless, the amount of photos and videos i saw about this was overwhelming:
bringing absurd brand experiences to tech
now, would these kinds of experiences work well in tech to solidify and amplify brand recognition? i think so. i am surprised i haven’t seen companies like ramp, use their stellar branding to an in-person experience yet.
slack - when i lived in austin, i vividly remember walking by a great sxsw brand experience by slack. (i need to start getting invited to these things instead of always walking by) slack has kept the customer as the focus of all of their marketing and messaging for a while now. with their catchy slogan “the future of work” for sxsw last year, i would love to see more in-real-life experiences from them. i personally don’t understand why this hasn’t already been done at a public level, beyond sxsw (if it has, let me know). i could see them nailing the experience based on their brand and product positioning.
expensify - yesterday i was reminded about expensify’s shopping lounge experience in sf by a new brand friend. the expense tracking software company debuted a fancy new lounge in its sf office in april 2023. they served free cocktails and a daily champagne sabering for employees and clients: “it’s more like a social club mixed with a space where you can be super productive.” after 6 months, it got shut down, though the ceo claimed it was a big success (big shocker).
brands such as slack, ramp, and the like, i would love to see more of this from. cpg brand activations and experiences shouldn’t just apply to one industry, as long as they are strong brands that understand their niche. i find that often the companies that are getting personal are the ones to watch for. and if i have learned anything this weekend, there is nothing like engaging your consumer in real life, even if it is just adding purple sprinkles.
💭 i want to hear your feedback and thoughts:
would over-the-top cpg brand experiences work as well in tech? do you want to see this?
are there examples of companies doing this well already?
are there startups in cpg or tech you want me to explore next? let me know in the comments or shoot me a dm!
📚 what i have been reading lately, linked here for you:
my previous substack on popups
a piece on fashion week wellness experiences
I’ve noticed that many tech companies struggle with IRL activations because they don’t have a tangible product to give away. I think the key is to lean into the concept behind the brand rather than the physical product. Dating apps (Bumble, Tinder) tend to do this really well!
Love this piece!! And glad we could see the Poppi pop-up (even if it was just from walking by).
I think it makes sense for tech brands to engage in buzzy brand activations, but their audience is often much nicher than CPG brands, so they need to be smart about how they show up.
Slack’s activation at SXSW is a great example of a tech company meeting their target audience where they’re at - SXSW is a huge event for tech and creative minds. Plus, Slack can be considered b2b and b2c, which helps expand their audiences and makes brand activations make sense. Pure b2b brands need to be more strategic with where they show up to reach their target market.