Royal Canin has installed a pop-up store at 123 rue de Turenne in Paris. With this pop-up store, the brand is not only going to meet dog and cat owners to increase its awareness. The Royal Canin pop-up store serves a market research purpose to shape its future flagship store, opening in the Opera neighborhood. This is the first time we have visited a pop-up store that takes advantage of all the possibilities offered by this type of sales outlet.
The Royal Canin pop-up store is organized around experiences, i.e., small activities that allow current cat and dog owners and future owners to learn more about animals.
If you only have 30 seconds
The Royal Canin pop-up store is not only a commercial springboard. Its layout and the events are organized to serve the brand’s marketing research needs. Each visitor can indeed leave an opinion (quantitative research) and be interviewed (qualitative research).
This is a clever use of the pop-up store that goes beyond the “awareness” aspects usually sought with the pop-up store (see, for example, the analysis of the Pulco pop-up store).
Educational and promotional experiences
The pop-up store is built around different devices called “experiences.” Each one aims to teach you something about your (future) four-legged friend. Here are some of the animations proposed in the Royal Canin pop-up store.
Pet matcher
First of all, for future owners, there is a clever “pet matcher” that allows you to find the right pet for your lifestyle. I was expecting a result in the form of a dog or cat breed, but it’s a little fuzzy. The interactive questionnaire takes place on a touch screen, and at the end, you are referred to the local animal rescue shelter. The tool gives you an answer in the form of a profile. Then the animal shelter is free to interpret this profile according to the animals available. This result is intended to allow more flexibility (and avoid disappointment) when choosing an animal.
Feeding
Feeding is, of course, an essential part of taking good care of an animal. And as it is the activity of Royal Canin, 2 experiments are dedicated to it. The first one is very educational. It allows you to find the most adapted kibbles according to your animal’s characteristics. And the second one illustrates the variety of kibbles according to the animal. Frankly, I would never have imagined that there could be so many choices and variations. What surprised me the most? The adaptation of the size and the shape of the kibbles according to the animal’s jaw. Of course, we are only talking about food from the point of view of the products proposed by Royal Canin, but it is not all about kibbles.
4D immersion in the life of the animal
Animation 6 is the most immersive. A curved screen and a vibrating seat allow you to put yourself in your pet’s shoes. What does it see? How does it move around the house? It is a fascinating awareness for an owner.
The Royal Canin pop-up store is not only a commercial springboard. It also serves the marketing research needs of the brand.
Conferences and exchanges around the brand
Conferences, workshops, and shooting sessions are also organized every week. It is this part that I find, paradoxically, the most innovative. The pop-up store is indeed “treated” under the angle of market research. Royal Canin kills two birds with one stone by attracting owners and potential consumers.
First, the brand gets to know a new public by going directly to meet them. Then, it takes advantage of the pop-up store to “study” this clientele directly and provide its marketing department with insights. Each visitor can leave an opinion on the pop-up store and the brand, which is similar to a quantitative survey or poll after a few hundred visits. Then, workshop participants can also be recruited to participate in qualitative interviews or focus groups. When we know that the “recruitment” part is one of the most complicated in terms of qualitative approach, I think Royal Canin can congratulate itself on having this pop-up store.
Conclusion
The Royal Canin pop-up store, while appearing to bring the brand closer to its public, is much more than that. Thanks to animations and data collection, this pop-up store can also boast of serving marketing research purposes.
So, the next time you want to launch a pop-up store, ask yourself how you can get more out of your investment. Think of the visitor flow as an opportunity to gather a panel of potential respondents who can answer important questions for your brand.
Posted in Marketing.