10 Steps to Po-up Success

Pop-up shops are a widely used instrument for economic revitalisation in cities of all sizes. Trying the pop-up method in a small town struggling with 30 years of continuous decline was a daring, yet visionary attempt to tackle the problems arising from steadily growing numbers of empty retail premises in the town centre. In this note I am sharing some of the key lessons I have learned from developing and implementing the pop-up programme in Altena. If you want to get more detail on the pop-up shop practice we are transferring from Altena, in particular images, use this link to see the slide deck I used for the ‘deep dive’ workshop on pop-up which the ReGrow City network ran in Melgaco in March this year. LISA: PLEASE insert weblink here

Think about pop-up as a “project management tool”:

Pop-up is…

• Not the “ultimate goal”, but a way of getting there. Just as empty shops are not the root of the problem but one of the many effects of shrinking cities.
• An experiment. Even if the pop-up shop closes down after a couple of weeks, it still shows how change is possible. Despite being short lived, it served as an attraction for inhabitants and visitors and helped pop-up operators to test their business idea for the first time.
• Minimizing the entry barrier for opening up a shop (short-term rental, lower rent, test character,..) and maximising the benefits (visibility, community support, events,..).
• A method to get around regulatory requirements and restrictions associated with ‘standard’ approaches to renting retail premises (e.g. insurance, tax, contract law etc.)
• A way of working with minimal resources.

Trust in the “test & try” approach and develop your very own experimental mentality

• There is no one plan “how to set up a pop-up project in your city”. There are certain aspects that are important to deal with and to incorporate, but after all the resources and people on site will determine the project scope. What is really important is to create an environment of trust (where people trust in you to give them the support they need to go through their maybe first entrepreneurial experience).
• Every pop-up project is different - you make up a plan, adapt it on a continuous basis and then witness how it might unfold in a total different way. While it can be frustrating when things do not go plan, that is also the beauty of the pop-up approach as it surprises and gives a lot of excitement along the way. It is all about people and what people make out of it can never be a 100% foreseen. Therefore, don’t create much paper work, pop-up is a very practical approach: keep it simple!
• Nevertheless having a goal and a vision is important: How many pop-up shops are you aiming for? What is your deadline? Setting goals is important for the success and follow-up of the process.
• Take one step at a time, managing pop-ups is an ongoing project.

Create low barriers for the execution of the project

• Overall it might be important to think about how legal and financial barriers can be overcome; do not get tied up in all the restrictions your colleagues know so much about. Remember, it is a short-term project and as a city council one needs to find ways to make it as easy to get involved.
• Balancing a minimum of regulations for pop-up operators with the need to ensure overall quality of the project: Surely this is a very difficult point, which everyone needs to evaluate for themselves. In Altena we set a framework for pop-up operators to assure a certain overall quality of the project. For example, it was important to us to have common opening hours of the shops and therefore a certain level of liability and engagement of the pop-up operators. On the other hand we gave them little limitations in terms of how everyone wanted to design their shop and what products to offer, as long as it sounded generally reasonable and appropriate. We only took the chance to inspire them by presenting best practice examples of pop-up shops elsewhere. Generally, try to encourage potential pop-up operators without limiting them in the execution of their idea, while at the same time asking for a certain level of commitment on their part.

• As a project manager it is one’s task to create a win, win, win, win situation: for house owners, pop-up participants/ tradespeople, other shops in the city and last but not least the inhabitants.

Think about what makes small places great and how to strengthen these assets

• Think about ways to promote living in small towns that might be quite remote: What makes these places so attractive and why do you enjoy living there? e.g. lower rent, room for creativity, the road less travelled, welcoming culture, personal encounters, people with stories/ no mainstream,..
• Start to take pride in the local lifestyle. Show others how beautiful life in your town can be. People who stand for where they choose to live are always most inspiring. Thus it is good to find advocates for your town: A positive image starts with the inhabitants, the story they tell about their town (to themselves and others) matters.
• Instead of asking “where do we want to live?” we should shift our focus to the question „how do we want to live?“ and use this as a base to promote our lifestyle. The most important marketing tool here is word of mouth.
• Shift focus from what is lacking to what is already there. Instead of agreeing with people who say “there is nothing one can do here” say “it is a calm place, where one can perfectly relax in nature”; it sounds too easy, but it works and perspective really matters; the key motto is:  “small is beautiful and shrinking is an opportunity”.
• Don’t compare yourself with seemingly more interesting city centres, but focus on strengthening your own assets: e.g. we might not need a bigger shopping centre in a small town, but places where people can come together to use their own creativity and discover the authentic/ the personal.
• Positive Change starts with appreciation of the existing!! Valuing your assets (taking good care of your surroundings, be welcoming) equals economic value creation (more visitors); this seems to be a universal law.

What to do next?

• Learn to think as your potential pop-up operators think: What are they aiming/ hoping for? What are they avoiding/ afraid of when it comes to opening up a shop?
• Also learn to think as the owners of the retail premises do: In what way can you help them with their rental issues? Why are you their friend?

• Think about „Who are the people living in your place and who are the people you want to attract more? And then, what attracts them?
• Finally think of all the other people in your city who could have an interest in making the city more lively and attractive again and find a way to involve them in the project.

Create your personal support group

• In Altena the inclusion of existing shop owners served as a kick-off for the project; after all they do have the biggest interest to keep the town attractive and they also have valuable ideas and contacts as well.
• Find ‘friends’ among your local stakeholders who help you along the way and keep you motivated.
• Bear in mind that neither a pop-up store, nor you as the project manager can fail as it is all an experiment, all you are doing is “test and try”. In fact one is dependent on the interest and willingness of people to participate, hence all you can be expected to do is to pave the ground for the project to come into being.
• Integrate different target groups (from young to old people) and make it varied.
• When the first pop-up operator is interested you will start seeing a way :-)

Last not least: keep it simple and fun! There is no golden rule how to develop pop-up shops. You need to have a look at the local resources available, you need a concept to promote the shops, and you will be surprised how much creative potential will be discovered along the way. The 10 steps to implementation are just meant to be a rough guideline. The orange marked points are the steps, which seem to be an essential for any pop-up initative, for example setting a goal and vision like this: have a minimum of 3 pop-up shops and one opening event on day xx.xx.xxxx. This is where it all starts!

Good luck with your project and get in touch to tell me how you are getting on, I would love to hear from you!