The latest marketing trend is all about creating the perfect picture. Brands are setting up photo opportunities in stores, pop-ups, and major marketing campaigns, giving Millennials everything they need to take the best shot to share on social media…
These days restaurants are being designed to include Instagrammable scenery, packaging, and dishes; Fashion Week shows are being created to include that one photographable display; and museums are embracing exhibits that look good on the mobile screen and encouraging social sharing. Finding a way to get your brand onto Millennials’ social media feeds has become a key tactic across industries. Last year, we spotted the rising trend of Instagrammable events—immersions created to be a series of photo-op worthy moments, and the ultimate social media-sharing experiences. Refinery 29’s 29 Rooms and the brand-sponsored Museum of Ice Cream (now in LA) were created to be fun, of course, but more than anything they gave visitors chance after chance to take the perfect picture to stand out on social.
Now, we’re seeing this photo-op approach spread into more areas, and marketing campaigns and stores alike set themselves up to provide photo op inspiration. Sunglass Hut is luring Millennials in-store with the promise of the perfect selfie. The brand’s new Melbourne flagship offers face-shape matching and styling services in a space designed to create a photo-worthy moment. The focus of the location, the “bling wall,” is made up of 150 dancing LEDs to light up selfies that young consumers are encouraged to share on social media. Here are three more brands designing photo-ops to give Millennials everything they need to take a shot to share on social media:
Magnum’s Designed-For-Instagram NYC Pop-Up
The perfect food pic is a status symbol on social media, and ice cream brand Magnum has set up a New York pop-up that’s all about giving visitors that Likeable image. Their new store, open from June to September, allows shoppers to create their own custom Magnum bars, with a variety of toppings (including rose petals) available and applied by awaiting attendants. Then, once the unique dessert creation is complete, a wall of photo-op backgrounds is available to snap shots of the treats. The stands provide a variety of colored backgrounds to hold up the Magnum and provide an eye-catching pic, and each stand encourages vistors to share the result on social. The rest of the store is filled with Instagrammable elements like neon signs and selfie-worthy murals, helping the hashtag #magnumnyc earn almost 10K posts on Instagram so far.
Warby Parker Selfie Booths
Warby Parker is betting on brick-and-mortar as they expand with 25 retail locations this year—but they’re giving shoppers an experience beyond browsing for glasses. The once solely e-commerce brand has learned how to “leverage data” on its digital shoppers to tailor in-store experiences, opening locations that feature vintage arcade games and, yes, photo booths. One shop even features a “Warby Parker Green Room” where shoppers can shoot 15-second green screen videos the brand declares are theirs “to keep and ready to ‘gram!” They’re not the only brand giving shoppers a selfie-set-up: nail salon Paintbox, and fitness studio Tracy Anderson Method, have all installed selfie booths to give clients a “new experience” and encourage them to share it on social media.
The Delta Dating Wall
Delta is letting young singles in Brooklyn fake impressive travel photos for their dating profiles. The #DeltaDatingWall mural informs passersby that “World Travelers are More Likely to Be Swiped Right,” and provides a variety of exotic backdrops to photograph themselves in front of, mimicking a tourist pic for Tinder. The wall will be up all summer long, and on June 17th, Delta and Tinder are partnering up to host a professional photo op.
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