Wedding Series Pop-Up Shop in Brooklyn during month of June

Real Estate is finding ways to generate lost revenue and what better way than hosting temporary pop-up shops. Plus it allows brands to minimize expense and generate buzz by creating limited time only pop-up stores.

303 Grand in Williamsburg is not new to partnering with brands and making new pop-up shops, but this month's pop-up series is all about weddings, courtesy of The Wedding Library and Martha Stewart Weddings.

Each week, The Wedding Library and local Brooklyn artisans cater to a different experience of wedding planning. The four-week itinerary culminates with weddings for up to ten couples at a small planning price of $500 including ceremony, champagne and cake! One lucky couple will win a free wedding package that includes all the necessary services and a Sandals Resort vacation worth over $20,000.

The pop-up found sponsors with Etsy, Ice Cream Social, stationer Dabney Lee, Paperfinger, Bestow, and Dashing Diva; to provide everything from calligraphy tips to accessories to manicures and pampering.

How to get there: Take the L train to Lorimer. Exit on Union & Metropolitan end. Walk four blocks West on Metropolitan to Havermeyer. Left on Havermeyer and down two blocks to Grand. Right on Grand and its just off the corner. For more details on upcoming events, visit 303 Grand.

(Brooklyn Pop-Up Wedding Series, 303 Grand Street, Williamsburg. For store hours, visit brooklynchapel.com and for more photos of the pop-up, check out Street Attack’s flickr album)

Real Estate Partnerships- Media Opportunities

One industry that has really taken a toll during these difficult economic times is real estate and not just private homes--commercial real estate has immensely suffered.

Even at Rubik we were looking to move offices and throughout our search for office spaces, we were provided deals left and right to sign now--even 3 months free at one venue. And while we love getting deals, you have to wonder how are they going to be able to be profitable or even just stay afloat over the next 6 months- year.

Just like other industries this is the perfect time to get creative and find new revenues streams. Some buildings are looking to use their assets as media and marketing opportunities namely billboards and pop-up stores.

BILLBOARDS
Billboards seem a little tacky for a building but not these examples. With the right partners and the right strategy your building can become an iconic symbol for marketing opportunities.

If you are thinking about selling the outside of your building here are some things to think about:

• Permits- depending on city laws your building might have certain restrictions as to WHAT can be advertised and how it can be advertised if at all on the sides of your building
• Production Partner- we all have our specialties and most likely you'll have to look to partner with a large format printer or projection specialist (i.e. FireFly LA) in order to fulfill the production needs of a media opportunity
• Advertising Focus- You could use your building as just a running billboard, or more strategically use it to secure exclusives with a certain theme-- this can bring greater PR exposure to the building which in turn can raise awareness and command a premium of the building
• Sales Strategy- Once you set your focus, your building will need to put together its own sales strategy and list of prospects to go after. You may even want to employ an agency like Rubik or a media selling company that specializes in this type of sales process. You still get the majority of the sale and you hire them on retainer plus commission.

POP-UP STORES
Pop-up stores have become a great way for brands to create buzz with an act now, limited time only opportunity for consumers. This temporary marketing tactics for brands and retailers can command a greater per month rate for the venue, but some there are some things to think about:

Reebok Example:

• Term & Rates- while you can command a greater per month rate, it takes a lot more time to try and fill the space month to month, when looking at the per month rate, take this extra time in consideration
• Category Targets- to generate positive PR and ensure that the venue is being used appropriately, the venue should consider what categories it wants to target, or more importantly what categories it wants to restrict
• Event Management Partner- while many brands will come in with their own event management team to execute the event, having a preferred event management team can help you find out where new leads lie (they tend to scout locations and if you are on the preferred list of these event management companies you will be one of the first to be selected) **consider offering them a referral commission deal to sweeten the partnership relationship and ensure more projects will come to your venue
• Sales Strategy- Partnering with event management agencies in and of themselves can be a strong sales strategy, however, also use relationships with brokers, local real estate listings and trade publications (i.e. BizBash) to ensure companies know they can partner with you for their next pop-up store
  

Licensing to USPS-- Stamps still going strong

I still feel that even with the advent of e-mail I get just as much hard mail in my mailbox as ever before. Granted most of it is junk and not personal notes and mail, but even still, it appears as though USPS is still going strong enough to forge excitable licensing agreements with its stamps.

Just recently the Simpsons was added to the likes of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and Star Wars and other not just notable but legendary icons in our history.

The partnership is targeted at collectors and included a vote that was cast by almost 1 MM consumers to vote on their favorite stamp (Maggie won!) on www.usps.com.

With the agreement coming from Twentieth Fox Merchandising and Licensing Department it shows the extension a brand can have across multiple areas. Now granted don't expect to get an Oreo stamp in circulation, but then again, if you can make the case maybe you could sell it in--there is always room for non-traditional.

Music Partnerships- Saving the Industry and Driving Emotion

Virgin stores have closed, studios have seen double digit declines and this whole idea of CD's is practically non-existent. But we all know that, the question is how do you fix it and how can music companies like Universal, EMI and Sony become profitable again?

The answer seems to lie in partnerships. The more opportunities to use music as a form of "licensing" in various verticals the more diversification will be in place to create new revenue streams. So where do you find these partnerships:

• CONSUMER PROMOTIONS- sell the "content" as the prize for consumer brands (exaple below)
• NEW MEDIA LICENSING- beyond selling songs for commercials, TV shows, etc, look to other media like gaming- virtual concerts have become huge for some artists like Natasha Bedingfeld and Soulja Boy on There.com
  
• NEW PRODUCT LICENSING- what do people buy to express themselves, show their love to others or entertain themselves? EMI recently partnered with Lottery Tickets, but what about Hallmark Cards, Board Games, etc.
• BONUS MICROTRANSACTIONS- when consumers buy a product online versus in stores, a reward could be a discounted music video, song, etc. as an option at check out.
  

The whole idea of partnerships for music should best be approached in quantity just as much as quality. Music is pretty cheap these days, and the more places music touches consumers the more likely they will consume it.

PARTNERSHIP EXAMPLE:
MySpace recently teamed up with vitaminwater with the launch of Sync. 24 MM bottles were shipped, where under the cap codes could be redeemed for a free MP3 download via MySpace through its partnership with Amazon. Vitaminwater is paying for the downloads and supporting the campaign with magazine, radio and in-store advertising featuring Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys, and 50 Cent.Not only is MySpace seeing new revenue, but added traffic to its site. In fact the 24 MM bottles is more than the typical number of unique visitors to MySpace per month, which is currently at 20 MM.

Countdown to Derby- Tips on Sponsorship

"Don't price any sponsors out of the market."
-Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival CEO and President

The Kentucky Derby is one of the most prestigious and classy sporting events of the year. Nearly every celebrity has made an appearance and the event has the perception of exclusivity.

However, they actually do a pretty good job of including the general public. On Oaks Day and Derby Day tickets are only $25 and $40 respectively for general admission. Now granted you won't be hob-knobbing with the celebs, but you'll still get a chance to experience all of the excitement. And this year they even added the "infield club" for $150 which gives a little more of an exclusive experience at an affordable price. So with tickets ranging on Derby Day from $40 to thousands, the Derby has given a nice range of options and price points to offer everyone an opportunity to attend at their comfort level.

No wonder they take the same approach with their sponsors. They have packages that are in the six figures to sponsor the largest events, but then also have $600 packages for patrons that could include a few tickets and the rights to say they are an official sponsor of the Derby.

Mike Berry is a big believer in nickels making dollars. Doesn't that sound familiar? Obama created the most successful fundraising strategy in the history of politics through his efforts in concentrating just as much on small donations ($656 Million in individual contributions) as large donations.

Some would argue that smaller sponsorship packages dilute a brand and provide less exclusivity to the marquee sponsors. To some extent that is true, however, that is why sponsorship packages need to be clear in what a brand can get via the package they purchase. So a title sponsor gets all licensing, naming rights and category exclusivity, but a smaller patron sponsor may only get ticket pckages.

BRAND PARTNERSHIP IDEA:
Many brands in the Louisville area have thir biggest day of sales on Thunder Over Louisville Day. Knowing this the Derby has approached a variety of brands for their Thunder Funder program to raise money and fund the show.

One sponsor is McDonald's. For a sales period of about five weeks, a portion of every 32-ounce soft drink sold at McDonald's goes to Thunder Over Louisville. The drinks come in special cups, and they have a Thunder Meal with tray liners and promo materials. On an average year, they'll get about $90,000 [from the promotion].

Integrating your sponsorship into stadiums

Home runs raining free Big Mac® Sandwiches, visits by Ronald McDonald, free McDonald's food cards and monthly special events have made Big Mac Land an important part of the Cardinals baseball experience. Beginning in 1998 and continuing into the new Busch Stadium, 181 left field seats have been transformed into Big Mac Land. McDonald's Big Mac Land has given consumers the opportunity to redeem their tickets for more than one million FREE Big Mac® Sandwiches and will hopefully continue to do so for many Cardinals Seasons to come.

USE CHARITY AFFILIATIONS AS A REASON TO CREATE LIMITED EDITION PRODUCTS

Since this type of promotion allows both the manufacturer and the charity to directly see results through sales, brands have been using this as an effective way to activate their charity affiliations:

Lindt & Autism Speaks- for every Lindt Gold Bunny sold 10 cents was donated to Austism Speaks

Starbucks & (RED) Campaign- for every special edition Christmas beverage 5 cents was donated to (RED) for HIV/AIDS research

M&M's & Susan G. Komen- for every package sold 10% will benefit Breast Cancer Awareness