So, pop up has been hot for a while.

Stores, more recently food outlets. In disused retail spaces, warehouses, trucks, vans, tuk tuks. See a recent round-up care of Flavourpill here.

Why do we get so excited about them?

According to several theories on emotional branding (e.g. emotional branding, lovemarks, brand jam and others) it is a sense of exclusivity and mystery that helps us connect with brands. We feel special and therefore we choose to connect to the brand which makes us feel that way.

Beyond fashion and food, how can we apply the pop up excitement in different ways, different industries?

Here's some different frames to illuminate the potential for other ways this technique can be applied to your brand. And incidentally, how you can give back to your customers.

• Translate physical to virtual - can you create a virtual pop up experience or offer?
• One to many - Instead of one pop-up, can you multiply locations, people, offers? Imagine doing a mass pop-up around the city, a mass pop-up of your product or service taking over a disused or ordinary space.
• Pop up to serve - If you have a service, can you pop up right where you're needed? Think massages at the end of a race, accounting or life advice for individuals affected by organisational collapse?
• Crowd-source your pop-up - Engage your customers who can vote where you pop-up and fun details. You never know, you could be popping up on the top of the Empire state building dressed as sailors, with your customers along for fun.

For my business, virtual desktops, we could take the benefits - being able to work anywhere, on any device, and create pop-up co-workings spots in ingenious locations and styles. You just have to be in the virtual desktops user club to know.

One of the best examples of the notion of pop-up that I have experienced is 'Secret Cinema' in London. You register, receive an email outlining only what to wear and an oblique clue. One booked you are given a location and a time to meet. It is a fairytale experience of delight that does not publicise but now gets 500 - 700 people per event. Harnessing the magic of mystery to not just promote a brand but create one.

Whoever is closest to the customer, wins.

Through dealing with retailers, selling direct and being a marketer I have come to the almost obsessive belief that whoever is closest to the customer will, eventually, have the most successful business.

Sounds obvious, but can be easy to forget.

For example, if I am managing a Large Brand, I can obsess over retail distribution, pricing, advertising and new product development. Playing with (useful) levers to get the maximum return for my marketing dollars.

But if the retailer deletes my product what do I have?

Unless the customer feels close to my brand and demands to buy it elsewhere, I've got nothing. Even if the retailer keeps the product, they usually do so at the price of more margin, unless I have the voice of the customer with me.

Because that is what is being close to the customer is about too - understanding their needs so you get it right. Having real conversations with them so you do develop products and Brands that they love and will follow.

Whomever is closest to the customer wins because:

- You know what they want and give it to them

- Structurally - you have the power in the distribution chain

- In an increasingly direct world inc. online sales, you need to be there to catch the ball as customers shift purchasing behaviours to a more direct model.

- In the face of increasing choice, people buy brands they like and trust. Without a relationship, you are left with the levers of price, features and high risk NPD.

Examples of companies that get close to the customer in industry-changing ways include Zappos, Metro Bank (a new model in banking), Carman's, Porshe and Nike.

Those who are closest to the customer win because they are able to deliver to customer needs, build a valuable asset in the relationship itself, build loyalty (from both sides) and simply care enough to get it right.

You? How are you shifting your business to get closer to the customer?

Photo credit: Mike's Journal

Why is it the inside that matters?

It has been hot here in London. Yes, you read right, an Australian calling London hot! Amongst the over-heated crowd I noticed patterns peeking out from beneath thonged feet (flip flops for non-antipodeans).

Why would someone go to the effort of buying shoes where you can barely see the pattern?

I was reminded of a time when a friend showed me his fine new work shoes, but was most excited by the inner lining depicting a sunset scene. Likewise, a hand-bag maker once told me that often, the reason people bought her bags was because of the lining (I too was seduced by the lining for my Nancy Bird bag). Recently I was researching a client's online experience and the one thing that customers repeatedly mentioned was their delight in the wrapping. Clearly the same occurs for Apple lovers given the recent spate of 'unwrapping' videos.

Expanding the thought, the same delight in discovering an unexpected interior occurs with houses (warehouse conversions), service and even people such as Susan Boyle.

I am not sure there is a straight answer to the question "Why is it the inside that matters?", but I think it can start to be explained by an overall concept of consumption=personal. It is that feeling that the design or moment is rare and can only be experienced by me (or a select few). They are all richly sensory moments, from the vividness of a pattern to the texture of fine silk lining. It ties into the notion of brand experience, or moment of truth for a brand.

One thing is for sure - it is at that moment that your 'thing' becomes personal. You connect. And the love and loyalty begin.

How can you create something special on the inside to delight your customers, and keep them coming back? Or have you already? Why do you think it is the inside that matters?

photo credit: nancybird