L’Occitane’s Sol de Janeiro has launched a mega popup at Heathrow Airport as part of its Global Summer Tour.
The Gen Z-favourite brand said the bright yellow activation: AKA the ‘Sol-cial Club’ is inspired by beach clubs. It's an immersive popup that celebrates “summer joy and inclusivity” and invites travellers to “unleash their summer selves”.
Customers are welcomed by brand ambassadors who ring a ‘Bum Bum’-designed vintage hotel bell to mark their arrival. They can take photos at a vintage Vespa photo booth and inside the popup there is music playing, product sampling, immersive experiences and opportunities to personalise purchases.
There is a discovery zone, which features a stripy yellow and white seating area surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. Here visitors can sample best-selling product heroes or enjoy a hand and arm massage. There is also an exclusive gift with purchase: a must-have, bright pink summer beach bag.
Before leaving, customers show off their dance moves with the ‘Happy Holiday Dance’ feature with their dancing synchronised on the big screen for all to see.
The campaign is amplified through a targeted social media strategy, reaching travellers at every stage of their journey. The brand said it's using hyper-local geo-targeting on Instagram and Facebook, with the messages delivered in multiple languages.
The Heathrow airport popup is part of the brand’s big Sol de Janeiro Summer Tour, which includes immersive popups in 105 airports across the globe, including major hubs in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Germany, the US, Canada, UAE, Australia, and New Zealand.
In the UK alone, the brand has launched 18 activations, plus 49 in Europe, 19 in Latin America, 14 in North America, four in the APAC region, and four in the Middle East.
Behind Sol de Janeiro’s campaign strategy
Sol de Janeiro’s brand manager for global travel retail L’Occitane Group, Marion Amirouche, explained more on the brand’s campaign: ‘This summer, we wanted to bring the essence of Brazil to travellers around the world, Our MEGA pop-up at London Heathrow is a key focus of this massive global tour that celebrates the liberating spirit of summer, inclusivity, and the joy that the Sol de Janeiro brand represents.’
Sol de Janeiro only made its travel-retail debut last year, but parent company L’Occitane has since allocated plenty of investment into its marketing campaigns and activations.
The move appears to have paid off, since Sol de Janeiro is one of the world’s fastest-growing skin care brands and had a record-breaking holiday season last summer.
As an overall trend, more brands are choosing immersive popups as a strategy to hook in new consumers of all ages, but particularly Gen Z and Gen Alpha.