Offering brands the opportunity to showcase their creativity, pop-up events can usually be relied upon to deliver inspiring experiences – and this year has been no exception.

We’ve pulled together the top 10 experiential events to have popped up around the UK in 2017 to help ignite your own creativity. From a virtual waterslide through central London to a coffee shop where you can drink a date (yes, you read that correctly!), these pop-ups put traditional advertising in the shade.

1. Ferrero Rocher’s multi-sensory tasting experience

Ferrero Rocher invited consumers to get “behind the layers” of its sweet treat at a multi-sensory tasting at Westfield in London’s Shepherd Bush. The two story pop-up store created by TracyLocke, included a golden bar and lounge with Rocher-inspired drinks created by mixology specialists, Liquid Chefs.

Guests were invited to take a seat in a “pod” for a 360-experience, which included watching five mini-desserts being created and then tasting them. Each dish was inspired by the different layers of the chocolate – hazelnut, chocolate, wafer, hazelnut pieces and gold. The activation also featured a gift shop and giant Rocher display for photo opportunities.

2. Cyprus Tourism Organisation’s halloumi-themed restaurant

Cyprus’ national cheese, halloumi was chosen as the centrepiece for an event designed to raise awareness of destination. Conceived by creative agency Rooster, the pop-up restaurant took place at 100 Hoxton in East London and featured halloumi in every dish on the menu (including a halloumi ice cream for dessert).

Diners were able to try each dish individually or opt for the full tasting experience with every item on a sharing platter for two people, priced at £26. The pop-up generated much excitement in the press and was completely sold out just five days after the announcement. It even attracted support from famous Cypriot entrepreneur Theo Paphitis.

3. Innis & Gunn’s sunshine bar

Craft brewer Innis & Gunn aimed to give shoppers a break from the winter gloom in Edinburgh by opening a three-day pop-up sunshine bar to coincide with the turning back of the clocks. Visitors received a free pint of beer and were exposed to UV light through a powerful rigging of SAD lighting, thought to make up for a lack of sunlight during the day.

This pop-up was located at Edinburgh’s Food & Flea Market, so shoppers could pop in for refreshment and a restorative dose of sunshine. An additional aspect of the campaign saw visitors pledge to make another person smile to further enforce brightening up the day.

4. Amazon’s Black Friday countdown

Entitled the “Home of Black Friday”, Amazon’s pop-up shop took over 3,000-square foot of space in London’s Soho Square and featured more than 100 curated products within five themed rooms. This included a kitchen and living area, a bedroom and beauty parlour, an immersive gaming and technology zone, a kids’ play and storytelling room and a creative workshop space.

The objective was to showcase top deals in the week leading up to Black Friday. Visitors were able to purchase the products by scanning a QR code to open up the product page on the Amazon app. A dedicated Prime Now delivery area in the lobby of the venue allowed shoppers to have their Black Friday deal purchases delivered to the pop-up within two hours.

As well as shopping, there were workshops hosted by small business owners, master classes and cocktail tastings, makeup tutorials by popular YouTubers and competitions to win prizes.

5. Match.com’s bachelor party

Single girls looking for a “model man” were able to find him at a pop-up event hosted by dating website Match.com. The exhibition at 34 Thayer Street in London displayed seven single suitors registered on the site, perfectly recreated in miniature.

The seven-inch, 3D printed males were created to promote the range of men using the service – from a gym-fanatic quantitative risk analyst to a scarf-wearing Aussie musician. Rather than swiping through profiles, women could pop by for a browse on their lunch break and get a real feel for the guys on Match.com’s database.

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6. Topshop’s virtual reality waterslide

To mark the start of the summer season, Topshop revealed a virtual reality waterslide experience at its flagship store on London’s Oxford Street. Visitors to “Splash at Topshop” could race down a giant looping waterslide passing through a busy Oxford Street, discovering Topshop-themed surprises are promised along the way.

Meanwhile, Topshop pumped the scent of sunscreen throughout the London store and hosted a number of summer-themed attractions, such as soft-serve ice cream vendor Milk Train. A branded Snapchat lens was also created to support the live campaign.

7. Heinz’s anniversary beanz café

Heinz celebrated the 50th anniversary of its iconic Beanz Meanz Heinz slogan by launching a pop-up café in London’s Selfridges. Visitors could grab a freshly made pot of beans with cheese and scrambled egg, ham or bacon.

Also available were 50 collectable tins of beans signed by the tagline’s original copywriter, Maurice Drake. Those who weren’t lucky enough to get their hands on one could purchase limited edition cans featuring different iterations of the slogan, available exclusively at Selfridges. All proceeds from the event went to charity partner The Ideas Foundation, which aims to inspire the next generation of creatives into the industry.

8. Match.com’s coffee dates

Match.com impressed us with its creativity for a second time with its ‘Espresso Yourself’ pop-up coffee shop for singletons in London. The unique cafe served up drinks featuring 3D-printed selfies of eligible Match members.

A “menu” of eight different Match members (four male, four female) were on offer at the two-day pop-up at Shoreditch’s Boxpark. After picking one that took their fancy, visitors were handed a free drink with the profile picture of their chosen Match member 3D-printed into the coffee’s foam. While drinking the beverage they could get to know more about their potential partner by reading the outside of a specially-designed coffee cup containing further information. If they were interested in sharing a drink with them in the traditional sense, they could follow a link printed on the cup to track down their match.

9. Budweiser’s Halloween costume shop

Keen to become the beer brand associated with Halloween parties, Budweiser invested heavily in experiential this year. It launched a fancy dress pop-up shop at Old Street Tube station, which people could visit to get kitted out on the way to its Halloween party, down the road at The Magic Roundabout.

The King of Fears shop (a play on the “King of Beers” strapline) was a mix between a haunted house and a fancy dress shop with mirror tricks and haunted clothes rails. Special products, normally only available online, were on offer, and there was also a DJ and a free Budweiser for everyone that made a purchase. The experience culminated in Budweiser’s “epic” Nightmare Circus Halloween Party with a DJ set from Foals.

10. McCain’s “Roastaurant”

Frozen food brand McCain created a pop-up restaurant dedicated to the roast dinner. The “Roastaurant” was designed to celebrate the diversity of the roast, giving people the chance to choose from a pick and mix style menu offering more than 100,000 combinations.

The pop-up at the Old Truman Brewery in London featured a “gravy microbrewery” and a roast potato platter covering six square metres. Diners could visit these to fill their bowls with potatoes and choose from a variety of gravy flavours such as chocolate and jerk.

Conclusion

If you’re a brand owner, bringing it to life via a pop-up experience offers the opportunity to make a big impression – not just on those who attend, but in the press too. How will you put your brand in the spotlight in 2018? Continue the discussion on the EventTribe forum.