Living in Toronto, pop-ups are everywhere.  

Whether it’s an activation at the Eaton Centre, a storefront takeover on Ossington or a branded food truck parked outside Trinity Bellwoods, something seems to be happening every weekend, especially in the summer.  

As someone working in experiential marketing, I love seeing brands invest in XM and I get a lot of inspiration for my own work by seeing the creative ways that brands bring their stories to life. But as an XM producer, it’s hard to get me to stop at an activation. Not because I don’t appreciate great activations, but because I spend so much time producing similar experiences that most of the time, I know exactly what I’m likely walking into.  

I’ll probably have to wait in line for at least a bit of time, I’ll receive a product sample, maybe sometimes a full-size, and I’ll be asked to take a photo in whatever vignette/photo-op is set up and post it on Instagram. None of those things are bad per se, but if I know that that’s what I’m getting into, it’s not enough to make me want to stop.  

What Catches My Attention  

The activations that grab my attention aren’t always the biggest or the flashiest, they’re the ones that make me curious. If I can understand the entire experience from 30 feet away, I’m likely going to keep walking. But, if I can’t really figure out what’s going, I’m more inclined to slow down and try to figure out what everyone’s waiting in line for.  

That’s one of the many reasons why I loved Nespresso’s The Coffee Room. At first glance, it looked like any other pop-up, especially since it was located at one of the most popular pop-up storefronts in Toronto. But, once I saw it on social, I realized they weren’t just giving away coffee and sending people on their way – they had programming running all weekend, including run clubs, floral workshops and DJ sets. It wasn’t just a place to grab your freebie and go, it was a space people actually wanted to spend time in.  

That’s what great experiential marketing does! Creates intrigue before asking for participation, then encourages dwell time through the unexpected.  

If You’re Just Trying to Sample, Then Just Sample! 

Free products are great and, notoriously, people in Toronto love free things. But product without context isn’t enough when it comes to true experiential storytelling.  

The activations I remember are the ones where I actually learn something, experience the product in a meaningful way or leave feeling like I got something more than just a sample. That way, the sample becomes a takeaway from the experience, rather than the experience itself. 

That’s why I’ll almost always walk past a food truck-style activation where I’m standing in line for 30 minutes just to be handed a product and sent on my way. 

If your objective is mass product sampling, I’d argue you’re better off taking the product directly to people around the city. Nerds did this really well recently with their gummy clusters, sending Brand Ambassadors throughout downtown Toronto to hand out samples. I heard so many of my friends mention they had gotten candy because they were everywhere and the barrier to entry was basically zero.  

The approach you take of course depends on your objective, but if you’re asking people to spend their time waiting in line and exploring your activation, you need to give them something more than they could have gotten from a Brand Ambassador on the sidewalk on their way to pilates.  

Tap Into Emotions 

The most memorable activation I’ve stopped at this year was probably not what you’d expect… it was for Tourism Manitoba!  

I’ll admit, I’m biased. I grew up in Winnipeg and will shout from the rooftops how much I love it there and how underrated I think Manitoba is, so while I may have been the exact person they were looking to come through, what they did worked! 

They gave out free chicken fingers and honey dill sauce (iykyk), had a quick immersive experience showcasing the Northern Lights, and tied everything back to the chance to win a trip to Churchill, Manitoba.  

It wasn’t a complicated pop up, but it made me smile, reminded me of home and I immediately texted all my friends saying they should stop by. And that’s what xm should do! People don’t remember every detail of an activation, but they do remember how it made them feel and the story that’s told once the activation ends.  

360 Approach 

Your pop up could have lines down the street all weekend and amazing buzz, but the reality is, if you’re only popping up in one place, your messaging is not extending far beyond that region. That’s why there needs to be a 360-approach taken with every experiential activation. 

A great example was The Ordinary’s Markup Marché. The concept was smart, the execution was cohesive and the campaign extended beyond the activation itself. Between OOH, creator mailers, social content and the on-site experience, every touchpoint reinforced the same story. Even before realizing that the pop up was literally around the corner from my apartment, I had already seen it on social, understood the idea, and most importantly, I wanted to know more.  

That’s the difference between creating an event and creating a campaign.  

At Faulhaber, our fxm (Faulhaber Experiential Marketing) team approaches every experience with that mindset. As an integrated agency, we don’t think of xm in isolation. We think about how every touchpoint works together, from media relations to influencer partnerships to paid media. The most successful activations aren’t measured solely by attendance; they’re measured by the story told long after the event is over. Especially in a city full of brand activations, getting someone to stop is the easy part, but creating something they will remember and that will turn them into a genuine brand advocate is something else entirely.