Ultimate Pop-Up Retail: Expoships' Seafair

One of the most interesting ideas at the SISO trade show CEO Forum was David Lester's Seafair Grande Luxe, a custom-built show yacht that will travel up and down the U.S. East Coast with a movable exposition. From the web site:

Targeting 34 affluent markets during an 11-month annual voyage, the world’s   first luxury exposition megayacht, Grand Luxe, will undoubtedly be a spectacular attraction as it visits each port. Prestigious art dealers, antique dealers and jewelers from New York, London, and Paris will welcome collectors and connoisseurs to their individual “galleries at sea.”

The Flash-heavy web site is a little hard to get around, but the idea of a first class retail experience appearing at the local yacht basin is brilliant. Briefings from the excellent trendwatching.com describe the recent occurences of Pop-Up Retail in which sellers like Target, Levis, Sharp, eBay and Crown Royal create limited-time shops that showcase their brands on high-end shopping streets or in buses, minivans or even Hummers. According to trendwatching.com:

POP-UP RETAIL fits right in with the Entertainment Economy, the Experience Economy, the Surprise Economy, with MASSCLUSIVITY, and so on. It's about surprising consumers with temporary 'performances', guaranteeing exclusivity because of the limited time span. It's about buzz, and about new try-out and testing techniques. It provides visibility for e-tailers and allows 'real-world' companies to enter uncharted markets on the cheap. In short, it's one of those trends that should be incorporated in every existing and new marketing and advertising strategy.

(Thanks to JB for the link.)