Marketing pioneer Choi Won-seok delves into pop-up trend in Seoul's Seongsu-dong

Arts & Design

Published: 17 Jun. 2024, 12:17

Marketing pioneer Choi Won-seok delves into pop-up trend in Seoul's Seongsu-dong

Choi Won-seok, the CEO of Project Rent, is often dubbed the pioneer in pop-up store marketing. He says offline is a potent marketing platform for the so-called digital generation because it enables them to experience brands in person. [CHOI YEONG-JAE]

When everyone said online was the place to be for a lucrative business, Choi Won-seok, the CEO of Project Rent, went in the opposite direction. He took note of the offline realm as a place with plenty of opportunities.

“Offline becomes a potent marketing platform when it meets the emotional needs of potential customers by offering them a hands-on experience,” said Choi. He recently published a book on marketing tactics titled “Eventually, Offline.”

Choi chose pop-up stores as mediums where customers can explore brands in person. Such stores are operated for a short period.

He launched the business in 2018 by renting a small place, which is about 20 square meters (215 square feet) in the neighborhood of Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, and now has five other branches under the brand name Rent in Seongsu-dong and Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul.

Over the course of expanding the business, Choi has been planning and organizing pop-up store events for about 300 different brands, including Amazing Oat, oat milk produced by Maeil Dairies, and Ghana Chocolate by Lotte Wellfood. Choi is often dubbed a pioneer in pop-up store marketing.

Having studied industrial design at Hongik University and arts and cultural management at the graduate school of the same university, Choi used to work for well-known design centers, such as the design management center of LG Electronics and the design team at Hyundai Card.

He launched Filament, a company of his own, and has been providing marketing consultations to numerous food and beverage brands.

“Eventually, Offline,” written by Choi Won-seok, the CEO of Project Rent [DESIGN HOUSE]

“As I have been working with brands with different goals and customer bases, I came to notice several things. Brands have deep-rooted misconceptions about the market they are dealing with. It is still hard for newly launched brands to enter the mainstream market with many hurdles to overcome, and the existing marketing channels are too outdated to keep up with customers today.

“Thus, I thought of a marketing channel based on the offline, with the tagline of ‘small brand with a big story.’ I began creating spaces where customers can experience lesser-known yet unique brands.”

Now, Seongsu-dong is one of the most-visited destinations among the so-called MZ generation. But it was different from what it looks now when Choi opened his first Rent branch there. It was merely an old, run-down neighborhood where small and medium-sized manufacturing companies were densely located.

“The monthly rent was cheap. I paid 600,000 won ($434). Even if my business went wrong, I thought I could pay for it by working as a late-night substitute driver.”

A pop-up event to promote Ghana Chocolate, a confectionary brand by Lotte Wellfood, was organized by Project Rent. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Affordable monthly rents attracted many other creative artists and businesses, such as cafes and restaurants, to Seongsu-dong.

With many things to enjoy, the neighborhood began thriving, especially due to its location, which is easily accessible from the southern part of Seoul. It didn’t take that long for the neighborhood to get a facelift.

Companies began constructing sleek buildings and moved there to settle down. With the influx of young employees to the area, Seongsu-dong saw a steady number of customers during the week as well as on weekends.

Choi’s pop-up events also played a pivotal role in promoting the area as a place where you can have fun.

“My ideal pop-up store is far from being a fancy place where you can get giveaways. It needs to be filled with something you can experience and relate to,” said Choi.

“Every brand aims to build a loyal fan base. In order to do that, they need a way to express and deliver their brand ethics. For example, Patagonia went on this campaign and told their customers ‘Don’t buy this jacket.’ But people who knew the story behind the campaign raved about it. The basics of marketing communications involves gaining the trust of customers. If you want this to happen, you need your own story and content. This is the most important element.”

Most of Choi’s pop-up stores are operated at clients' request, but he also organizes some on his own to test his company's ability. Pyongyang Supermarket and Sungsudang were part of such endeavors.

“The most memorable one was Sungsudang, which I did in 2020. It was a shamanism project. I joined hands with shaman Kim Ga-geun. She was the foster daughter of shaman Kim Keum-hwa who was [designated as] a human cultural asset. I wanted to comfort people who felt insecure when Covid-19 hit the world.

“I also wanted to break the stereotypes people have about shamanism. During the Joseon Dynasty, shamans belonged to hwalinseo, a medical institution run by the country for the unprivileged, like civil servants. They were considered the ones who were in charge of the mental health of commoners,” said Choi.

The inside of the pop-up store event titled Sungsudang organized by Project Rent. Themed on shamanism, the pop-up store was designed to comfort people who were feeling insecure during the Covid 19. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Merchandise, such as talisman papers, were put up for sale. Some of the talisman papers were written by shamans but others were fake, designed to make people laugh. One talisman said that it was effective in solving constipation problems.

“Top-down marketing strategies from brands to consumers don’t work anymore,” said Choi. So, he published the book “Eventually, Offline” in the hope of sharing his insight into pop-up stores. Some of his top 10 marketing strategies include “making your pop-up store a must-visit place.”

“Brands and consumers need to understand how offline marketing has changed. Then they can get a good grip on pop-up stores. If they understand what makes quality pop-up stores, there will be more good ones, and they will offer us more interesting things to discover.”

BY SEO JEONG-MIN [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]