Foot Locker deepens Nike partnership with pop-up 'Sneakeasy'

Dive Brief:

Foot Locker and Nike are building a pop-up "Sneakeasy" as part of a deepened partnership, per a joint press release from the companies. The shop will be open from Nov. 22 through Dec. 1 in New York City.
The Sneakeasy will offer a curated group of Nike and Jordan products and services. Fans can find out about the exclusive launches and events around the pop-up by following Foot Locker and Nike's social media pages, as well as joining Foot Locker's VIP loyalty program and the Nike Plus program for special member benefits.
Users of the Foot Locker App Launch Reservation can try and snag exclusive kicks and other assorted products throughout the week of the pop-up's operation. The first pair of sneakers, the Special Field Air Force-1 Mid "OBJ," started taking reservations on Friday.

Dive Insight:

Foot Locker and Nike's Sneakeasy pop-up arrives during a busy and competitive holiday sales push for retailers and will be open through the key Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, when people are gearing up to spend the most. The idea of replicating a speakeasy, in particular, brings an aura of exclusivity and insider access to the brick-and-mortar shopping experience, and the two brands are not the first to enact such a strategy.

Taco Bell, for example, also built "speakeasies" earlier this year to promote a new menu item. The idea, in curating these shops to dedicated fans who closely follow the conversation online, is to get them sharing their visits on social media, which further drives hype and foot traffic around the activation. For Nike and Footlocker, the stunt also opens a window to drive customers to their respective rewards programs and mobile apps.

While these types of OOH activations are no longer novel, they're clearly a successful strategy for brands looking to provide consumers with an experience that extends beyond straightforward brand advertising and in a way that provides a more tangible connection than what digital channels can provide alone. New York City has unsurprisingly been a hub for such campaigns this year.

Just in the last month, Pringles opened a three-day "Stack Shack" pop-up with TV personality Adam Richman; SunTrust Bank's online lending division LightStream installed a mini forest of trees in Times Square and Budweiser partnered with Lyft for a tour of Prohibition-era New York to promote a limited edition brew.