State fairs are the hot new pop-up spot for brands like E.l.f. and Levi’s
State Fairs have been a staple of the U.S. since the 1800s. Now, they've become a prime spot for pop-ups for brands like E.l.f. and Levi's, as they look to show up at events where their competitors haven't yet touched.
E.l.f. Beauty, a cosmetics company, is exploring innovative marketing opportunities by setting up pop-up shops at state fairs. Patrick O’Keefe, the chief integrated marketing officer at E.l.f., discovered that state fairs, particularly the Minnesota State Fair and the State Fair of Texas, are "beauty deserts" where other brands are not present.
This led to the creation of a "real dill" themed pop-up at the Minnesota State Fair in August, featuring three pickle-inspired flavors from E.l.f.'s Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm collection. The pop-up attracted nearly 64,000 attendees over four days, with an average dwell time of eight minutes. This marked the first time in at least 20 years that a beauty brand had participated at the Minnesota State Fair.
For the State Fair of Texas, E.l.f. will be a sponsor and Levi’s, another brand, will create custom jeans for the fair's mascot, Big Tex, a 55-foot-tall cowboy statue.
Written by urgent.news from Modern Retail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
