Hailey Williams

WKRMPOP

PROJECT MANAGEMENT | VISUAL DESIGN

2015 - 2016

ABOUT

wkrm is a creative design studio run by students and led by a faculty director and as we began our second semester of operation, we wanted to increase our reach by promoting the studio to a wider audience. Enter: wkrmpop. A mobile pop-up shop designed to put a new ‘spin’ on Austin’s South by Southwest festival. We cycled around downtown selling and displaying products produced by students in our studio. The South by Southwest Festival presented an excellent opportunity to roll out into the community. In the true spirit of the festival, we focused on making a pop-up shop concept.

MY ROLE

I took on the role of Marketing and Branding Coordinator for wkrmpop alongside my teammate Austin Linkinhoker. In addition to budgeting and managing our teammates through the product production process, we utilized, ran and designed content for all social media outlets (Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, website) to bring awareness and attendance to wkrmpop. We created progress videos that utilized songs from our fest playlist put together by ourselves and other teammates utilizing songs from bands that were scheduled to perform throughout the festival. In addition we marketed wkrmpop by physically riding the cart right into the action on the busy streets of Austin, TX during two weeks of South by Southwest (seen below).

APPROACH

Key concerns were mobility, weight, product presentation and general aesthetic. As a result, we decided to create a bikeable stand that could be transported easily throughout the festival. Our guiding principle was to lead with our products while displaying our brand identity. From there, we participated in multiple brainstorming sessions before deciding on a square shape mimicking our logo. Shelving on the sides allow for display on both sides of the cart. The wkrm brand was given a fun spin for our pop-up week during SXSW Music. The wkrm identity's square motif is accented with energetic icons playing on music and our hashtag: #wkrmpop

WEBSITE/ONLINE STORE

The website designed to promote wkrmpop was hand coded using html and css. The identity icons were used to guide users through separate sections focusing on inspiration, process, location, our online store and information. Check out the site here

EVENT PROMOTION

Taking the ever-loved guerilla marketing route, we printed large stickers and posters for placement around downtown. In addition, we printed branded stickers and buttons to hand out a few weeks ahead of time, encouraging folks to find us during the festival.

PRODUCTS

Each member of the team designed and hand-produced an Austin memoyirbila products, including postcards and buttons, to be sold out of the mobile pop-up shop. Take a look at some of the products here.

FESTIVAL PLAYLIST

Each member of the team chose a song by a band who would be performing during the SXSW festival to be featured on our fest playlist. In addition, inspired by their chosen song, each member designed a postcard and button-set to be sold in the pop-up.

SOCIAL MEDIA (SNAPCHAT, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM)

Information during the event was spread through facebook, instagram and snapchat. Festival attendees were prompted to come find us as we moved around downtown through our snapchat account.

CONSTRUCTION

Using a metal cart base, we CNC routed out a custom fit base. We then built up with lightweight materials in a way that made the cart easy to break down. Shelves were created using clear material to further showcase products.

REFLECTION

People preferred postcards over buttons despite a higher price point, however the laser cut wood products sold best over other options. SXSW had hot spot pedestrian locations, so the cart was used as a stationary option more than a constantly moving vehicle. Most interactions and shop transactions were carried out of the right side.