When Cocolillys brought its pop-up to The Graduate Hotel in Auburn, they weren’t exactly arriving quietly.
The brand debuted 11 never-before-seen Greek Mockneck sets, gave the first 50 customers a complimentary Coco Active Set with purchase, brought along jewelry and gameday accessories—and built a $1,000 social giveaway around the photo booth.
Nashville Smile Bar was there to capture it all.
SHOP. SNAP. SHARE.
The booth was part of the activation.
Cocolillys invited shoppers to stop by the Coco Smile Bar Photo Booth, take their photos, and share them to Instagram Stories while tagging the brand. Two participants would each win a $500 Cocolillys gift card.
That gave guests a reason to interact with the booth beyond simply taking a picture—and gave Cocolillys a stream of organic, branded content coming directly from the people attending the pop-up.
It’s exactly the kind of role we love a photo booth to play in a brand activation.
DESIGNED FOR COCOLILLYS
More fashion shoot. Less traditional photo booth.
The visual direction stayed intentionally simple. A clean studio background kept the attention on the guests and their outfits, while the finished photo layout carried the Cocolillys identity: soft pink, oversized navy branding and the brand’s “you look good in coco!” tagline.
No prop table required. Although, as it turned out, Cocolillys already had the perfect props.
THE SHOPPING BAGS HAD THEIR MOMENT
The branding became part of the photograph.
Once guests started coming through with their purchases, the Cocolillys bags naturally became part of the photos. The clothes. The bags. The friends who came shopping together. And a photo strip they could immediately share from an event they were already excited about attending.
AUBURN BROUGHT THE ENERGY
By frame two, the safe pose was usually gone.
Friends piled into frames. Shopping bags became props. Peace signs appeared. And eventually somebody decided everyone needed to blow a kiss at the camera.
That’s usually when we know the booth is working.
MORE THAN A PHOTO BOOTH
The brand and the fun weren’t competing with each other.
For Cocolillys, the booth accomplished several things at once. It gave shoppers something fun to do while they were at the pop-up. It created a branded takeaway from the experience. And because Cocolillys connected the booth to its Instagram giveaway, those photos had a life beyond the event itself.
Guests weren’t being asked to share an advertisement. They were sharing themselves having a good time at Cocolillys.
That’s why photo experiences for brand activations work especially well for retail pop-ups and product launches. When the experience is designed correctly, the brand and the fun become the same thing.
FROM NASHVILLE TO AUBURN
Great clothes, a packed pop-up and plenty of photos to prove it happened.
We loved taking Smile Bar on the road for this one and watching Cocolillys turn The Graduate Auburn into its own world for the day.
We’ll take that assignment anytime.
HAVE SOMETHING IN MIND?