Consumers aren’t just shopping — they’re seeking experiences where they can test, play and engage in environments that feel highly personalised and emotionally resonant. The brands winning hearts (and dollars) are creating immersive activations that blur the lines between digital and physical, creating memorable experiences throughout all parts of the engagement.
The Wake-Up Call
This shift has rewritten the rules of retail.
At DisplayWise, we work at the intersection of creativity and construction, building full-service pop-ups and experiential environments for some of the world’s most recognisable brands. In the past 12 months alone, we’ve seen a 22 per cent increase in demand for experiential activations, proof that physical presence is more powerful (and profitable) than ever.
From where we stand, 360° pop-up campaigns are an increasingly proven strategy that spans the entire buying cycle from mobile and social through to digital and earned media. These campaigns create a cohesive brand world that drives unmatched IRL conversion and repeat engagement.
Experience in Action: ‘Find Your Fenty Fit’ Tour
So what’s behind the shift? As customer expectations evolve, so too must the spaces where brands meet them. One of the most compelling examples is our recent work on the Fenty Beauty ‘Find Your Fenty Fit’ Tour for Kendo Brands. This wasn’t just a pop-up, it was a rolling brand experience, built to spark discovery, interaction, and loyalty in one highly personalised, prestige environment.
The campaign translated Fenty’s inclusive brand DNA into a real-world experience that moved (quite literally) through four key metro centres across Australia featuring:
- Exclusive 1:1 consultations to help shoppers find their exact foundation match
- Bespoke gloss bomb counter featuring cult favourites like Plush Puddin’ and Lip Oils
- A fun gumball machine lucky dip with deluxe minis, exclusive merch and full-size gifts
- Live product bedazzling on-site to create personalised keepsakes
- Samples and promo vouchers to drive repeat purchase both in-store and online
As a display builder and campaign partner, DisplayWise brought together design, logistics and immersive detailing to ensure the experience felt seamlessly on-brand at every stop. What makes this tour standout isn’t just its style, but its substance. Every element was designed to move people through the entire buying cycle, from curiosity to conversion.
Scott Freeman, Account Director at DisplayWise who led the Fenty Beauty Tour roll out puts it simply:
“This project drew on our extensive retail roadshow expertise and elevated it through the lens of a prestige beauty experience. The modular activation was built to ensure brand consistency at every stop and extend Fenty’s inclusive energy into the real world.”
With experiential tours like Fenty Beauty, we’re seeing what happens when brand values, physical spaces, and customer engagement all align, because then it’s not just experiential — it’s intentional.
The New Rules for Experiential
In a rush to be seen, some activations prioritise aesthetics over meaning which results in displays that undoubtably look great on socials and digital platforms but fail to connect in real life. Want to create something people actually care about? Start here:
- Authenticity: Audiences are drawn to curated activations and partnerships that feel true to your brand’s values, message, and crucially your customer. Paid partnerships and influencer tie-ins only work when they’re aligned with your community’s expectations. True impact lies in the why behind the build, not just the what.
- Make it participatory: There’s a return to IRL connection. Whether it’s hands-on demos or surprise moments, invite the audience into the experience, then replicate it across every platform.
- Localise with meaning: Even global brands need local nuance. Values, expectations, and aesthetic preferences shift market to market. Your display partner should bring those insights to the table from day one.
At DisplayWise, we build purpose into every panel and product moment of your brand experience from concept design and end-to-end project management through to installation, all in-house. So if you’re planning your next activation or gearing up for SXSW Sydney, talk to the team that’s a pop up market leader for turning spaces into stories that resonate.
