IPSY
Sampling Billboard Posters Create Buzz For IPSY'S Pop-Up Shop
How IPSY's Soho Wild Posting Campaign Stopped New Yorkers in Their Tracks
Promoting a beauty pop-up in New York City is one thing. Creating a street-level moment that gets people talking, sharing, and walking through your door is another.
Here’s how IPSY did exactly that — with one big idea and standout execution.
Oversized Take One billboard posters placed at street level in Soho, with full-sized beauty samples attached directly to it. Leaning into an early morning commuter moment with the line “Your Commute Just Got Extra,” the campaign wasn’t designed to reach everyone in the city — it was designed to delight just a few.
Stylish, curious New Yorkers noticed. They pulled samples directly from the poster board, captured the moment, and shared it widely. In a city full of ads, this didn’t feel like one.
Six poster boards, 4,000+ impressions, and enough street-level buzz to fuel organic social and paid channels alike.
The same samples handed off the poster were given away at the IPSY pop-up — creating a seamless thread between street discovery and in-store experience that made the whole campaign feel intentional from first touch to final visit.
Beauty Brand Pop-Up Marketing in Soho: What This Campaign Proves
Soho is one of the most competitive streetscapes in the world for brand visibility. The brands that cut through aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets — they’re the ones with the sharpest ideas and experiential out-of-home team, like ALT TERRAIN, to handle the rest.
When scoping ideas to promote your next pop-up in NYC, resist the pull toward what’s been done before. Original ideas are how you get outsized impact — and outsized impact fills the room.
Why It Worked
Reciprocity
Give something real, and people give back. That kind of generosity creates goodwill that advertising alone can't manufacture.
Buzzworthy
To get people talking, you need to do something different. Unexpected activations get shared.
Playing With Scale
Go big or go home — because oversized anything stops people in their tracks and makes them smile.
Looking for buzzy ideas to promote your NYC pop-up? Pick a time to chat with our team.
