CHANEL CRUSH STORY in Seoul’s Seongsu
Sign greeting visitors at the entrance to the CHANEL CRUSH STORY pop-up store
CHANEL is one of those luxury brands that my younger self found extremely intimidating, but the initiatives carried out in Seoul over the past year are slowly changing my perception. The latest pop-up store also reinforced my impression that they are masters of creating an immersive brand universe – and excuse the pun, but I can’t help myself – they have totally crushed it with the CHANEL CRUSH STORY activation.
Despite heavy rainfall, I decided to visit the store some two weeks ago and was not disappointed.
IT’S NOT JUST A POP-UP STORE – IT’S A WHOLE WORLD – just like with the Rouge Allure Velvet Nuit Blanche event, CHANEL rented out a whole building where it created multiple themed rooms. The experience started with the entrance area, with the first of many photo zones to enjoy while being admitted to the first space – the introduction to the storytelling for the latest campaign.
The first photo-zone in the waiting area – the light bulbs have the COCO CRUSH logo on them
The first space introducing the collection and the storytelling around it
There were cassette tapes and old analog music players we saw in the advertising campaign with Jenny from BLACKPINK, wall cabinets, and a standing cabinet filled with the collection arranged in themes.
Then there were also the themed rooms arranged around the entrance – COCO CRUSH, CRUSH SALON, CRUSH GAMING, CRUSH LIBRARY, and COCO CRUSH CLUB, each one a separate experience.
EXTEND THE MEMORY AND CREATE CONNECTIONS WITH ASPIRATIONAL CUSTOMERS – yes, there are more accessible beauty lines, perfumes, and small leather goods, but creating something special for those who visit the pop-up store is still a nice gesture and helps ensure that the memory of the experience lasts beyond the short engagement. The COCO CRUSH room was filled with heart-shaped locks that could be used as a cute bag charm, gifted to everyone who signed up on the spot.
Then the CRUSH SALON had four vanity setups where everyone could sit down and decorate their nails with COCO CRUSH-themed stickers while admiring the collection.
The tweed upholstery is another proof of the immense attention to detail
The vanity desk setup
This was one of the most popular photo zones
The vanity desk had a cabinet displaying the collection
Every visitor was provided with nail stickers to play with
DESIGNATE PHOTO ZONES FOR ORGANIC SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATION – we all love a selfie, but Koreans love them more. There was so much space dedicated to taking beautiful photos and everyone took advantage – the younger audience, the more mature audience, couples, but also mothers and daughters. Another thing that I loved was that it was a multigenerational experience – some women brought their children as if introducing their favorite brand to the next generation.
Another photo zone area with the screen in the background
…that also functioned as a seating area – with tweed upholstery
MAKE IT FUN AND RELEVANT TO YOUR AUDIENCE – the CRUSH GAMING room was so much fun! Gaming is enjoyed by a wide audience in Korea and I thought this was a genius move because this part of the experience was simply buzzing with excitement and laughter. There were two sets of two old-school gaming machines in the room, and everyone received two coins to try out each of them. One was a memory game with images of the collection and the other one was a CHANEL-themed version of Pac-Man – the staff was pretty invested too, helping people out with hints on how to play, which made it even more engaging. Also important – Koreans love piercings – I noticed, because I do too – and I loved that the suggested jewelry combinations showed examples of wearing some of the earrings in a less ‘conservative’ way.
The COCO CRUSH memory game
Everyone received two coins to try the games
CHANEL Pac-Man and quilted wall in the background
DEDICATE SPACE FOR PRODUCT EXPERIENCE – the CRUSH LIBRARY had a seating area where one could sit down and comfortably try out the ‘TOTAL LOOK’ – presented beautifully in a book-like case by the Client Advisor, or take a look at three other suggested sets (‘MINI BUT MANY’, ‘TRIPLE CRUSH’, and ‘ALL FOR ONE’) beautifully arranged on the wall like library books.
The beautiful book-like arrangement of the suggested looks
The ‘TOTAL LOOK’ book carried by the Client Advisor
Then there was also the COCO CRUSH CLUB space on the second floor where one could try out the whole collection while consulting a Client Advisor – however, the space felt very accessible and welcoming and when I stated that I was just there to take a look and further experience the brand, the staff encouraged me to step in and take a look.
The staircase leading to the COCO CRUSH CLUB on the second floor
The nostalgia-infuesd storytelling was reinforced throughout the space
The second floor space was designed to try out all collection pieces
SUBTLE BRAND SYMBOLS EVERYWHERE – There were of course loud brand moments with gigantic COCO CRUSH rings hanging from the ceiling and big screens showing off the logo and collection. But there were also more subtle signals, like the use of the iconic CHANEL tweed on the seating arrangements in several of the rooms, walls covered in quilted fabric that resebles the COCO CRUSH pattern the familiar font, the repeated use of white and yellow gold, and the neon lights on the second floor forming the COCO CRUSH pattern
The neon lights formed the COCO CRUSH pattern
(LOCALIZATION THROUGH) OMNICHANNEL INTEGRATION – there was of course the aforementioned QR code for the sign-up form to receive the cute Coco Crush heart charms, but the brand also leveraged the Korean mega app, Kakao Talk for reservations for the event. This helped reach a wide audience but also ensured proper traffic management to allow for a controlled visitor flow, making the pop-up very enjoyable and not overcrowded.
Another thing the brand did extremely well was send out a thank-you-for-visiting message via Kakao with a call-to-action button that takes you to view the collection in the Kakao Gift Lux brand store – each of the items marked as ‘pre-launched in Korea’ to add to the exclusivity and feeling of being appreciated. I think omnichannel integration is very important also in terms of localization. It’s interesting to see even a very ‘digitally–conservative’ brand like CHANEL acknowledge the importance of this channel for the Korean market – kudos for finding a way to respond to the needs of always-connected clients in an on-brand manner.
CHANEL could honestly teach a masterclass on how to engage the Korean audience and I love how relevant and truly welcoming their activations feel. It seems that the effort is appreciated because the space was full despite it being one of the most intense days of the rainy season.
P.S. I would like to also acknowledge the ever-present attention to detail by saying that the brand was well-prepared for that too. The experience space had umbrella racks ready for visitors, ushers were carrying umbrellas to help move smoothly around the premises, and barely-visible staff ensured the space was clean at all times. All in all, a top-notch experience.
