Presenting the 150-year history of England’s number one health and beauty retailer to a group of busy editors is a tall order, especially if you’re trying to do it in about an hour. That was the challenge for Boots, the wildly popular U.K.-based company that’s bringing its products to the U.S. market for the first time. Starting this spring, six beauty and skin-care lines will be available at Boots’ retail partners, which include Target and CVS.To stage a presentation that both established Boots’ substantial history and showcased its new U.S. offerings, Boots public relations director Sandra Gabriele worked with Paint the Town Red to create a multiroom environment at Boylan Studios. “I wanted to use a raw, white space because I knew what I wanted to create,” she said. “If we did this at a restaurant or a hotel, we’d be competing with that.”
At the entrance to the space, editors encountered a seating area invoking the original Boots pharmacy, where the company’s North America C.E.O., Martin Waters, welcomed them and gave a brief explanation of the retailer’s history. Then double doors swung open to reveal six theme rooms, in which each of the U.S.-bound Boots lines was presented to smaller groups in a rapid-fire six minutes. (The swelling of upbeat music signaled it was time to move on to the next vignette.)
—Mimi O’Connor
Posted 02.15.07
Photos: Eric T. Michelson Photography
At the entrance to the space, editors encountered a seating area invoking the original Boots pharmacy, where the company’s North America C.E.O., Martin Waters, welcomed them and gave a brief explanation of the retailer’s history. Then double doors swung open to reveal six theme rooms, in which each of the U.S.-bound Boots lines was presented to smaller groups in a rapid-fire six minutes. (The swelling of upbeat music signaled it was time to move on to the next vignette.)
—Mimi O’Connor
Posted 02.15.07
Photos: Eric T. Michelson Photography
Boots’ Sandra Gabriele worked with Paint the Town Red to mount the product launch in just six weeks.
Planners flew in artifacts from the original 1849 Boots store to decorate the 19th-century pharmacy set. Editors snacked on fruit, scones, biscuits, and tea from The Catering Company while waiting for the presentation to begin.
Each room reflected the essence of the line it featured. Groups of lush plants filled the Botanics space, a photo of the Italian countryside hung over a rustic table in the Mediterranean room, and classic decor filled the space dedicated to Boots’ best-selling No. 7 products.
Editors moved in small groups from room to room to learn about each of the Boots lines. Gabriel drew the initial sketch for the launch event on a paper tablecloth, which Paint the Town Red designer Jack Ribas executed at Boylan Studios.
