In a bid to bring attention to its original programming and two shows in particular, TV network History debuted its first pop-up in Times Square yesterday, hoping not only to drive consumers to watch the season premieres of Pawn Stars and American Pickers, but also to generate some additional buzz for the A&E Television Networks-owned channel. Dubbed the History Pop Shop and planned by the channel's internal consumer marketing department, the temporary spot will be open through December 31 and houses a multitude of branded products, as well as a number of interactive elements.
"We could have just focused on merchandise in the store, but if you have the traffic, why not let them come in and experience the shows? Everywhere we allow them to interact with our content and recognize that we're a TV network first and foremost," explained Chris Meador, vice president of consumer marketing for the network (which no longer calls itself the History Channel). To that end, the Pop Shop has virtual games where visitors can guess the price of an item on touch-screen monitors and enter to win daily giveaways, large screens displaying clips from Pawn Stars and American Pickers, and real articles from the shows for sale.
History counts the two reality programs among its most popular, and constructing a physical store for both was a way for the TV channel to parlay that into a new arena. "One of the successes of our shows are that they're character-driven and we're able to leverage that brand in a way that helps drive marketing," said David McKillop, senior vice president of development and programming for History. And with one show about a pawn shop (Pawn Stars) and another about antique collectors (American Pickers), an important element of the promotional effort was offering more than just DVDs, with certain products, such as holiday tree ornaments and T-shirts, created just for the temporary store.
"We think in the long run, consumers will connect to these brands in a deeper way, so that licensees will take this merchandise out to major retailers and we'll be able to see Pawn Stars and Pickers in different venues and not just apparel, but in other categories too," said Steve Ronson, executive vice president of enterprises for A&E Television Networks, who oversees the distribution of content and products. Ronson, who joined the company 10 years ago, added that he always wanted to create an outlet through which to sell A&E-branded wares, looking to position them in the marketplace so "the shows become endemic in the fabric of what consumers want."
The team also thinks the concept can potentially be taken to additional markets and produced for other shows. "We would hope to. We think we'll take some of the elements from here improve on it and bring them to other cities," said Ronson.