Tweak 99

Marketing Achievement: Branding/Integrated Marketing Finalist

Jane Kitchen -- Gifts and Dec, 8/21/2010 4:52:37 AM

 

Retailer and interior designer Tara Riceberg is no stranger to the world of gift stores, having run high-end Beverly Hills store Tesoro with her mother for years. But these days, every year is new for Riceberg, as she creates, dismantles, analyzes and recreates a holiday pop-up store.
     While taking the first quarter off to fine-tune what's worked the year before, Riceberg noticed that in 2008, her average sale was under $100 - not surprising in a struggling economy. Rather than setting a goal to best that for 2009, Riceberg embraced the figure, and created her newest pop-up venture, Tweak 99.

With a catchy concept - holiday gifts all under $99, pre-wrapped, and arranged by price point - the store, not surprisingly, was a hit. She called it "The Beverly Hills version of a 99- cent store," and guessed, correctly, that the media would also love it.
     "All media needs stories," she says. "If you can make a writer's job easier, then they'll write about you."
     Since Tweak 99 is a pop-up store, getting the word out becomes paramount. Aside from local and national television and print articles, Riceberg said a write-up from a local blogger generated tremendous traffic.

     "Don't underestimate the power of the blog," she says. (And celebrity endorsement from her cousin Paula Abdul didn't hurt either!)
     But she attributes at least part of Tweak 99's successful marketing campaign to the fact that she had a fresh concept that deserved to be written about.
     "The message is very concise," explains Riceberg. "It's easy for people to get it ... When you walk into Tweak 99, you can pretty much afford anything; it's a delicious feeling."
     Aside from affordable price points, Riceberg also focuses on products that make sense. Her tagline is "Gifts for Better Living," and store policy is that "You MUST touch everything." This handson experience encourages customers to interact with the merchandise and understand how it works.
     "If you're not touching in the store, then you might as well have stayed home and shopped online," says Riceberg. To enhance the sense of discovery, Riceberg hand-writes cards about each product, describing the artist, price and material and explaining what it is she loved about it in the first place.
     "You have to have fun and enjoy it," she explains. She's constantly trying to make the shopping experience more pleasurable for her customers, from adding in seating areas to creating a kids nook at the front of the store with chalkboards and toys to play with.
     "If you cannot as a brick-andmortar retailer make shopping fun for the customer, you might as well close up," says Riceberg.