Consumers Test EA Sports Fitness Software in Pop-Up Shops
EA Inc. has opened up two pop-up shops in major cities to promote its new EA Sports Active Personal Trainer and More Workouts for the Nintendo Wii console.
The stores on Newbury Street in Boston and in Union Square in San Francisco offer people a place to stop in and test out the software or check it out from the lending library and try it at home.
People can complete a full workout on their own or train side by side with a friend. Trainers will be on hand to show people how to customize the program to fit their fitness level and goals and how to use the in-game journal to track healthy nutrition and fitness habits.
To get people in, EA Sports worked with Grow Marketing to identify influencers who were invited to the shops and given private training sessions on the software. The 75 influencers in each market are a blend of men and women picked based on their individual demographics and psychographics who range in age from 22 to 45. They are expected to bring in friends and family for private events and those who come in multiple times are rewarded with a personal session with a local nutritionist.
“We want to take the product off shelf to where people could get their hands on it,” said Gabrey Means, co-founder and creative director at Grow Marketing.
The fitness programs are not for sale in the branded shops, however, EA Sports reps direct people to a Game Stop around the corner when they can purchase the products.
At each location, people can also enter a sweepstakes to win a Vespa S50.
EA Sport’s has a brand rep called Active Girl, who manages the company’s Facebook site and tweets and blogs about various marketing initiatives, including the pop-up shops.