Step Inside UK Retailer Argos' Branded Hotel Where Pinterest Meets Real Life

This week, U.K. retailer Argos (purveyor of everything from FitBits to futons) opened the doors to its very own hotel concept in collaboration with Pinterest. While at first glance the immersive experience may seem like yet another colorful brand pop-up, a closer look finds it's part of a bigger strategy from the chain to retell its brand story. The Sainsbury's-owned brand has co-opted London's trendy Bethnal Green Town Hall Hotel to host The Argos Mood Hotel for three days. The event sees the brand take over six rooms in the hotel to showcase its own interior design products, with each space decorated according to the hottest interiors trends based on Pinterest data. From the luxurious velvets on display in the "Luxe Room" to the glowing lava lamps of the "Night Room" and the serenity of the "Nature Room" (above), the displays are open to the public this weekend. Several competition winners will also get the chance to stay overnight. “As we adapt to the new normal, we believe that The Mood Hotel showcases how consumers can embrace the trends they have been searching for over the past year and integrate them beautifully in the real world," said Andrew Tanner, Design Manager at Argos. Solving a 'brand and business challenge' in one Devised by Argos' creative agency The&Partnership, the Mood Hotel follows an era of change for Argos. Since being acquired by British grocer Sainsbury's in 2016, Argos has faced increasing competition from online retailers like Amazon. Last year sales of toys, homeware and other goods from the chain fell by 16%. To combat this the brand has invested more heavily in digital marketing and transformation projects, ditched the paper catalog it was synonymous with and announced plans to shut over 420 stores, instead moving into physical Sainsbury's premises around the country. Sainsbury's, too, has spent the past year doubling down on its mission to ensure historical interiors brand Habitat (which it scooped up in the same year it bought Argos) becomes the flagship home brand on offer in both shops. Unlike furniture rivals Ikea or even Made.com, Argos operates an order and kiosk system. Its own stores and Sainsbury's outlets don't offer customers a chance to look and feel the products. This, explained The&Partnership's planning director Matthew Linnett, is why the Argos Mood Hotel is a vital puzzle piece in the brand's ongoing marketing journey. "This campaign gets the product into physical spaces, which solves a business challenge," he said. However, it also "brand challenge": changing consumer perceptions around Argos' homeware offering which hasn't historically been rated as premium or good quality. "It's helping Argos solve perception challenges, because we can take furniture and prove its [quality] in a physical space. That's why the Pinterest partnership is so important. It's allowed us to do a user-first proof-of-concept exercise where we can showcase that we have furniture that caters for trends people are actually searching for." Argos eyes more physical pop-ups Linnett pits this as the start of something bigger from Argos. Not only in terms of physical events but also in regard for how it works with the likes of Pinterest. "Yes, [Argos] as a commerce platform is all about speed and service but one of the things it has lacked—especially in the homeware space—is this idea of feel and touch and giving people the chance to explore products in a multidimensional way. So that's the layer that we're trying to add with this." A brand experiment Sibylle Tretera, Pinterest's head creative strategy for EMEA, believes this experience sets a new "benchmark" for how brands should be investing in physical retail, saying it clearly illustrated how brands could benefit from Pinterest’s insights both on and off the platform. Those who cannot experience the hotel in person can do so through 360° video and high-res photography, as well as shoppable digital formats, on Pinterest and Argos' social channels. Though consumers are encouraged to visit product landing pages throughout the experience, for Argos, this is very much a brand exercise, not a sales one. "We've got lots of measurement on Pinterest as well as an our own platform, including survey and tracking data that's going to hopefully show that this is both changing perceptions of Argos in terms of desirability, style and quality within the home furniture space," said Linnett. This Out of Home Campaign Can Help You Avoid Awkward Furniture Fails