I’ve seen so many events trying to “lock in” potential customers in exactly the same way.
A few weeks ago, I went to a festival and asked participants, “Did you join the pop-up store event and get the free drinks?”
One of them said, “No… you know what, I used to do that a lot in the past. But when I saw their post on my feed, it just felt so irrelevant. So I decided not to join those events anymore.”
Then, at another event a week later, I met people who had never joined the typical “get the coins and follow us/promote us” style of event. When I asked them why, they simply said, “I just don’t want to do that,” or “I’m not comfortable with it.”
So why are we so focused on forcing people to follow us when they’ve only just met us?
It’s like going on a first date and immediately asking, “Do you want to be my boyfriend or girlfriend?”—it just doesn’t feel right.
The whole point of marketing is to leave a great first impression, so that when someone’s ready to buy in that category, they naturally think, “Oh right, I actually want to try that product.”
If they choose to buy in the long run, without us pushing them, that’s how you build real brand love.
Today, I want to share 10 creative ways to rethink your lead-gen process and connect with your audience in ways that feel authentic and positive—whether it’s in Korea or beyond.
For example, when you open a pop-up store, you don’t have to stick to just one approach. You can offer three different ways for people to connect or simply focus on one powerful, meaningful experience.
1️⃣ Receiving a newsletter (or just sign up / become a family member — IKEA)
When you buy something for the first time at IKEA, you’ll notice they offer benefits for becoming a member. It’s a gentle invite, not pushy.
If you’d like to learn more about how IKEA Korea uses this in marketing and makes $460M in sales, here’s an article for you.
