UK. Puig has partnered with Avolta to debut Penhaligon’s travel retail-exclusive ‘Festival of Flight’ concept in European travel retail at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5.
Open until August, the animation builds on the success of the ‘Festival of Flight’ pop-ups at Incheon and Dubai international airports.
The pop-up takes inspiration from the early days of aviation and is anchored by a strong sense of place. It is located in the same terminal as the Penhaligon’s boutique, which opened at the end of 2022.
The immersive activation brings to life the ‘magic of exploration’ with clouds, vintage travel contraptions and machines including a hot air balloon, a propeller plane and blimp.
Elevating customer engagement
The ‘Festival of Flight’ pop-up encourages consumer engagement through an interactive activity which invites travellers to ride a bike while virtually visiting British landmarks.
A short video clip of the ride can be downloaded and shared on social media, providing travellers with a keepsake of their visit to the UK and their ‘Festival of Flight’ moment.
Shoppers are encouraged to ‘fly away with their perfect scent’ via a dedicated Fragrance Profiling experience in which Penhaligon’s fragrance experts ask a series of questions to pair consumers with a complementary scent.
Penhaligon’s ‘art of gifting’ ceremony completes the experience, with all purchases placed in a branded bag together with a handkerchief and balloon tag, finished with a copper ribbon.
Shoppers can also get products wrapped in special ‘Festival of Flight’ sleeves featuring a Heathrow Airport stamp. Travellers who make purchases over a certain amount receive an exclusive collection of miniature Penhaligon’s products in a complimentary pouch.
The pop-up shop offers a variety of Penhaligon’s collections for purchase such as British Tales, Portraits, Trade Routes and Potions & Remedies. Customers can also purchase a range of bath & body products, home goods and a fragrance discovery set.
Omnichannel shopping journey
A 360-degree omnichannel strategy has been developed to support the opening and leverage synergies with Penhaligon’s boutique in T5.
To drive visibility and awareness of the animation pre-trip, an advertising campaign is running on World Duty Free UK’s ecommerce website and social media pages, in addition to the Uber app.
At the airport, further awareness is generated via Penhaligon’s branding on the fascia surrounding the boutique in T5 and selected Penhaligon’s products/testers are placed in the terminal’s personal shopper rooms.
Puig Executive Vice President Global Travel Retail Kaatje Noens said: “We are delighted to bring Penhaligon’s ‘Festival of Flight’ concept to London Heathrow Airport – the brand’s home city.
“The pop-up offers a fun and engaging way to bring passengers into the whimsical world of Penhaligon’s, while elevating brand awareness and desirability in Penhaligon’s home country.
“Working in partnership with the World Duty Free team, we look forward to enhancing the traveller experience at Heathrow Terminal 5 this summer with a memorable concept that offers exclusive services and surprises with a strong British sense of place. We wish you were here already.”
Avolta Head of Beauty UK Delphine Poultney remarked: “Our customers are always seeking novel, shareable experiences and the ‘Festival of Flight’ certainly ticks all the right boxes in terms of consumer engagement.
“The pop-up concept is a great complement to the existing Penhaligon’s boutique, which has proved to be a popular addition to the line-up of British brands at Heathrow.”
Heathrow Retail Director Fraser Brown said: “At Heathrow we pride ourselves on offering passengers a ‘best of British’ retail experience, so the Penhaligon’s ‘Festival of Flight’ activation is a fitting addition to Terminal 5.
“We are delighted that Penhaligon’s has chosen to bring ‘Festival of Flight’ to Heathrow, the most-connected airport in the world, and it is up and running this summer, forecast to be Heathrow’s busiest summer holiday period on record.” 
