An In-Store Shopper Moment Master Class

“How well can you keep a secret?”

The Curator was awaiting my answer, and I didn’t want to displease him.

I told him the truth – that I was a pretty good secret keeper unless subjected to intense, repetitive questioning. Or gin.

Then I waited. Because my acceptance into The Mysterious Package Company was not guaranteed.

Their come-on had been intriguing:

“Purveyors of strange and unannounced deliveries, designed to intrigue, befuddle, and delight. We tell you stories you can touch.”

The rules hinted at exclusivity, making it imperative that they accept me:

• Membership is 100% free.
• The nature of business is such that we must restrict much of our material to members only.
• Application does not guarantee acceptance. We reserve the right to deny membership without cause or notice.

A fretful day later, I received an email from The Curator. He was honoured to grant me membership. And he closed his missive by saying, “I am hoping that you will aid us in forming a community of like-minded individuals from around the globe who have long thought that life was too mundane, and sought out something… more.

This was no Birchbox.

Instead of monthly deliveries of themed surprise packages filled with cunning and inventive beauty products, The Mysterious Package Company delivers a series of stylish and period-faithful relics and mysterious documents which together plunges the recipient into a thought-provoking story full of horror, wonder and suspense.

Members receive (or anonymously send as a gift) a complete and engaging narrative brought to life through “letters, postcards, diary pages, crated artifacts and more.” Deliveries are strategically staggered to “arrive over time to build anticipation and intrigue.”

In other words, The Mysterious Package Company delivers Moments.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that it is my belief that the in-store experience is evolving into the deeper, richer, more satisfying In-Store Shopper Moment. Retail marketers would be wise to study The Mysterious Package Company and its offerings; consider it a master class in salesmanship and storytelling.

The qualities they get right can serve as a checklist for marketers seeking to create an ultimate Shopper Moment:

• Story-based – create a meaningful narrative arc, and execute
• Authentic – commit whole-heartedly to accurately creating a time, place and style
• Personalized – give the guest choices; make her feel special
• Exclusive – play to the human desire to belong
• Emotional – strive to provoke feelings
• Detailed – sweat the small stuff; that’s what makes the Moment memorable
• Mysterious – hold a little back until just the right time
• Humorous – deliver some inside jokes (they make guests feel like insiders)
• Challenging – provide opportunity for accomplishment
• Tactile – remember that stories are absorbed by all the senses
• Unexpected – delight her with surprises
• Satisfying – make her glad she took part, and give her reason to return

The Mysterious Package Company currently offers seven curated experiences:

• The Lost Treasure of John Augur
• Under the Ceiba Tree
• The Weeping Book
• Tempus Fugit
• The King in Yellow
• The Century Beast
• Risen!

Take a look, and get inspired. (Just drop my name; The Curator and I are tight.)