Perch, the newest store by Rebecca & Co. owner, opens with gala night
Greensboro, N.C.—December 17, 2008—Fashionistas flocked to the Triad’s new style destination, Perch, located at The Shops at Friendly, for an invitation-only gala opening night.
Rebecca Byrd, owner of chic shopping stops Rebecca & Co. and Palm Avenue, wanted to create a sparkling night for a crowd of favorite customers. The evening was a coup for the experiential marketing plan of Leapfrog Marketing | PR | Design, whose team has worked with Byrd from the conception of the new store. “We love to get involved in a project like this,” says Stephanie Wilson, director of client services at Leapfrog. “In a campaign like this, when no detail is too small, the client was able to launch herself and her business identity from the first moment.”
The evening was a seamless procession of a retail grand opening, but for the folks at Leapfrog, it was the culmination of an intense client-partner relationship, where the marketing, design, and retail process merged into one. From the swoop of the letters in the sign to its reflection in the shape of the bird silhouette logo, from the eponymous reference of the store’s name to its companion colors in packaging and tags, every detail focused to showcase the lush shopping environment and its clientele. “Rebecca made this brand creation a lot of fun for our team,” says Tracie Beasley, the agency’s creative director. “She knows what she likes and isn’t intimidated by the design world or making decisions. It was reassuring to see her clientele’s reaction on opening night.”
But for the shoppers, it was an evening of sensory pleasure. Red and white wines, mushroom bruschetta, imported cheeses, and crispy shrimp Napoli from Perch’s Shops at Friendly neighbor Bravo! Cucina Italiana may have been sourced by Leapfrog for the event, but in the hands of chic women enjoying the evening, they were one more detail to make a night of big-city fashion perfect right here in Greensboro. Even the huge scissors used to cut the storefront ribbon were found by the agency’s senior client services manager, Monique Moffit. “We wanted every aspect of the evening to be as exquisite as Perch itself, so we went above and beyond to create memorable moments,” said Moffit. As Byrd’s style experts helped the customers, ringing up fine feathers by Topin, William Rast, and Yoana Baraschi, Leapfrog’s staff was behind them, coordinating the highlight moments of the event, as they had coordinated earlier moments in the campaign: e-mail blasts, radio spots, print advertising, a t-shirt promotion, and the diamond in the evening’s crown—the drawing for a Marc by Marc Jacobs “Faridah” bag.
Opening night was too delicious to resist for local shoppers and passersby. The guest list swelled as evening pedestrians were drawn in by the glamour of the event, as well as the fabulous Akiko jeweled top and Jenny Han ruffled print blouse in the window. The evening itself ran over its boundaries, as the 9 p.m. closing time came and went, with the store remaining full of people having a great time surrounded by the invisible details that create a perfect event.