PR Event with Trace Publicity with Klarna

There is nothing that us ladies here at CLB Towers like more than a little retail therapy. So. imagine my delight when I was contacted by Trace Publicity to be involved in a pop up nail bar activation for Klarna.

Klarna were transforming 35 King Street into The House of Klarna for a week long event, promoting their smooth payments app alongside some big brands who offer the Klarna payment facility. The house (the old Jack Wills store) was transformed in to a treasure trove of goodies, with brands taking up small retail units to showcase new collections.

The house of Klarna hosted brands such as Topshop, Asos, MISGUIDED, JD, Mothercare, Beauty Bay and Oliver Bonas to name but a few. Each day they created a new experience for visitors, from styling to crazy golf, beauty sessions to DJ sets. The House of Klarna was a retail wonderland, taking guests through a magical rabbit warren with beautiful, luxury items in every corner.

Our job was to host the pop up nail bar alongside Beauty Bay and Look Fantastic. We were providing express manicures to guests using social media currency. Basically, once they had received their manicure, they were asked to do a quick Instagram post mentioning Klarna, ourselves and a picture of their freshly manicured nails.

Myself and Kerry headed up the team for the week, donning crisp white Klarna beauty tunics and sporting perfectly polished pink nails, keeping on brand. The nail bar was fully kitted out with products from Revolution Beauty provided by Beauty Bay and of course OPI provided by Look Fantastic.

Rob from Trace Publicity said, “You girls are most definitely one of the top attractions!” – and never was a truer word spoken, as the queue for the nail bar was immense. Nails are without question, such a valuable asset, to any PR event. A pop up nail bar not only draws visitors to the event but in my experience, it holds them there for a while allowing them to soak up the experience and relax. Put simply, who doesn’t like beautiful nails?

The opening night saw influencers from across Manchester arrive for the red carpet opening event with drinks, canapés and DJs on every floor. We were stationed alongside Beauty Bay who were offering complimentary make up demonstrations and hair styling solutions. I was particularly impressed by Lucy Hart, a Manchester based make up artist who gave us not only a warm welcome but some wonderful make up tips too! Personally I could have watched Lucy for hours, she is an expert in her field, a wonderful demonstrator and her creativity is outstanding. Lucy’s Instagram page is well worth a follow – @hartyyy

Another business we all most definitely could not have lived without was Swansong Coffee. This lovely little pop up coffee bar, based at Islington Mill provides specialty coffee from independent producers across the world. They also provide a mobile barista coffee service for exhibitions, events and festivals and their bespoke service was an absolute godsend this week. Not only for customers, but for the staff, too!

As the week progressed the house hosted yoga sessions with Myprotien (Kerry had a go I sat this one out!) Klarna Mini Golf, ASOS style masterclasses and the Quella bike team taking an audience through memoirs of their journey from Paris to Roubaix. Guests came and enjoyed the huge variety of activities Trace had so brilliantly put together, and many were impressed with Klarna and the smooth, flexible payments it offers with no late fees or interest. By the end of the week myself and my team were proudly flying the flag for Klarna and were able to point visitors in the right direction.

Overall the week was a huge success and the CLB team thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. From the glamour of the red carpet event, to the serenity of Sunday afternoons pampering our visitors, the whole Klarna experience was quite honestly our favourite event of the year.

Thanks to Rob at Trace and the whole of the Klarna team for making us feel so welcome. Until the next time….

To discover how you can make your event shine with a pop up nail bar from the CLB Events Team please email: claire@clairelouisebeauty.com