Robert Kraus founded PopUpsByDesign.com specializing in white-box spaces after SmallConferences.com clients doing brand activations and experimental marketing rejected traditional venues like hotels and conference centers.
Beyond Traditional Venues
Robert Kraus founded PopUpsByDesign.com after clients from his SmallConferences.com business needed venues beyond traditional event spaces like hotels, conference centers, banquet halls, and community centers. These conventional venues presented multiple problems.
Traditional venues are very short-term focused and do not lend well to experimental marketing. Clients also found them boring, lacking the unique character needed for brand activations, designer sample sales, product launches, art expos, and inventory liquidation events.
Clients typically needed spaces for more than just a few days and wanted to create looks working with their branding versus having set decor. Traditional venues with established aesthetics limit customization options.
Thinking Outside the Box
This client feedback led Kraus to start thinking outside the box, literally. He began looking for white-box spaces where he could create looks from scratch without constraints of existing decor or venue restrictions.
White-box spaces are empty commercial properties with basic utilities but minimal finishing. These blank canvases allow complete customization supporting brand-specific environments impossible in traditional venues with fixed aesthetics.
Kraus fashioned concepts on rooftops of garages, in parking lots, inside old warehouses, abandoned churches, closed bank buildings, and other unconventional locations. These unique spaces provide character and flexibility traditional venues lack.
Creating From Scratch
The white-box approach allows Kraus to design environments specifically for each client’s needs. Brand activations require spaces reflecting brand identity. Product launches need settings highlighting new offerings. Art expos demand gallery-like environments.
Traditional venues impose their existing aesthetic on events. White-box spaces let Kraus build appropriate atmospheres from foundation level, selecting lighting, layout, finishes, and furnishings supporting client objectives.
This creation capability stems from Kraus’s almost 15 years in retail and wholesale merchandising combined with over 20 years event planning experience. Understanding retail presentation translates directly to pop-up space design.
Property Type Diversity
Kraus works with various property types beyond typical commercial retail: warehouse spaces, former religious buildings, closed financial institutions, parking structures, and other unconventional locations providing blank canvases.
These properties often sit vacant between long-term tenants, creating opportunities for short-term use. Property owners generate revenue from otherwise idle assets while clients access unique affordable spaces.
He works directly with property owners and management companies, keeping track of available spaces in major US cities that are move-in ready with working electric, water, HVAC, and other utilities necessary for events.
Network Development
Over the years, Kraus established an extensive network of property professionals helping him discover affordable hidden pop-up gems. These relationships provide access to spaces before they hit the commercial market.
Property managers notify Kraus when spaces become available, giving clients first opportunities. This early access means better selection and often better pricing than waiting for public listings.
The network spans major US cities, allowing national brands to execute multi-city pop-up campaigns through single vendor relationships rather than finding different local resources in each market.
SmallConferences.com Origins
Kraus founded SmallConferences.com before PopUpsByDesign.com. Clients doing brand activations, sample sales, product launches, and inventory liquidation expressed frustration with traditional venues, inspiring the white-box specialization.
This organic evolution from existing business provided client relationships and understanding of unmet needs. Rather than imposing a predetermined business model, Kraus responded to actual market demands.
Service Integration
PopUpsByDesign.com services include Location Sourcing, Operational Planning, Activation Strategy, Event Management and Logistics, plus Post-Event Follow-Up and Amplification. White-box spaces require more planning than turnkey traditional venues.
Operational planning addresses logistics like power requirements, HVAC capacity, access for setup and breakdown, and compliance with local regulations. Activation strategy determines how to transform empty space into a functional branded environment.
Credentials Supporting Expertise
Kraus received Association of Meeting Professionals Planner of the Year and holds Certified Event Planning Specialist (CEPS) certification. These credentials validate ability to execute complex white-box transformations professionally.
His Certified Contract and Negotiation Specialist (CNS) certification supports negotiating favorable terms for unconventional spaces where standard lease agreements may not apply.
Future Vision
Kraus envisions PopUpsByDesign.com becoming the go-to source for unique affordable venues. White-box space specialization differentiates from competitors focused on traditional venues, supporting this positioning.
Robert Kraus founded PopUpsByDesign.com specializing in white-box spaces after SmallConferences.com clients rejected traditional venues as boring and inflexible for experimental marketing. The Association of Meeting Professionals Planner of the Year winner creates custom environments in warehouses, abandoned churches, closed banks, and unconventional locations, working commission-free with property owners across major US cities.
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30 Second Video (for social media ads): https://youtu.be/ByQuLhwxGWA
60 Second Video (for web site & featured): https://youtu.be/eh1BqXKh-1U
30 Second Vertical Reel: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fyG-PhBRh9k
Logo’s and headshots are here: https://tinyurl.com/sc-logo-photo
