London based RKCR/Y&R offered its creative and strategic services to local small businesses in a pop up ad agency for a week.

We live in a time of instability. There’s the economy, political strife, and the use of pop-up everything by marketers everywhere (see wedding chapels, apartments, dance parties, and stores). Well now there’s the pop-up agency.
Digital agency Proximity BBDO’s Belgium outpost has designed ‘The Farm,’ a program for hiring new talent. Seemingly inspired by the recruiting practices of major league sports, it is the solution to their struggles finding talent amidst high local agency competition.
The “agency-within-an-agency” nurtures 12 recruits who will get the opportunity to work on some of the agency’s top accounts. During their time there they will undergo an [...]

The tight economy has inspired Ikea to offer a fiscally responsible furniture option to incoming president Barak Obama for his oval office. The furniture retailer recently created a mock-up of the office in the main hall of the Union subway station. Along with the mock-up, a website called Embrace Change 09 has been established. For now it is counting down to move in day, but visitors can leave an email address for updates on the project.
[photo via cpayne]
[via brandweek]

Can I ask all the people who work at advertising and marketing agencies who read this site to stop advising their clients to create pop-up stores. News that Pepsi are about to launch a pop-up store in New York reminds me that this style of marketing activity has become a cliche. The world is flooded with pop-up stores no-one wants or needs..
Sure, it makes your clients spend some more money with your agency when you convince your clients via PowerPoint that a pop-up store would bring their brands to life-like-life – but to be honest the world does not care [...]