The Lost & Found
Vintage Brand
Goal: Eric wanted to create a compelling new event brand to attract a younger audience. He also really wanted to have an excuse to use the marketing department’s old cassette camcorders.
Results: The Lost & Found Vintage Market launched as a successful first-year cultural program that blended retail with nostalgia-driven storytelling. With 340K+ impressions, 12K+ engagements, and positive vendor sales. It produced a direct business development ROI, resulting in the event partner committing to a 6-month event commitment valued at $9k.
Credits: Eric Perez (Content Creation and Art Director), Jaime Ibanez Oieda (Videography), Kai Kwan (Graphic Designer) POPUPSJ (Event Partner)
Strategy
The strategy for The Lost & Found focused on positioning the event as more than just a shopping experience. It leaned on three core pillars:
Nostalgia-Driven Content: Connecting the community to Eastridge’s cultural history through storytelling, visual content, and archival-inspired creative.
Community Partnerships: Collaborating with local vintage curators, artists, and cultural groups (POPUP SJ, TREBA, Coterie Den) to bring credibility and authenticity.
Lean but Powerful Marketing: Stretching a minimal paid budget ($400) while letting organic nostalgia content do the heavy lifting in building awareness.
This approach created a culturally rich and community-first experience that elevated Eastridge beyond a simple retail venue.
Creating The Brand
The brand was developed to serve as a marquee summer event that tapped into the deep nostalgia the community feels for a bygone era and the proven performance of nostalgic content on social media.
The name, The Lost & Found, is a playful nod to the mall’s “real-world” lost and found, reframed as a place to rediscover hidden treasures; inspiring the event tagline: “Find what you’ve been looking for.”
Visually, the logo was crafted in a trendy 90s/Y2K style with bold colors, mixed fonts, and hand-drawn lettering arranged in a carefully considered arrangement. The logo was designed to reinforce the event’s core theme, a place where seemingly unrelated elements come together to form a cohesive whole.
Eric served as Art Director, developing the initial creative brief, collaborating with a specialized hand lettering artist to bring his vision alive. He also designed the supporting graphics, creating 2000s-inspired collage layouts with vibrant colors and crispy textures.
The event’s content strategy extended the nostalgic theme:
Photography & Videography: Eric directed all creative production, utilizing VHS camcorders and disposable cameras to evoke a retro visual language. He worked with an additional photographer and videographer to shoot modern, high-fidelity footage.
Trojan Horse Content: Nostalgia-focused carousels featuring the mall’s history and retro pop culture facts were shared without event branding. The event ad was tucked away in the carousel. This strategy boosted organic engagement by disguising promotions as shareable nostalgia content.
The result was a visually striking and culturally relevant brand that resonated with both younger vintage enthusiasts and the wider community.
Results
The Lost & Found Vintage Market debuted as a new cultural and retail experience at Eastridge Center, blending shopping with nostalgia-driven storytelling. The event drew an estimated 900–1,000 attendees and received immediate buy-in from both vendors and guests.
Marketing efforts generated 340,000+ total views and over 12,000 engagements across organic and paid channels. Vendors reported strong sales, averaging $700–$1,200 each, and demand for the next market began before the first event had even ended.
Most importantly, The Lost & Found created new long-term revenue for the property, leading to a six-month vintage market series contract worth $9,000.
