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Amstel Light's seven-market concert tour, Amsterdam Live, wrapped up at New York's Webster Hall Wednesday, August 26, with live dance, interactive art, and a performance by the Bravery. Along for the ride—that included stops in Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco—was the Dutch brew's signature 10-seater beer bike, though restrictions prevented riders from actually imbibing.

To separate itself from competing brands, Amstel Light's marketing and events agenda recently has been defined by the brand's connection to its native Amsterdam and the city's devil-may-care attitude. "It’s a point of difference that the brand can own, and is something that we’ve had all along," said the aptly named Amstel Light vice president of marketing, Kheri Holland Tillman. "Amsterdam Live captured Amstel’s Amsterdam in an authentic environment that [aimed to] include unconventional experiences and interactive activities." MORE >>

Amstel Light

08.18.09 2:44 PM

Lego Reintroduces Brand at Air Shows, State Fairs—and a Zoo

Lego's promotion at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Photo: Courtesy of Lego Systems Inc.

FROM CHICAGO On Saturday, while fighter jets swooped and dove over Lake Michigan during the Air and Water Show, some families took a break from the crowded lake shore to play with Legos at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Kicking off a 23-city tour known as the Lego Experience, which will wrap up on November 1 at the Wings Over Houston Air Show, the promotion aims to "either reacquaint, reintroduce, or introduce the brand to new consumers," said Vince Rubino, manager of marketing events at Lego Systems Inc., adding that the promotion's target audience is families with children between the ages of four and 12.

Rubino noted that the goal of the event is not to spread brand awareness, something he said the company already has. "Ninety-eight percent of people out there know Lego," he said. "So we're not looking for brand exposure. [With this promotion] we're looking to provide a brand experience." To achieve that, the tour employs a series of tents with different activities that "allow people to get the brand in their hands, start playing with the bricks, and realize 'Oh, I forgot how much fun Lego is,'" Rubino said. MORE >>

Lego

06.05.09 2:58 PM

Showtime's Nurse Jackie Stunt Targets Medical Professionals in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

Nurse Jackie's visit to Hollywood
Photo: Courtesy of One Source

Just a few days before the debut of its latest series, Nurse Jackie, Showtime set up a three-day interactive promotional stunt at high-traffic spots in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. But instead of moving the relatively modest installation from market to market, Showtime erected three separate pop-up billboards simultaneously.

Overseen by Showtime director of promotions and partnerships Larry Kieran, the project had three goals: In addition to making potential viewers aware of the new show, the network was particularly keen to reach out to medical professionals and bring more consumers to its Web site. So in the weeks before the stunt, marketers made a big push to target the nursing community online. According to Kieran, several thousand men and women were directed to the Nurse Jackie page, where they could use a Twitter application to voice their thoughts about their jobs, health care in the United States, and what they thought of the show's pilot episode—all in 140 characters or fewer, of course. One Source Visual Marketing Solutions was charged with incorporating the responses into the stunt. MORE >>

Showtime, Nurse Jackie, The Tudors, Metropolitan Home

03.19.09 2:56 PM

Carnival Cruise Lines Woos Travelers With Virtual Aquariums in Six Cities

Carnival Cruise Lines' interactive aquarium
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash

When fishing for new customers, Carnival Cruise Lines can't exactly pass out free samples at a major sporting event or the mall. So execs at the company created a multi-city marketing stunt they hoped would give potential travelers a taste of what it's like to go on a Carnival Cruise by installing a series of interactive aquariums on busy streets in urban centers nationwide.

On March 10, the high-tech, computer animated tanks debuted in Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, where they will be on display through the end of April. Positioned in vacant storefronts in high-traffic pedestrian areas, the aquariums, developed by Carnival's advertising agency, Arnold Worldwide, are designed to capture the attention of passersby. MORE >>

Carnival Cruise Lines

11.26.08 11:22 AM

Dos Equis Translates Popular Ad Campaign Into Traveling Sideshow

"The Most Interesting Show in the World"
Photo: David Ditzler

FROM NEW YORK For most brands, mobile marketing efforts don’t typically involve circus-like attractions, but beer promotions leave generous room for whimsy, so that’s exactly what Dos Equis did earlier this fall when it kicked off “The Most Interesting Show in the World” tour. A night of comedy, dance, feats of strength, and illusions, the show re-imagined vaudeville for capacity crowds in 14 markets. The effort kicked off in San Diego in October and concludes in Philadelphia next month.

The Heineken USA-owned beer turned to experiential marketing agency Mirrorball to translate its “The Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign—a series of ads about an individual dispensing sage advice to curious beer-drinkers—from a character to an event. Mirrorball developed the idea of creating a showcase for the types of performers this man had come across in his imaginary travels and enlisted New York-based Randy Weiner, creator of "The Donkey Show" and managing partner at New York City performance venue The Box, to write and produce the show. MORE >>

Dos Equis, Heineken

09.30.08 3:53 PM

3M Takes Mobile Dorm Room to 21 Campuses to Promote Storage Products

The interior of the 3M Command Campus tour truck
Photo: Courtesy of GCI Group

FROM TORONTO To promote eight new storage products in its Command Strips line, 3M embarked on a 16-city tour in a big orange truck, visiting 21 colleges and universities in five Canadian provinces during September. The company, which manufactures products like Post-it notes and Scotch tape, created a dorm room inside the truck to show off items like its new adhesive key holder and storage containers. In line with the company’s Save the Walls Web site, the tour touted Command Strips' ability to adhere to walls without damaging them.

"The tour is about getting students to recognize the 3M brand and helping them stay organized. The products don't damage walls, so they can help students get their residence security deposits back at the end of the year," said Kevin Beaudoin, Canadian brand manager for 3M Command Strips. Beaudoin worked with the GCI Group and the London, Ontario-based Branton Advertising to put the tour together. Unit 11 outfitted the 272-square-foot space inside the truck with a bed, closet, and desk, along with a true-to-scale photo of a messy dorm room on the opposing wall to help illustrate the importance of organization. MORE >>

3M, Command Strips, Save The Walls

09.30.08 11:32 AM

ABC Hands Out Free Pie in 10 Cities to Promote Pushing Daisies

The pie mobile parked in Times Square
Photo: BizBash

FROM NEW YORK With the sophomore season of Pushing Daisies premiering nine months after its first outing was shortened by the writers strike, ABC’s marketing team needed a way to reacquaint the public with the network’s quirky comedy. The result was a 10 city, cross-country pie giveaway that reached the end of its road trip in New York this week.

Winding its way through Anaheim, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York, ABC's “Touch of Wonder Tour” spent the past month evangelizing Pushing Daisies. Operating out of an Airstream trailer designed to look like the Pie Hole—the fictional pie shop that serves as the backdrop for much of the series—staffers treated visitors to complimentary slices of apple and blueberry pie and peach cobbler. MORE >>

ABC, Pushing Daisies

09.26.08 1:20 PM

Showtime Publicizes Dexter Premiere With Faux Newsstands

Showtime's Dexter Newsstands
Photo: Courtesy of Pop2Life

For the season premiere of its serial killer series Dexter last September, Showtime hit 13 major cities with custom fountains that spouted water dyed red to resemble blood. And in a bid to outdo that this year, the television network created temporary fake newsstands to tout the return of its macabre drama. Showtime director of promotions and partnerships Larry Kieran reached out to experiential marketing agency Pop2Life—which also handled the 2007 promotion—to brainstorm a concept that once again could be used in several different markets across the U.S.

Centered around the show's latest advertising campaign—ads featuring actor Michael C. Hall on mock covers of magazines like The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, GQ, and Wired—Pop2Life came up with the idea to create fake kiosks and place these in busy city locations. The two-day pop-up, timed to the show's Sunday-night premiere, debuted yesterday in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Concerned about the stormy weather, Showtime opted not to open the New York and Philadelphia locations today. MORE >>

Showtime, Dexter

01.03.08 12:04 PM

Nikon Takes DJ Talent on Tour

Lorne Peart was among the DJs on tour.
Photo: Andrew George

In an era when any tech-savvy hipster with an iPod or a computer can fancy himself a DJ, music marketing company and record label Spring L.L.C. wanted to separate the Mobys from the wannabes. The result was the 2007 Nikon “Four to the Floor” tour, a five-city event designed to showcase new DJ talent in an upscale nightlife environment.

“Dance music has always been kind of the bastard child of music,” says Michael Aiken, Spring’s managing partner. “From a musicianship standpoint, it’s never gotten the respect that jazz or even hip-hop gets ... but there’s a lot of musicianship in the space. These guys are artists in their own right. So the idea was, let’s separate the real artists from everybody [who’s just] spinning records, and give them a platform that recognizes and celebrates that artistry.”

With that idea in mind, Spring approached Nikon to sponsor the tour and further develop the concept. For Nikon, an event that would attract and help make the brand accessible to a hip, young demographic was ideal, and fit with the company’s marketing and promotional goals. MORE >>

Nikon, Spring L.L.C.

07.26.07 6:37 PM

Before the Big Launch, Potter Infiltrates Libraries Nationwide

The Knight Bus tour began in June at the Today show set in New York.
Photo: Clark Jones for Scholastic

The Harry Potter hype came to a boiling point last weekend, when the seventh and final installment of the book series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, became available. In preparation, Scholastic heightened anticipation levels across the country with a bus tour celebrating all things Potter during the seven weeks before the Deathly Hallows release date. Traveling to 37 libraries in 15 cities, the tour allowed fans to board what author J.K. Rowling describes as the “violently purple” Knight Bus (identical to the enchanted one that debuted in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and record a video detailing their devotion to the ever-popular teenage sorcerer.

“We wanted to do an event centered around libraries, because they are community centers where everyone is welcome and the focus is reading,” said Rachel Coun, Scholastic’s director of marketing and Harry Potter brand director. “A big part of what we did in each city was get the kids and adults excited for the next installment, and for the series as a whole.” Prior to the tour kicking off, more than 325 million copies of the first six Potter installments had been sold, and the first four movies adapted from the books (the fifth debuted on July 12) had grossed more than $4 billion in box office sales. MORE >>

Scholastic, Harry Potter

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