Industry Innovators 2022: Amazon

"Industry Innovators 2022: 10 Brands Shaping the Future of Event Marketing" is sponsored by Hubilo, a leading virtual and hybrid event platform built to drive engagement, with clients including Deloitte, Coca-Cola, Amazon Web Services and more.

The Basics: In 2018, we named Amazon a brand to watch in the experiential event space. At the time, even though the company had seemingly infiltrated all aspects of our lives, one area that it had yet to conquer successfully and consistently was events. Over the last three years, the global conglomerate has clearly allocated more of its budget to experiential marketing and activations, particularly as streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video have exploded. In 2021, the company launched several robust global marketing campaigns that leveraged various arms of the Amazon business, including Alexa, Amazon Fresh, Twitch, Amazon Live and Audible Live.

“Operation Global Drone Drop” delivered about 100 gifts in 10 countries and 12 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, London and Mexico City. Pictured: Michael B. Jordan launching the first drone.Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Prime VideoStandout Event of the Year: To promote its film Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse starring Michael B. Jordan, Amazon Prime Video engineered a global marketing campaign that was geared toward young, diverse audiences including military veterans and the Black community. In the week leading up to the April 2021 release, the streaming platform utilized drones to drop off themed gifts in custom-made wooden crates at the homes of celebrities, veterans and influencers. “Operation Global Drone Drop” delivered about 100 gifts in 10 countries and 12 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, London and Mexico City.

“The first-of-its-kind, our global drone drop was a key element in our overarching campaign for Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse. We wanted this campaign to resonate with global audiences in a big way and capture the excitement of Clancy fans,” Jennifer Verdick, head of partnerships and consumer events at Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios, told BizBash back in May.

Amazon Prime Video, in conjunction with its new film Cinderella starring Camila Cabello, collaborated with Shoes That Fit, a nonprofit organization that gives children in need new athletic shoes to attend school.Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Prime VideoCause Marketing Tie-Ins: In addition to incorporating different subsidiaries of the e-commerce giant into its far-reaching marketing campaigns, the brand also usually includes a charitable component as well. For example, in conjunction with its film Cinderella starring Camila Cabello, Amazon Prime Video collaborated with Shoes That Fit, a nonprofit organization that gives children in need new athletic shoes to attend school, and delivered boxes filled with shoes and school supplies to kids in Compton and Los Angeles.

And for its Without Remorse release, Prime Video launched an Amazon Fresh partnership, which benefited military veterans and their families in need, by delivering groceries and meals in Los Angeles with help from nonprofit organization Village for Vets.

It’s Not All About Prime Video: To celebrate the release of Coldplay’s latest album, Music of the Spheres, the band teamed up with Amazon Music for a traveling activation called “The Atmospheres,” an audiovisual experience for fans that took place in New York, London, Tokyo and Berlin in October. Inside the custom-built installations, fans were transported to The Spheres—intended to be a distant solar system that played host to the band’s latest album, where each of the twelve tracks was twinned with a different planet.

In anticipation of Coming 2 America, Amazon Studios and Prime Video debuted a reimagining of the Amazon transportation fleet. Over 200 Amazon delivery vehicles, four trucks and one Prime Air plane celebrated the Zamundan Royal Family’s return to America with specialty wrapping featuring the newly-crowned King Akeem.Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video

To celebrate Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3, which streamed worldwide on Amazon Prime Video, the brand hosted a traffic-stopping stunt in the middle of New York’s SoHo neighborhood, lighting up the windows at 477 Broadway with a live performance featuring models of all genders and body types.Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Amazon Studios