Events

For a 2006 Motorola event, KSE Productions suspended a metal platform from the ceiling as an unconventional lectern and used stretch-fabric video screens as a backdrop.

At the 2006 Screen Actors Guild awards in Los Angeles, Stanlee Gatti created lavish displays of upside-down calla lilies, dramatic decorations that also hid poles.

At a 2006 dinner held by investment bank Rodman & Renshaw, Event Design Inc. made sure all the attendees had a clear view of the evening’s entertainment by creating seven levels of seating with rows of individual lounges on each level.

At the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s awards in 2005, an oversize mirror encrusted with Swarovski crystals displayed a live telecast of the arrivals during the cocktail hour. 

Occasions Caterers created a conveyor-belt buffet station for a 2009 screening of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in Washington. 

Instead of the typical white tent, Van Wyck & Van Wyck used an eye-catching striped version at House & Garden’s 2006 New Tastemakers issue party. 

The American Heart Association’s 2006 Rhapsody in Red event had a dramatic event entryway designed by Matthew David Events: a model wore a silk organza dress with a 30-foot-long skirt that draped over the New York Public Library’s entrance.

At arts organization Performa’s 2006 benefit, a team of tailors sewed white clothes on the spot for guests. The performance piece provided entertainment and a take-home gift, and helped create a backdrop for the evening’s cool lighting projections.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America’s 2003 awards featured dramatic projections by Scharff Weisberg on a white, minimalist set, a clean yet impactful look the show updated with digital mapping projections in its 2011 iteration. 

To spruce up portable bathrooms at Travel & Leisure’s 2004 World’s Best Awards party at Lincoln Center, planner Laura Aviva worked with sponsors Kohler and L’Occitane to bring in a row of stylish sinks and tubes of lotion, respectively.

On July 30 Pepsi and Billboard hit the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville for the second installment of their summer concert series, which included performances by Jana Kramer, Randy Houser, and country music trio Gloriana (pictured). The brands streamed the bash live on pepsi.com, allowing the online viewers to influence elements of the staging in real time.

This summer, Vitaminwater and Fader teamed up to produce a nationwide concert series called "Uncapped." Playing off the partnership between the two brands, the concerts included sets from artists of different genres. In Chicago Santigold and rapper Wale performed, along with a set from R&B singer Melanie Fiona. Open bars doled out complimentary Vitaminwater.

The Kellogg’s brand hosted a pop-up concert on Northerly Island in Chicago July 19. With performances by Carly Rae Jepsen, Boys Like Girls, and teen sensation Austin Mahone, the event also allowed guests to pose on the red carpet with giant plush Pop-Tarts and sample treats from a Pop-Tarts bar.

The Web site for group discounts hosted a ticketed, weekend-long activation in Chicago from July 6-8. Guests checked in at the downtown Swissötel, which served as camp headquarters, and spent the weekend participating in various activities. On Saturday night, guests headed to Navy Pier for a private concert from the Counting Crows as well as Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (pictured).

More than 80,000 people traveled to a remote 700-acre farm in Tennessee June 7-10 for the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Knowing the attendees would be outside day and night listening music on multiple stages, brands such as Garnier Fructis provided practical services such as free hair-washing and styling in a 40- by 40-foot air-conditioned tent.

The L'Oréal-owned brand also brought music props for guests to pose with after their hair service. Participants received the photos via email, allowing them to share the images on social networks.

Ford dubbed its tent "Destination Escape," playing on the name of its Escape vehicle that was displayed outside. Inside, festivalgoers could cool off in the air-conditioned space, listen to live performances, and charge their phones.

Ford handed out more than 3,000 free T-shirts, screen-printed on-site with designs inspired by mural artists working outside the tent.

Bonnaroo attendees could relax in hammocks and enter to win V.I.P. passes in the "Great State Lounge" hosted by State Farm. The insurance company also provided what it called "Bonnaroo Roadside Assistance"—free services such as help with lockouts, flat tires, and dead batteries.

As part of the July run of Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago’s Union Park, Web-based music store Emusic staged an activation that allegedly read spiritual vibes and frequencies. Inside a small photo booth, consumers could listen to songs from various Pitchfork acts while placing their hand on an electrical plate. The installation then printed out colorful strips that showed their different “auras” for each listening experience. New York-based agency Mother worked with Chicago's Ravenswood Events to produce the unusual experience.

Whole Foods erected an on-site farmer's market where guests could purchase everything from strawberries to sunflowers. The cute, country-style space was dressed up with gingham curtains and woven baskets.

Heineken had a dome-shaped tent meant to represent a reinvented beer cooler. After having their IDs checked, guests entered the air-conditioned space to find open bars doling out the Dutch beer on tap.

Darkened and shot through with green light—Heineken's signature hue—the tent had projection videos of real-time Pitchfork concerts playing on its ceiling. California-based Corso Communications produced the activation.

Purina gave out free "pets rock" posters, which featured colorful, arty illustrations of dogs and cats clutching musical instruments. The brand also had a video booth that let guests hop in and share their personal “ingredient for daily good,” matching the marketing focus on the pure ingredients that make up its pet food. To produce the activation, Pitchfork organizers worked with Zeus Jones, a creative agency based in Minneapolis.

On festival grounds, the Adidas Originals Black Top let guests watch professional skateboarders in action (and, of course, Adidas gear). The activation also let guests snap photos and enter to win giveaways.

The show Pop-Up Video recently returned to VH1 and to publicize it, the music channel hosted an activation on the grounds of Lollapalooza. Using augmented reality developed for VH1 by Awestruck Marketing, the promotion let guests see themselves on a big screen in the park virtually interacting with Lollapalooza artists such as the Black Keys and Fun. Guests could instantly post photos from the activation to social media sites.

The Toyota Prius Family Playground was filled with games, including a human-powered prize wheel that had guests run to win gifts from the automaker. The most talked-about aspect of the marketing effort was the "Whac-a-Hipster" game, which let guests use a soft mallet to smack little pop-up heads with stylized mustaches and glasses.

Behind the Red Bull Soundstage, PlayStation hosted a V.I.P. area that had plush seating, games, and a Magnolia photo booth. There were also open bars.

Gilt City hosted a party at EnV, a condo building in Chicago's River North, on Saturday afternoon of Lollapalooza weekend. The Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men, which also performed at the festival, played an intimate set at the rooftop party.

Bypassing Skylight Soho's main entrance, organizers of the Samsung Galaxy S III launch in New York used its Renwick Street entrance, adding signage to the facade of the building.

The entryway for the New York event was a tunnel filled with smoke, projections, and audio. The sounds and images playing were of frustrated smartphone users, designed to contrast the setting inside.

Inside the SoHo venue, Samsung Mobile crafted an experiential tour of the new smartphone's features. This included a photo-op area where attendees could snap a picture of themselves and then experiment with "share shot," which enables the device to send images to other phones within a 200-foot area.

With blue lighting as the main backdrop, the event producers used white or clear furnishings for the cocktail tables, sofas, and seating. The gadget's brand imagery decorated surfaces like the facades of the bars and the venue's walls.

To showcase "S-Beam," a Galaxy S III function that allows users to transfer files by touch, the event offered a "beam bar." Attendees used the new phones to order drinks and bartenders would collect the orders by tapping their devices against them.

As a way to demonstrate the phone's "burst shot," a feature that takes three images a second, guests could throw a basketball while a staffer took photos. The photos were then printed out as a take-home item.

Another area showcased the "group cast" feature that allows users of the Galaxy S III to share and collaborate on documents, presentations, or images. A station in this section played up the $1.5 million donation Samsung Telecommunications America made to benefit the World Wildlife Fund.

Divided into several sections, the venue also included a central lounge that faced the stage.

Through custom kiosks, consumers can download content—books, musics, apps, and news—for free. The freestanding stations were featured at the event and are part of the larger campaign for the phone's launch.

Twilight actress Ashley Greene hosted the New York event, speaking briefly about the new device and its functions.

Swedish House Mafia's Sebastian Ingrosso took to the stage in New York, spinning house music in front of animated projections as the audience snapped shots on their smartphones.

Capping off the event in New York was a performance by surprise guest Skrillex, who brought his brand of electrohouse to the late-night shindig.