At the Tomorrowland music festival, which took place in Belgium over two weekends in July, R.F.I.D. wristbands replaced admission tickets and also provided a way for the 60,000 daily attendees to connect with one another. Prior to the event, festivalgoers registered their wristbands online and linked them to their Facebook accounts. At the event, if two people near each other pressed the heart-shaped button on their wristbands at the same time, each person's Facebook name was stored in the cloud and then sent in an email to the other person. So each attendee received a daily email of anyone they had met throughout the day. Organizers also illuminated the lights on the bracelets in coordination with some of the musical acts.
At IMG’s inaugural Taste of Toronto festival in July, attendees used R.F.I.D.-enabled cards to purchase food and beverages from vendors at the event. The cards were provided by IntelliPay, a division of Intellitix. Guests could go online before the event to load money onto the card, and they could also add funds at stations throughout the festival. At the end of the festival, balances remaining on cards were donated to Second Harvest Food Rescue. Each individual’s online account also provided a history of all food and beverage items purchased.
For Montreal’s C2MTL—Commerce & Creativity conference in May, Connect & Go created badges embedded with U.H.F. tags. Unlike N.F.C., which is intended for very close communication, U.H.F. tags can be read from as far away as 30 feet. As the 4,000 attendees passed through the main entrance, U.H.F. readers embedded in the gates instantly read their badges and alerted security personnel with either a green or red light to indicate whether they were approved to enter. Organizers also hung three U.H.F. “chandeliers” on the show floor. The devices could read attendee activity within a 30- by 30-foot zone, tracking when people arrived, how much time they spent in the area, and who else was there. Organizers received real-time information on tablets, so they could make adjustments as necessary, for example to ensure the most heavily trafficked food stations had enough staff and products.
At EMC World in May in Las Vegas, organizers used N.F.C. badges from ITN International to manage the distribution of conference bags filled with valuable gifts such as GoPro cameras and iPods. As attendees went to the bag pickup area, staff scanned their badges with a smartphone to determine which bag they should receive. The data was stored to ensure that the badge could not be used to obtain additional gift bags. ITN’s system also saved the activity so if a badge had to be reprinted, it still indicated that the attendee had received a bag.
At the Ryder Cup, set for September 23 to 28 in Scotland, guests will use R.F.I.D. wristbands from Intellitix for a variety of interactive experiences. In partnership with Active Scotland, a government initiative to promote physical activity, guests will be encouraged to walk the course and check in at various stations for a chance to win prizes. The wristband will track the distances they cover and will also post updates to social media. Guests will also be able to give a “virtual high five” to either the European or United States team by touching their wristbands at specified points, which then registers their support on a leaderboard. Guests who own BMWs will be able to use their wristbands to enter the company’s “Owners’ Cafe” at the 10th hole and spend preloaded tokens.
At the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee in June, organizers partnered with Microsoft to allow guests to create a photo history of their festival experience. Prior to the event, guests went online to register their R.F.I.D. wristbands and link them to a Microsoft OneDrive account. Then each time they swiped their wristbands at photo booths around the event, the pictures automatically uploaded to the online account. Guests could also swipe their wristbands at stations near each stage to receive a photo of the performance in their OneDrive accounts. Intellitix provided the wristbands.
Guests will be more inclined to snap selfies if they feel they're looking their best—so events are coupling beauty treatments with other encouragement. At the Colgate Optic White beauty bar ahead of the Golden Globes in Los Angeles earlier this year, decals bearing the appropriate handles and hashtags decked mirrors near the beauty stations where guests were captive during hair and makeup services.
At the BMF Music Lounge during Coachella, sponsor Tide gave guests all the elements needed to take a selfie and easily share it. In a poolside suite at Palm Springs's Ingleside Inn, the brand decked out a mirror with floral appliques as well as the appropriate hashtag #TidePlus.
Event Farm and HyperVocal hosted the "2.0: The New Media Party" at the Carnegie Library last weekend during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. At the event, the "Selfie Squad" sponsored by Microsoft facilitated quality selfies with guests, decor, the band, and other details of the party. The team then immediately posted the snaps to social sites using the hashtag #NewMediaParty.
During the holidays, fashion brand Ted Baker used the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe to encourage selfies that promoted the brand. At the Ted Baker Fifth Avenue store in New York, Kin Design created a 20- by 20-foot aluminum sculpture to serve as a modern twist on mistletoe, and guests shared kiss pics on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #KissTed. With the help of a specially designed app, photos then fed two 90-inch monitors inside the store’s front windows for passing shoppers to see. On Christmas Eve, the brand selected one participant to receive a free four-night stay for two at the St. Regis Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Online magazine xoJane hosted a party at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, this year that rewarded guests with fame at the event for snapping selfies. In an upstairs portion of the party space, guests were encouraged to take selfies with mirrors. The shots were then printed to add onto the "Shameless Selfie" wall and were projected in the event's main space, where MKG used neon masking tape and ultraviolet lighting for pops of bright color. The event promoted the pub's "Shameless Celebrity" list.
OtterBox gave out its new Symmetry Series phone case to guests at the Kari Feinstein Style Lounge at Coachella. But the free stuff came with a not-so-gentle reminder to help proliferate the brand’s message on social media: A dedicated mirrored “selfie station" allowed guests to share their snaps (with their phones clearly pictured, of course) using the appropriate hashtags.
Offering guests extra props or backdrops to inspire selfies can sometimes seal the deal. During a holiday event, the W Fort Lauderdale placed mirrors in nine spots throughout the property, each embedded in elf-theme vignettes. After snapping their festive shots, guests could then upload the images to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter using the hashtags #WFortLauderdale and #BringtheBright.
Not all selfies are spontaneous; offering a reward can incentivize guests to take and post them. The New York International Auto Show gave out free tickets to opening night to the first 100 people who posted a selfie with a show poster, found in New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Bud Light, the N.F.L.'s official beer sponsor, abandoned its five-year-old Bud Light Hotel this year in favor of something new. Named the Bud Light House of Whatever, the new activation took over a downtown Phoenix hotel and played off the brand's marketing tagline: "The Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens." Produced by Mosaic, the experience ran from January 30 to February 1, and organizers aimed to treat guests to "Up for Whatever," or unpredictable, experiences.
The marketing campaign's hashtag appeared in colorful, lit-up letters at the House of Whatever. In order to gain access to the experience, consumers aged 21 and over were invited to film short videos of themselves finishing the sentence: "the perfect beer for..." Potential guests then posted their videos to social media using the hashtag #UpforWhatever. Some 4,000 winners were selected.
At the house, the "Up for Whatever" experiences included a "Super Fry." In the activity, characters dressed up as superheroes served guests various deep-fried dishes.
On January 30, guests donned animal masks to attend a party-boat-theme concert with headliners Nicki Minaj and Kongos. The performance took place under a massive marquee tent decked in Bud Light's signature hues: blue and white.
Guests played vintage games at the on-site Pac-Man arcade, which was lit up with black lights. The activation tied into the brand's Super Bowl TV spot, which featured a life-size Pac-Man maze that Bud Light marketers built in downtown Los Angeles.
Longtime Super Bowl activation sponsor DirecTV did not host its Celebrity Beach Bowl this year, but instead presented the new Super Fan Festival at the Pendergast Family Farm in Glendale, Arizona, from January 28 to 30. Acts including Snoop Dogg, Calvin Harris, and Imagine Dragons played on the DirecTV Super Fan Stage.
Performances were also staged in the smaller HGTV Lodge, where acts included American Authors (pictured).
The brand brought back its private Super Saturday Night party on January 31. Hosted by Mark Cuban's AXS TV and former N.F.L. star Michael Strahan, the event also took place at the Pendergast Family Farm. CL22 once again designed the event and described the theme as "Diva Rocker Glam" with a look meant to channel a "shimmering, gold and diamond adult playground."
Rihanna headlined the bash, which also featured a surprise performance from Kayne West.
Another first time event was The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard Pre Game Party, which took place in a Scottsdale Airport hangar splashed with gobos on January 31. The invite-only event drew celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, and host Usher drove a Mercedes GTS into the event. Mercedes was a sponsor.
The first-time Neon Carnival event (not associated with Coachella's Neon Carnival), took place on January 30 at Castles n Coasters in Phoenix. With carnival rides and games, the night featured an "Airstream Speakeasy," which was a mobile bar housed in an Airstream trailer. Tequila Don Julio drinks were prepared by New York-based mixologists Marshall Altier and Ben Scorah. Cocktails included the "Big Game Buck," made with orange and lemon juices, ginger syrup, bitters, and tequila.
Animal Planet, which hosted its first activation at the Super Bowl last year, returned to present the Puppy Bowl Cafe. The activation took over a café at CityScape in downtown Phoenix, which was decked in Puppy Bowl-inspired branding. Aired before the Super Bowl on Animal Planet, the Puppy Bowl features puppies playing on a miniature football field.
Guests could watch a replica of the Puppy Bowl live at the downtown activation. Organizers worked with the Arizona Humane Society, which brought in litters of up-for-adoption puppies to the event.
ESPN also returned to host a large-scale Super Bowl bash on January 30 at WestWorld of Scottsdale. Lauren Robinson, ESPN's associate director of sport management, worked with 11-time event producer Tony Schubert of Event Eleven to produce and design the event. The party was meant to conjure a "hip desert retreat" and was decked with mid-century furniture, planters holding cacti, floating staircases, and shadowboxes showcasing sporty images. Other vendors involved in transforming the center into a party-ready space included Felix Lighting, Sound Image, Accurate Staging, Zac Hartog Events, Primo XL, and V Squared Labs; Hired Gun Publicity & Consulting handled publicity.
The event had 400 feet of floor-to-ceiling projections that featured desert scenery and time-lapse content. Tashman handled audiovisual production.
Event Eleven built a 30-foot-tall, 300-foot-wide hand-carved rock wall. Sponsor Mercedes-Benz displayed its AMG GT vehicle in front of a tunnel visual embedded into the wall. Nearby, fellow sponsor Ciroc hosted a circular bar that doled out specialty drinks with thematic names such as the Kickoff. Engine Shop secured sponsors for the evening and handled social media on site.
Other sponsors' names—including Coors Light, Curve Sport, and Omnia Nightclub by Hakkasan Group—appeared on a desert-inspired step-and-repeat that had a sandy tan carpet in lieu of a red one.
Rolling Stone, which has hosted Super Bowl activations in years past, hosted Rolling Stone Live on January 31 at the Venue Scottsdale. Toast, Bookem Danno, and Talent Resources Sports produced the music magazine's event, which had a “raw, gritty, motorcycle-inspired theme with just a bit of Grindhouse,“ according to Toast partner Kimberly Krouse. The event featured rows of Harley Davidson bikes parked at the entrance—“just to let guests know they're not the first ones to the party,” Krouse said.
The evening's headline act was Steven Tyler. Charlie XCX also performed.
Miller Lite was a sponsor, and 24-ounce cans of the product formed an eight-foot decorative wall at the entrance to the venue. As guests entered, brand ambassadors wearing biker-inspired costumes handed them a can.
The event included a "Rock Shop" filled with thematic items available for purchase. Goods included a signed painting of Steven Tyler, a framed Rolling Stone cover of Katy Perry, and a Les Paul guitar bearing Elvis Presley's autograph. A portion of the proceeds benefited the charity Angels on Patrol.
Playboy, a familiar brand on the Super Bowl party scene, hosted its bash at the W Scottsdale on January 30. Sponsor Mini USA brought in three display vehicles of its Mini Hardop 4 Door and staged them front a photo backdrop that depicted the Playboy Mansion. Guests could pose for photos in the space, which was also attended by costumed Playboy Bunnies.
Tabasco sponsored the Maxim Party, held January 31 in a private airport hangar in Scottsdale. The hot sauce brand provided plenty of branded elements, including a bar that doled out drinks including a Tabasco-infused michelada cocktail.
Chef Aaron Sanchez of the Food Network show Chopped created a menu that incorporated ample doses of Tabasco. Items included meatball sliders with jalapeño aioli and Tabasco chipotle sauce.
