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.
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.
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.
It took six months to make the 300 flowers that decorated the Chanel set. Each flower had its own "engine" and burst into full technicolor mechanical bloom after a model at the show's start applied a theatrical "splash" from a CC-branded watering can.
Stefano Pilati's January 17 menswear show for Ermenegildo Zegna was held at the CityLife Palace on the Piazza VI Febbraio (the site of Milan's former fairgrounds) in order to accommodate not only a sizable runway set, but to also seat as many as 1,000 guests. Urban Production oversaw the undertaking, which featured nearly two dozen different species of plants, including aucuba, fern, oat grass, medlar trees, and viburnum thymus.
The party space included two historic train station platforms represented by circular truss. The structures were marked with vintage signage and illuminated by ShowPro, with lighting design by Larry Oberman.
The fifth annual Coachella Neon Carnival took place at an airport near the festival grounds in 2014. Produced by Brent Bolthouse, the event included an enormous neon-lit dance floor.
At South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, in 2014, event production agency MKG brightened up a dark room using neon masking tape and ultraviolet lighting, creating an edgy, Pop Art-inspired look for the party for online magazine xoJane.com. Upstairs, guests were encouraged to take selfies with mirrors; images were printed by the Bosco to add onto the Shameless Selfie wall and were projected in the main room.
At the Tate Americas Foundation's Artists Dinner in 2013, designer David Stark filled the raw event space Skylight at Moynihan Station with industrial elements. The cocktail area included giant metallic tubes decorated with florescent lights that changed colors.
For the 2010 MOCA gala in Los Angeles, the museum commissioned artist Doug Aitken to transform the benefit into an experiential work of art. The event took place inside of a tent topped by a dramatic installation in the ceiling: a sculpture made from 2,400 feet of running white PVC pipe interspersed with 191 pieces of VersaTube.
The 14th annual South Beach Wine and Food Festival took place Miami Beach February 19 to 22. Guests posed for photos in front of an arrivals wall composed of greenery and a floral interpretation of the festival's logo.
Born in Miami, Sunglass Hut returned to its roots in 2011 for the opening of its largest outpost to date, located on Lincoln Road. At the game-filled gathering, adults and celebrities played chess with life-size pieces set up in the 11 11 Lincoln Road parking structure.
At the July 2014 music festival in Chicago, V.I.P. guests could play checkers at staggered tables or rest on colorful hammocks.
Starbucks hosted its first Lollapalooza activation in 2013 at the It's so Miami Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. The suite offered oversize chess and Connect Four games, plus small café tables stocked with buckets of bottled iced coffee.
At the dFm House, a dramatic, dimensional succulent wall with a Zoe Report logo served as a photo backdrop in the entrance area.
Flowers and vines covered a kissing booth photo station emblazoned with the message "All my friends are models."
In Dolce Vita's area, a colorful floral wall bore a subtle representation of the brand's name. It also encouraged social media sharing for guests, who were rewarded for their posts with a free pair of sandals.
Nylon magazine's press wall included bright sprays of silk bouganvilla behind printed logos.
The festival's requisite floral crowns doubled as decor. Garlands from Heartshape Hotel hung on a poolside lattice wall at the NVE-produced event, ready for guests to take away.
The Hermès Basel space, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Toyo Ito, was meant to emphasize lightness and openness. Easily assembled and dismantled, the two-story box covered 11,194 square feet total, doubling last year's space. The steel framework was clad with 624 wooden strips—some straight, some curved—to form an outer mesh that appeared to move in the wind.
An dramatic art installation was made from multicolor neon ribbons at PopSugar and ShopStyle's Cabana Club hotel takeover. The piece was a collaboration with the Las Vegas festival Life Is Beautiful.
My Jewel Bar set up a table at the Retreat where guests could customize baubles from festival-appropriate charms and details.
Dior provided nail art at the Retreat, including festival looks with palm trees, Ferris wheels, flowers, and animal prints. The offerings also included a full hair and makeup boudoir, a spa with whole-body massages, oxygen facials, reflexology, and a vinyl listening lounge.
At the Sunday afternoon event, guests sat poolside for vitamin and hydration IV treatments—using real needles.
At a sweet sixteen party produced by Magnolia Bluebird Design & Events, a hot chocolate to-go wall featuring custom mugs, gourmet marshmallows, and milk chocolate hot cocoa allowed partygoers to leave the sweet sixteen with a sweet treat.
In what was considered a giant coup for the city of Chicago, the James Beard Foundation decided to uproot its award gala from New York City for the first time and held the prestigious event at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on May 4. HMS Host, which owns Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi Bar at O'Hare International Airport, set up an eye-catching sushi bar that featured fish and marine life frozen into blocks of ice.
The brand's logo appeared throughout the venue, including on a wall as floral signage.
The greeting card company partnered with ad agency MullenLowe and creative design agency Guild to give attendees a break from the endless digital experiences during the festival's interactive portion. The initiative encouraged guests to ditch their smartphones and get creative with old-school ways of communication. The three-day event transformed a 6th Street dive bar into a nostalgic space that evoked analog technology and featured a coloring wall made from more than 2,500 shredded greeting cards.
Perez Art Museum Miami's gala took place March 4. The event had a concept from Lee Brian Schrager and included interactive artist stations like a floor-to-ceiling coloring book, which invited guests to doodle on the wall.
Elite Productions International then turned the same space into a swanky club with a performance by 50 Cent. As a homage to one of the rapper's biggest hits, the event featured a unique candy shop that had neon signage, LED-lighted cotton candy, and a variety of sweet treats.
Disney hosted the world premiere for The Jungle Book on April 4 at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. 15/40 Productions turned the arrivals area into a lush jungle landscape, which featured jungle-like vines connected to stanchions in place of traditional velvet ropes.
The rustic wood-fronted DJ booth had a backdrop of greenery decorated with framed botanical art.
In the DSW suite at the Popsugar event, guests could customize shoes with metallic studs and colorful shoelaces, which hung on a rack nearby in a color-blocked fashion. A curtain, also made of shoelaces, covered suite's window.
A color-blocked photo backdrop encouraged guests to proliferate the brand name through social media shares.
Palm Springs' striking mountains and palm trees backed a photogenic open DJ booth bearing the name of the party (which also matched the official hashtag).
Online retailer Revolve presented the debut of its Revolve Desert House this year in Indio, where an open-backed floral wall spelled out the host’s name.
Photos of beach scenes hung on walls painted in weathered shades of blue and green around the exterior of the Salt Life booth.
Vagabond used wood from a vintage farmhouse in Iowa, where its warehouse is located, to create the frame for its 10- by 10-foot booth. Inside it used wooden curtain rods to display its colorful, round beach towels.
Organizers used a mix of textures and styles to create a comfortable lounge in the heart of the show’s surf area. Known as the Neighborhood, the section included brands focused on surf, travel, and adventure
