Brandind Ideas

On the first floor, nearly all fixtures—including furniture rentals from Blueprint—were gold.

Also placed outside the event's venue was an eye-catching ice sculpture of penguins. The creation of the frozen pieces during the day drew crowds.

On September 5, Target hosted a private party for V.I.P.s to preview the Shops at Target pop-up inside Highline Stages. Just past the entrance, a three-dimensional frame resembling the outline of a building served as the step-and-repeat.

Beauty brand Yes To educated the public in New York, New Jersey, and San Francisco about its beauty products, as well as its "Yes To Movement," which encourages individuals to embrace positivity, through a Beauty Bike Tour that kicked off in July. Bicyclists hit parks, retailers, and other local hot spots, where they gave consumers skincare quizzes and made personalized product recommendations for Yes To goods based on visitors’ skin types.

To create buzz for its Dating Naked series, VH1 shuttled nearly nude couples around New York's Grand Central Terminal in branded pedicabs on July 16.

As part of its "100 Days to Squeeze" campaign promoting lemonade cocktails and a packaged set featuring vodka, a Mason jar, and lemon juicer, Stoli vodka sent branded trucks called “limo-nades” across the country starting in June to give consumers the opportunity to sample drinks or win prizes.

Old Navy worked with A2G to fuel buzz for its annual $1 Flip-Flop Sale by enticing consumers to tweet about the offer in exchange for a pair of free flip-flops dispensed from interactive vending machines stationed at 36 locations in Los Angeles and New York. With 9,000 shoes gifted, the company generated 12 million social media impressions during the campaign’s three-day run from June 24 to 26.

As part of its Do-Us-A-Flavor campaign to determine its new potato chip flavor, Lay's drummed up social media attention for the contest by giving consumers in Chicago the opportunity to receive a pedicab delivery of one of the four finalist flavors when they tweeted the company's handle.

With the help of West Coast Customs, Samsung transformed a truck into a roving DJ station that showed off its Giga Sound System. The branded vehicle hit the Orange County Fair as well as public events in Long Beach and San Clemente throughout July as part of the Samsung Giga Sound Summer Tour, which gave consumers the chance to karaoke or participate in dance competitions.

To celebrate the launch of DKNY's MYNY fragrance, the brand tapped Rita Ora and Chrissy Teigen to give fans heart-shaped pretzels—made by Cronut creator Dominique Ansel and a nod to the scent's similarly shaped bottle—from a branded cart stationed at Madison Square Park in New York on August 19.

Cracker Jack kicked off its Surprise Inside Project, a nationwide campaign to help individuals pull off small surprises for family or friends, by taking over Herald Square in New York on June 26 with a 15-foot Cracker Jack box, photo opportunities with Sailor Jack, and free samples of the snack.

As part of its rebranding of the Centric Network as the “First Network for Black Women,” Viacom tapped Events by Fabulous to create a custom-wrapped gifting truck to roam Martha’s Vineyard during the network’s sixth anniversary celebration on the island. The vehicle’s street team and DJ BHen hosted pop-up parties when the truck made one of its three daily stops at highly trafficked spots.

The Art Institute of Chicago turned to experiential marketing agency All Terrain to create a guerrilla activation to attract attention to the museum's René Magritte exhibit. The company recreated the cloud eye from the artist's famed "The False Mirror" and took it to several summer art festivals, where attendees could snap shots with the piece.

Instead of the typical step-and-repeat, the organizers opted to integrate a commissioned sketch into the backdrop for the celebrity arrivals area, placing the artwork in rows to emulate a film strip.

For the sports magazine's Friday-night party, Tony Schubert of Event Eleven created a geometric step-and-repeat that played with angles and had no rectangles. The concept carried through to the inside of the 50,000-square-foot tent at Tad Gormley Stadium, where none of the constructed walls were the same height or dimension, and all featured different angles.

The decor included 65 custom sofas and more than 100 coffee tables in ESPN's signature colors of red and black. Paying homage to the host city were 25 five-foot lanterns and 50 gas lamps.

At the Next event's Coke Zero activation, guests could sample products and snap pics at the Coke Zero "Social Foto" booth. The images appeared on a flat screen at the bar.

A fleet of six Mini convertibles carried Playboy bunnies through the streets in a kickoff parade to Friday's party at Jax Brewery Bistro. Each bunny was joined by a brass band member as the procession wound through the French Quarter.

Produced by Caravents and Playboy senior marketing director Amanda Civitello, the party had a Mardi Gras theme and decor elements meant to invoke an authentic New Orleans feel. Guests were invited to try on colorful masks. In other areas, playmates and celebrity guests stuffed 250 Crown Royal bags with snacks that were then sent to U.S. military members.

Sponsor Tabasco invited local chef John Besh to create a menu for the evening. The dishes, which included "Buffaleaux" sliders and fried chipotle shrimp tacos, were all seasoned with the hot sauce.

The four rings of Audi's logo stood at the entrance to Audi's after-hours event at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. The event, which took place Friday and Saturday nights, was produced by PMK-BNC and Relevent Partners.

At the Rolling Stone Live party, producer Toast created a "trashed hotel room" where guests could take photos and pretend to live the rock star life. The Friday-night event took place at the Bud Light Hotel, a Wyndham property rebranded for Super Bowl weekend.

Fusion Marketing created the Bud Light Hotel, which was appropriately decked out with branded imagery. Dancers performed in windows that looked out onto a lounge fashioned for the activation, and a custom pedestrian bridge built over the street connected the hotel to a tent.

A 12-foot AstroTurf wall marked the entryway to the hotel brand's event at the Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans. Created by Stefan Beese of Re:Be Design, the concept carried into the rest of the space where the faux grass was used on a bar, on the stage, as well as underfoot in the seating areas. A grass timeline commemorated 30 years of Courtyard history.

More than seven tons of sand were brought in for the game of touch football on Saturday afternoon. The tent featured bleacher seating for the general public, but had a lounge area for V.I.P.s with seating and catering. A Pitbull concert followed the event. Murphy Productions produced the event with CL22 Productions providing design and decor.

At a tailgate before the Celebrity Beach Bowl, Chad Hudson Events created a fan-friendly experience at Mardi Gras World. The free sports-themed event had games, an ESPN social media lounge, a performance by country singer Chris Young, and New Orleans street performers, a jazz band, and marching bands from local schools. The event debuted in a smaller form at last year's Super Bowl in Indianapolis, but after 5,000 people showed up, Hudson said DirecTV expanded it for this year.

Producers had just four hours to convert the Celebrity Beach Bowl into a concert and lounge venue for DirecTV's Super Saturday Night. The tent rigging was built to allow the ceiling to hold as much as 100,000 pounds of equipment and decor. Two massive chandeliers balanced out the JumboTron, which concealed 15 smaller chandeliers during the touch football game.

Justin Timberlake headlined DirecTV's Super Saturday Night. The stage treatment included a red Austrian drape that rose to reveal his band, the Tennessee Kids, and a silver Austrian drape as a backdrop.

The decor from CL22 Productions included black sequined tablecloths, mirrored surfaces, and furniture with scrolled legs. The room was designed to feel like a nightclub despite taking place in an 88,000-square-foot tent.

The event had a theme of "Eyes Wide Shut," which CL22 Productions created with S&M touches such as costumed characters wearing feathers, latex, leather, and chains.

At the charity event, more than 275,000 lights created the ambience at a Mediterranean-style mansion on St. Charles Avenue. The four-week installation wrapped the wrought-iron fence that surrounds the property as well as three oak trees. Nocci produced the event.

Questlove spun from a Jeep-faced DJ booth at Sunday's Rolling Stone-sponsored Jeep Heroes Tailgate event.

The N.F.L. Owners Party took place at City Park amid a canopy of 60 live oak trees and 100 decorative trees brought in for the event by New York-based Van Wyck & Van Wyck. The evening began with cocktails in three open-air tents and was followed by dinner from chef Susan Spicer and a brass band-led parade to the after-party in a glass conservatory.

A fleur-de-lis pattern—in honor of the host New Orleans Saints—decorated walkways at the N.F.L. Owners Party. Following the event, guests were sent home with another signature New Orleans item: beignets.

Flags announced the sponsors at the GQ XLVII party Saturday at the Elms Mansion. In a clear tent adjacent to the Garden District home, Lil Wayne performed. Guests could take photos with New Orleans jazz band props, and guests could take home Lacoste T-shirts silk-screened on site with the party logo.

The V.I.P. area at the GQ XLVII party Saturday featured metallic silver Chesterfield sofas and beverages from Beck's Sapphire and Patrón Tequila. A-Squared Group produced the event.

Under Armour, a sponsor of the N.F.L. Scouting Combine for prospective players, invited fans to test themselves in the same drills. Fans who ran the 40-yard "Run to Daylight" dash were timed, with the fastest daily time displayed and awarded with prizes such as gift cards, according to Shana Gritsavage, the apparel company's director of global events. Participants wore R.F.I.D. bracelets to sign up for the activities, which allowed them to share their times on social media networks as well as enter a drawing for two tickets to the Super Bowl.

The 13,000-square-foot Under Armour activation, produced by Revolution, was the apparel company's largest fan experience of the year. Consumers could participate in a vertical jump, broad jump, and 40-yard dash and compare their stats to professional athletes.

Fans at the ticketed event at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center could pose with the Lombardi Trophy, awarded to the Super Bowl champion.

The Patrón Tequila Express, a 1927 Vintage Railcar, hosted multiple events for the brand over Super Bowl weekend. In one, 25 members of the Patrón Social Club were selected to participate in a scavenger hunt Thursday that ultimately led them to a party on the train. The attendees had to navigate clues that included putting on special sunglasses that would allow them to see images in TV screens that otherwise appeared to be flickering white screens.

The retailer hosted a pop-up shop at the Hyatt French Quarter where invited celebrities and athletes could choose from several button-down shirts and have them embroidered on the spot. The display also included matching ties and other accessories, as well as a lounge area that expanded into a space for happy hour on Thursday.

The 10th edition of the party saw performers from Cirque USA—including a drummer—suspended over the crowd. The event took place Saturday at Second Line Stages.

Saturday's party at Second Line Studios had a "Greek Goddess" theme, with Grecian decor such as white columns and event staff wearing togas and laurels. The space also featured a branded Xbox lounge where guests could play Gears of War: Judgment and a Fox Sports Digital lounge. The event was produced by Noah Flom of Ark Endeavors.