UrbanDaddy and Grey Goose partnered to present a French-theme Summer Soiree, which showcased the vodka brand's Simply Served cocktail program. They ended a seven-city tour on the Roof at the Viceroy in New York on August 5. Video and GIF booths were located throughout the space for guests to share and print photos, as well as to post videos to Instagram and Twitter using the event hashtag for a chance to win a trip to France.
As part of the event's French theme, catering included a bite-size take on steak frites.
Ballet Hispanico's 2015 Spring Gala honored Cuban civic leaders. The event, which had a theme of “Noche Cubana,” took place in March at the Plaza Hotel's Grand Ballroom in New York and featured performances by the Ballet Hispanico Company as well as other entertainers.Â
The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS held its fourth annual end-of-summer fund-raiser, Picnic by Design, at Ramscale Studio in New York on August 5. Seventeen designers created elaborate picnic baskets that attendees could bid on during silent auctions at the event. Inspired by the High Line, CetraRuddy’s geometric picnic basket won the highest bid. The spread featured lush greens and blues to mimic the look and feel of the elevated park in New York.Â
Inspired by George Seurat's painting "A Sunday in the Park With George," the picnic spread designed by Rixner & Wright and created by Hohl Furnishings featured bold turquoise and a dining set from Lenox.Â
The last major debut of the summer, Straight Outta Compton’s world premiere took over the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live on Monday. Universal senior vice president of special projects Hollace Davids served as executive producer of the event, with design and production from ELS, led by Joel Goldman. The arrivals area included a giant turntable decor piece alongside elevated logos.
For the June 9 premiere of Jurassic World in Los Angeles, Joel Goldman and ELS worked with Universal's Davids to produce and design a rare premiere in the round, dressing all three tiers of Hollywood & Highland, including a massive covering atop the complex's grand archway.Â
The Salvation Army celebrated its 150th anniversary with a convention in London from July 1 to 5. Digital signage representing the event's "Boundless" theme and 20 unique wall murals greeted guests as they emerged from the tube station and made their way to the entrance of the O2 Arena.Â
Printed with vegetable-based inks, Tattly's collection includes 313 temporary tattoo options, such as vintage cameras, friendship bracelets, and black-and-white typography. The Brooklyn-based company has worked with brands such as DreamWorks, NPR, and Twitter on custom projects, which are available as individual tattoos or as sets of six. The individual tattoo packages start around $500 each, while the sets start from $5,000.Â
DCanter Capitol Hill, a Washington wine boutique, launched a new e-commerce site that offers same-day delivery in the city for corporate office parties, impromptu happy hours, and other events. It also can host private classes in its tasting room or off site.
At a mini mart outside of a Soho House Chicago activation, guests could design their own parasols for portable shade during the festival.
The Bootsy Bellows estate's party featured a colorful ball pit for adults, backed by the logo and slogan of sponsor McDonald's. The Narrative Group handled media, producing the party with support from ESE Lifestyle.
In a V.I.P. area, guests could have their photos snapped inside the "Bud Light Lolla-Scope." The machine took rotating, 360-degree photos of guests, who then posted the images to their social media accounts. The images were automatically populated with the phrase: "And this happened at Lolla 2015," along with the #UpForWhatever hashtag.
Local beer company Goose Island made custom periscopes, set back from the main stages, that let guests peer at the festival crowds near the stages.
The Paddy Wagon is a new Boston-area company that provides inflatable Irish pubs. The 30- by 30-foot blow-up bar has a façade resembling a traditional Irish pub with brick walls and a thatched roof; inside there are windows, tables, doors, and a full bar. The company can also provide Irish food, step dancers, and bartenders.Â
A projection of the Chrysler building shone behind the setup for New York's Black Seed Bagels.
The Los Angeles premiere of the new Fox horror-comedy Scream Queens took place September 21 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. The event decor was inspired by scenes and characters from the show, and bloody knives were placed inside table centerpieces.
French cognac brand Martell celebrated its 300th anniversary on an unoccupied floor of One World Trade Center September 16. A wall of greenery bore the message “tweet to enter” in front of a private room. Select guests who tweeted using the #Martell300 hashtag were granted entry.
Epson celebrated the launch of its new EcoTank printer by partnering with Ideko Productions to create a 17,000-gallon transparent swim tank in Times Square for its "Swimming in Ink" event September 24. Members of the U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Team gave hourly performances for passersby in the tank, which had bottom and rear panels designed with ink-cartridge-inspired colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow, to provide the illusion the swimmers were performing in ink.
For New York Fashion Week: The Shows, Givenchy held a one-off show at Pier 26 in TriBeCa on September 11 as a powerful tribute to New York City. A multisensory experience orchestrated by artist Marina Abramovic greeted guests at sundown. The wooden and scrap metal set was constructed solely of recycled materials with performance artists suspended on platforms against the skyline, as was a monk, whose live chanting set the preshow mood.
Air Miles, a Canadian loyalty card program, launched its Smile Booths in May. Created by Wondermakr and experiential agency TrojanOne, the booths provide a new twist on the photo booth and vending machine: It only takes a photo when the person in front of it is smiling and holding up an Air Miles card. After taking a photo, the machine dispenses gifts including headphones, concert tickets, and bonus miles.
Paul Frank Industries aimed to engage parents and children with its circus-theme show September 10 for New York Fashion Week. The runway set had circus tent silhouettes and bold black-and-white stripes.
From September 24 to 26, alcohol delivery service Minibar and St. Germain liqueur teamed up to provide companies and residents in Manhattan and Brooklyn with "biketenders." Those who requested the service on the Minibar website or app were greeted by local mixologists peddling on custom-built, vintage-style bicycles who prepared carafes of St. Germain's signature cocktails for $33.
The groundbreaking of the new Virgin Hotels New York City, slated to open in 2018, took place September 25 at its future location between 29th and 30th Streets in the NoMad neighborhood. Attendees at the ceremony included members of project partner Lam Group, Virgin Hotels C.E.O. Raul Leal, and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, pictured with a time capsule that was buried with mementos from significant Virgin moments that have happened in New York.
The fifth annual Streamy Awards, which honor online video content and its creators, took place September 17 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Fullscreen partnered with Caravents to host an after-party at the W Hollywood, where guests could discover and share decorative objects—including owls—that were meant to conjure emoji in real life.
NBC partnered with LeadDog Marketing Group to produce interactive fan experiences to promote new fall shows. The activation for new crime-mystery drama Blindspot, which came to Times Square September 19 and 20, featured an on-site tattoo bar. Visitors were able to get temporary half-sleeves inspired by the show.
Skin cream brand La Mer celebrated its 50th anniversary October 13 at Siren Studios in Los Angeles. Co-hosted by Estée Lauder Companies Inc., the event had a an under the sea theme and featured the world's largest Crème de la Mer jar. Inside the jar, a 360-degree screen showed The Dr. Max Huber Story, a short film about the brand's founder.
Visitors to the Phillips Collection’s exhibit “Gauguin to Picasso: Masterworks From Switzerland” can turn their selfies into virtual masterpieces using a new app from Switzerland-based Appamics. Guests take a selfie in the app, and then as they approach one of four paintings that are connected to iBeacons, the app animates their selfie into the style of that artist.
The eighth annual New York City Wine & Food Festival took place October 15 to 18 at various venues across the city, with larger events at the main culinary campus at Piers 92 and 94 in Midtown. At Coca-Cola's activation, attendees were able to print and mail a sharable postcard by using the hashtag #CocaColaNYC. Mini Coca-Cola-flavored cupcakes with buttercream frosting were up for grabs as well. The company also created mocktails at the Grand Tasting and handed out Coca-Cola Life samples during Pier 92 rooftop events.
A floor-to-ceiling light box lent the illusion of a picture window with a panoramic view of Los Angeles.Â
As an engaging way of distributing swag, the Vanity Fair Social Club asked visitors to photograph items they wanted from a gift bar, post the photos to social media using relevant hashtags, and then claim their items after staffers verified their posts.
Offering visitors a taste of the future, Royal Caribbean’s Bionic Bar premiered at Italian Bites on the Beach on Friday night. The robotic bartending system, created by Makr Shakr, plucked bottles from overhead to mix drinks.
Visitors to Groupon’s photo booth at Italian Bites on the Beach on Friday could choose from two vignettes. Both played on the “Discover your city top to bottom” tagline by hanging decor from the ceiling—a diner in one and a stage with a drum set and guitars in another.
The factory featured an interactive wall with a massive interactive DJ controller that brought guests together to remix popular music live. The wall was also on display with a different illustration at the Austin Convention Center from March 11 to 19, as part of the Bud Light Uncharted Studio.
Photoboxx is a social media printing station for parties and events. When guests post their photos to Twitter or Instagram using a designated hashtag, the Photoboxx printer automatically prints a hard copy. Hosts can customize the background color of the prints and also add graphics or logos. They can also choose whether to display or hide information such as username, profile image, and comments. After the event, Photoboxx provides a report on hashtag usage, impressions, and reach.
Lacoste also put its stamp on coconuts, which were freshly opened on the spot and served with straws.
Sponsor HP showcased an attendee-powered color wall inside the Lab. Using the brand's technology, the wall would change colors in time for a selfie taken with a laptop. The activation was produced by Infinity Marketing Team.
HP also showed off its technology in a separate lounge. The activation gave guests the chance to create custom temporary tattoos using Sprout by HP technology.
A collaboration between 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center, Mevent, and AST Studios, the subway-train projection paid homage to graffiti art's New York origins. Artists spray-painted graffiti on a green screen, which was translated onto the high-definition video wall.
The interior of the block featured a headphone jack wall. Attendees could plug headphones into the various jacks to listen to different songs from Google Play Music playlists, including one curated for the festival. If listeners hit a "winning" jack, they were taken up to the second-story roof to enjoy the festival view.
A popular low-tech experience for festivalgoers was a customizable sunglasses station, located on the first and second floors.
Da Beers expanded this year to include games. In one area, guests played ping-pong at colorful tables.
Alex and Ani, an eco-friendly jewelry line, was another sponsor this year.
Seating—and shade—can be hard to come by in Grant Park during Lollapalooza. So, Alex and Ani offered a plush seating area near its retail activation.
The village also showcased a virtual-reality pod that gave guests a chance to virtually test out the Acura NSX.Â
