Color-blocked boxes of Patrón tequila served as a photo backdrop at the Art of Patrón event in May at LA River Studios in Los Angeles. In another layer of product display, models wore dresses made from Patrón boxes, corks, tissue paper, and recipe booklets. Photographer John Ganun of Scenario Photography created the backdrop, and Abel McCallister Designs produced the event.
Tiered chandeliers each made from 75 bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne provided a dramatic piece of decor at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Los Angeles in October 2014. The chandeliers used four different sizes of bottles in their construction and dangled from wooden arches. BrownHot Events provided the event’s production and design.
A classic product used a classic repeating-product display technique as a grid of hundreds of Heinz yellow mustard bottles provided a backdrop at a media launch event in New York in May. The mustard bottle was used throughout the design from Patrick J Clayton Productions. They were attached to the front of the DJ booth, bar, and buffet, and hollowed-out versions contained burger toppings like red onion and tomatoes.
SodaStream debuted new flavors of sparkling waters by chef Paul Liebrandt at an event at New York's Gramery Park Hotel in January. The brand showed off newly redesigned machines as well as the flavors in areas of the venue that had a color theme such as green, red, or orange. Papush produced the event.
In 2013, the men’s beauty brand Axe announced Axe Apollo, an effort to send nearly two dozen fans into outer space. At the space-theme campaign announcement in New York, products were displayed atop glowing tables that were covered in domes. Matter produced the event.
At the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the shoe brand Merrell displayed its Capra hiking boot—named for the Capra mountain goat—in a display that looked like rough mountainsides. The look brought to life a virtual reality experience offered at the activation in which guests undertook a mountain trek that involved crossing a rope bridge and escaping a landslide. MKG along with Hill Holliday produced the activation.
At a preview of Adam Lippes for Target collection in August, David Stark Designs used buffalo plaid blankets, pillows, travel bags, and other items in rooftop picnic at New York’s 620 Loft & Garden. The products were not just for show: Guests used them during the event.
A display can use artistic interpretations of the actual product. At this year’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami, Coca-Cola presented its bottle in a sand sculpture at the Coke Cabana. The display was part of Coke Bottle 100, the brand’s 100th anniversary celebration of its bottle, which debuted in 1915.
Ronzoni filled clear-topped tables with dried farfalle, elbow macaroni, and other pasta shapes at the 2015 South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Al Fresco Feast. Tables were topped with dried pasta in clear glass jars as well as seasonings. Pasta also filled square vases used as centerpieces, and boxes of the dried pasta were arranged on white shelves as decor at the event.
Sugar Factory, the restaurant and candy emporium, used its confections in a number of topiary-like candy arrangements that served as centerpieces at the July opening of its Ocean Drive location in Miami. Gummy bears, gum drops, lollipops, and other candies figured into the decor. Live It Productions produced the event.
Content creation, in the form of photos, videos, or other material culled from live events and meant for sharing on YouTube, social media, or elsewhere, has been increasingly important to sponsors. All parties involved are now asking far more evolved questions about not just how to create it, but how to create truly great material that people will actually want to watch.
“There’s so much out there, so the [goal] becomes how to curate what is good versus bad. What are sponsors going to be able to actually use and gain traction on?” says Alan Miller, co-publisher of Filter and co-owner of Filter Creative Group. “A car company or a fashion advertiser might want to sponsor [our event], so they’ll expect a sizzle reel will go up on our site and millions of people will want to watch, but that doesn’t automatically happen. It needs to be compelling.”
Talk about a compelling idea that got wide traction: Procter & Gamble took to the London Olympics for a mom-focused campaign with an activation in the form of a 65,000-square-foot “home away from home” for the mothers of competing athletes (pictured). Its related global “Thank You, Mom” campaign celebrated mothers of athletes through ads run online, in print, on TV, and through social media. And a short film called Best Job was released on YouTube 100 days before the official start of the games, as was a “Thank You, Mom” app, which let consumers thank their moms by uploading videos, photos, or text-based messages to a dedicated Facebook page.
