Ideas

Boston nonprofit Team Impact hosted its first “Game Day” gala at the Westin Boston Waterfront on October 4. The tailgate-inspired decor had college-style pennants, fresh grass evocative of a football field, and roses in an autumnal orange.

About 4,000 guests took to Will Rogers State Historic Park for the third annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic on Saturday, with co-hosts like Rachel Zoe and Nacho Figueras. Producer BrownHot partnered with Mille Fiori Floral Design to create an eight- by 20-foot paper flower backdrop for the V.I.P. tent bar. Each flower was hand made and comprised of custom-printed stock, crepe paper, and tissue paper.

Guests were invited to take brushes and rollers to paint what they wanted on the walls. The word “luxury” was displayed on the back wall.

BMF Media Group designed 25 activations that each were reflective of a specific Marriott hotel brand. For the Aloft Hotels “Listen Up” section, the design reflected the brand’s passion for music and technology innovation. A structure with four cube-shape directional speakers was built to allow guests to place their heads inside and listen to artists from brand’s “Live at Aloft Hotels” concert series.

Moxy, which is known for having a fun, millennial-focused aesthetic, showcased a “Play On” area that featured a ball pit hanging from a truss cube. Guests were invited to jump in and search for prizes in the hot pink plastic balls. The station also had a bar that served cocktails in Capri Sun-inspired pouches.

Courtyard’s “Classics with a Twist” was inspired by the game Twister, featuring a structure that resembled an oversize game board on the floor that extended to the walls. The dots on the game board represented Courtyard’s brand positioning, food and beverage concepts, partnerships, and the breadth of the brand’s portfolio. Attendees were encouraged by brand representatives to participate in a game of Twister as a photo op.

Element’s “Balancing Act” featured a living wall of moss and greenery with letters spelling out the eco-conscious brand’s tagline. The floor mimicked a natural bike path with wood chips and grass. Three green bicycles were mounted in front of the greenery as a photo op for attendees.

As the brand positioning of Autograph Collection is that every property has “its own unique story,” BMF created a library-inspired installation with a massive book staged in the center of the space. The book highlighted Autograph properties and brand pillars.

While many stations incorporated color, Delta Hotels “Clean/Chaos” featured a white bedroom set staged in front of a string art installation. The string material spelled out the brand’s name and tagline: “Delta Hotels. Simple Made Perfect.”

Le Meridien’s “Swings of Glamour” featured a chic travel-theme swing set photo op, designed to remind guests about the meaning of savoring a travel experience. The activation was inspired by the “France is in the Air” campaign from Air France—the founder of the hotel brand.

The Renaissance Hotels “Navigators Hot(e)line” was designed to highlight the local and personalized service offered by the brand’s Navigators—hotel employees that give guests tips on finding local experiences. Five rotary phones were placed on plinths in front of a black wall showcasing quotes related to destinations including Dubai, New York, and Beijing. Guests who picked up the phones heard pre-recorded audio from Navigators offering tips for that particular destination.

For W Hotels “Color Boldly,” BMF built an all-white room that served as a blank canvas. The room’s centerpiece presented six paint colors that corresponded to six W experiences, which were described on labels.

Sheraton’s “Revolution” scratch-off wall was inspired by the brand’s transformation and the power of community. The initial black matte wall displayed gloss black negative connotations about the brand, including “old” and “tired.” Guests could take hotel keycards to scratch away those worlds.

The wall was gradually scratched off to reveal new Sheraton brand messaging, which offered terms such as “community,” “modern,” and “global exchange”—nodding to the guests’s team effort.

For TownePlace Suites “Closet Essentials,” BMF created a custom walk-in closet. To emphasize the brand’s appreciation of guests’s D.I.Y. attitude, the closet had hanging racks displaying paper fashion pieces that attendees could pose with. Additional items on closet shelves nodded to the hotel’s brand partnerships.

The Ritz-Carlton “#RCMemories Shop” was inspired by the brand’s mission of selling memories, rather than simply room nights. The activation featured shelving units styled and displayed like a retail shop with all-white framed photos of travel images and social media posts. A brand representative was on site to speak about what memories were “for sale.”

SpringHill Suites’s “Space to Infinity” provided guests with an indoor planetarium experience. The exterior of the cube featured constellation-style brand messaging.

Inside the SpringHill Suites cube, guests could walk around and “stargaze.” A 360-degree fiber optic installation provided the starry night effect.

For St. Regis, BMF created an illuminated tree installation to demonstrate the history of the brand, which has roots that go back to 1904 in New York. The installation, which was inspired by the brand’s modern indulgence aesthetic, hung over a long table that displayed key milestones in the history of the brand.

The Luxury Collection offered guests three “portals” designed to virtually transport them around the world. Guests were greeted by a “concierge” who directed them to the closed doors. When guests looked through the door peep holes, they saw digital vignettes of locations in Peru, Thailand, and off the coast of the western U.S.

Tribute Portfolio’s “Add Your Own Color” featured a life-size coloring book, inspired by the brand’s colorful aesthetic. The content of the coloring book design offered illustrations and names of Tribute destinations.

Attendees were encouraged to color in the book using a variety of colored pencils.

Wellness-focused hotel brand Westin showcased a modern take on the apothecary shop. The shop consisted of shelves with curated items including herbs, fresh fruit, fitness items, essential oils, and Westin sleep balm.

“Since we are a hospitality brand, we really wanted to bring something unique to that in-stadium experience by giving the fan the chance to spend the night in the stadium and wake up there,” explained Michael Dail, vice president of global brand marketing for Courtyard.

The suite is built to look like a Courtyard hotel, with a bed, a living area with sofa and giant TV, built-in bar, and amenities.

At previous stadiums, the football fan fantasy suite was higher up, at club level. But U.S. Bank Stadium offers suites on the field by the end zone, which the hotel brand was able to convert for the big game.

In partnership with Endeavor Global Marketing, Courtyard created its first 4-D virtual reality dome that replicates the experience, allowing more fans to get a peek at what it’s like to sleep over at the Super Bowl, as well as be a player on the field.

The activation is free and open to the public on February 2 and 3 inside the Mall of America. Visitors will also be given the chance to enter to win a pair of Super Bowl tickets on both days.