Experience

August 5, 2013

Watermill Center Summer Benefit

The Watermill Center's summer benefit in the Hamptons on Saturday had plenty of arty installations. Robert Wilson's "Stargazer Beds" scattered pulley-operated planks around the main terrace for guests to be lowered backward, their eyes toward heaven.

Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Mexican tequila brand Herradura wanted to grow its business in the United States, so UrbanDaddy turned a "finest things"-themed series of events during March and April 2013—which Chad Hudson's team helped produce—into a laboratory for abstract art. Guests concocted their own drink recipes via a digital bar and used an accelerometer-adjusted shaker to translate their shaking motions into digital art.

Photo: Courtesy of UrbanDaddy

As Occupy Wall Street demonstrators were nearing their 100th day of protest in New York's Zuccotti Park in December 2011, UrbanDaddy held its holiday party in a historic downtown venue—with a Wall Street address. "It was certainly provocative," says C.E.O. Lance Broumand.

Photo: Loren Wohl

For the Summer's Last Stand event in September 2012, Don Julio partnered with UrbanDaddy to fill a Hamptons house pool with 65,013 ping pong balls—creating a screen for motion-sensitive projections on top of the water and turning the world beneath into an underwater photo booth.

Photo: Courtesy of UrbanDaddy

From March through May in 2013, UrbanDaddy executed eight regional events for Johnnie Walker's annual House of Walker tasting party. UrbanDaddy built a custom R.F.I.D. system into branded cards issued to guests ahead of time, which enabled the company to collect and analyze data on consumer activity throughout the event.

Photo: Courtesy of UrbanDaddy

Heineken's Dome at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

Never mind the skeptics who said Goldenvoice's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival had overstepped when it made the move to two identical weekends last year. The event returned to the Southern California desert in April with blazing buzz. About 80,000 people a day came to the massive event, and brands followed. Heineken's sponsorship activation included cold storage for cases of festivalgoers' beer, which was tracked using a fingerprint scan and kept cold until guests were ready to imbibe. V Squared Labs also created the visuals for the brand's dome on the festival grounds.

Photo: Slade Smith/Courtesy of Corso Communications

Lacoste Live Desert Pool Party at Coachella

Back for its fourth year at Coachella was Lacoste, which brought its Lacoste Live Desert Pool Party to a private estate near the festival grounds with production by Made With Elastic. The event included an activity/art installation that invited guests to shoot paint-covered tennis balls at a massive polo shirt called “Polo Gigante.” Beta Creative was behind the setup.

Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for LACOSTE

Instagram at Bonnaroo

Selected Instagram photos with the #Bonnaroo hashtag were displayed on the sides of the two main stages between sets. Instagrammers were also encouraged to submit their photos for the official fan documentary, True Roo: Fan Faces of Bonnaroo, by tagging #TrueRoo.

Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

ZipCar at Pitchfork

ZipCar recently partnered with the Chicago Loop Alliance on a pop-up art activation called "Fueling Local Art." At the festival, guests could watch local artist George Berlin treat the car like a canvas; after the event, the vehicle was washed off and returned to the local fleet of ZipCar vehicles.

Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash

Samsung at Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza brought 300,000 fans and 130 music acts to Grant Park in Chicago from August 2 to 4, and brands vied to get in front of the throngs of media, music fans, and tastemakers. At the "Samsung Galaxy Experience," Samsung offered henna tattoos on festival grounds. Guests could pick a design from photos displayed on the Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy Note 8.0. At another station, flower wreaths were available.

Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash

Black Light Visuals offers a psychedelic twist on temporary tattoos by tie-dyeing guests' arms and hands. The funky arm art appeared at this year's Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, with concertgoers dipping their limbs into vats of swirling acrylic paint. The trippy tattoos are best showcased in the dark and can be washed off with soap and water. The Clarkston, Michigan-based design company can also customize color combinations for events.

Photo: Courtesy of Black Light Visuals

In March 2014, attendees of the Divergent premiere in Los Angeles went home with airbrushed tattoos, a visual inspired by the movie, in which tattoos figure prominently.

Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios

Guests at this year's Mercedes-Benz Evolution Tour, which includes stops in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin, sported metallic tattoos with the car brand's logo and more.

Photo: David X Prutting/BFA.com

During Thrillist's "Best Day of Your Life" event in June 2014, attendees scored airbrushed tattoos with various quirky symbols representing the brand and the festivities.

Photo: Dobrin Marchev

At the Whitney Museum of American Art's gala and studio party in October 2013, sponsor Louis Vuitton offered guests wearable art—signature tattoos from Glitter Tattoo New York.

Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Red Bull branded attendees with a glittery temporary tattoo when they entered the company's pop-up venue and concert series at South by Southwest in Austin in March 2009. Guests could re-enter on any night of the four-night party simply by flashing their tatted skin.

Photo: Benjamin Sklar for BizBash

Experts suggest planners track their event's hashtag to see how it is being used on social media, who is sharing it, and also whether users are creating unofficial hashtags when talking about the event.

Photo: Elizabeth Renfrow for BizBash