For the Toronto launch party for Cadillac's 2014 ELC electric car, guests could sip a futuristic drink: a cocktail with the car's logo stenciled atop in silver edible dust.
At Victoria’s Secret Pink spring break event in Destin, Florida, in March 2014, the retailer placed its event logo on custom surfboards that guests could sign.
Having a pool party? Make sure inflatable pool toys reinforce the brand message. At the iHeartRadio Pool Party in June, sponsor Visit Florida had its logo on an inner tube and other inflatables used at Miami Beach's Fontainebleau hotel.
To kick off the 2013 N.F.L. season, the league hosted a free outdoor concert by Keith Urban and a V.I.P. party in Baltimore. In keeping with the music theme, producers PEDG and Production Glue placed guitars with the Baltimore Ravens logos behind the bars at the Maryland Science Center.
Comedy Central hosted a Kegs and Eggs brunch at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, in March. Kegs bearing the event logo and hashtag severed both decor and functional purposes, even serving as the base of a DJ booth.
Adding humor to the step-and-repeat at the A.S.P.C.A. Humane Awards luncheon in November was a freestanding, hand-drawn fire hydrant with the animal welfare organization's logo on it. The event, held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York, honors animals as well as people who advocate for them.
Hard-surfaced fruit makes for a healthy snack—and an unexpected place for a brand logo. Fun to Eat Fruit creates the logos using safe-to-eat, custom images without bruising or puncturing the skin.
Facebook and BuzzFeed hosted the Bow Ties & Burgers event during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington in May. Photo booth props included oversize bow ties in Faceook's signature blue hue with the logo as the knot. Pen & Public produced the event.
At an Oktoberfest-theme event during the New York City Wine & Food Festival in October, beer brand Samuel Adams affixed its logo to traditional Bavarian hats.
The logos for the TV show Modern Family as well as the Union Square partnership were printed on pumpkins at an October event in New York's Union Square dubbed Modern Family Fall for All. Fox 5 hosted the activation to promote its syndication of the hit ABC sitcom.
At an event called Hotel Thrillist, Thrillist took over an entire San Diego hotel for a weekend in September. The rebranding included elevator wrapping with the event's logo.
For a summer event called "Best Day of Your Life" in New York, Thrillist used logos on a number of items to encourage the 800 guests to promote the event on social media. Pool balls featured the event logo as well as branding for the Showtime drama Ray Donovan.
Sponsor Acura provided vehicles to transport people between event venues at the New Yorker Festival in October. Festivalgoers and guests alike knew which vehicles to look for: the ones with the festival's logo emblazoned on the side of the car.
At the event Fun and Fit as a Family at the 2014 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, kids could stack oversize blocks that had images such as sponsor Goya's logo, a fork, and a cartoon mascot for the brand.
The nighttime party Best of the Munchies: People's Choice Food Awards at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival had a carnival theme with a ring toss, tic-tac-toe, and other games. Planners put the event logo on ping-pong balls.
The Honest Company and Target hosted an event in celebration of their partnership anniversary in April. Caravents produced and designed the gathering at the Lombardi House in Hollywood, a residential event space where logos dangled gracefully from a large tree.
In another tree hung a branded version of tire swings: Vibrant flower arrangements topped tires painted white and decorated with logos.
Caravents used products from the Honest line to create a circular piece of wall art behind a seating group—turning an assortment of diapers into an elegant installation.
A flower-decked bicycle that served as Instagram bait for guests bore just a small—but recognizable—Target bullseye logo within its wheels.
Cocktail Academy served cocktails and mocktails at a bar backed with flowers and the words "Honestly Refreshing," a tasteful nod to the party's host.
Fox hosted a Television Critics Association event in Los Angeles in January, produced by YourBash, where logos in frames got the look of dressed-up wall art.
Logo pillows at the event matched the room's refined look and feel.
In April, Starwood launched its 10th hotel brand, Tribute Portfolio, in New York. For the launch, the brand transformed a raw loft space into an immersive experience, where guests were meant to discover concepts that brought to life the brand's "Stay Independent" mantra. Nicky Balestrieri designed, and BMF Media produced.
A smart-looking three-dimensional version of the hashtag served a decor piece as well as a call to action for guests.
At Oracle’s CX Cloud Conference in Las Vegas in April, signage and branding blended seamlessly into the Sands Expo’s design, appearing almost like on-message wallpaper.
In the exhibition hall, each exhibitor used a version of the same sophisticated, streamlined display from partner Freeman. “The intent is to make it not feel like a trade show, but a space that's welcoming to walk into,” said Oracle’s Paul Salinger. “[Beyond that], we want people to know they're at an Oracle event, an Oracle-owned space.”
At Coachella, where succulents and floral walls ruled, The Zoe Report provided an elegant green photo backdrop at the entrance to the dFm House, with only a subtle logo in a corner.
At the Avalon Palm Springs hotel property, PopSugar and ShopStyle placed chic white logos across the existing hedging, which was visible from the street.
At 2013's TEDActive, the sister event to the TED Conference, organizers integrated branding into some of the host venue’s quintessential Spanish tiles. The decals over select tiles at La Quinta in California's Palm Springs area also guided attendees along the paths within the properly.
Soho House Chicago opens on August 11, but the property hosted a preview party for musicians and select members of the press on Saturday. The event offered Grey Goose vodka cocktails, samples of the Soho House menu (including herb-filled bream and peach crumble), and a surprise performance from Jon Batiste & Stay Human. During the acoustic set, the band strolled around the venue and performed on bar tops.
Nintendo turned a space at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina hotel into a lounge open to attendees of the convention and the public. Gaming stations gave visitors the opportunity to participate in the first-ever Super Smash Bros. tournament; the title for Nintendo 3DS devices is slated for release in October.
Lifestyle website CraveOnline and network TNT hosted a private event aboard aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Midway to promote TV drama The Last Ship. The Friday affair included a dramatic, on-deck fireworks display.
Organizers designed the event's scenic elements to match the imagery in the post-apocalyptic world of the TV series, including a bar serving specialty cocktails, which sat alongside the USS Midway.
In addition to laser tag, the evening entertained guests with a DJ set by Grimes and a performance by rock group MGMT.
After bringing an experiential pop-up to Comic-Con last year, Samsung returned with an updated Samsung Galaxy Experience. New this year was the brand's partnership with Lionsgate, which used the space at the Hard Rock Hotel to preview the first official trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Friday. For instance, in a nod to President Snow's capitol color scheme, organizers covered models in the Capitol Gallery area in head-to-toe white.
The immersive environment for fans of the Hunger Games franchise included activities like a "Capitol Quiz," which was based on the film's 12 districts.
Guests at Samsung and Lionsgate's preview event could pose in President Snow's chair, which was flanked by holograms of the film's Peeta and Johanna characters.
An area known as "Peeta's Bakery" featured cupcakes, cookies, and other treats for guests to snack on.
Guests could preview the film's first official teaser trailer on the Galaxy Tab S.
Samsung also hosted an invite-only lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel, where guests had the opportunity to preview the brand's latest devices.
The Hard Rock Hotel was also the site of the party for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, the sequel to the 2005 movie Sin City. The event on Thursday brought guests to the rooftop, where lounges were surrounded by the film's posters.
The Sin City event, which was produced by Chad Hudson Events for the Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, also featured projections of the film's characters on the surface of the hotel's rooftop pool.
The Wired Café has become a staple at Comic-Con, and the tech magazine's activation returned to San Diego for the seventh year. Located on the terrace of the Omni Hotel, the pop-up café gave guests the opportunity to experience a 360-degree view of the fictional world on Game of Thrones via Oculus Rift's virtual-reality goggles.
HBO again sponsored the café's bar, and this year the space was constructed to resemble the massive wall of ice featured on network's Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones's Pedro Pascal hopped behind the bar to serve a few drinks.
The magazine tapped the Stan Winston Studio to create a 14-foot-tall robot that roamed the streets of San Diego and interacted with fans.
A&E and Playboy teamed up to host a Friday event, which took over a 40,000-square-foot outdoor space near the San Diego Convention Center. Promoting the TV network's popular Bates Motel series alongside the magazine's iconic imagery, the affair included an alfresco lounge that had a Playboy bunny logo in blue to match the show's neon sign.
As they arrived, attendees received polarized sunglasses that allowed them to view custom content that appeared on the LCD windows of a display constructed to look like the Bates Motel façade.
The party also included a taxidermy lounge, a “marijuana” field maze, food trucks, and Playboy Playmates in custom blue bunny suits that matched the branding.
Guests could pose for photos in a motel-room-like setting.
TV channel History also took over an empty lot, transforming an outdoor space on Second Avenue into a Vikings-theme world.
At the Vikings activation, fans could create a character profile, choose a weapon, and have their hair and makeup done before starring in a 30-second video that could then be shared via Facebook, Twitter, or Vine.
To promote its program, the network gave fans the opportunity to snap selfies using fun-house mirrors set up throughout the Gaslamp District.
Contortionists and acrobats took to the streets of the Gaslamp District to hand out popcorn from branded carts.
An Adult Swim-branded ice cream truck circulated throughout the Gaslamp District.
Comic-Con fans who were 18 years of age or older could snag free rides around the Gaslamp District in branded Lexus vehicles.
M.A.C. Cosmetics took advantage of the crowds in town for Comic-Con and hosted a presale of its Simpsons Collection at its San Diego Gaslamp store. Models dressed as Marge Simpson circulated throughout the store and Fifth Avenue.
M.A.C. makeup artists gave fans complimentary Marge Simpson-inspired makeovers during the event.
To create buzz for its upcoming drama Dig, the network posted symbols accompanied with the hashtag #DigDeeper throughout the Gaslamp District.
In addition to storefronts, restaurants, and cars, the #DigDeeper hashtag was also written in the sky. Comic-Con attendees who spotted the symbol could participate in a Snapchat contest to win a party with the show's producer.
Members of the public who participated in Ubisoft’s parkour course at the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade had the opportunity to jump from a 25-foot tower designed to resemble Notre Dame. The brand turned to NVE: The Experience Agency to design and produce the French Revolution era-inspired course, which also included guillotines, wine barrels and hay stacks.
Ubisoft tapped parkour professionals from the Tempest Freerunning Academy to stage live-action shows at its Comic-Con activation.
Since Galavant, Once Upon a Time, and Quest feature castles, ABC tapped Chad Hudson Events to create one for its booth.
For Entertainment Weekly's party, held on July 26 at Float at the Hard Rock Hotel, a monochromatic lounge featured decor inspired by the Guilty Remnant cult on HBO’s The Leftovers.
