Branding

Facebook launched IQ Live—its event series that shares insights on consumer behavior with ad agencies and advertisers—on May 20 at New York's Spring Studios and at Venue Six10 in Chicago in June. One vignette at the events was called the Instagram Cafe. "Coffee is such a big hashtag, and people post photos of latte art—it's a huge trending topic for us," said Erica Bryndza, who works in Insights for Facebook's North America marketing. The area showcased a piece of art that used coffee mugs to depict the Instagram logo.

Dark Horse Wine also had a prize wheel at its tent in the V.I.P. area. Guests could win prizes including an entire case of wine.

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.

Whole Foods hosted a miniature market selling fruits and other snacks on festival grounds. There was also a station with complimentary amenities such as sunscreen, hair ties and bobby pins, and scented sprays with labels such as "Mosh Pit Mint." A sign near the station read: "Refresh yourself before you wreck yourself."

Several brands created interactive photo opportunities. At one such activation, guests stuck their heads into a billboard advertising Lifeway Kefir. Nearby, the brand doled out free samples of its vanilla and green-tea-raspberry frozen Kefir bars.

Whole Foods' photo op let guests pose in bright frames that appeared to grow out of a garden box.

Outside at a mini market, guests could design their own parasols to take along to the festival on the hot, sunny day.

This year ESPN moved its Escape lounge from the JW Marriott pool to the Ritz-Carlton pool in order to provide a more exclusive and intimate atmosphere for the invited athletes and celebrities, according to ESPN executives. Escape also drew inspiration from the existing Ritz-Carlton decor for a nautical feel accented with gold and navy hues. ESPN's Stephanie Bonk and Sivan Zaitchik worked on the event with producer Caravents.

The ESPYs Escape featured lounge seating areas backed with logo hedging, as well as gifting from sponsors and partners.

On July 14, ESPN the Magazine hosted the official Body at ESPYs preparty for its seventh annual Body issue in conjunction with the awards. The issue features more than 20 athletes from a variety of sports on six separate covers, and the party’s decor drew heavily on the magazine’s imagery. ESPN's Timi Jordan, Lauren Robinson, Bianca Gomez, Eden Ghebresellassie, and Anne Powers worked on the event with producer Event Eleven.

Logos floated on hedges as well as appeared in signage on the wall behind the party's arrivals carpet.

A 20-foot hashtag wall and projections brightened the after-party space exterior. Inside, live hedgerow walls surrounded raised lounges on either side of the stage and dance floor. Tying it all together was a 48-foot stage wall projected with video imagery of elements of nature. Falling rose petals, kaleidoscope effects, bubbles, and other looks provided eye candy throughout the evening until the walls opened to reveal the evening’s headline entertainment. ESPN's Bianca Gomez, Timi Jordan, Eden Ghebresellassie, and Anne Powers worked on the event along with producer 15/40 Productions.

Wolfgang Puck catered a 10-foot-tall dessert display on which doughnuts on pegs spelled out the party's purpose.

A 16- by 16-foot wood logo wall with interlaced huckleberry vines incentivized guests to share snaps and selfies on social media.

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.

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.

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.

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.

MTV's Video Music Awards returned to Los Angeles last Sunday with a show at the Microsoft Theater and a number of surrounding events that included new formats and parties. This year, CoverGirl presented a panel that offered a red carpet beauty trend forecast. An eye-catching press wall spelled out the brand's name in flowers.

An outdoor candy land with whimsical custom decor set the tone at a launch for the opening of the brasserie Sugar Factory Ocean Drive in Miami last July. The step-and-repeat was flanked by a grass-covered wall studded with lollipops and other confections. Live It Productions International produced the event.

Lucian Grainge's artist showcase, presented by American Airlines and Citi, took over the Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles during Grammy week. Branded kids' toys topped tables.

Independent Journal and Tinder had a yearbook theme for their "Swipe the Vote" party on Thursday at the W Hotel. Oversize posters of mock dating profiles using young photos of presidential candidates lined the hallway as guests arrived.

At voting booths, guests could swipe right—Tinder's signature action for liking someone—to vote for the party's prom king and queen.

Social Supply Event Design and Production created a gallery wall-style step-and-repeat with framed images of the hosts’ logos on a wall of greenery for Atlantic Media and CBS's pre-dinner cocktail reception on Saturday night at the Washington Hilton.

One of the party's notable design elements was a step-and-repeat in the form of a lush green installation that showcased the limited-edition bottles.

Svedka launched its new cucumber-lime flavor with an event on June 14 at a Hancock Park estate in Los Angeles. Mini golf stations included backdrops that resembled giant Svedka cocktails.

A custom juice cart featured the event's hashtag and color scheme.

Olympic Day DC took place June 24 at CityCenterDC in Washington, D.C. Celebrating the upcoming Summer Olympics, the event had customized decorations that included an Olympic torch designed by Hargrove Inc.