brand experience

Festivalgoers could play DJ inside the larger-than-life boombox and snap pics for social media.

Neon signs enticed guests to try out vending machines stocked with YSL beauty products. 

PopSugar held its inaugural festival for women June 9 to 10 at Pier 94 in New York. At the festival’s retail hall, which featured 125 brands and vendors, attendees could win store-branded cash and gift cards by spinning the Kohl’s Cash Wheel. 

As part of the coconut water brand’s “Bubbles With Benefits” marketing campaign, Vita Coco held its first experiential pop-up July 20 to 22 at a vacant space in SoHo in New York. Outside, the pop-up welcomed passersby with giant fruit-theme chairs and pyramids of the brand’s new line of sparkling cans in the windows. The brand partnered with Invisible North to produce and design the pop-up.

Inside, the activation had four rooms, each inspired by the brand’s sparkling coconut water flavors and cans. The grapefruit room had a bar that served the cans and coconut water cartons, flanked by a neon sign of the campaign name. Additional decor included cans hanging from pink balloons. 

The green room, inspired by the pineapple passionfruit flavor, held fitness classes and activities, including yoga, meditation, and dance workouts throughout the weekend. Guests could R.S.V.P. for classes through a website.

A yellow room, inspired by the flavor lemon ginger, had a hanging installation of balls on strings that offered popular Instagram fodder.

Additional photo ops included three different color “changing rooms” with mirrors that displayed on-theme tag lines such as “I’m full of flavor” and “I’m popping.”

Bulletproof, a food, drink, and supplement brand—best known for its “Fat for Fuel” movement highlighted by coffee made with grass-fed butter—opened its first pop-up at a vacant space in SoHo in July. The fitness-theme pop-up is holding weekly events, including yoga and guided meditation through August 2. The activation, which was designed in house, features a body vibration plate garden where guests can test out the brand’s plates for five to 10 minutes. The experience is designed to reduce recovery time after exercise.

The pop-up has an oxygen bar with flavors such as lavender, grapefruit, and lemongrass. 

Cartons of the brand’s cold brew coffee were used as decor to spell out “Upgraded.”

The brand used a minimalist sign to welcome guests to the pop-up.

As part of its new, cross-country “Unboxed” pop-up series, meal kit delivery service Blue Apron hosted a monthlong pop-up shop in New York in May and June. The pop-up, which was located in a vacant space in Flatiron, showcased the brand’s newest products and held daily programming such as cooking classes and panel discussions with chefs, including Sam Kass, Marco Canora, and Tamar Adler. Proceeds from the cooking classes were donated to food rescue organization City Harvest. The brand partnered with TH Productions to produce the pop-up.

Each week of events had a theme, with a schedule displayed on a branded chalkboard. Decor included a knitted blue apron. 

The design of the space incorporated the brand’s story in blue letters, and it also featured tips on how to throw a dinner party. In a wine-tasting section, different wines and their descriptions were showcased on wooden shelves.

USA worked with Campfire at the Mill on “Purge City,” a darkly comedic pop-up that promoted the upcoming TV series based on the Purge movie franchise, where all crime is legal for 12 hours once per year. Inspired by a Party City store, the shop displayed everything from emergency candles and masks to energy drinks and stain removers, plus interactive components and tongue-in-cheek demos. 

The store’s on-theme items included greeting cards, bumper stickers, and T-shirts with phrases such as “Thinking of you this purge” and “If you are close enough to read this, you better hope it’s not purge night.”

To promote the new horror series Castle Rock, a Stephen King-inspired TV show about a cursed town in Maine, Hulu worked with Creative Riff to create a fully immersive—and fully creepy—experience. Guests could explore an on-theme bed and breakfast, which was designed to make them “question what is real, wonder who they are within this world, and begin to understand just why Castle Rock is called the unluckiest town on earth,” according to organizers. Creepy details included a tub full of mannequin limbs.

Across the street from the bed and breakfast was the Castle Rock Forest, which had additional scary details, including missing-person posters, a car that had crashed in a lake, and a faceless, hooded figure standing in the water. A branded campsite area gave attendees a place to relax and get a sneak peek at the show.

Fox installed artwork promoting its X-Men-related show The Gifted throughout the city’s Gaslamp Quarter. Street teams were on hand to give passersby a blue/red gel viewer card, which caused the artwork to become three-dimensional.

To promote its dark comedy The Good Place, NBC worked with OA Experiential to recreate the show’s neighborhood in one of the network's biggest Comic-Con activations ever. The bright, colorful space evoked the show with pun-filled restaurant names, a giant shrimp carousel, and fun photo ops. NBC partnered with No Kid Hungry to donate 50 percent of sales of specific menu items. 

Legendary Digital Networks built a larger-than-life version of Dell’s G5 15 Gaming Laptop outside the convention center. Guests could literally step onto the laptop’s keyboard and play the mobile game “Crypt of the NecroDancer.” Participating guests were entered to win a regular-size version of the laptop. The Visionary Group managed the activation on-site.

Throughout the four-day convention, Syfy hosted 10 panels, two fan parties, karaoke buses and bingo trollies, and pop-up fan awards hosted by Orlando Jones. The network also hosted a human claw machine, where fans could grab boxes with mystery merchandise.

Syfy also worked with Mirrored Media on a merchandise giveaway. The network tapped three famous comic artists—Babs Tarr, Kim Jung Gi, and Jock—and two streetwear brands, who worked together to created limited-edition merchandise. Fans could stop by the New Children’s Museum every morning to grab the items, which sold out in minutes every day.

To promote its upcoming drama Project Blue Book, which investigates the presence of U.F.O.s, History created an activation at the Experience where fans could study real-life U.F.O. cases in an immersive environment. 

Inside the activation, which was produced by Civic Entertainment Group, attendees could send messages into space in an attempt to see if there is life beyond earth.

To promote the upcoming Facebook Watch series, in which a teenager escapes a dangerous cult, Fandom worked with the Visionary Group to create an Oculus Go VR experience and an escape room. The room brought fans into protagonist Minnow Bly’s world, where they had to solve puzzles, dive into the cult’s dogma, and complete a confirmation ritual. 

Fox teamed up with Shake Shack for an exclusive fan event promoting Bob’s Burgers. Fans were picked up from downtown San Diego in a branded bus and brought to Shake Shack, which was decked out in artwork and props inspired by the show.

Located behind the San Diego Convention Center was a skate park from Adult Swim, created by Grandesign. The public fan event featured interactive games like mini golf, plus food and merchandise for sale.

Warner Bros. Television hosted its annual Comic-Con Media Mixer at Float at the Hard Rock Hotel. Life-size Lego versions of the characters from The Big Bang Theory decorated the pool area. Other fun details included signature cocktails with names such as the Super Hero Sweet Tooth and the Comi-Chameleon, plus old-school arcade games and a wall for Teen Titans Go! To the Movies that attendees could color with giant crayons. 

On the ground, a photo-op-friendly optical illusion depicted Warner Bros. Studios.

FX took over the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Lawn with an interactive space called FXibition, designed to promote the channel's biggest shows. Produced by Creative Riff, activations included an immersive audiovisual experience for Legion and a deconstructed motorcycle park for Mayans MC. Other highlights included Archer sound boxes, where fans could get a photo of themselves inside a box covered in character art. Each box featured classic sound bites from the series.

The area also included the “Eccentricities Gallery” inspired by American Horror Story, where fans could explore odd and usual pieces of art relating to the show’s lore. Augmented reality was used to enhance the experience. 

To promote the 13th season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, tongue-in-cheek props and photo ops depicted the comedy series as a horror movie.

Elsewhere on the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Lawn was a series of activations from Fox, also produced by Creative Riff, including an immersive dome video experience for the show Cosmos. Dubbed the “Ship of the Imagination,” the collaboration between Fox and National Geographic made guests feel like they were traveling through the universe with narration by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Fans also received a photo of themselves sitting in the captain’s chair.

The area also promoted upcoming series The Passage, which depicts a post-apocalyptic world overrun by a highly contagious virus. Fans could interact with one of the “viral” patients from the show’s secretive medical lab. 

In a fun blast from the past, 20th Century Fox Consumer Products invited Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans to participate in a scavenger hunt throughout the city. At each location, fans were rewarded with prizes, including Buffy Funko Pops, posters, stickers, T-shirts, comics, and more. 

Guests can recover from one too many cocktails with the Original HangOver Kit Kup. The 22-ounce reusable cup contains mini packs of brand-name remedies like Pepto-Bismol, Propel drink mix, Drinkwel multivitamins, Alka-Seltzer, Bayer aspirin, Colgate toothpaste and toothbrush, LA Fresh travel wipes, and breath mints. The kits are sold in cases of 6 ($50) or 12 ($90).

Chic foldable ballet flats from Yosi Samra offer instant relief for weary feet. Each pair comes in a compact box with a dust bag. Prices range from $66 to $96.

The FitBit Zip Wireless Activity Tracker ($57, plus set up and customization) records steps, distance, and calories burned, and makes a suitable party favor for guests who are pledging to get in shape in the new year. The gadget is available in charcoal, midnight blue, lime, and magenta from Scarborough & Tweed.

To help soothe any impending colds in the chilly holiday season, planners can send guests home with the Comfort Kit ($35) from Gifts for the Good Life. The winter survival pack contains hand warmers, lip balm, stress patches, tissues, tea, and bath salts.

Help attendees stick to their eat-right resolutions in the new year with a gift from Munchery. Founded in 2010, the San Francisco-based on-demand food service delivers healthy, gourmet meals prepared by local chefs. Gift cards range from $50 for a dinner for four to $500 for a month of meals (or hosts can choose a custom amount). The service is currently available in the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York.

To get guests to and from the event easily and safely, Lyft lets companies cover the cost of an entire ride or offer a coupon code good for as much as $20 (valid only for rides to or from the venue on the night of the party). The ride-share service will only bill for rides used. For example, if a company has 100 guests and everyone receives $20 in Lyft credit, but only 20 people use the credit, the company will only be charged $400. A pricing breakdown by city and ride estimates between two locations are available on lyft.com.

Attendees can power up anywhere thanks to the convenient Jolt Phone Charger-To-Go from Scarborough & Tweed ($12 to $18, plus set up and customization).

For guests who want a nightcap or need a strong wake-up call, Gifts for the Good Life's Haute Toddy Kit ($35) includes all the necessities to make the warm seasonal cocktail—a lemon, tea bag, liquor, tumbler, and instructions.

Flight 001's eye masks ($16) feature fun prints and graphics, plus a light-eliminating insert that provides extra coverage across the nose bridge, so late-night partygoers can get some much needed shut-eye.

Similar to the hangover cup, Gifts for the Good Life's Good Night/Good Morning Kit includes bedtime treats and morning must-haves such as effervescent tablets, eye drops, and mints, plus popcorn for a midnight snack.