Although holiday shopping sales so far aren't as strong as last year, marketers are continuing to engage their target consumers with seasonal activations. In New York's meatpacking district, a temporary space showcased a new line of men's underwear (and had a vintage pool table), while Hendrick's gin had a pop-up event with rather unusual tropes—think a performer dressed as a potted rose. Here's a look inside the activations that captured consumer attention in a crowded season of marketing.
The Ted Baker store on Fifth Avenue in New York has an eye-catching piece of mistletoe decking its façade. Designed by English company Kin Design, the installation of the festive sculpture was no simple feat. To keep the mistletoe affixed to the building in the harsh winter weather, engineers from McLaren built a support structure that comprises steel tubes, two post bearings on the sidewalk, a header tube, and L-shaped brackets that pass through the store's third-floor windows.
The cozy activation at the Old Bowery Station in New York offered workshops in tabletop decor, cookie decorating, and more. There were also shopping events and ticketed dinners.Â
As a way to honor its origins—the beer was originally brewed as a holiday gift to the people of Leuven, Belgium—and showcase its limited-edition crystal chalice, Stella Artois unveiled a window installation in New York's meatpacking district on December 4. The seasonal display was designed and produced by HL:Creative, HL Group's experiential marketing division, and uses mirrors to create an infinity effect for the Swarovski crystal-adorned piece.
Following the window reveal, Stella Artois hosted a formal holiday dinner for celebrities, media, and other influential New Yorkers at Bar Nana. Guests sat at communal tables for the four-course meal, which, of course, included the brand's beer.
HL:Creative, helmed by creative director Ryan Jordan, also designed and produced the holiday dinner. The elegant look for the tabletops included short arrangements of red flowers, black linens, and votive candles.
In time for the holiday shopping season, Samsung rolled out a series of pop-up experiences to showcase its latest gadgets to consumers. Dubbed the Galaxy Studio, the locations across the country showcased the Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Note 3, and Galaxy Gear devices. As added incentive for consumers to interact, the Korean electronics brand integrated gamification into the pop-up, inviting visitors to accumulate points by participating in games and activities, redeeming for prizes such as gift cards, a USB speaker, and T-shirts.
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Although Samsung's pop-up was more of a showroom than a shop—the devices on display were not for sale—the brand used the concept to show how its gadgets work in retail environments. As such, the studio included displays alongside accessories from partner Piperlime.
Quirky offerings at the Samsung Galaxy Studio in New York included latte artists that created portraits in foam.
As with previous years, the ION Network created a promotional program for the holidays, aimed at putting itself in front of media agencies. Dubbed "Get Wrapped Up in the Holidays," the campaign traveled to 13 offices in the New York area, filling agency conference rooms with festive decorations, seasonal music, and the holiday films shown on its network. The program was produced by the Michael Alan Group and took place December 2 to 6.
As part of its campaign, ION provided a hot chocolate bar. Agency staffers created their own box of edible goodies, choosing from a buffet-like selection. The broadcasting company also crafted a large white box tied with a red ribbon and invited staffers to drop in their business cards for an opportunity to win an iPad mini.
ION brought a photo op where staffers could pose with props—like a snowman's top hat or Rudolph's red nose—on sticks.
For a pop-up shop introducing a new line of men's underwear from the Swedish brand Frigo, producers Forward and designers Cortney and Bob Novogratz took a two-level empty retail space in New York's meatpacking district and created a sporty yet stylish gentleman's lounge. The pop-up, which ran from November 20 to 26, had a listening station with vinyl records and Beats headphones, a vintage pool table, and luxe touches like a disco ball sitting among books and floral arrangements on a dark wood shelving unit custom built for the space.
