From a robotic bartending machine to upside-down photo vignettes, brands found ways to reinvigorate their sponsorships at this year’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival, which wrapped up its 15th edition on Sunday.
Returning sponsors relish the opportunity to reach thousands of guests and consumers at the five-day gathering. “Groupon was thrilled to be a returning, diamond-level sponsor,” said Kelly Evans, Groupon’s senior manager for experiential marketing and events. Groupon’s four-day photo booth activation located in the north tent engaged guests during several events: Italian Bites on the Beach, Burger Bash, Meatopia, and Lucky Chopsticks. It invited festival attendees to “Discover your city from top to bottom,” posing with props that were anchored to the ceiling. There were two vignettes, one with a music theme and the other a food theme. The playful activation was meant to provide a platform to promote Groupon as a source of city discovery. This year, guests took home photo prints and emailed digital photos, along with exclusive Groupon deals.
Royal Caribbean’s sponsorship had a futuristic theme. It showed off the Bionic Bar, a robotic bartending system from Makr Shakr, which will soon debut on two of the cruise line’s ships. The robotic mechanism used 21 mixers to create endless combinations of cocktails, which could be ordered via an app, muddled, stirred, shaken, or strained, and served robotically, or by a human server clad in futuristic garb.
Third-year returning sponsor Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood participated as both a host venue and as an exhibitor at the Grand Tasting Village. “Over the past few years, the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood tries to raise the bar each time by amping up the entertainment factor while still providing unique culinary bites and craft cocktails,” said Jeremy Weinstein, the resort’s vice president of marketing. Seminole Hard Rock hosted Saturday night’s New Style Remix Dinner and late-night event at Kuro, part of the festival’s expansion into Broward County this year. At the Grand Tasting Village, Hard Rock transitioned its indoor rock club from 2014 and 2015 to an outdoor beachside oasis in 2016. “Over the years, we have steadily enhanced our activation, and this year we decided to capitalize on the weather by removing the walls and focusing on our signature bites and cocktails,” Weinstein said.
Another notable brand presence at both the north tent and the Grand Tasting Village was Smartwater. At its pop-up bar, the brand distributed first tastes of Sparkling Smartwater, which debuts next week, as well as water bottle straps for a hands-free experience.
In addition to familiar sponsors, there were new sponsorships as well. The Bulleit Woody Tailgate Trailer was a Grand Tasting Village favorite, where guests stopped by for frozen and mixed cocktails. Tervis, which debuted its new wine glass line at an unofficial Spike the Pool party hosted by chef Spike Mendelsohn Friday afternoon at the Hall hotel, also hosted an air-conditioned media lounge on site at the Grand Tasting Village. “Being the only product of its kind, the wine glass deserved a stage like SoBe to be introduced,” said Nick Riegal, senior director of brand and marketing communications Tervis. Of the media lounge, he added, “The idea of a getaway among the hustle and bustle of the event matched the vibe of the Tervis brand nicely.”
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Offering visitors a taste of the future, Royal Caribbean’s Bionic Bar premiered at Italian Bites on the Beach on Friday night. The robotic bartending system, created by Makr Shakr, plucked bottles from overhead to mix drinks.
Servers dressed as bionic creatures handed out the drinks. Makr Shakr will install Bionic Bars on two Royal Caribbean ships, and the activation previewed that technology.
Visitors to Groupon’s photo booth at Italian Bites on the Beach on Friday could choose from two vignettes. Both played on the “Discover your city top to bottom” tagline by hanging decor from the ceiling—a diner in one and a stage with a drum set and guitars in another.
Returning sponsor Coca-Cola’s activation in the Grand Tasting tents took on the guise of an 1950s-era diner. The brand’s red and white colors were used in furnishings and decor.
Vintage license plates and staff in retro diner uniforms completed the look.
Goya, the title sponsor of the Grand Tasting Village, set up oversize letters spelling out its name in the sand as a photo backdrop.
Going against the traditional rule of no glasses by the pool, Tervis launched its new line of insulated plastic wine glasses at the Spike the Pool party Friday. Chef Spike Mendelsohn hosted the event at the Hall hotel, where he recently opened Sunny’s restaurant. Tervis also showed off the new line at an air-conditioned lounge at the Grand Tasting Village.
Teams of local and Miami chefs competed in aquatic games such as raft relay races and a pool treasure hunt. Guests in the pool—including chef Marc Murphy—could rest their wine glasses in individual floaties.
Thrillist sponsored Meatopia on Saturday night, placing branding on items such as coolers of beer.
The low-fi voting system asked guests to cast their votes for their favorite dish by placing tokens in ballot boxes with hand-drawn graphics.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood expanded its sponsorship this year. As part of the festival’s expansion into northern neighbor Broward County, it hosted the New Style Remix Dinner at its Kuro restaurant and had a lounge at the Grand Tasting.
Evian set up an alpine-theme activation inside the Grand Tasting tents. The build out included snowy mountains and directional signage in pink and white. Guests who posed with Evian hashtags received handheld water misters.
At Smartwater’s pavilion in the Grand Tasting, sunglasses, scarfs, striped straws, and shelves were among the elements in the brand’s turquoise brand color. Full-size bottles were also incorporated into the front of the bar.
