LOS ANGELES—The challenge: How do you build a massive, month-long activation that's primed for photo ops, filming opportunities, and overnight stays while also promoting a new product every step of the way?
The solution: Find a production team that's ready to think far outside the box—which sometimes involves scouring local warehouses to find a six-foot-tall pink penguin at a moment's notice.
That's indeed what happened when Mike’s Hard Lemonade recently promoted its new adult beverage—Mike’s Hard Freeze—with a month-long, ‘90s-inspired takeover of a house in the Los Angeles area. Working with Denver-based design and production studio Crush Studio, the brand transformed an entire house in the Encino neighborhood into an Instagrammable paradise—and a space to promote the new product via influencer stays, photo shoots, and industry events, culminating in a public sweepstakes that would allow guests to stay in the house.
The house adopted a 1990s theme, inspired by an ad campaign by Work In Progress that tied into the nostalgia flair of the '90s when Mike’s Hard Lemonade was founded. Ultimately, creating memorable photo and video moments was the main goal of the house, so the Crush Studio took great care to make sure every corner offered a key moment—which involved sourcing a massive house, painting 75% of the walls, staging every room, and creating plenty of custom buildouts.
The end result helped influencers, guests, and brand ambassadors travel back in time via a multitude of '90s-inspired installations, completely overhauled rooms, and hangout spots like a pool lounge, an arcade garage, and a rooftop escape—all matching Freeze’s drink and brand colors of blue, red, pink, and white.
“The product was designed as a nostalgic nod to frozen treat flavors from the ’90s,” said Lacey Hoff, Crush Studio's owner and creative director, who noted that the team drew inspiration from classic sitcom homes from the likes of Full House and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. “The home setting provided so many opportunities to highlight all the fun aspects of the decade.”
Scroll down for a look inside the house, and to learn all the logistics that went into the month-long promotion (plus how that six-foot-tall pink penguin tied in)...