The fourth and final installment of the Hotel Transylvania movie franchise—titled Hotel Transylvania: Transformania—debuted on Feb. 25 on Prime Video. To generate hype around the latest film, Amazon Studios looked to AKJOHNSTON Group to put on a nationwide mobile tour. A whimsically wrapped bus—with Dracula, Mavis, and Johnny as a monster in attendance—hit the road on Dec. 31, 2021, making its first stops at California’s LA Arboretum. It later traveled to Mall of America in Minneapolis, an Amazon outpost in New York, Brickell City Centre in Miami, as well as high foot traffic areas in Texas, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Georgia before its last stop in Cleveland on Jan. 22.Photo: Courtesy of AKJOHNSTON Group
The collection of eye-catching mobile activations goes to show just how versatile vehicles can be as an event venue—and without skipping all the tech, touch points, and Instagram-worthy moments eventgoers know and love.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at four recent mobile activations, and see for yourself why this format for throwing events is becoming increasingly conventional…


“The activation was just one day,” Lefkovits added, “so we knew we had to get it right.” Thus, the flower shop (which was designed by B. Events) was coupled with a café, where the 3,000 in attendance throughout the day could grab a coffee or home-made hot chocolate—complete with a branded sleeve—and a chocolate chip cookie from Chip City Cookies.

Lefkovits said that the turnout “meant that our activation lived up to the hype around the book release.”
![“Our overall intention with this activation was to bring notable aspects of the story to life, which meant it was up to us to honor Colleen Hoover’s writing and fans’ imaginations,” Lefkovits explained. She also noted that a mobile activation was chosen rather than a stand-still pop-up shop “first and foremost, [because] branded vehicles are inherently attention-grabbing, so they get brands noticed quickly. At the same time, different from a traditional storefront, the mobility of a truck allows you to occupy unconventional and exciting locations.”](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2022/11/_DSC3558.636bcbba1664f.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)




![Props were set up at each stop, “including replicas of the ‘suitcase’ coffin,” Johnston explained. And fans who braved the cold on the East Coast during a chilly January “received exclusive Hotel Transylvania merchandise [like] glow-in-the-dark socks and a s’mores kit to enjoy while watching the animated film.”](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2022/11/JH304271.636bcc27de41d.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)

![The truck parked itself in front of the retailer’s newest flagship location at 706 Madison Ave. for six days in early October, serving passersby photo-worthy lattes. CNC’s founder Ryan Glick told BizBash that there were no touch points beyond serving bagels and coffee in branded cups—in what Glick referred to as “a true New York moment”—and the decision was intentional. “Hermès wanted to be simple, elegant, and straightforward,” Glick said, noting that the mobile activation itself was “a surprise-and-delight giveback” to Hermès fans. The way the activation “made its way across socials [like] TikTok and Instagram' proved that the truck didn’t need bells and whistles to catch attention. Glick attributed the activation’s success to “the overall customer sentiment.”](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2022/11/1666112192232.636bcc55bb0cb.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
The way the activation “made its way across socials [like] TikTok and Instagram" proved that the truck didn’t need bells and whistles to catch attention. Glick attributed the activation’s success to “the overall customer sentiment.”
