As children—and their parents—returned to schools and college campuses, brands sought to capture their attention with creative back-to-school activations. At events across the country, marketers put new spins on school style using familiar items such as lockers, notebook paper, and the classic green apple. Here's a look at some of the most inspiring ideas.
Guests at the Kipling store opening at the Miami International Mall on July 12 could pose in a "back-to-school flashback" photo booth.
YouTube singer Megan Nicole posed in a bleachers vignette set up for Kipling's Miami store opening.
Teen Vogue hosted a back-to-school event Saturday at the Americana at Brand in Los Angeles that included fashion presentations, a beauty lounge from Nordstrom, and nail art stations. The event's signage was designed in the style of classic black-and-white composition notebooks.
Activities included a number of D.I.Y. craft stations such as one in which students could decorate notepads with patterned washi tape.
To preview its line of back-to-school gear, Pottery Barn Kids hosted a media event at Haven's Kitchen in New York. A display of lunch boxes and thermoses had a classic school motif: a green apple.
Personalized gift bags came in brown paper bags decorated with the event's hashtag.
Chef Sam Talbot led a cooking demonstration of healthy lunchbox-friendly foods such as almond butter banana jam sandwiches with carrot chips. Shadow PR planned the event.
At its Back-to-School in Style event August 16 and 17, nonprofit Style Saves created a department-store-like environment at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Signage for each of the stations—which offered free clothing, haircuts, face painting, and vision screening—had a notebook paper motif.
At the event, Miami-Dade Public Schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho posed with photo booth props.
Amazon Student, a loyalty program for college students, was among the brands with activations at the Pandora Internet Radio back-to-school concert August 9 at Santa Monica Pier in California. Stoelt Productions produced the event.
At the event, which targeted college students, the Art Institutes set up a giant canvas that guests doodled on with branded Sharpie markers.
