evm_september-2023 - 17

IDEAS
up 27 of the season's best activation ideas.
Now, grab your notebook and hit " Play. "
1. ETERNAL LOYALTY
(PROGRAMS)
Liquid Death arrived at
festivals like
EDC and Lollapalooza with the Liquid
Death Country Club, beckoning attendees
in with an eerie golf club-inspired
pop-up featuring an entrance flanked by
Grim Reaper statues. The price of entry?
Your eternal soul. Getting into the VIP
experience entailed signing up for the
brand's Liquid Death Country Club loyalty
program. Those who opted in were then
treated to airbrush tattoos, a golden skull
fountain, performances by a string quartet
and horoscope readings.
2. OWNING A BRAND
IDIOSYNCRASY
Everyone knows that at some point in
your Pringles-eating journey, wedging
your hand down into the product's signature
tube will be part of the process.
So the brand decided to own that unique
idiosyncrasy at multiple summer festivals
with a Get Stuck In and Win experience
that invited attendees to step up to a wall
of empty Pringles cans and reach their
hand in to " get stuck " to score branded
swag like sunglasses, bandanas, fans,
cans of Pringles and a few VIP ticket
upgrades. (Agency: G7 Entertainment
Marketing)
3. PRODUCT-THEMED MIXTAPES
Liquid I.V. activated at festivals including
Bonnaroo, Rolling Loud and Outside
Lands with a hydration hub offering wet
and dry samples, and a Remix Station
that mimicked a real recording studio.
In the studio, fans answered questions
to determine their personality type and
festival-going vibe, and a track inspired by
one of the brand's Hydration Multiplier
drink mix flavors was selected to suit
their taste. The song was then used as the
backdrop for the participant's own " mixtape " -a
10-second remix video, which,
naturally, could be shared on social.
4. A SHOE-DISPENSING
VENDING MACHINE
Casual shoe company HEYDUDE kicked
it at Stagecoach with a footprint
that
included a branded vending machine.
But it wasn't just hats and koozies up for
grabs-attendees had a shot at scoring
eventmarketer.com
a brand-new pair of sneakers from the
machine, too. Not your average swag grab.
(Agency: Activent)
5. ELEVATED HYDRATION
So much of festival culture, and sponsorship
experiences, involves alcohol, but
what about recovery? Clinique stepped in
at Coachella with its Hydration House to
fulfill the need. Among touchpoints was
an elevated hydration station in the form
of a fruit-infused water bar offering five
options, from grapefruit to rose water.
6. SPIRITUAL SAMPLING
Interest in the spiritual act of discovering
the color of one's aura has been steadily
gaining steam, and during the ZOEasis
event at Coachella, Sephora gave attendees
the opportunity to do just that by
participating in a perfume activation. Partakers
could not only discover the color
of their aura, but also tested a variety of
scents on display. Once they found their
favorite fragrance, they misted it onto
a friendship bracelet embroidered with
encouraging words and could then take
the item to an on-site poet to inspire a
custom poem written in real time.
7. A MOBILE PODCAST STUDIO
You might think of a mobile podcast
studio as a b-to-b event strategy, but it's
also an effective b-to-c play. At Rolling
Loud, sponsor D'ussé Cognac popped up
a podcast studio in collaboration with
the artists behind the Drink Champs
podcast, N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, for an
exclusive live taping at the event. Their
star power attracted headlining acts to the
episode, who sipped on D'ussé cocktails
while on the air, lending the brand plenty
of street cred.
8. INSTALLATIONS THAT
REFLECT BRAND CULTURE
Brand fan communities often bond over
the unique culture the company and its
products or services inspire, something
Sonic leaned into at Bonnaroo. Within
its music-inspired footprint was an art
installation featuring a giant pair of lips
with a tongue sticking out that made for a
popular photo op, especially because the
tongue intermittently changed colors-a
nod to Sonic's particular brand culture
and community, which embraces the playfulness
of a colorful post-Slush tongue.
(Agency: Wasserman)
9. TURNING FANS INTO POP
STARS WITH AI
Armed with its new generative AIpowered
Coke Studio festival experience,
Coca-Cola stopped at fests like Lolla and
its proprietary Sips & Sounds Summer
Festival to turn fans into pop stars with
the help of artificial intelligence. As individuals
or groups, attendees could answer
questions to inspire the AI's creation of
their unique " Real Stars " identity, which
included their name, song and album art,
as well as music and video elements. When
it was time to hit the spotlight, the group
was notified on their phones to move
into the booth to make their shareable
music video. Learn more about the Coke
AI Studio on pg. 28. (Agency: Momentum
Worldwide)
10. A NOSTALGIC PHOTO LAB
The Y2K experience design trend is going
FALL 2023 EVENT MARKETER
17
IMAGE CREDIT: BUD LIGHT
http://www.eventmarketer.com
evm_september-2023

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