Kenneth Briodagh

Smart makes one of the smallest production cars in the market. But belying its stature, the brand went tall and broad with its exhibits at this month’s North American International Auto Show at the Cobo center in Detroit. The brand kept its little efficient cars in the spotlight, not taking focus away, but enhancing the fun with simple, neat coolness. The best interactive was designed to highlight the consumer’s ability to customize everything about the Smart experience by showing just one feature.

We all know who they are. The elite. The top-tier, grade-A, best-in-class influencers that set the bar for every new “it” product to enter their spheres of influence. They can be celebs, bartenders or bloggers in their jammies. The trick is seducing those ever-so-fickle tastemakers in such a way that they realize yours is the only product they want to wear, use, drink or carry. Here’s how three brands are doing it, and getting the word of mouth that really matters.

When it comes to activating in the world of sports, Nike practically wrote the book. For nearly half a century, the brand has been setting the bar for activations that mix sports, celebrity and popular culture in groundbreaking and highly profitable ways. So when the opportunity to create a proprietary basketball event arose, the brand applied its signature magic touch to turn an unknown property into an annual tradition in the making.

Kodak has aligned with Burton Snowboards in a partnership that includes sponsorship of the Burton Super Demo Tour, a 10-stop tour during which snowboarders can test ride Burton hardgoods on snow for free. They also can try out Kodak’s Burton Edition PLAYSPORT Video Camera, a rugged, durable camera that features an orange pixilated design resembling the Burton Custom 154 Snowboard, one of Burton’s most popular products.

To promote six of its key Chevrolet vehicles—Cruze, Camaro, Equinox, Malibu, Traverse and Silverado—the Washington D.C.-area Criswell Automotive group is executing a high-tech winter and spring tour which turns traditional car displays into an interactive experience for consumers. Since Nov.15, the tour has been targeting shoppers at Virginia, Maryland and D.C. malls.