Sonia Andresson-Nolasco

To promote in-state vacations, the New Mexico Tourism Department this summer had residents downloading a GPS-based app and searching the state for the legendary Billy the Kid (he was played by an actor) for a shot at $10,000. Dodge challenged consumers to use clues found on YouTube to hit the road and find “the first search engine for the real world”—a.k.a. the Dodge Journey—in a month-long national campaign to increase awareness of the crossover vehicle. What made these digitally enhanced and geographically challenging scavenger hunt programs a hit?

 Art and fashion magazine BULLETT on Dec. 8 celebrated its one-year anniversary by turning its winter issue "The Secret" theme into a live secret garden party at the gothic revival synagogue Angel Orensanz Foundation on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The secret garden theme started with an invitation to guests announcing the magazine’s anniversary party at an undisclosed location, which was revealed near the date. The package included a skull amulet giving guests access to the party.

NBC kicked off the 2012 leg of its Free Fruit Fridays program in Brooklyn on Jan. 6 by handing out fresh fruit to passersby from a branded Sprinter van. The effort is part of the network’s Go Healthy New York campaign that is visiting one of the five boroughs every Friday through February. Next stops include Queens on Jan. 13 and Manhattan on Jan. 20.

They say beer and wine don’t mix, but in the case of Toasted Head wine, bringing the two together created the perfect elixir. Food and wine festivals have long been the platform of choice for wine brands in search of loyal vinophiles. But Constellation Wines-owned Toasted Head this year has been breaking with convention and activating at beer and music festivals instead. In-depth consumer research revealed that the Toasted Head consumer and the craft beer consumer had a lot in common.

Hendrick’s Gin created an enchanted forest in San Francisco and New York to evoke the uniqueness of its product, which unlike traditional gin that’s infused only with juniper, also contains rose and cucumber. The forest environment tapped into the whimsical and curious heritage of the Scotland based-brand (sold in an apothecary-style bottle) with all sorts of oddities, like an oversized mushroom garden, waterfalls, fairies and snow.