B-to-C Events

To connect with consumers and introduce them to its Caribbean rum drinks, Pernod Ricard’s Malibu brand from July 16 to September 1 is activating a 10-city Station Invasion Concert Tour. The invitation-only events are held at beach and poolside bars with a summer theme, complete with a boardwalk, tiki bars, carneval dancers and cabanas and highlighted by performances by singer-songwriter Taio Cruz, Grammy winner Ciara and DJ Skribble. Drink menus on surfboards that hang over the bars complete the scene.

 TBS leveraged its relationship with late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien and his active fan base by creating a pop-up experience during Comic-Con that featured artwork created by O’Brien’s fans. Housed in an art gallery from July 21-24 near the San Diego Convention Center, the pop-up was a physical extension of the fan-driven website Coco MoCa: The Museum of Conan Art. The collection featured 60 pieces created by Conan fans, including illustrations, oil paintings, pencil drawings and more.

 To promote its new smoothie flavor, the McCafé Mango Pineapple Real Fruit Smoothie, McDonald’s on July 14 staged a flash mob-esque beach party in Chicago’s Riverside Park during lunch. It all began with a bikini. An attractive young woman strolled through the park in a bikini as the business people of Chicago gathered in the park for lunch. She set up a beach chair right in the center of the park and asked a passing male “consumer” to help put some sunscreen on her back.

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Today, New Balance opens its first North American Experience store in the Flatiron district of New York City and to get the buzz building and peeps through the doors, for the next four weeks the brand is challenging runners throughout the five boroughs to race for the chance to win free shoes, gift cards and, for the grand prize winner, a solid gold New Balance Baton worth $20,000.