B-to-C Events

As the official cosmetics sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, this year Maybelline engaged consumers a with a pop-up makeover experience that focused on bringing backstage fashion secrets and beauty trends to the masses. A new Fashion Week strategy this year for Maybelline, the pop-up allowed the company to promote more engagement with consumers.

During last week’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, held for the first time at Lincoln Center, official sponsor American Express offered an array of fashion-related events and experiences exclusively to its cardholders.

Last Friday a crowd of approximately 700 attended the Stella Artois Draught Master Championship Event at Boston’s Liberty Hotel. Constructed in 1851 and formerly the Charles Street Jail prior to a $150 million renovation, the venue’s finely preserved panopticon structure made for a night of multi-level interactive experiences and high-level brand engagement—all within view of other event-goers.

To generate buzz for the third incarnation of Bravo’s “Top Chef” series, “Top Chef Just Desserts,” the network put branded gourmet dessert trucks on the streets of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, and used Facebook and Twitter to disclose each location minutes before arriving at each stop. The trucks were part of a larger event program called Top Chef Just Desserts Day that on Sept. 15 partnered with 260 local bakeries and retailers in 20 markets to treat consumers to free desserts.

To support its 2011 Sonata SE, automaker Hyundai in August launched a Sonata Uncensored experience that is traveling to 10 cities through mid-October. Consumers test drive the car and competing vehicles on a three- to five-minute closed course with a professional driver. Afterwards, they are encouraged to hang around under a large, white Hyundai-branded tent and share their thoughts about the car with friends on Facebook and Twitter using iPads provided on-site.