B-to-C Events

Lay’s potato chips, a brand of PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division, kicked off a mobile greenhouse featuring its potato farmers that is traveling to five cities following its July 26 debut in New York City’s Times Square. The tour will visit Boston’s City Hall Plaza, Chicago’s Millennium Park, Detroit’s Tigers Stadium and The Grove in Los Angeles before it wraps at Rangers Ballpark in Dallas on Aug 24.

Online t-shirt retailer Threadless this summer launched its first mobile tour to celebrate the company’s tenth anniversary and introduce itself to its fans face-to-face. The e-retailer’s Threadless Everywhere tour traveled in a customized Airstream trailer branded with Threadless’ logo and a van wrapped in graffiti-style art, and stopped at a series of design shows, festivals and craft fairs across California. The brand also staged a pop-up shop outside Comic-Con in San Diego before closing the first leg of the tour last week.

As part of a three-year sponsorship contract with the AVP, vitamin, mineral and bodybuilding supplement provider Twinlab has created a three-part experience at this summer’s AVP Nivea Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament that runs through September. One of Twinlab’s objectives is to have consumers try its product after an intense workout. 

The California Milk Processor Board this summer is supplementing a year-long ad campaign called Mootopia with experiential lounges that are traveling throughout the state to surf and volleyball competitions, state fairs, outdoor malls and other high-traffic areas.

To generate content for its Facebook page and give consumers a reason to go visit it, candy brand Mentos (a.k.a. The Freshmaker) set loose a street team on the streets of Minneapolis for four weeks (June 7 to July 9) this summer. Dubbed the Mentos Instigators or Super Fans, depending on the event, the team of four wore branded t-shirts or other fun outfits, including superhero costumes when acting as Super Fans at Minnesota Twins baseball games.