B-to-C Events

Yahoo! is activating at the Olympics with a “Fancouver” pop-up store bringing to life the attributes and brand essence of its Yahoo! Sports offerings. Consumers pop in (upwards of 10,000 are rolling through daily) and participate in winter-themed sports games via Wii stations, photo activation interactions (they can post photos to a huge wall collage) and more. Staffers dole out free hot chocolate while guests play games, learn about Yahoo! Sports, watch some of the Olympic action on rows of HDTVs and check email (and sports.yahoo.com, naturally) in several areas stacked with Macs.

The massive Coca-Cola experience at the 2010 Winter Olympics has lines up to two hours long, but those that wait have been rewarded. The Pavilion experience begins with a tour of Coke memorabilia and the brand’s history with the Olympics, then puts visitors into a pre-experience theater for an HD movie about the Games. Once the movie ends, a wall disappears and a mist-heavy entrance gives way to a full theme-park type experience. It begins with cold Cokes dished from the ice bar.

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is one of the most anticipated magazines in the publishing year, but the Sports Illustrated Group, a subsidiary of Time Inc., was looking for more than just fleeting newsstand sales. So over the next few years, the magazine plans to turn the issue into a saleable asset.

In anticipation of the World Cup soccer championships this summer, Coca-Cola has revived its FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, which is visiting 85 countries and concludes with festivities in South Africa where the 2010 tournament will be held in June. The tour gives fans around the world a chance to get up-close-and-personal with the tournament’s solid gold trophy as well as engage with the brand via a variety of celebration-themed activities.

On Feb. 21, loyal Bakugan fans will get a chance to compete in the game’s Baku-Con U.S. Championship tournament in New York City’s Roseland Ballroom. The championship is the culminating event of its 2010 national tour, which started hitting convention centers last month. Bakugan is an action strategy game that’s gaining the kind of popularity Pokémon enjoyed a few years ago. In the game, Bakugan spheres function like marbles, but once they hit their target they transform into monster-like characters.