FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK
This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover coffee cubes, the Dun Dun Diner and “The Life of a Showgirl”-themed shenanigans.
BRANDS JUMP ON TAYLOR’S NEW ALBUM—AND BABY, THAT’S SHOWBIZ FOR YOU
Brands don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe. But over the weekend, they certainly tried. To capitalize on the hype of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which was released Oct. 3, a slew of companies poured orange glitter on their experiential programming with album-themed pop-ups and listening parties hosted around the country.
Perhaps the biggest headline-grabber was Spotify and it’s glittering “The Life of a Showgirl: A Spotify Experience” pop-up hosted Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in NYC. The space was stockpiled with lyric-themed easter eggs, like a tiny violin and Valentine’s Day cards, and dripping in glamorous showgirl accessories, from pearls to feathers to sequins. In addition to exploring the detailed footprint, fans could participate in a number of curated photo ops inspired by the album, and snatch up exclusive swag.
Over at a Starbucks in Nashville, TN, from Oct. 3-5, the restaurant was rebranded as “Starbies” coffeehouse and transformed into a “The Life of a Showgirl”-themed playground. Highlights spanned an exclusive vinyl pop-up store, a photo booth, a chance to make friendship bracelets, and Starbucks cold-foam beverages topped with sparkling sprinkles. Plus, participating Starbucks locations around the world hosted listening parties on Oct. 3 for the album’s debut.
Uber Eats went in an adorably different direction. On Oct. 3, brand teamed up with Best Friends Animal Society to host pop-up “Uber Showcats” experiences in New York, L.A. and Nashville (Swift is famously a cat lover). Attendees could pop in to cuddle—and even adopt— their own “Olivia Benson” or “Meredith Grey” right on-site, create custom charm jewelry (including bejeweled cat collars and friendship bracelets), snap photos “fit for a showgirl” in a custom booth, and take home themed goodies, like gems and chai cookies. (Agency: CNC Agency)
TikTok joined the action with a theater-themed pop-up at Westfield Century City in L.A. that served as a multiroom content creation experience. From Oct. 3-9, fans were invited to become showgirls themselves by recreating scenes from Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” music video, feathery boas and headdresses included.
Keep it 100, Swiftie brands.
Photo credits: Spotify; CNC Agency (Uber Eats); Starbucks
SUPERFANS ENCOUNTER COFFEE AND CLUES AT THE DUN DUN DINER
Last year, it was Olivia Benson Plaza and Law & Order Station. This year, NBC brought its iconic franchise from the screen to the streets with the Dun Dun Diner. The free fan experience, hosted Oct. 3-5 at Rockefeller Center in NYC, invited consumers to become part of the squad and celebrate the 25th season of Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television’s “Law & Order” in a setting that represented the quintessential detective hangout.
“Law & Order” has been embedded in pop culture since the ’90s, and to deliver more of the “ritual comfort” fans find in the longstanding show, NBC covered decades’ worth of cases within the pop-up event, and offered photo moments and swag to match. Naturally, fans could also indulge in diner favorites, like coffee, French toast sticks, egg bites and parfaits.
Partnerships plussed-up the experience, too. Fans could enjoy a unique Glazed Donut Cookie from Milk Bar that was inspired by classic diner nostalgia, and snag items from a limited capsule collection created in partnership with Dinner Service NY, including a diner-inspired ringer tee and socks, and a navy blue sweatshirt that nods to the classic police uniform.
Consumers who happened to be in the Dun Dun Diner at the right time on Oct. 3 were treated to another surprise: an appearance by “Law & Order: SVU” mega-star Mariska Hargitay, who helped dish out coffee at the counter and snapped photos with fans. Cue the caution tape. (Agency: NVE Experience Agency)
Photo credit: Charles Sykes for NBC
ILLY’S COFFEE CUBE GIVES CONSUMERS A WHIFF OF THE BREWING PROCESS
Coffee lovers know exactly why they cherish the liquid, but illy’s new global campaign aims to demonstrate to consumers “Why We Make It.” So from Sept. 29 (International Coffee Day) to Oct. 5, the brand activated an illy Cube pop-up experience at Manhattan’s Hudson Yards venue.
The first part of the sensory-forward journey was dedicated to scent and guided by a brand expert who invited attendees to get a whiff of the aromatic notes in all 17 of the ingredients that comprise illy’s coffee—an experience typically only reserved for those who visit the company’s brewing facility in Trieste, Italy.
Next, they could interact with a Cube Wall, with each cube containing a symbolic element from the brand’s world—a coffee bean, an Arabica plant, a cup or a tasting spoon. The cubes offered more info on the “whys” behind illy’s coffee, highlighting the journey from the bean to the cup and what happens at each specific stage of the production process. As the experience wrapped, visitors were provided with a free illy coffee beverage of their choice.
Beyond the Cube, illy promoted its new campaign with a “Sky-High” morning workout class led by health and wellness expert Melissa Wood-Tepperberg on Oct. 1 at The Edge at Hudson Yards, where participants may have been asking themselves why they decided to get up so early to exercise. (Agency: Inspira)
Photos: Courtesy of illy
FROM SKYSCRAPERS TO SENSORY JOURNEYS, BOSS DEBUTS A NEW FRAGRANCE
If you want to Boss up, there’s nothing quite like hosting a live music performance at the top of the Empire State Building. That’s where you could find global brand ambassadors Bradley Cooper and Maluma on Oct. 3 as they helped mark the launch of Boss’ new fragrance, Bottled Beyond.
The exclusive affair kicked off with a performance by Colombian singer Maluma, who became the first artist to perform for a live audience from above the iconic NYC building’s 86th Floor Observatory.
Next, Boss hosted a VIP event at Mercer Labs, where the campaign was unveiled in greater detail, and attendees were taken on an all-encompassing journey through multisensory environments, fragrance ingredient-discovery moments and striking photo ops and projection-mapping sequences as djs performed live sets. (For a closer look at the pop-up perfumery trend, click here.)
Photo credit: BFA; Video credit: Getty
BUILDING BUZZ: A BEE-THEMED LAUNCH EVENT FLIES INTO TIMES SQUARE
A sizzlin’ new food partnership has arrived, and it’s comin’ in hot. Oh yes, a launch event celebrating the new Smithfield Mike’s Hot Honey Bacon resulted in a “flavor takeover” of New York’s Times Square on Oct. 1, where the pork samples flowed like (s)wine.
In a nod to one of the product’s main ingredients, Smithfield and Mike’s Hot Honey themed their event around bees, with brand ambassadors roaming the area dressed as beekeepers, and nearby screens displayed thousands of bees “swarming the skyline” before scattering into a rush of honey imagery and brand messaging.
Attendees could check out the Smithfield Food Truck, score co-branded swag, observe the campaign’s new creative aesthetic, snap photos and chow down on all the sweet and smoky bacon samples they could get their hands on. (Agency: LaForce)
Photo credit: Getty Images for Smithfield Mike’s Hot Honey Bacon
