FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK
This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover cowboy deliveries, synchronized raids and talking toilet paper.
A KACEY MUSGRAVES-THEMED POP-UP GOES DOWN SMOOTH LIKE MEXICO HONEY
Between a partnership with Kacey Musgraves, and a limited-edition tumbler themed around her latest album, Stanley is making fans thirsty.
To celebrate the launch of the Stanley 1913 x Kacey Musgraves Collection, the brand on July 9 unleashed cowboys on horseback, who hand-delivered the lineup straight to influencers’ homes. Then on July 11, Stanley hosted a public pop-up in Venice, CA, featuring the same Western aesthetic and nods to rodeo culture that inspired the collection.
Visitors got first access to shop the new Quencher ProTour ahead of the official launch, and could take complimentary photos with cowboys, sip beverages, and live chain-stitch bandanas with custom designs. Giddyup. (Agency: CNC Agency)
Photo credit: CNC Agency
A SYNCHRONIZED RAID HELPS FANS CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF ‘POKÉMON GO’
Believe it or not, it’s been a full decade since Pokémon GO took the world by storm, and it has enjoyed its ranking as a top-10 mobile game every year since launching. So to mark the milestone on July 9, the game’s developer, Scopely, hosted a surprise event in New York’s Times Square, where more than 1,000 “Trainers” battled in unison against the Mega Mewtwo Y in a synchronized raid.
The real-world gaming adventure ended up becoming one of the biggest in-person raids in Pokémon GO history, and was capped off with a surprise performance by dance duo Loud Luxury.
The following weekend, the campaign continued as Trainers took part in Pokémon GO Fest 2026: Global. Meanwhile, more than two dozen other anniversary celebrations are slated to take place in communities worldwide. Gotta catch ’em all…
Photo credit: Carla Georgina Torres/AP Images for Scopely
CROWN ROYAL ‘BRINGS IT’ WITH LINE DANCING LESSONS AND LIVE MUSIC
The honky-tonk vibes continue with Crown Royal and its new Bring It platform, which celebrates the ways that people “contribute to the moments and communities around them,” and is anchored by an original anthem performed by country artists Ryan Langdon and Randy Savvy.
The campaign launched with an exclusive one-night celebration at Desert 5 Spot in L.A., where country music fans and whisky lovers converged for an evening of authentic self-expression.
Highlights spanned a live performance of the anthem, a choreographed line dance tutorial from award-winning choreographer Kat Burns, a dj set by Charly Jordan and signature Crown Royal cocktails. Expect to see more experiences, cultural partnerships and collabs tied to the Bring It platform crop up throughout the year. (Agency: Hunter)
Photo credit: Kevin Sikorsky/Plural
NEW FESTIVAL ALERT: ‘FOR YOU’ ARRIVES IN CALI THIS FALL
There’s no question that influencer culture is integral to how today’s music festivals operate, and now there’s an event dedicated to just that. From Nov. 14–15 at Great Park in Irvine, CA, the inaugural For You Fest will serve as the first largescale festival specifically built around creator culture and communities.
Programming at the Live Nation festival will take place across three stages (Podcast & Comedy, Music, and Beauty & Fashion) and encompass live podcasts, music and drag performances, comedy sets, cooking demos, and beauty and fashion masterclasses, with leading creators, from Drew Afualo to Trixie Mattel to Patrick Ta, at the center of each experience.
To boot, attendees will get a chance to discover and interact with brands and products at the Trends Market, and indulge in bites and beverages at the Food & Bev Village. Paid add-on experiences are also up for grabs.
Image: Courtesy of Live Nation
FANS ‘DRIZZLE THE MIKE’S’ AT A POP-UP PIZZA SHOP
Pizza is sacred in Chicago (as it should be in every city), and essential to how Mike’s Hot Honey became a mega-successful CPG brand. So it was only fitting that the company has been bringing its Drizzle the Mike’s platform to life in Chi-Town.
Mike’s first launched “The Drizzler,” a short film celebrating the “art of the drizzle” featuring Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter earlier this month, then followed it up with a pop-up pizza shop on Mulberry Street dubbed Tariq’s, where 150-plus brand friends, partners, creators and media were treated to a screening. They also grabbed a slice of pizza, and added a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey, the food ritual that gave the brand its start. (Agencies: Two One Five, production; Noble People, integrated media)
Mike’s has also cooked up a partnership with the Chicago Fire FC that includes fan-facing activations and custom content, and a pizza box takeover that placed “Drizzle the Mike’s” messaging and hot honey samples directly onto boxes across the city.
Photos: Courtesy of Mike’s Hot Honey
TALKING TOILET PAPER BRINGS POTTY HUMOR TO THE UK
A giant, talking toilet paper roll? Say less.
Yep, we’re all for eco-friendly toilet paper brand Who Gives A Crap, and the oversized TP installation it planted on the streets of the UK last month—first in Bristol from June 12-13, then in Manchester June 19-20.
The mission: to underscore how consumers who use Who Gives A Crap’s products are making environmentally-conscious choices, and creating positive change, as 50% of its profits are used to help improve access to clean water and toilets globally.
Naturally, the brand’s oversized roll piqued the interest of plenty of passersby. Those brave enough to interact with it were met with hidden voices that dished out compliments and light humor, an oversized fart button, bamboo toilet paper samples delivered by a hand that emerged from the installation, “feel-good” merch, and vouchers for discounts. A flushing strategy. (Agency: Sense London)
Photo: Courtesy of Who Gives A Crap
