Anna Huddleston

Banking on the same success its Comic-Con activation had last year when AMC launched its zombie series “The Walking Dead,” the network returned this July with a replica set from season one as it gears up for the return of the series in October. The set depicted the Merle Dixon character chained to the Atlanta department store rooftop moments before he cuts off his own hand, while the zombies attempt to push through the door. Attendees were given the chance to be in Merle’s shoes by putting on a set of handcuffs and pretending to cut off their own hand for a photo-op.

 TBS leveraged its relationship with late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien and his active fan base by creating a pop-up experience during Comic-Con that featured artwork created by O’Brien’s fans. Housed in an art gallery from July 21-24 near the San Diego Convention Center, the pop-up was a physical extension of the fan-driven website Coco MoCa: The Museum of Conan Art. The collection featured 60 pieces created by Conan fans, including illustrations, oil paintings, pencil drawings and more.

Today, New Balance opens its first North American Experience store in the Flatiron district of New York City and to get the buzz building and peeps through the doors, for the next four weeks the brand is challenging runners throughout the five boroughs to race for the chance to win free shoes, gift cards and, for the grand prize winner, a solid gold New Balance Baton worth $20,000.

As part of its Active Series of proprietary sporting events, which includes Prevention on the Run in San Diego in February and Prevention on the Slopes in Beaver Creek, CO, in March, Prevention magazine returned to the Hamptons this summer with the Prevention Yoga Studio after a successful run last year. The branded Yoga Studio was open to the public every weekend in July with classes led by elite yoga instructors, including Dana Flynn Miller, co-founder of Lotus Flow Yoga & Laughing Lotus Yoga Centers and Kimberly Fowler, author and founder of YAS Fitness Centers.

It’s been 40 years since the first Hard Rock Café opened its doors, and to celebrate its birthday the iconic restaurant chain threw a global party called 40 Days that Rock and hit the road with dozens of rock and roll treasures on the Hard Rock 40th Anniversary Memorabilia Tour. The 40 Days that Rock event was a celebration of the past and future of the chain at its 163 locations all over the world and included a global battle of the bands competition in search of the next big rock band.