B-to-C Events

To promote its television broadcast of “VH1 Divas,” a showcase of today’s top pop singers, the VH1 channel on the afternoon of Dec. 16 sent out a group of carolers to roam the streets of Manhattan to perform songs a capella for passersby in a guerrilla-style effort to get people to tune in. Nevermind the traditional garb or old-time carols, however, as these were no ordinary carolers—they were “diva” carolers decked out in pink and glitz.

PepsiCo bottled water brand Aquafina has launched the Aquafina Pure Challenge in partnership with fashion design reality show competition “Project Runway” to invigorate the fashion conscious audience and reintroduce them to the brand.

Office Depot on Dec. 15 unveiled its new “store of the future” design that will roll out eventually to all locations and is designed to make the store and its products appeal to Millennials. The other purpose of Saturday’s event is to highlight the brand’s new partnership with the 2013 X Games, and to help drive excitement for the brand’s activation there, which will be live in Aspen from Jan. 24 to 27.

Vans in the New Year is launching for a fourth season its Vans Custom Culture contest, a program that simultaneously honors the brand’s heritage as a shoe maker that promotes personal expression among its wearers, while getting thousands of consumers in its target market to create buzz around the product.

MetroPCS, the no annual contract wireless provider, on Black Friday went where its customers could be found on the day after Thanksgiving—on the lines outside of malls waiting for stores to open. The effort reached an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 people and helped boost Black Friday sales of the Galaxy S3 handset, a recent addition to the MetroPCS line-up, by 250 percent compared to sales prior to Black Friday.