Houston’s NBA Jam Session drew more than 100 000 fans over five days to
the George R. Brown Convention Center just a block away from the
Toyota Center where the world’s best hoops players flashed their
skills on Feb. 18 and 19. More than 300 staff and 1 500 volunteers made
the Jam Session go and there was no mistaking the NBA’s role in
shaping every aspect of the event right down to brands’ presence. The
focal points of nearly every sponsor exhibit were a rubberized court a

About a mile away from the convention center Volkswagen engineered its
own immersion to capitalize on All-Star Game fanfare. The automaker
which is not an NBA sponsor took over a Tex-Mex restaurant and a
parking lot across the street for the multifaceted VWIP Lounge. Here’s
how it worked:



Throughout All-Star weekend the eatery Cabo was open only to
Volkswagen guests. To get in visitors first had to cross the street
for a VW test drive. After stepping inside a semi trailer for a

If a moveable European-style sidewalk café environment boosts sales in
Philadelphia the concept could emerge as a bigger part of the
marketing mix for Melitta USA. The coffee marketer the No. 5 premium
brand last Saturday launched a six-week Euro Café Tour that will bring
free java and pastries bistro tables and chairs and classical music
to city streets and consumer events.

 

"We're looking at this not as a one-time program but as a new face for
the Melitta coffee brand " Chris Hillman marketing director told

GlaxoSmithKline opened a pop-up shop in New York City for four days in
April to promote a new flavor of its Nicorette smoking-cessation
chewing gum.

 

The Nicorette Stop Shop now on its way to Atlanta Chicago Houston
and Phoenix offers consumers one-on-one counseling sessions with
certified smoking cessation counselors; a multimedia learning center
(videos on nicotine replacement therapy podcasts with tools and tips
a computerized health assessment tool); and a retail area where smokers