EventMarketer Sizzle: Your Biweekly Feed of All Things Experiential
09.05.25
Experiential marketing is officially coming to prime time. NBC has announced a new reality competition series, "On Brand with Jimmy Fallon," that has contestants creating real "high-profile" marketing campaigns for real companies, complete with "unbelievable activations." We'll all be watching.
📷 Photo of the Week
 
 
When coffee chains began promoting pumpkin spiced lattes and other fall drinks in August, spiked coconut water brand SUNBOY fired up a glass-walled truck and invited New Yorkers to jump on board, pick up a sledgehammer and literally smash pumpkins while a "Save Summer SmashCam" caught all the action… Read more.
🗨️ Insight of the Week
 
“I'm a big believer in the creativity that can come out of a forcing mechanism. And if you think about it from artistic terms, some amazing art has been built over the years when people were forced into a situation and then were able to generate something transcendental out of that.”
–Peter Lewis, Head of Partnerships, SXSW
Sports Sponsorship
Sports Sponsorship: 14 Experiential Tactics that Made a Racket at the US Open
With brands activating both on the tournament grounds and around New York, the US Open inspired a host of fan engagements that went well beyond VIP suites… Read more.
Expert Q&A
Four Insights on SXSW’s Evolving Brand Activation Landscape for 2026
As the Austin Convention Center undergoes a planned demolition, SXSW and its loyal attendee base will together turn the page to a new chapter of "discovery and serendipity"… Read more.
Campus Activations
Back-to-Campus: How Brands from Google to Skippy are Reaching Gen Z
With students back in class, brands are launching campus tours that are capturing Gen Z on the go, and boosting school spirit by aligning with college football season… Read more.
Marketing News
The Brief: Save Summer SmashCams, Laundromat Sampling and Gold Squads
This week’s hot topics in experiential marketing cover SUNBOY's pumpkin-smashing stunt, Hertz's fleet of cuddly golden retrievers and Impossible Foods' laundry day… Read more.
Partner Content

Get Your Copy Right Now: Experience Design & Creative Process Report Unveiled
The just-released Experience Design & Creative Process Benchmark Report delivers a rare look inside the creative departments behind the industry’s best-in-class event and trade show experiences. Get your copy of the full report here.

Technology
Experiential Trend of the Week: Virtual Try-on Strategies from Google to Pepsi
Tech brands are getting closer to making virtual wardrobe concepts a reality, and the innovation has been popping up in demos at places like festivals and sporting events… Read more.
💡 ICYMI Last Week
 
📌 EM Updates
 
Experiential Marketing Month: This October, get ready for 31 days of live and digital experiences. The monthlong schedule includes full-day “Trendwatch” seminars; casual meetups; and 12 digital learning modules, panels and conversations streamed online. Learn more and register.
 
The Best Event Designs: The call for entries is now open for the 2025 Experience Design Awards, which recognize outstanding event design, innovation and environmental creativity across consumer activations, b-to-b events and trade show exhibits. The regular deadline is Oct. 17. Submit your entry.
✉️ Contact Us
 
The Sizzle is produced by Event Marketer, the industry’s largest information resource on experiential marketing. Learn more.
 
Send story ideas and news to: Juanita Chavarro Arias | jchavarro@accessintel.com
For ad and lead-gen opportunities: Alex Chung | achung@accessintel.com
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