More than ever, top brands and organizations are turning to experiential marketing to attract and engage existing or potential customers. Inviting guests to enjoy unique and memorable experiences also sets companies apart from competitors and fosters brand loyalty. As such, the movers and shakers in this industry must develop fresh, interactive ideas that will wow guests. We checked in with some of the best experiential agencies in the game to find out what they’ve been working on of late, and how they’ve supported their clients through creative and engaging activations.
Founder and CEO Jed Weinstein’s Rise & Set agency has worked with luxury names including Ferrari North America, Montblanc North America, Bentley Motors, Hublot of America, 20th Century Fox, De Beers jewelers and more. The team’s campaigns have supported brand launches and client engagements, delivering high-end experiences on par with each company’s status as a leader in their luxe industry.
Rise & Set partnered with Ferrari North America to plan and execute the unveiling of the historic Purosangue at the Ferrari New York showroom from November 2022 through February 2023. The campaign was executed in two parts: a window display for public viewings and a series of private dealer events.
The window display was conceptualized and delivered specifically for the Ferrari New York showroom and involved video projections onto Smart-Film-coated windows. Custom video content was projected on a loop, with the Smart Film activated between playback loops to go from opaque to clear for 30 seconds to showcase the car to the public. For the private dealer series, Rise & Set produced a total of 19 events for 19 dealerships across North America. Select clients were invited to join their dealership for dinner, cocktails and an exclusive viewing of the Purosangue at the Ferrari New York showroom.
Led by Stephanie Kimes, OneNine Design partners with brands and agencies on immersive experiences driven by insights. The team has worked on storytelling and brand engagement events for Hulu, Neutrogena, Disney, Unilever and Barbie, to name a few, as well as agencies like Edelman.
For the launch of the next generation of LEGO® Friends, OneNine Design created the Friendship Diner, an immersive Pop-Up inspired by Heartlake City's new diner playset. Transforming the iconic Empire Diner in Chelsea, New York guests enjoyed a one-of-a-kind experience with food, activations and giveaways. The journey began outside the diner in the Pavillion where guests checked into their reservation and enjoyed building with the new play sets, show sneak peeks and a photo with life sized LEGO Friends. Once inside the diner guests were seated and invited to order food from a custom menu including smoothies created for each Character and then were off to explore The Friends Corner discovering more activations including; Character's school lockers, an interactive building friendship wall and one-of-a-kind photos moments.
3CS’s founder and CEO Chelsea Wilson was selected by Chief Marketer as one of the Top Women In Marketing in December 2022, highlighting the agency’s stellar work for clients including AMC, American Express, Hulu, Sports Illustrated, VS PINK and others. That accolade was preceded by a slew of other accolades: the agency was named on Event Marketer’s The Top 100 2022 IT List in September 2022, and to Chief Marketer’s CM200. 3CS was also selected as a finalist for the BizBash Event Experience Awards in the “Best Overall Brand Activation” category – for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Launch Event in 2022.
To celebrate the release of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2022, the magazine partnered with 3CS Productions for the SI Swimsuit On Location at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. The ticketed two-day experiential consumer activation included meaningful panel discussions, model meet-and-greets and an inside look at the making of the 2022 issue, along with engaging activations from partners – including Celsius, Frida Mom, Maybelline, Nine West and Sunflow. The event also celebrated Pay With Change initiative, a new gender equity advertising initiative launched earlier this year that is turning the SI Swimsuit franchise into a platform for change.
3CS also recently produced the red carpet premiere for Hulu’s History of The World Part 2, taking over the Hollywood Legion Theatre for a 350-person event that included Mel Brooks, Nick Kroll, Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes, Dove Cameron, Sarah Silverman and more.
CEO and exec producer Tamalin Srisook-Polo runs Savoir Agency, a team specializing in event production and experiential design. The team just started working with Disney Advertising, and was tapped to design ABC's pre-Oscars event at The West Hollywood Edition Hotel. Past client work includes thoughtfully branded experiences for Luluemon and Grand Central Market, and also recently worked on a 55 person, three-day bespoke experience in bohemian luxury destination, Careyes, Mexico.
Savoir Agency produced a Nike-sponsored cultural influencer event to celebrate Filipino Heritage Month at The Revery, Los Angeles. Savoir Agency conceived and executed a lavish, invite-only dinner party that exceeded typical expectations to resonate with guests on every level. By partnering with Open Gym and Future-is-Color of San Diego, the agency brought an authentic and fully immersive experience that explored the idea of “culture through taste” with an expansive, multi-course menu. Each regional offering was accompanied by a celebratory performance of traditional folk dance and narration to celebrate the rich contributions and history of the Philippines. Libations by Kasama, a seven-year-old rum from the Philippines, and dinner was followed by a cultural favorite- "karaoke session," dancing and mingling. The event engaged over 85 top Filipino influencers.
For nearly 10 years, award-winning Industria Creative has created dynamic brand experiences for some of the most globally recognized brands in lifestyle, streetwear, fashion, fragrance, beauty, prestige spirits, entertainment and technology. Principal and creative director Anthony Larrisey’s team follows a four-part process they call “focused creativity” to translate business challenges into powerful experiences for client partners. Some of the agency's long standing client relationships include Esteé Lauder Companies, Gap Inc./Old Navy, Google, HBO Max, L'Oréal USA, LVMH and Puma AG. Recent business wins include VF Corporation/Timberland Nestlé Purina, Paramount+/Showtime, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Swatch Group. The agency was recently named as an agency of record for Google's Product Inclusion + Accessibility Division. Also of note is Virtual ExperientialTM by Industria Creative, a hybrid of live events and digital marketing, takes immersive design and storytelling from IRL activations and translates them to digital campaigns with global reach.
To celebrate the one year social media anniversary of its wildly popular Infallible Fresh Wear Foundation, and going viral on TikTok, L'Oréal Paris asked Industria Creative to tap into this next-level virality and create an experience that blurred the lines between virtual and IRL through an extraordinary TikTok-first pop up event. They created an all-day “Infall-A-Thon”, (our take on the traditional telethon), a pop-up at The Grove in Los Angeles, presenting a live 12-hour staged show. The entire event was live-streamed on L'Oréal Paris’ TikTok channel.
Every hour for 12 hours a new TikTok influencer was brought on, performing their unique skill or providing their special offering while utilizing elements of the product. Spin artist @MoonAventi created a painting live on stage using the foundation’s shades, contortionist Sarah Childs, aka @StretchySarah, performed while applying the product, and Gabi Butler @GabiButler did a cheer routine of a lifetime. The programming also included makeup tutorials, meet-and-greets, panel discussions with lifestyle influencers such as @laelui, and @kirstybelle and more.
Further, Industria Creative collaborated with brand creative director and celebrity makeup artist Sir John, L’Oréal League member Witney Carson and Right to Be co-founder Emily May as part of the curated and interactive day of programming. Popular beauty creator Mikayla Nogueir, who was integral to the product’s early success, showcased the foundation in a signature “get-ready-with-me” tutorial live on stage. With TikTok engagement as the priority, Industria Creative designed a series of video-first content creation vignettes that leveraged TikTok trends including a giant faux swimming pool with branded floaties and an outdoor Parisian café set.
Founded by CEO Seth Kaplan, UnKommon Events takes a hospitality forward approach to create one-of-a-kind experiences. Most recently, the agency has been in discussions with the newly launched LIV Golf series about creating a live music series in every destination. The idea is that after the winners podium ceremony at each event, a full live performance will take place for attendees onsite with the same size scale production and top talent you will see at some of the world's biggest festivals. The events will range from 3,000 to 15,000 attendees a day with 8 domestic and 5 international tournaments. Beginning with Rosewood, Mexico featuring Sebastian Yatra, unKommon events will be co-producing and handling all talent booking/onsite-management for the year.
For the Super Bowl in Arizona 2023, unKommon events produced – and, for the first time in history – joined together the hospitality powerhouse Tao Group and media partner Maxim to throw the biggest Super Bowl party all weekend. The Tao x Maxim Big Game Party took place in a working airplane hangar called Southwest Jet Center which was a full build in less than 48 hours for the event. The ‘Catch me if You Can’ mod, retro Pan Am days of flying theme featured Zedd, Offset, Loud Luxury, Plastik Funk, and DJ unKommon. With amazing sponsors such as BMW, Pepsi, Cuervo, Raising Cane, LA Golf, Remy, Tick Pick and Ciroc, to name a few. The event was a full sell-out with over 5,000 guests, 85 VIP tables and three billion press impressions.
Founded by renowned event veteran Bronson Van Wyck, Workshop produces engaging events for brand communication around the globe. A few standout clients include Longchamp, Lyft, The Whitney Museum of American Art, St. Regis Shanghai, Cartier and the Miami Dolphins. The past year saw the team work in partnership with Genesis House on downtown New York’s answer to the Rockefeller tree lighting: Winter Lights Powered by Genesis.
Photo: Lanna Apisukh
Veronica Beard enlisted the help of Workshop to produce their Fall ’23 NYFW show, while simultaneously reviving the beloved downtown Barneys space. The Veronicas of Veronica Beard had a vision – their runway show would feel like a party, and Workshop set out to produce just that. Guests sipped on Casamigos cocktails and enjoyed buzzy LED light installations, which doubled as the perfect Instagram backdrop. 39 models sauntered down the famed Barneys spiral staircase and through the star-studded crowds showcasing the latest collection, imbued with a distinctly collegiate spirit, and unveiling the brand’s new logo and heritage crest, following a surprise performance by Suki Waterhouse, who sang her hit single “Neon Signs.”
Photo: Lanna Apisukh
