With the summer of 2023 coming to an end, we decided to look back at some memorable summer brand activations!
What is Brand Activation and Why is it Important?
According to HubSpot, brand activations are events, experiences, and interactions that forge lasting emotional connections between a brand and its target audience.
A brand activation strategy helps in growing awareness of a company by connecting and interacting with the target audience on a personal level.
Now you know what brand activation is, and the importance of implementing such a strategy in a campaign, let’s dive into our favourite summer brand activations!
Proper Snacks – Barbie
Who can forget the release of the Barbie movie? So many brands had jumped on the bandwagon to celebrate Barbie coming out in cinemas. I could talk about what each brand did, but we would be here all day! (Check out our link below for our article on all things Barbie Marketing!).
One brand in particular that stuck out was PROPER Snacks. PROPER Snacks celebrated the release of Barbie the Movie by opening a pink pop-up ‘corn-er’ shop in East London.
Visitors were able to snack on limited-edition Barbie-themed popcorn packs, in addition to winning a trip to California.
Inside the ‘Corn-er’ shop visitors had the opportunity to book an appointment with a Tooth Gem or a Nail Technician for the ultimate Barbie experience.
Kopparberg
Swedish cider brand, Kopparberg partnered up with renowned fashion designer Bernado Henning, famous for his collaborations with Nike, Lego, and MTC, to create The Ice Bucket Hat!
Inspired by Kopparberg’s “To Firsts That Last” creative platform, Henning added a modern twist on the abstract paintings popular in the late 1980s, while also weaving together colours of the brand’s bestselling ciders.
The hat also was designed with specialised lining technology to keep your Kopparberg’s nice and cool!
The product was introduced in Barry Can’t Swim’s Essentials, where he shared his festival must-haves with Hyperbeast, and was also styled on the actress, Nikkita Chadha.
The ingenious design not only saves festival goers time and money but also minuses the need for frequent trips to bars.
EE x Fortnite
Telecom firm EE invited Fortnite players to take on popular gaming streamer MacMacs to promote the new EE game store in a Fortnite gaming activation with Digitas and Saatchi, showcasing across online video display, social media, and out-of-home (OOH).
As part of the activation, Ocean Outdoor built a digital out-of-home (DOOH) billboard outside Westfield in London and launched an interactive gaming pod to allow gamers to actively participate in the activation.
With the leading streamer MacMacs defending the EE game store, dropped as a pin destination within Fortnite, participants were challenged to attempt to capture the store and have their game broadcast in real time in London.
Want to know more about the marketing for the Barbie movie? Check out Escapade’s It’s a Barbie World: 5 Marketing and Consumer PR Strategies that have Won Fan’s Hearts!
In need of a consumer PR agency? Click through to our Contact page, we would love to hear from you!
Sources
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/brand-activation
https://www.instagram.com/p/CuSI3hyA1-E/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvho79FgORF/
https://newsroom.ee.co.uk/ee-launches-virtual-game-store-in-fortnite-challenging-gamers-to-take-on-world-class-streamers/https://creative.salon/articles/work/saatchi-saatchi-ee-gaming-fortnite-ooh
Blog Cover Photo: Karina Caverdos-Chernenko/istockphoto.com
