This Week We're Talking About...
Okay, so this week EVERYONE is talking about #RedCups, and our love for a little festive latte means that we can't resist it either. We are however also bringing you news of a pack of huskies loose (well, not quite) in a shopping centre and the world's biggest selfie stick, so hopefully you can forgive us.
EXPERIENTIAL: ASICS - NEW YORK
In order to celebrate their sponsorship of “the world’s biggest race” (the New York Marathon), sportswear brand Asics have built the world’s biggest selfie stick right in the middle of Manhattans Meat Packing District. Visitors to the activation can fix their phone to the contraption and send it flying into their air with the press of a big red button. Smart technology automatically activates the phones video function and pauses movement for a second at the highest point to reveal a branded area where participants are posing for their big moment. Once the phone makes it’s return to earth, consumers are left with a unique, branded selfie video to share across social media with the hashtag #GoRunIt. Not only is the campaign unique and innovative, but also it allows those not running the race to feel part of the action.
EXPERIENTIAL: The North Face - KOREA
Taking advantage of recent advances in virtual reality international outdoor brand, North Face have set up a South Pole themed pop up shop with a difference in Seoul, Korea where shoppers are encouraged to try on the new McMurdo parka.
Once they have picked out the perfect size, style and colour, participants sit in a sled wearing an Oculus Rift headset and experience how their new purchase would perform in the real South Pole as they are pulled by a pack of huskies through a virtual reality snowscape. Just when the experience seemingly ends, the sled suddenly bursts through a false wall in the store and is pulled along a course in the shopping center by a real pack of huskies! An experience to remember and a highly sharable video for social media - win win for North Face Korea.
This is not the first time we’ve enjoyed the experiential efforts of North Face Korea, as they literally pulled the floor out from underneath some unsuspecting adventurers last year which you can watch here.
Integrated: Starbucks - UK
According to Twitter and teenage girls everywhere, the festive season doesn’t officially begin until Starbucks change the colour of their paper cups from white to red. Each year this switch causes a social media frenzy, however this time Starbucks have stepped up their game with an integrated campaign featuring in store promotions, online, experiential and press activity.
The brand has installed a 4 meter high, multi-sensory Christmas tree shaped structure in London’s Kings Cross Station built out of - you guessed it - red cups! As people share their “red cup moments” with #RedCups, the tree will gradually light up throughout the 3 days that it is in situ whilst it emanates the scent of gingerbread lattes throughout the station.
Selected tweets will also be featured digital billboards whilst brand ambassadors are busy handing out gift cards to passers-by. Starbucks are one of the first brands to take advantage of Hashflags on Twitter which are essentially branded emojis that appear each time a specific hashtag is tweeted. I’ll be popping into my local branch, snapping my own red cup moment and tweeting it ASAP to get in on the action!
