FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK
This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover electric gardens, LaundroMatches and SXSW London.
PORSCHE’S ELECTRIC GARDEN PUTS THE PETAL TO THE METAL
The 2024 Met Gala’s “Garden of Time” theme, celebrating the new “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibit, paved the way for some enchanting red-carpet looks and experience design moments at the May 6 affair at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. And it only takes a glimpse of Porsche’s fantastical Electric Garden installation at Soho House to recognize that the automaker understood the assignment.
At the core of the Electric Garden was the all-electric Porsche Macan, the official electric vehicle of the 2024 Met Gala, which was illuminated by a lavender “moon” in a nod to the vehicle’s Provence launch color. The installation was inspired by the convergence of New York’s concrete jungle, the ethereal beauty of nature and the brand’s vision for an all-electric future, which yielded surreal vignettes that encompassed larger-than-life vines and overflowing florals. Models milling around in extravagant, nature-inspired costumes added to the atmosphere.
Among touchpoints at the Electric Garden experience, hosted by actor Barry Keoghan, were Soho House’s signature cocktails and a specialty Met Gala cocktail, “Petal to the Metal,” along with sets from Harley Viera Newton, DJ Ross One and Mia Moretti, and a special performance by British singer-songwriter RAYE. We’re betting the beauties in attendance were anything but sleepy. (Agencies: Public School, experiential; productionglue, permitting and production support.)
Photo credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Soho House
SOCCER FANS ARE CLEANING UP WITH THE HEINEKEN LAUNDROMATCH
Heineken is bringing a swig of its “Cheers to the Hardcore Fans” campaign to South Korea in time for the UEFA Champions League with a bubbly activation built to help the most dedicated soccer buffs watch matches with friends in real time. Enter: the Heineken LaundroMatch, a laundromat-turned-sports-bar concept inspired by two facts: Asia is home to some of the world’s most “hardcore” fans, many of whom wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. to catch games live, and the reality that during those early hours, bars are closed and most fans resort to watching the matches at home alone.
So as a longtime sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, Heineken swooped in with its LaundroMatches. Now through June on game days, fans can scan QR codes at WashEnjoy laundromats around the country to access a free 30-day SPOTV subscription that gives them access to a livestream of the Champions League quarter and semi-finals within their local Heineken LaundroMatch.
The campaign kicked off with two consecutive events at WashEnjoy Laundry Park in Seoul where fans watched teams compete in two different matches. They also had a chance to score four all-expense paid trips to the final 2024 UEFA Champions League match on June 1. (Agency: LePub)
BRANDS ARE LENDING A HAND FOR MTV’S MENTAL HEALTH ACTION DAY
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and for a fourth year, SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios is hosting Mental Health Action Day, an “open-source and decentralized global movement” to empower people to take action to improve their mental health. The 2024 call to action: Dedicate one hour to social connection. More than 2,300 nonprofits, influential leaders and brands—including Pinterest, CBS, lululemon and Ulta Beauty—will support and activate around the cause on May 16.
As part of its own commitment to Mental Health Action Day, SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios and select CBS-owned stations provided grants to 22 nonprofits to provide young people around the U.S. with mental health-themed events and activities. Among them: school-wide dance breaks, a celebrity hockey game benefiting veterans and first responders, wellness fairs, and activations supporting the disabled community. We love to see it.
SXSW IS HEADED TO FOGGY LONDON TOWN
SXSW has called Austin home for decades, but organizers behind the annual conference and festivals are charting new territory. Following the debut of SXSW Sydney in 2023, it was announced last week that South by is headed for Europe in 2025 with SXSW London. For a week in June, the event will take place across dozens of venues, galleries, clubs and other event spaces in London’s artsy Shoreditch neighborhood. Exhibitions and interactive experiences in public spaces will also be spread across the East London campus. Sounds like a trip across the pond is in our future.
FANS WILL BE SIPPIN ON GIN & JUICE AT THE SNOOP DOGG ARIZONA BOWL
Snoop Dogg and his ready-to-drink cocktail brand, Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop, is poised for a groundbreaking move in the college football space by becoming the title sponsor of the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 28 in Tucson. The move will mark the first time a spirits brand has sponsored an NCAA Bowl game. The event, dubbed the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice, will feature teams from the Mountain West and Mid-American conferences and will also serve as a platform to promote Snoop’s new alcoholic beverage and youth football program (two very separate enterprises).
The goal? To use the rapper’s far-reaching influence and cultural relevance to elevate the event’s profile. The Bowl deal includes a “Snooper Bowl” tournament for youth football teams and various entertainment experiences, along with the promise of Snoop Dogg’s color commentary during the broadcast… with his mind on his money and his money on his mind.
