Airbnb
Collaboration on a global level
, the space rental website aimed at travellers, is set on creating unique experiences to highlight its equally unique offering. Its 'Night At' events, which offer guests the chance to stay in a variety of once-in-a-lifetime locations, garnered huge amounts of coverage last year, especially its Waterstones sleepover - winners stayed a night in the bookshop, an idea that came about after an American tourist became trapped inside London's Charing Cross branch.
Holly Clarke, Airbnb's acting country manager, says creating an experiential campaign that jumped on the back of a social media zeitgeist was a successful strategy. " was fun. It's amazing that social media has created opportunities like this, allowing us to act on something so unusual and make a really special event happen," she explains.
and , Clarke says the brand is very much open to further event collaborations.
"It makes sense for us, as a global company, to work with brands that are internationally recognised and popular with our community," she explains. "In a way it also makes sense that KLM and Ikea both fitted with certain themes that link to us: home and travel. Otherwise, we are always open to fresh ideas that have synergy with our brand."
Illva Saronno
Bringing luxury to the masses
The Italian brand owner of spirits and embraced experiential last year to create luxury experiences. The summer's Disaronno Terrace series, which came to the UK for the first time in its fourth year, combined emerging musicians with innovative artists, while a bottle design collaboration with Versace in the autumn saw the brand work with The Ritz London for a star-studded launch at . Targeting the younger but no less refined Tia Maria drinker, lllva Saronno worked with agency Frukt to develop the Tia Maria Dark Room concept, a travelling 'girls' night out' hosted by radio DJ Gemma Cairney.
Paolo Dalla Mora, global communications director at the brand, says responding to its target markets is key to creating events. "We invest in monthly consumer analysis so that we are constantly up to date with exactly who is drinking our products in the UK," he explains. "This puts us in a good position when planning our brand strategies as we're able to tailor our events to meet our audiences' needs."
UK audiences clearly enjoyed the Terrace event, and Dalla Mora reveals the brand intends to expand them in 2015.
He mentions that more cities and bigger venues could be targeted to increase Disaronno's customer reach, and notes that some elements could be evolved to slot into the digital space. As for Tia Maria, "Things aren't set in stone - there are exciting opportunities on the table," he hints.
Westfield
Inspiring shoppers to try something different
It may be home to a host of other brands, but shopping centre company is developing its own personality. Events are key to creating that, says Fiona Kyle, general manager of Westfield's events and entertainment in the UK and US. "We use experiential because we control the overall atmosphere in our centres, and have a responsibility to nurture that for the brands. It's important for us to impress our audience when they physically get to their destination. All our activations, and those of other brands, need to create an aspirational and emotional atmosphere."
In her international role, Kyle recognises there are both similarities and differences in events all over the world. "There is some seasonality around which events we will hold where, but there's a real synergy in food, fashion and music experiences. We try to make sure each destination receives that bit of Westfield magic."
In the UK last year, the company's experiential strategy was largely about live music. It launched the , collaborated with the Brit School and promoted local talent in its Westfield Presents series. Kyle reveals that Music Cube will make a comeback in October, and says the brand is looking to take its musical events global in 2015.
Westfield is also exploring other cultural avenues, having built relationships with companies such as the English National Ballet and Sadler's Wells Theatre in 2014.
Innocent
Keeping its brand personality consistent
Known for its quirky advertising and packaging, Innocent's experiential campaigns mirrored this irreverent streak in 2014, from hosting pampering sessions for parents at Legoland to a pop-up supermarket right next to London Bridge station. Jamie Sterry, experiential manager at the drinks brand, hints that this fusion between its aboveand below-the-line marketing channels is largely down to the role events played in its early days.
"Events have been key since the beginning," he says. "Our drinkers can interact with us and we can learn about what they want. People still reference our old events such as Fruitstock and Village Fete, so we are confident in our heritage in this area."
Consistency is central to developing an Innocent event. Sterry says activations are always creatively conceived with the brand's values at their heart, before a standard set of 'Innocent touches' are overlayed to ensure the brand message is clear.
Innocent also upholds its brand personality at events through its staff. "By having our own in-house creative department, we are constantly working with a team who understand Innocent," Sterry says. "This not only ensures we are creatively consistent, but also helps elevate some of our executions by a couple of per cent, which agencies that are less familiar with us may miss. We often staff events with Innocent personnel, whether it be the finance director or a graduate. This makes the event and interactions more natural and can be a surprise for consumers."
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