Drums and cheering could be heard throughout Manhattan this past weekend as the Gap Cheer Squad and Drumline rocked their way from Harlem to the South Street Seaport to Battery Park and beyond. New York was the first stop on a tour that aims to encourage people to have fun and make this year’s festivities extra special and memorable. The A Squared Group team embraced this project as a great opportunity for the Cheer Factory idea, made famous in numerous Gap ads this holiday season, to hit the streets and reach consumers in a personalized, spontaneous and incredibly exciting way.
Traveling via a dramatically branded bus from point to point, the Cheer Squad and Drumline surprised crowds of lucky pedestrians along their route.
The show they put on – complete with fun and clever cheers, boundless energy and death-defying tricks – entranced everyone within sight and hearing. Surprise gifts were given to unsuspecting pedestrians lucky enough to catch the show.
The A Squared Group team loved watching people’s reactions as Cheer Squad members fearlessly flew into the air.
The festive, communal spirit was tangible.
If you are in Chicago, Los Angeles or San Francisco in the coming weeks, keep your eyes and ears open. The Gap Cheer Squad and Drumline are coming your way.
As most Americans prepare to sit down with friends and family for a day of eating, everyone’s focus tends to be more on what goes in the mouth than what comes out of it. Talk, however, is a huge part of what makes holidays great – an unexpected conversation topic, a shared observation between two “orphaned” friends, a serendipitous story recounted by a visiting relative, or crucial advice imparted by one generation to another. Acknowledging this, I am left wondering what folks will be talking about tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day.
How many people will decide to pursue a new endeavor, check out a new store, product, website, or experience, or shift their perception about a brand based on a discussion had around the dinner table or during the commercial break of a football game? When over 80% of us still make our purchase decisions based on recommendations from family and friends, the words that get passed around may just be more filling than the turkey and stuffing.
So take a moment to listen to what’s being said at your holiday gathering. And don’t worry, there will still be plenty of left-overs to go around.
Happy Thanksgiving from A Squared Group!
Last week, a team from A Squared Group was in the Big Apple to spend some time with robots. Well, the Droid, actually. We produced another event for Motorola. This time, Manhattan taste-makers were able to check out the covetable new Droid smart phone.
The product has already made huge waves in technology and social media circles. Now, everyone else is talking about it too.
Don’t be surprised if it takes over the world.
