This year, it was all about, well, striking out. We spent a fairly raucous evening at Pinz Bowling Alley. Brett skillfully defended his title as bowling ace. Others (who shall remain nameless) did well not to injure themselves or others with the very heavy bowling balls. We all glowed a bit in the black light. We had a blast.

We also took time to sit back and reflect on 2009 – an amazing year of accolades, making history and wowing consumers on behalf of all the dynamic brands with which we work.

We are filled with gratitude, and look forward to what 2010 has in store. Some of us will be practicing our bowling skills.

Happy Holidays!

As cold spells swept various corners of the nation last week, teams from A Squared Group landed in four spots to warm away the winter chills. On behalf of Old Navy, we visited San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, and Philadelphia to serve surprised, grateful and shivering consumers delicious, free hot chocolate.

Our crew was more intrepid than the postal service. Neither rain, wind nor cold could stop them from putting smiles on holiday shoppers’ faces. Consumers were thrilled by the surprise of being handed a cup of steaming goodness as they battled the elements over the weekend.

“What a thoughtful thing to do,” exclaimed one grateful mom in Chicago. “I can’t believe Old Navy is doing this. Just great.”

We had a blast, serving everyone from Carolers straight out of a Dickens’ tale, to a platoon of bicycling Santas, to families looking for the perfect something for their loved ones. They each had an unexpected and joyful brand experience. Many considered it a delightful little break in an otherwise harried day. We love it when that happens.

Waiting in line for Grand Opening Event

What would make jaded New Yorkers do a double take, tourist buses screech to an unscheduled halt and busy shoppers feel like the holidays came early? An unexpected encounter. A phenomenal experience. A change from the ordinary to the extraordinary. That is exactly what happened a few weeks ago at Old Navy’s flagship store in Manhattan. In concert with nineteen other Grand Opening events that A Squared Group developed and orchestrated throughout the United States and Canada, including a carnival complete with Ferris wheel in Manhattan Beach, California, we created a jaw-dropping brand experience in SoHo, New York.

wow

Our goal? To ensure that every Old Navy customer and passerby, from infant to octogenarian, felt part of the Old Navy celebration and the Old Navy community.

Lots of smiles

The excitement level was at a fever pitch all day long. Vintage sodas, popcorn and freshly spun cotton candy were given out. Face-painters and balloon artists delighted children (and adults) with their creations. Branded games were created specifically for the event. And members of Cirque du Soleil wowed the crowds with feats of daring and delight.

Teamwork

Customers called, texted and tweeted their friends and family. Pedestrians made unplanned detours into the store. More than one sight-seeing tour added Old Navy to their agenda. The experience reaffirmed consumers’ conviction that Old Navy is a fun and friendly place for the whole family. And we loved being part of it!

ROI

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.

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.

As always, the White Space provided us a perfect blank canvas with which to play.

The Merci boutique may be unfamiliar to those who haven’t ventured to France within the past six months and au courante on all international fashion and design trends. That makes it even more exciting for us to be able to help introduce Merci in the United States. It is an eclectic mix of haute discoveries, vintage pieces and a melange of items in between. It is a vibrant, unpretentious shop with an artistic vibe – a great match with Gap’s aesthetic.

We captured that spirit, with all its whimsy and great attention to detail, to produce a memorable experience for visitors to the Gap Concept Store.

Consumers who enter the Merci Gap shop would never guess that only days before Anna Wintour and the denizens of New York’s Fashion Week celebrated its opening, a denim-themed story highlighting Gap’s Born to Fit campaign lived in the space. Or that, just weeks earlier, we had built a yoga studio environment and brought in yoga gurus to teach classes. As with those that came before, the Merci experience was fleeting. We are already at work to transform the Gap Concept Store into a new incarnation. Stop by 54th and 5th when next you’re in the city, to see the latest developments.

Gap, Inc. has been known for its denim since the company’s inception in 1969. In the past few years, however, a new wave of “premium denim” has taken the fashion world by storm. Gap sees an opportunity to compete with the Rock & Republics and True Religions with its newly redesigned 1969 Premium Denim, but needs to shatter consumer assumptions that a) premium denim needs to cost a premium, and b) Gap isn’t premium. A Squared Group has stepped in to address the challenge.

The 1969 Pop-Up is designed to generate a visitor experience for consumers that transports them into the world of high-end fashion while highlighting the core principles of simplicity, quality and straight-forwardness for which Gap is known. The keys to the 1969 Pop-Up’s success, and to the success of any pop-up, are location, decor, clarity of branding and inspired dashes of fun and surprise. With these elements in place, the consumer experience can be magical.

We built 1969 on Robertson Blvd., directly across from The Ivy. This is a high-end fashion nexus and center for celebrity fashionistas. It is the “must shop” strip of boutiques for anyone seeking premium clothes.

We created a striking, clean and simple space. It is all about the denim. Gap branding has been kept to a minimum; initial consumer impressions are based solely on the product. Visitors to the store are drawn in by the decor’s subtlety, embrace the premium denim ambiance, interact with the quality product, and feel they’ve uncovered a secret when they discover that their new favorite fashion finds are Gap. The visitor experience is utterly unique.

Consumers have flocked to 1969. The buzz is fantastic. And sales are phenomenal. It has been such a success, in fact, that Gap, Inc. and A Squared Group are looking into ways to extend the experience.

1969 has most definitely popped!

New Motorola CLIQ

The energy here in San Francisco is electric, and people can’t wait to get their hands on the new phone. That is why, in addition to developing the keynote, A Squared Group has created an interactive experience for key industry experts and leading international media to do just that, later today. These select individuals will be able to check out every aspect of the phone’s bells and whistles, while simultaneously seeing how others respond to the device, in a relaxed and realistic environment rather than in a controlled “testing” space. We expect a lot of texting to happen, and excitement about the new products to grow even further.

Follow feedback about the announcement by using hashtag #Moto or #Blur, and put this little baby on your holiday wish list. I know it’s on mine.

The NYSE is known as a high-pressured environment where a traditional, conservative uniform is maintained. Traders at one time even wore bowler hats on the floor. The 40th Anniversary of Gap, Inc., however, is a significant achievement and needs to be celebrated in a big way. It is an iconic brand. While simultaneously holding celebratory events at select stores throughout the country, A Squared Group has been in New York for more than a week to ensure that every single trader can honor the company’s success and relevance in the marketplace by wearing the new Gap 1969 Premium Jeans collection.

The traders couldn’t be happier to oblige.

In addition to turning the floor of the NYSE into a sea of denim, Gap’s North American President, Marka Hansen, along with select members of the founding Fisher family, will remotely ring the Closing Bell for the company headquarters in San Francisco. We wouldn’t miss it for the world.

We are visiting places as diverse as West Virginia, South Dakota, Colorado, and California, to name a few. We are making and serving delicious roasted corn to those we meet at each stop, fundraising for hungry children and presenting festival-goers with a unique, memorable experience associated with our client, Progressive Insurance.

Our client has been to these festivals before. After all, the attendees are their target consumers. But they’ve never done it like this. So far, it’s been a bushel of fun – for everyone from brand loyalists to those unfamiliar with the company. Even corn-loving kids not yet ready for their first Harley are taking notes.

The A Squared Group team couldn’t be happier. We love creating memorable experiences for consumers. We love helping them develop fantastic associations with our clients’ brands. We love seeing relationships strengthen between brand and consumer. And we love all the smiling faces that let us know we’ve just been part of a memory in the making.

So, who’s up for some corn?