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.
Experiential marketing is about shifting people’s perceptions, exceeding their expectations and providing memorable, enjoyable and tangible connections between brand and consumer. When confronted with all the noise and clutter prevalent in our 21st century world, what makes me, in my role as consumer, pause and take notice? I must admit my expectations might be higher than those of someone who doesn’t live and breath experiential marketing and brand advocacy, but the basic components are the same. I want to be surprised and delighted. I want a unique experience. I want to feel that the brand speaks directly to me, reflects out-of-the-box thinking and respects my time, values and intelligence. I know how we achieve that at A Squared Group, and I love seeing it done well elsewhere too.
Recently, I was introduced to Bompas & Parr via KCRW’s Good Food program, and once again reminded of how limitless the possibilities are for creating a memorable experience – whether in service to a brand or not. Bompas & Parr up-ended the idea of what it means to have a drink. They vaporized Hendrick’s Gin and Fever Tree tonic in a building. Guests walked through a cloud of mist, “drinking” their gin and tonic with each inhalation of air.
Anyone who imbibed from this Alcoholic Architecture will never think of gin and tonic the same way again, and will associate this amazing experience with the brands involved.
All of which just goes to show that nurturing the relationship between brand and consumer has never been more fun.
As autumn took hold of New York these past few weeks, a concept within a Concept brought the spirit of Paris to the streets of Manhattan. The Gap White Space Concept Store underwent a transformation once again. This time, the A Squared Group team was charged with recreating the magic of Merci – a Parisian concept shop – in Gap’s White Space, for consumers on this side of the Atlantic.
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.