Fresh Brand Activations Ideas Across LA

4 Fun Strategies for LA Brand Activations

1. Build Some Celebrity Buzz: Tazo & Cafe Collective

Collaborating with a celeb, content creator, or influencer can create additional buzz and a big draw for a pop-up, brand activation, product launch, or other event. That’s why beverage brand Tazo partnered with producer/actor/writer/entrepreneur Issa Rae for a Los Angeles pop-up.

Independent coffee shops are in some ways the heart and soul of L.A. — community gathering places as well as informal “office space” for creatives looking for a quietly inspiring spot to work, including Rae, who favored small, indie cafes as a place to write.

To promote the Cafe Collective — a network supporting local, independent cafes — beverage brand Tazo teamed up with Rae to launch an LA sampling pop-up in an indie coffee shop.

Centered around the Tazo Passion Twist, a new drink curated by Rae, the event invited indie shop owners to join the Tazo Cafe Collective, which celebrates independent cafes and the role they play in their communities.

One hundred swag bags and 1,000 Passion Twist recipe cards rounded out the offerings, which served more than 300 community members and shop owners.

2. Sampling, Sampling & More Sampling: Lemon Perfect

Sampling is a proven way to entice customers to try a new or unfamiliar product — participants get to try the product, and brand ambassadors collect some on-the-spot feedback. The strategy is simple: find locations frequented by your target audience, and create a friendly, appealing sampling scene.

Flavored-water brand Lemon Perfect did exactly that, in several U.S. markets including Los Angeles. Operating out of a truck wrapped in the brand’s cheerful colors, teams of brand ambassadors hit the streets, offering samples of the brand’s products to passers-by. L.A. was chosen for its high concentration of Lemon Perfect’s target audience — health-focused young adults. Success came immediately; in just 51 days the nationwide activation distributed more than 300,000 samples and gained access to millions of new customers.

3. Take Over a Mansion: Mike’s Hard Lemonade & Peacock

Short-term rentals have been a boon to owners of real estate investments, who turn to online B&B platforms like Airbnb as a way to maximize their properties’ profitability. At the same time, brands looking for a way to offer an immersive, camera-ready experience look for short-term rentals as a way to offer that customized experience to a few lucky fans. That’s what Mike’s Hard Lemonade did one fall when it rented one of the L.A. area’s myriad fabulous homes to launch its latest beverage, Mike’s Hard Freeze.

Mike’s customized the property to reflect the brand’s aesthetic, values, and product offerings, then offered influencers and lucky fans the opportunity to stay there. For the months-long experiential activation, designers turned the home into “an Instagrammable paradise—and a space to promote the new product via influencer stays, photo shoots, and industry events, culminating in a public sweepstakes that would allow guests to stay in the house.” The activation was 1990s themed, with numerous 90s-styled installations throughout the property, including “hangout spots like a pool lounge, an arcade garage, and a rooftop escape—all matching Freeze’s drink and brand colors of blue, red, pink, and white.” Every corner, surface, and piece of furniture was a social media-worthy homage to the 90s and a constant reminder of the product’s aesthetic and vibe.

When Peacock wanted to launch its reboot of the TV series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” the channel took over another Los Angeles mansion. Inside the rental property, guests found rooms and areas designed to capture characters’ lifestyles: in one area, the Fresh Prince’s iconic sneakers, alongside displays of all the Nikes he wore in the series; in another room, an augmented-reality experience where attendees sat on a green screen throne, paired with backdrops based on show characters in with different environments” — perfect for Instagram.

4. Meet Your Audience Where They Are: Dove

When beauty brand Dove set out to promote its deodorant to Gen Z women, they sought locations with a high concentration of that demographic. Los Angeles, host to myriad concerts and festivals, beaches and boardwalks, was a perfect city. The perfect location to set up Dove’s pit stop? 15 Harry Styles shows at Kia Forum.

Promobile partnered with Dove to create a decked-out food truck for distribution and enlisted and trained brand ambassadors to pull in concertgoers and answer their questions. The result? A massive boost in brand awareness, thanks to more than 60,000 samples distributed in Los Angeles alone.

Promobile Marketing is a dynamic experiential marketing agency based in New York City. For over a decade, Promobile Marketing has collaborated with a range of brands—from budding startups to major CPG brands—on immersive marketing campaigns. Get in touch to discuss your next project.