2015 has been quite a year.Over the last twelve months, we’ve continued to scour the globe to share the very best examples of inspirational experiential marketing campaigns with you.
And as 2015 draws to a close, we’ve taken a good long look at the views that each post has received in order to give you this present: a countdown of the five most loved campaigns of the year.
5. Candy Crush launches Soda Saga app
We kick things off in surreal fashion with an experiential launch that took place on both sides of the Atlantic. King, the makers of the frighteningly-addictive Candy Crush game, made quite a splash on New York and London’s streets to celebrate the release of new app Soda Saga.
Going all out to “Release the Soda,” the experiential events had everything you would expect from the game that has taken over the world, and then a whole lot more. There were actors wearing oversized candy heads. Water pipes spraying fizzy purple soda. Oh yes, and there were 20-foot-tall illuminated gummy bears thrown in for good measure.
On hand for the event in London, Nicole Scherzinger dubbed the launch “freaking amazeballs.” Who are we to argue with a Pussycat Doll?
4.Tribord offers up the ‘worst drink in the world’
French water brand Tribord packaged up a new drink made of 100% seawater in order to surprise unknowing participants and spread an important message. Far from being a cruel prank, it was actually a clever marketing campaign delivered to bring home the importance of water safety.
Only one in three sailors wear a life jacket in France. To combat this, Tribord introduced a new water vest and ‘invented’ a drink called Wave that was cheekily handed out to passers-by to ‘enjoy.’ With the packaging bearing the message “Make this your last taste of drowning,” this playful activation garnered some terrific reactions while making a clear point about the dangers presented by the ocean.
3. Lay’s human claw grabber machine
A wonderfully quirky live brand activation from Lay’s grabbed headlines and turned heads, when the popular crisp brand installed a pop-up claw machine with a difference in Japan. The brand, known as Walkers in the UK, allowed people to actually climb inside the machine and grab as many crisps as possible – all while suspended in the air, of course.
Dripped in nostalgia, it was an ingenious take on the fun of arcade machines that we all fondly remember from our youth. The only difference was that, this time, the prizes were plentiful!
2.Wall’s office ice cream truck raises smiles
Ice cream manufacturer Wall’s proudly proclaimed #GoodbyeSerious with a fun brand experience earlier this year by delivering the delights of summer straight to office workers’ desks.
While the scorching heat of summertime may now seem like a distant memory for many of us, there was genuinely a time this year when the sunshine abounded and workers across the globe could do little more than look yearningly out of their office windows. Luckily, Wall’s had just the solution.
The brand constructed a very special mini ice cream truck that delivered frozen treats straight to employees. Workers were surprised to hear the distinctive sounds indicating the truck’s arrival in a campaign that offered up surprise, delight, and took workers straight back to their childhood.
And at the end of the day, isn’t that what ice cream is all about?
1.Reebok pumps it up with subway battle
Health and fitness shouldn’t just be of interest at the turn of a new year. Taking care of our bodies is something that each and every one of us needs to do every single day.
Fitness brand Reebok’s exercise-themed stunt in a Korean subway takes the number one spot for our most-read campaign of 2015. With 74% of Korean office workers admitting to a lack of exercise in a survey, Reebok came up with a very inventive and memorable experiential campaign to encourage commuters to work out while waiting at the subway.
A game was installed on the platform by the brand, with opponents chosen at random. They then had to race against the clock to press as many pump buttons as possible in the time allowed, in a fun and engaging way to work up a sweat in the unlikeliest of locations. And the reward for the lucky winners? A brand new pair of Z Pump Fusion trainers, of course.
Supported by a great accompanying video and social media activations on Facebook and Instagram as well as an online event, Reebok’s heart-pumping activity made quite a splash on its quest for brand love – and deserves its place at the top of the mountain of 2015’s very best experiential campaigns.
Want to read about even more inspirational marketing in 2016? Our blog has over 1,000 posts featuring great experiential campaigns, with more added every week. Go on, take a look.