In October 2021, on the approach to the brand's 100th anniversary, Gucci took up temporary residence in a Shoreditch building designed by architect Sir David Adjaye. The pop-up invaded the building inside and out, transforming every corner in to a multi-sensory experience which metamorphosed through 3 different phases.
The first phase of the pop-up was a narrative journey through the Gucci Aria collection. The ground floor featured a curated bookstore containing rare art, photography and fashion books. Upstairs was a music lounge stocked with vinyl records from artists such as Sir Elton John, Arlo Parks and Billie Eilish, as well as a downloadable Gucci centenary playlist.
In November 2021, the space was redefined, becoming home to the Gucci/Balenciaga 'The Hacker Project'. The library become a runway, the retail space was rebranded and restocked, and a camera filled space played the film of the collection on repeat.
Finally, in December 2021, the activation underwent its final stage of evolution, becoming host to 'Collective Processes'; a multi-media exhibition showcasing art created by Black Women, the pieces existing in conversation with one another, all themed on 'observations of culture, heritage and identity'.
Gucci Circolo was a global project with Gucci Circolo Milan and Gucci Circolo Berlin running in conjunction with Gucci Circolo Shoreditch.
Last August, Depaul UK, youth homelessness charity, turned the seemingly simple notion of bed shopping in to a reality check that not everyone has the security of sleeping in a bed each night, never mind shopping around for a new one.
Shoppers at Croydon Centrale were able to head in to the 'Beyond A Bed' shop, but would soon realise that it was not selling furniture at all. Instead, they'd be given the chance to learn about Rachel, Charlotte, Joe, Chris, Daniel and Amelia; six young people helped by Depaul, with each bed named after one of them and accessories staged around them to help tell their stories.
The six day activation ran as part of the wider 'A bed is not enough' campaign, created to highlight the physical and mental toll that Covid-19 has had on young people and, in turn, increase the number of monthly donors. If you would like to support the fantastic work that Depaul UK are doing, you can donate here.
You may be familiar with the Svaldbard Global Seed Vault, created as one of the last lines of defense against the annihiliation of plant life on Earth. The vault is home to over one million seed samples, said to provide a 'backup' should all other crops be wiped out.
Oreo decided to hijack the idea of being prepared for the worst, and created a "really real" (in their own words) vault, said to contain the Oreo recipe and a large stockpile of cookies wrapped in mylar; a material that is able to withstand extreme temperatures, chemicals and moisture. The Global Oreo Vault is just down the road from the Svaldbard so you'll always be able to get your hands on their cookies at coordinates 78° 08’ 58.1” N, 16° 01’ 59.7” E in the event of an apocalypse.
The physical vault is, obviously, not going to be experienced in real life by many, but the brand supported it with some tounge-in-cheek video content to ensure that their hard work and fastidious planning for the future would be seen by the masses. A fantastic example of how real world activations can be merely a catalyst for what will in actuality live on as an online campaign.
Back in October 2021, the LEGO group worked with award-winning artist Yinka Ilori to create the 'Launderette of Dreams' in Bethnal Green, London; an interactive installation made from over 200,000 LEGO bricks, celebrating how children use play to rebuild the world around them.
The installation is based on Ilori's childhood memories of trips to his local launderette on Essex Road, North London, and having to use his imagination to make mundane tasks more exciting. He worked with children from his former primary school, St Jude & St Paul's C of E, asking students how they would rebuild the space to help bring the community together. Embellishing on their ideas, Ilori kitted out the launderette with kaleidoscope laundry drums, a giant rebuildable wall mural, hopscotch flooring and LEGO dispensing vending machines.
Yinka Ilori is known for refreshing otherwise ordinary environments, like this basketball court in Canary Wharf, London. His use of colour and playful style transcends cultures and age groups, and the Launderette is testament to this. Creating a physical, interactive environment that can bring together not just adults and children but also the wider community is no easy feat in todays age, and this particular experiential pop-up was entirely booked in advance of opening!
In October 2021, The Kraken rum brand reached its fifth year of its annual Halloween ’Screamfest’ extravaganza and pulled out all the stops to make it bigger and spookier than ever before. The ‘Kraken Dread & Breakfast’ was a fully interactive and immersive overnight hotel experience that guaranteed guests a terrible nights sleep!
Hosted in an abandoned London hotel, the 'Kraken Dread and Breakfast' made guests endure prank phone calls, suspicious noises, screams and figures from beyond the grave roaming the halls and entering rooms unannounced, all supported by a team of actors, light and sound technicians, special effects artists and theatre professionals. But it wasn't all doom and gloom, as the guests were also able to sip on Kraken cocktails whilst listening to live music from the house band, Thankful We Are Dead, at the hotel bar. Rooms were only allocated to visitors that had been deemed brave enough to take on what the hotel had in store throughout the night.
The sheer scale of this type of activation is more akin to an immersive theatre experience such as one of the infamous PunchDrunk events rather than your standard branded pop-up, but with more brands opting to include experiential as a key part of their marketing plans, the pressure to outperform is mounting. Could this level of immersion be the future of all brand experiences? We sure hope so!
In October 2021, on the approach to the brand's 100th anniversary, Gucci took up temporary residence in a Shoreditch building designed by architect Sir David Adjaye. The pop-up invaded the building inside and out, transforming every corner in to a multi-sensory experience which metamorphosed through 3 different phases.
The first phase of the pop-up was a narrative journey through the Gucci Aria collection. The ground floor featured a curated bookstore containing rare art, photography and fashion books. Upstairs was a music lounge stocked with vinyl records from artists such as Sir Elton John, Arlo Parks and Billie Eilish, as well as a downloadable Gucci centenary playlist.
In November 2021, the space was redefined, becoming home to the Gucci/Balenciaga 'The Hacker Project'. The library become a runway, the retail space was rebranded and restocked, and a camera filled space played the film of the collection on repeat.
Finally, in December 2021, the activation underwent its final stage of evolution, becoming host to 'Collective Processes'; a multi-media exhibition showcasing art created by Black Women, the pieces existing in conversation with one another, all themed on 'observations of culture, heritage and identity'.
Gucci Circolo was a global project with Gucci Circolo Milan and Gucci Circolo Berlin running in conjunction with Gucci Circolo Shoreditch.
Last August, Depaul UK, youth homelessness charity, turned the seemingly simple notion of bed shopping in to a reality check that not everyone has the security of sleeping in a bed each night, never mind shopping around for a new one.
Shoppers at Croydon Centrale were able to head in to the 'Beyond A Bed' shop, but would soon realise that it was not selling furniture at all. Instead, they'd be given the chance to learn about Rachel, Charlotte, Joe, Chris, Daniel and Amelia; six young people helped by Depaul, with each bed named after one of them and accessories staged around them to help tell their stories.
The six day activation ran as part of the wider 'A bed is not enough' campaign, created to highlight the physical and mental toll that Covid-19 has had on young people and, in turn, increase the number of monthly donors. If you would like to support the fantastic work that Depaul UK are doing, you can donate here.
You may be familiar with the Svaldbard Global Seed Vault, created as one of the last lines of defense against the annihiliation of plant life on Earth. The vault is home to over one million seed samples, said to provide a 'backup' should all other crops be wiped out.
Oreo decided to hijack the idea of being prepared for the worst, and created a "really real" (in their own words) vault, said to contain the Oreo recipe and a large stockpile of cookies wrapped in mylar; a material that is able to withstand extreme temperatures, chemicals and moisture. The Global Oreo Vault is just down the road from the Svaldbard so you'll always be able to get your hands on their cookies at coordinates 78° 08’ 58.1” N, 16° 01’ 59.7” E in the event of an apocalypse.
The physical vault is, obviously, not going to be experienced in real life by many, but the brand supported it with some tounge-in-cheek video content to ensure that their hard work and fastidious planning for the future would be seen by the masses. A fantastic example of how real world activations can be merely a catalyst for what will in actuality live on as an online campaign.
Back in October 2021, the LEGO group worked with award-winning artist Yinka Ilori to create the 'Launderette of Dreams' in Bethnal Green, London; an interactive installation made from over 200,000 LEGO bricks, celebrating how children use play to rebuild the world around them.
The installation is based on Ilori's childhood memories of trips to his local launderette on Essex Road, North London, and having to use his imagination to make mundane tasks more exciting. He worked with children from his former primary school, St Jude & St Paul's C of E, asking students how they would rebuild the space to help bring the community together. Embellishing on their ideas, Ilori kitted out the launderette with kaleidoscope laundry drums, a giant rebuildable wall mural, hopscotch flooring and LEGO dispensing vending machines.
Yinka Ilori is known for refreshing otherwise ordinary environments, like this basketball court in Canary Wharf, London. His use of colour and playful style transcends cultures and age groups, and the Launderette is testament to this. Creating a physical, interactive environment that can bring together not just adults and children but also the wider community is no easy feat in todays age, and this particular experiential pop-up was entirely booked in advance of opening!
In October 2021, The Kraken rum brand reached its fifth year of its annual Halloween ’Screamfest’ extravaganza and pulled out all the stops to make it bigger and spookier than ever before. The ‘Kraken Dread & Breakfast’ was a fully interactive and immersive overnight hotel experience that guaranteed guests a terrible nights sleep!
Hosted in an abandoned London hotel, the 'Kraken Dread and Breakfast' made guests endure prank phone calls, suspicious noises, screams and figures from beyond the grave roaming the halls and entering rooms unannounced, all supported by a team of actors, light and sound technicians, special effects artists and theatre professionals. But it wasn't all doom and gloom, as the guests were also able to sip on Kraken cocktails whilst listening to live music from the house band, Thankful We Are Dead, at the hotel bar. Rooms were only allocated to visitors that had been deemed brave enough to take on what the hotel had in store throughout the night.
The sheer scale of this type of activation is more akin to an immersive theatre experience such as one of the infamous PunchDrunk events rather than your standard branded pop-up, but with more brands opting to include experiential as a key part of their marketing plans, the pressure to outperform is mounting. Could this level of immersion be the future of all brand experiences? We sure hope so!
