Old Navy's Summer Ice Cube Stunt in the United States & Asia
Following a successful installation in Los Angeles, renowned advertising firm Crispin Porter & Bogusky turned to Empire to recreate a unique consumer promotion for their client Old Navy in New York City & Tokyo. With well-established offices in both cities and a strong background in producing consumer-facing stunt activity in high traffic areas, Empire was the perfect activation partner for this project.
The purpose of the 3-city event was to generate public awareness of the Old Navy brand as the trendsetter in summer fashion and footwear.
The concept for the project was to create a giant, 10 ton ice cube with hundreds of colorful Old Navy flip-flops frozen inside. Through the course of the hot summer day, the ice would melt, thus freeing the flip-flops for the public to take. In New York, Empire took over the north side of East 17th Street at Union Square to install the mammoth 7' square block of ice. During the course of the day, thousands of passersby interacted with the ice block and got into the spirit of summer by participating in hula hoop competitions for prizes.In New York Empire assisted provided all onsite production supervision and staffing. Empire also assisted with venue selection, coordinated with the ice vendor, staffed and trained a team of brand ambassadors, produced custom 4-sided signage and provided onsite management of the event.In Tokyo, the event coincided with the grand opening of the first Old Navy store in Japan -- at Odaiba's premier shopping mall DiverCity Tokyo Plaza. Building the ice block at this prime location garnered an thousands of interactions and brand impressions over the course of the day. Empire's New York City and Tokyo offices oversaw every aspect of the Tokyo event including venue selection & acquisition, sourcing of and coordination with the local ice vendor, staffing and training a team of brand ambassadors, production of custom 4-sided signage, event budgeting, translation, cultural consulting, and onsite management of the event. Empire also worked closely with the Old Navy and Gap Japan clients to ensure effective communication amongst all parties in the United States and Japan.With abundant international resources, Empire Entertainment is a proven leader of executing innovative, consumer-face brand marketing projects across worldwide markets.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
