Just like that, February is over in a flash. Between the Super Bowl, the NBA All-Star 2024, and New York Fashion Week, this month was jam-packed with events that presented many opportunities for sponsorship activations. With so much cool stuff happening, you won’t miss spring and summer festival season. 

Let’s take a look at what happened across the world of sponsorship activations this month. 

Campari at the Screen Actors Guild Awards

February is awards season, with the Screen Actors Guild or SAG Awards always grabbing mass consumer attention. Although it wasn’t featured on the main stage in front of the television cameras, Campari had a major spot at the awards show, as it was deemed the event’s official sponsor for spirits. 

To make its presence known, Campari debuted the House of Campari, a West Hollywood activation pop-up experience. The alcohol brand wisely used this major stage to unveil its new Cask Tales, a bourbon-barreled collection of rare spirits.

The House of Campari also featured the hit cocktail for this year’s SAG Awards, known as the Campari Red Carpet, appropriately enough!

Nat Geo at New York Fashion Week

There are so many brands you’d expect to see activating at New York Fashion Week, but National Geographic is not one of them. And yet it had made a major impact at this famous fashion event, and in a really cool way.

Nat Geo has a docu-series called QUEENS on the way and decided to use the New York Fashion Week stage to drum up interest and excitement. How so, you ask? Nat Geo had holographic animals walking on the runway.

The female animal holograms are all modeled after the creatures featured in the docu-series. The event had three acts in all, led by an influencer named Plant Kween dressed as Mother Nature to lead the festivities. 

The holograms changed by act between an elephant, brown bear, and lioness. Further tying into the series, QUEENS’ wildlife cinematographer (one of many) Sophie Darlington walked the runway as a model. 

It’s truly fascinating stuff and a strong debut for Nat Geo’s first New York Fashion Week! 

Puma x Cheetos Bag Experience at the NBA All-Star 2024 

If you read my article on health and wellness in sponsorship, you’ll recall that junk food brands are frequent sports sponsors. That much extended to the NBA All-Star 2024, but with a twist. 

Famous cheesy snack food brand Cheetos partnered with athletic apparel and footwear company Puma to create the Puma x Cheetos Bag Experience. Yes, you read that right, a Bag Experience.

So, what in the world is that, you ask? The event, which appeared downtown in Indianapolis, was an oversized activation meant to replicate life inside a bag of Cheetos.

The Puma x Cheetos Bag Experience featured a maze to walk through, complete with silvery, crinkly walls to mimic the experience of being inside the bag. Of course, you weren’t alone in there. Mascots roamed the maze, making it more fun to get to the finish.

Along the way were countless smart touch points, such as a Cheetos claw machine game, Cheetos vending machines stocked with cheesy puffed snacks, and Puma apparel. 

Kick of Destiny at Super Bowl LVIII 

The Kick of Destiny was such a popular activation at the 2023 Super Bowl that it came back for 2024. 

Here’s how it works. The event, hosted by FanDuel, requires you to log into or download the FanDuel Sportsbook app. Next, you guess whether former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski would successfully kick a field goal. 

If he did, betters could win a portion of $10,000,000 in bonus bets. 

Although it only got a minute of the spotlight, the Kick of Destiny was featured during the Super Bowl LVIII festivities, albeit before the game started. 

So far, Gronk has failed to successfully kick the field goal two years running. Time will tell if the Kick of Destiny comes back in 2025!

Snoeman and Modelo Pop-Up with the Brooklyn Nets

Now this is a triple header of sponsorship activation goodness! Modelo, a beer brand, partnered with Snoeman, a New York-based graffiti artist, to create a temporary pop-up. The occasion? Modelo is now sponsoring the Brooklyn Nets and wanted to celebrate in style. 

The walls featured an array of dizzying but dazzling colors and patterns, including a large inscription that read, “The fighting spirit of Brooklyn.” This refers to the support from Modelo and Snoeman ahead of the Nets’ game against the New York Knicks in a battle of NY supremacy. 

Besides the wall artwork and bar stools were basketball arcade machines, where guests could shoot some hoops to see who got the high score. Additionally, the activation had snacks, a bar stocked with Modelo spirits, photo booths, and contests to win limited-edition Snoeman art or a custom beanie he designed. 

Willy Chavarria and Parfums de Marly at New York Fashion Week

A fragrance brand appearing at New York Fashion Week might not seem like anything innovative, but what caught my eye about this activation was how Parfums de Marly promoted its scent during the fashion festivities. 

The toiletry brand partnered with Willy Chavarria, a fashion brand and eponymous designer, for Chavarria’s Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse fall/winter 2024 fashion show. Parfums de Marly sought to promote Haltane, one of its fragrances, and here’s how it was done.

First, Haltane was the official show fragrance. Additionally, all the models that strutted the catwalk were misted with the perfume before they hit the stage. Oh, and the show notes and runway themselves were also scented with the woodsy, high-end fragrance. 

Talk about an olfactory treat! 

Slack Huddles in New York 

Slack is one of those companies that needs no introduction. You know it and maybe even use it for work. However, the project management tool has recently introduced Huddles, which includes hold music before meetings while waiting for your group to get together.

To get people excited about the new feature, Slack erected an activation in New York that featured stages and musical hubs for live performances. Slack’s signature purple and logo were seen throughout. 

Luxor Hotel and Doritos Pyramid at Super Bowl LVIII 

Talk about making an impact! Doritos, a Super Bowl sponsor, paired with Las Vegas’s Luxor Hotel to create a custom sponsored hotel wrap.

The wrap, which covered the Luxor from top to bottom, looked like an oversized Dorito. Just in case you didn’t make the connection by looking at it, the hotel also had the Doritos logo front and center. Positioned in front of it was an Egyptian figure. 

It might seem like simple advertising, but how effective is this! Doritos saw an opportunity and capitalized on it, as the hotel is shaped triangularly enough to look like a Doritos chip. 

Doritos also achieved history with this activation, as no other Super Bowl sponsor has ever wrapped a building. 

Hennessy at the NBA All-Star 2024

The Hennessy Arena activation occurred before the NBA All-Star game, taking place at the Hilbert Circle Theatre. The alcohol brand had a basketball court installed at the activation with its branding throughout. Guests could shoot some hoops. 

There was plenty more to do. For instance, the activation featured a live recording of Jeff Teague’s 520 Club Podcast as well as DJ musicians spitting the hottest beats. 

Jordyn Woods, an influencer, was there as a guest bartender, helping guests enjoy fine Hennessy spirits. There was even an area for taking shots that looked like a basketball court, again complete with branding. Oh, and a branded press wall, of course.

Nickelodeon and SpongeBob SquarePants at Super Bowl LVIII

Although it seems a touch strange, Nickelodeon has flirted with football for a few years now, simulcasting NFL games during the playoffs. Of course, rather than show the games as-is, they featured Nick characters like Patrick from SpongeBob on commentary and fake slime on the field.

If you’re trying to get kids into football, this is certainly a good way to do it! It’s also a more entertaining way to watch the game. 

While Nick hadn’t telecasted an NFL game in a minute, that all changed in 2024. For the first time, Nick got to telecast the Super Bowl. To increase the caliber of its broadcast, Nick created a Roblox-themed Super Bowl experience, complete with SpongeBob characters.

More so, the activation had quests and activities from the likes of Easy Obby, Twilight Daycare, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Tycoon. There was also a SpongeBob simulator. 

YSL Beauty’s YSL Candy Shoppe at New York Fashion Week

Yves Saint Laurent strove to promote its new cosmetic product, Candy Glaze, at New York Fashion Week. To achieve that, the fashion house partnered with Industria Creative to proudly present the YSL Candy Shoppe.

The YSL Candy Shoppe appeared in SoHo on Layfette Street, commandeering a loft. The two-tiered activation featured signature YSL cocktails, literal candy (I mean, c’mon, you can’t call yourself a Candy Shoppe without it), branded photo spots, product engraving onsite, and a claw machine.

Also fun was the lip reading, a play on fortune telling that was in the spirit of this activation. Check out some highlights below. 

Toyota’s Super Bowl Experience at Super Bowl LVIII 

As the NFL’s official automotive partner, Toyota had some big shoes to fill for its Super Bowl activation. That’s why it held nothing back when unveiling the Super Bowl Experience Presented by Toyota, a theme park event that combined football with fan festivities. 

For example, guests were challenged to traverse 58,000 footballs during the Toyota 4 Down Territory game for a huge prize: a VIP experience at the 2025 New Orleans Super Bowl.  

AT&T NBA Crossover at the NBA All-Star 2024

In another A+ example of the go big or go home mentality, AT&T crafted a huge activation for the NBA All-Star 2024 event. It featured its activation at the NBA Crossover at the Indiana Convention Center. This multi-day fan event got even better thanks to AT&T’s inclusion.

One of its most standout activations within the NBA Crossover was called Dribble Town. You could create an avatar of famous B-Ball stars while Paul George coached you. As you dribbled and ran up the court with a real ball in hand, your avatar moved in tandem.

Therefore, Dribble Town was a chance to improve your skills in real-time from an NBA legend! 

P&G Battle of the Paddles at Super Bowl LVIII

Who says the Super Bowl has to be all about football? Thanks to P&G, there was some table tennis on hand, as the brand hosted an official table tennis tourney. This was an optimal chance to promote its NFL Official Locker Room Products, which include Tide, Old Spice, Head & Shoulders, and Gillette. 

NFL players gathered to see who reigned supreme in table tennis, with eight people competing in all. The game wasn’t televised, but anyone could check out the scores with a livestream on YouTube.

Further, P&G partner Lowe’s, the home improvement store, offered deals on Official Locker Room products as part of the promotion. 

NYFW: Backstage at New York Fashion Week

What would New York Fashion Week be without some exclusive events and activations? Certainly not as fun, that’s for sure! 21 Greene was the site of NYFW: Backstage, an event that ran concurrently with New York Fashion Week for four days. 

Each day, there was something fun on the program, from event merch to interactive experiences, an IMG Models Get Scouted Studio, exclusive runway shows (and live streams for those who couldn’t be in attendance), and Q&As with designers. 

Tresemme was there, with its Tresemme Style Studios activation. Guests could look their best after getting their hair professionally styled. NYFW: Backstage also featured custom embroidery and complimentary snacks and beverages, including branded Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate bars with wrappers that read “It’s Giving Chocolate” and Bluestone Lane Café cold brew coffee.

Pax.ink was available for tattooing, so the pop-up really had something for everyone to make their experience at New York Fashion Week even more incredible. 

Marriott’s Super Bowl Sleepover Contest at Super Bowl LVIII

Between all the food and rooting for your favorite team, watching the Super Bowl can be exhausting. Marriott understands that, which is why it continued its yearly trend of the Super Bowl Sleepover Contest. 

No, you don’t have to sleep to win. Rather, a nightly stay is the prize. Marriott awards two guests the opportunity to sleep in a corporate suite that Marriott Courtyard transforms into one of its trademark hotel rooms. 

Since you’re sleeping in a corporate suite, the views of the field can’t be beat!

Wrapping Up 

That brings us to the end of February’s fantastic sponsorship activations. As you can see, they run the gamut, fostering innovation and inspiration in new and creative ways. I hope you feel motivated to dream up your best activations yet, taking your sponsorship opportunities to new heights.