ExperientialSpace.co.uk showcases prime locations for brand activations throughout the UK

SpaceandPeople are pleased to announce that they are now offering brands and agencies an easier way to research potential venues for experiential campaigns and roadshows.

The new site, www.experientialspace.co.uk, will allow brands and agencies the opportunity to browse a wide array of promotional spaces, both internal and external, throughout the UK. The range of venues includes shopping centres and train stations as well as key sites within city and town centres and more bespoke locations.

The platform enables users to browse and select different venues before speaking to the in-house SpaceandPeople brand experience team, who have a wealth of knowledge of the venues and individual sites within these.

Nancy Cullen, CEO of SpaceandPeople said “We are excited to start off 2022 with a fantastic showcase of experiential spaces throughout the UK. The website offers a searchable database combined with online chat and the ability to speak to our brand ex specialist team, providing agencies with a complete planning to execution service for their brand events and roadshows.”

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Shopping centre owner intu has launched Big Bugs On Tour, a national experiential roadshow that brings adults and children face-to-face with 12 giant British bugs at 13 intu shopping centres nationwide.

The initiative is being backed by naturalist Chris Packham and features 12 supersized, indigenous bugs including the honeybee, ladybird, hornet, swallowtail butterfly and the nut weevil. It launched at intu Lakeside last week where it will be on display until the end of July before moving around the UK over the next 15 months, visiting 12 other intu centres around the country including intu Trafford Centre, intu Metrocentre and intu Braehead, between now and September 2019.

Roger Binks, Customer Experience Director for intu, says: “Over 35 million people shop at intu centres every year so we hope bringing them face-to-face with these giant British bugs can make a real impact in how they interact and reconnect with nature, and ensure they are happier than when they arrived.”

The campaign, which into says aims to reconnect kids and adults to nature, comes as research shows children are now better at identifying Pokemon characters than there are at recognising British wildlife, despite a £10m pledge from Government to encourage children to get closer to nature.

Research by intu found that almost four in five parents (78%) want their children to be more connected to nature and 86% think they spend too much time looking at screens. However, one in six children in the UK (17%) have not set foot in a park or forest in the last 12 months.

One in five children (21%) were unable to correctly identify a bee while one in four children (25%) have not seen a caterpillar in over a year. One in ten kids (10%) did not know honey came from bees.

Adults were also lacking in their bug knowledge, with one in four (25%) unable to tell the difference between a bee and a wasp and a quarter (25%) unable to correctly identify a grasshopper.

Over a third of adults (35 per cent) of adults say they see far fewer bugs in their gardens now than five years ago with nearly half (49 per cent) saying they are worried about the decline in insects but didn’t know how to help.

Intu’s Roger Binks adds: “We know that a closer connection to nature makes people happier and Big Bugs on Tour is an opportunity to help educate adults and children on the importance of the bugs in their gardens and put a smile on their faces.”

Naturalist Chris Packham observes: “We are facing a crisis in our countryside. I haven’t seen a single butterfly in my garden this year and more needs to be done to reconnect people with nature and start caring for and realising the importance of the bugs in your backyard. intu’s Big Bugs on Tour is shining a big magnifying glass on this and also putting bugs into school classrooms, and is a fantastic initiative to alert to the importance of nature in our lives.”

In addition to visiting into shopping centres, Big Bugs on Tour will also be inspiring school classes around the country to help children learn more about bugs.

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Branston, the UK’s best-selling pickle brand, is to launch a UK sampling tour this month, as part of a wider marketing initiative to aimed at reinforcing the pickle brand’s positioning as ‘the perfect partner for cheese’.

The activity will amplify the success of the brand’s ‘Please The Cheese’ campaign and bring Mr. Cheddar, the down to earth hero of the TV ad, to life. At each event, Mr. Cheddar will greet consumers with samples and tap into the nation’s love affair with cheese by encouraging them to pose and upload photos on Instagram using the #PleaseTheCheese hashtag.

The tour will take place at 11 events and 12 supermarkets and comprises of 39 live activities across the UK from now until the end of the year. Key dates include Lambeth Country Show in London (21-22 July), Bristol Balloon Fiesta (9-12 August) and Bournemouth Air Festival (30 August-2 September).

At the events, consumers will be able to try different products from the Branston pickle and chutney ranges, accompanied by Cathedral City cheese and Jacob’s crackers from the Branston sampling van. With up to 5,000 samples distributed per day, Branston’s sampling activity aims to reach more than two million consumers in total and recruit a new generation of pickle lovers by reminding them of the delicious taste combination of cheese and pickle.

Branston lunchboxes, key rings and goodie bags will be handed out and consumers will also be given recipe cards, Branston dip pots and money off coupons for Branston pickle.

Nisha George, senior brand manager at brand owner Mizkan, says: “We wanted to bring this association to life in an impactful way to reconnect with our loyal customers, engage a host of new ones and to invigorate the pickle category nationwide.”

The Branston brand is owned by Mizkan Euro, the European subsidiary of Mizkan, a privately-owned Japanese business started in 1804, which is the number one Sushi seasoning supplier in the world. Mizkan is a global business with over 210 years’ experience in producing high quality products. Mizkan Euro brands include Branston Pickle, Hayward’s Pickled Vegetables, Sarson’s Vinegar and Dufrais vinegar.

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Zipcar, the UK’s largest car club, is running a summer roadshow featuring the Zipcar Flex Challenge, offering consumers the chance to win free driving credit for a year from the car sharing brand.

The activation kicked off last week and will visit a range of events, shopping centres and train stations within the Zipcar Flex boroughs of Westminster, Hackney, Islington, Lewisham, Lambeth and Wandsworth. There will be 24 days of experiential activity between now and September.

Created by global brand experience agency Sense, the campaign will use the Zipcar Flex Challenge game to introduce consumers to Zipcar Flex and drive acquisitions to the service. Zipcar Flex was launched in July 2017 and is a one-way drive and drop service, which gives Londoners greater flexibility to get more out of their city and travel around London how they want to. Londoners within designated Zipzones can pick up and drop off cars wherever is convenient, using an app to identify available vehicles.

Zipcar members can choose between two options via the same Zipcar app: Zipcar Flex or the original Roundtrip service, which operates from dedicated on-street Car Club Only bays all across the city and which involves Londoners picking up and dropping off a Zipcar in the same location.

Garry Thornton, Senior Marketing Manager at Zipcar, says: “Experiential provides the perfect vehicle to spread the word about our new Zipcar Flex car service as it allows us to engage with Londoners directly in the numerous Zipcar boroughs.”

Jess McGillivray, Account Director at Sense, adds: “Our striking branded stand and team of Zipcar Flex brand ambassadors will be touring the Zipcar boroughs over the summer, inviting consumers to sign up to Zipcar Flex for the chance to win driving credit, whilst also showing them just how easy it is to get wheels when you want them.”

Zipcar is the world’s leading car-sharing network, operating in urban areas and university campuses in over 500 cities and towns across Belgium, Canada, France, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Zipcar offers the most comprehensive, most convenient and most flexible car-sharing options available. It is a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, Inc, a leading global provider of vehicle rental services.

With locations in London and New York, Sense is a multi-award winning brand experience agency working for clients including The Economist, Coca-Cola, Activision, Mars, Canon, Molson Coors, and Mattel. It won the IPM Awards 2017 Grand Prix for its #H2O activation, part of its ‘Discomfort Future’ campaign on behalf of The Economist.

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Weber, the world’s best-known brand in barbecuing, has been promoting the launch of its new grill, Pulse, with a European roadshow appearing in 17 separate cities in 10 countries over 12 weeks.

Created for Weber by London-based brand activation agency, A Little Bird, the European roadshow was designed to deliver a world-class barbecue experience to thousands of consumers across the 17 cities, centring on a converted double decker bus which will be visiting countries including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, finishing this week in France.

Although the Weber campaign is globally consistent, the roadshow will adapt to different communities and lifestyles, ensuring cultural relevance and local connection. The 17 cities, and 10 countries, being visited have different needs and preferences when it comes to barbecuing.

Components of the bus include a Weber Pulse product showroom, back-of-house kitchen, an arrivals bar area, top deck dining terrace for 12 seated customers with a moveable table, three cooking stations and service area. Visitors can take advantage of the showroom with a full range of Pulse accessories and screens to interact with. Guests can spend time with Weber specialist chefs on the upper terrace to indulge in regional dishes cooked over the three Pulses.

Each market had three live scheduled days to activate the Weber Pulse bus and used it to support store openings and specific retailers. George is also visiting festivals and busy city hubs.

To build on the experience, each market will take an integrated comms approach to promoting the bus locally, supported by social activity and private dining experiences, either through sign up or competition.

Tim Solano, Managing Partner of A Little Bird, says: “Since we started working with Weber we have encouraged the brand to take a global consistency approach, adding flexibility and adaptability to meet local nuances of the markets we are targeting.”

A Little Bird is a brand activation agency working across the UK, EU and US. Clients include Bacardi-Martini, Weber, LEGO, Gressingham Duck, Gruppo Campari, Sperry, The Body Shop and Botantic Labs.

Weber-Stephen Products LLC, headquartered in Palatine, Illinois (USA), is the world’s leading manufacturer of charcoal, gas and electric grills, grilling accessories and award-winning cookbooks and mobile applications.

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Benefit Cosmetics has teamed up with happiness expert Laura Jane Williams to create the Hello Happy House, designed to take guests on a journey through the differing states of happiness during an immersive ‘Happy Hour’ with a difference.

The launch of the experience is to highlight Benefit Cosmetics’ newest foundation range – Hello Happy.

Featuring four interactive rooms, guests will have the chance to indulge in an experience that’ll make that Benefit says will make them smile from ear to ear.

The space includes an Instagrammable glitter shower, a relaxation room, fun fair activities and an invigorating bounce room, which encourages visitors to tap into their playful side.

To help guests unleash their joy and silliness, Benefit enlisted Laura Jane Williams, regular columnist in national press and the author of ‘Ice Cream for Breakfast’, a guide to rediscovering your inner child. Laura will be hosting happiness workshops inside the Hello Happy House on Saturday 29^th June, during which she will unpack the concept of happiness and provide top tips on how to avoid self-judgement and be more playful every day.

Laura says: “When I was researching for my book, what came up again and again is how hard it can be to be ‘adult’ – sometimes we just want to be the carefree child inside of us. This is a chance to laugh deeply, be playful and curious, and emerge on the other side brighter and lighter and more beautiful because of it. The Hello Happy House is the perfect wellbeing escape in today’s hectic world.”

Benefit Cosmetics’ Head of Brand Activation, Kyra White, explains; “At Benefit we truly believe that laughter is the best cosmetic. The Hello Happy House is the place to go to giggle, relax and generally take an hour out of your day for you. We are a nation of big kids and this is the perfect place to rediscover your inner child.”

Guests will be welcomed to the Hello Happy House where they will begin their own ‘Happy Hour’. Escorted through each room, they will get the chance to experience the Benefit world of fun and happiness, through the sequence of truly immersive activities!

To celebrate the launch the new Hello Happy range, once an hour a brand new foundation will be given away to one lucky fan (or Benebabe, as the brand calls them) in their perfectly colour matched shade. To win, consumers need to find the golden Hello Happy product, hidden somewhere within the Hello Happy House.

The Hello Happy House will be open to the public on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th June 2018 at The White Space on London’s Great Newport St from 11.00AM- 8.00PM on a drop in/first-come, first-served basis.

Benefit Cosmetics’ will then be hitting the road and bringing elements of the Hello Happy House to Bristol’s Cabot Circus Shopping Centre on Saturday 14^th July and Cardiff’s St David’s Shopping Centre on Sunday 15^th July.

Benefit Cosmetics was founded in San Francisco in the 1970s. It now has 2,000 BrowBars in 41 countries worldwide and claims to be the world’s number one brow brand.

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Brands including alcohol-free Budweiser Prohibition Brew, Walkers Max Strong, Branston, Primula and Bodean’s have signed on as partners for National BBQ Week, a multi-brand experiential, sampling and marketing campaign which returns for the 22nd year from Monday May 28th.

The organisers say that National Barbecue Week is one of the UK’s top awareness weeks and has, since its launch in 1997, been a “catalyst for growth in the BBQ market” according to PR Week and also being “fundamental in changing consumer attitudes to BBQ” according to Mintel and The Grocer.

Launching on Spring Bank Holiday and running from 28th May until the 3rd of June, the awareness week will be incorporating a dynamic digital, PR and media focus set to reach over 25 million people. There will also be experiential sampling at the launch of London’s ‘Summer by the River’ festival from the 1st to the 3rd June, where a further 150,000 people will be exposed to the campaign.

Key sponsors for this year’s campaign are: Official Alcohol-Free Beer: Budweiser Prohibition Brew; Official Snack: Walkers Max Strong; Official Sauce: Branston; Official Cheese: Primula; and Official BBQ Restaurant: Bodean’s.

Competitions will be run through media and through social media channels including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook including the return of the BBQ Baptas. Consumers will be encouraged to send in videos of their fun barbecue or grilling technique and results, with the aim of winning a BBQ Bapta Award, a cash prize and a BarbiBox, full of product from the sponsors.

Along with the UK’s leading BBQ Website full of hints, tips, recipes and guides to ‘Being a Better BBQ’er’, there is also a Barbi Blog, with messages from the sponsors and chief GrillMaster, Brian George, founder of National BBQ Week.

George, who runs agency Grocery Gurus, says: “National BBQ Week is one of the UK’s biggest awareness weeks and has helped change consumer BBQ attitudes and usage from just 9 million in 1997 to over 130 million last year with the overall BBQ food and drink market being worth around £1.3 billion, up from just £150 million back in 1997.”

Grocery Gurus will also be organizing other multi-brand campaigns including WorldBeerathoN in October (to coincide with Octoberfest), Get Wine Wise in November, Mixorama (for at-home cocktails) in December, and National Wine Week, from 26th November to 2nd December.

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Cornwall will be coming to Observation Point on London’s South Bank on Monday 14^th May to kick off a UK-wide roadshow for ice-cream company Kelly’s of Cornwall, offering consumers the chance to sample its range and enter a competition to win a Cornish beachside weekend break.

The Kelly’s of Cornwall Grand Flavour Tour was created to bring a taste of the Cornish Seaside to the rest of the UK, using distinctive Cornish icons.

The activation has been created by i2i Marketing and the stand design was inspired by Kelly’s of Cornwall latest ‘Cornish-speaking’ TV advertisement, which also launches on May 14^th. The Kelly’s of Cornwall TV ad was created by award-winning agency, Isobel.

The London debut will showcase the world’s first “Kelly’s of Cornwall Ice Cream Pasty”. TV chef and Kelly’s ‘ice cream sommelier’ James Strawbridge will be inviting passers-by to try innovative “Cone-ish pasties”, which are made of sweet-filled crumbly pastry.

This works like an ice cream cone and will be topped off with a choice of three Kelly’s ice cream desserts:

• Cream Tea Cone-ish Pasty with Kelly’s Berry Eton Mess ice cream
• Spiced Apple & Date Crumble Cone-ish Pasty with new Kelly’s Butterscotch Pecan ice cream
• Red Velvet Cone-ish Pasty with Kelly’s Clotted Cream ice cream

The unique Cone-ish pasties have been developed by James Strawbridge in association with Wild West PR.

The Kelly’s of Cornwall Grand Flavour Tour will then be travelling around the UK to share its uniquely Cornish Ice Cream at 36 supermarket locations over six weeks.  Visitors will be able to sample the Kelly’s take-home flavour range with a variety of toppings and will be invited to vote for their favourite flavour via digital touch screens on the stand, with a chance to win a beach-side “Flavour of Cornwall” weekend break.

The results of the vote will be shown every week on the Kelly’s Facebook page, along with upcoming roadshow locations, with the nation’s favourite flavour announced at the end of the tour.

i2i Marketing is a multi-award-winning brand experience agency that creates exceptional experiences with a personal touch. A member of UK trade body The Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM), i2i’s clients include Froneri, Philips, AG Barr and Genius.

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Benefit Cosmetics ran an activation at London’s Southbank Centre earlier this week featuring an Extreme Brow Bar – a cosmetics counter experience on a scissor lift truck which gave consumers the chance of a complementary brow wax, style and pamper brow 65 feet up in the air, with views over the River Thames and London skyline.

The Extreme Brow Bar was open for one day only as part of a promotional experiential activation to support the launch of GimmeBrow+.

Consumers with a problem with heights were offered the same treatment from the ‘BrowMobile’ brow bar on wheels, parked alongside the scissor truck.

Benefit is also running a 15% discount offer off any brow service or product for consumers who trade in their tweezers at any standalone Benefit Boutique until 22nd April 2018.

Benefit Cosmetics was founded in San Francisco in the 1970s, It now has 2,000 BrowBars in 41 countries worldwide and claims to be the world’s number one brow brand.

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EPOCH making toys – the company behind collectible toy brand Sylvanian Families – is launching its new Town range by creating the world’s smallest fashion show, unveiled at Hamleys Regent Street on Thursday March 22nd. A UK-wide experiential roadshow tour with intu shopping centres will follow in April.

The fashion stunt, devised by Bath-based agency Highlight PR, comprises two miniature automated catwalks on which Sylvanian Families figures (just 9.5cm tall) will model 40 ‘petite’ haute couture outfits.

Handmade by EPOCH’s R&D designers in Japan specifically for the launch, these eye-wateringly small outfits feature couture quality details and will be presented as ‘the debut Spring Summer Collection’ of the Town’s main character, Stella the fashion designer.

Over 30 London fashion press and guests attended the Hamley’s launch, together with child look-alikes of Anna Wintour, The Queen and Karl Lagerfeld on the FROW (Front Row).

While one catwalk is part of a double window display at Hamleys Regent Street until May 2nd, the second catwalk will tour the UK as a key attraction within EPOCH’s experiential roadshow – a national partnership with intu shopping centres to launch the Town across the UK.

Devised by Bournemouth-based brand communications agency, Mad River, the Sylvanian Families Town roadshow kicks off at intu Trafford Centre on 31 March (Easter Saturday). It will comprise a branded area with purpose-built life-size replicas of the Town buildings’ facades and street lamps.

Once inside, Sylvanian fans and intu customers can see and play with the new products, watch the new Town characters perform on stage and admire the miniature fashion show. To drive consumer engagement, there will be a themed selfie corner and craft activities, with a competition to become ‘Stella’s intern’ by designing a dress for her next collection.

The roadshow will also visit intu Metrocentre, intu Merryhill and intu Lakeside during April.

Yuki Otsuka, Marketing Manager at EPOCH making toys, comments: “This is the largest product launch in the history of Sylvanian Families, so we wanted to create maximum awareness not just amongst our core customer base but also within a broader target audience to attract the next generation of fans. We’ve therefore designed an integrated campaign across multiple channels, and we hope our unique miniature catwalk will be an exciting element, from a PR, experiential and consumer engagement perspective. As a fashion-lover myself, I’m amazed by the details of the tiny, couture outfits within Stella’s collection – I’m sure everyone is going to love them too!”

To support the launch and the roadshow and drive sales, EPOCH is running a TV campaign from now until 8 April. Ads will promote the Town’s hero products comprising the Grand Department Store, Designer Studio (run by Stella Chocolate) and Ride Along Tram.

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