FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK
This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover pizza rentals, AI judges and Zen carriages.
COMMUTERS TAKE A MOMENT OF PAUSE INSIDE AUDIBLE’S ZEN CARRIAGE
If you ask us, “Zen Commute” sounds like an oxymoron, but for a new campaign of the same name promoting the power of audio storytelling, Audible turned the concept into reality. The brand planted a “Zen carriage” train installation at London’s King’s Cross Station on Jan. 20 and for the next five days, invited consumers to stop for a moment of mindfulness amid the chaos of their morning or evening commute.
Inside the carriage, which was overflowing with cherry blossoms, participants could enjoy a soothing audio experience featuring excerpts from titles available in Audible’s wellbeing collection, like “Atomic Habits,” “A Quiet Life in Seven Steps” and “The Healing Power of Nature.” Brand ambassadors were nearby to answer questions.
Just next to the carriage was a screen presenting the brand’s “Zen Commute” campaign film, along with information on the audio content, which was displayed like a traditional train timetable.
Our favorite part? The activation was timed to “Blue Monday,” which has been deemed the “most depressing day of the year.” The experience was designed to serve as an antidote to the dreary occasion. Well played, Audible. Well played. (Agencies: Hyperactive; Fold7; Miroma Group)
Photos: Courtesy of Hyperactive/Instagram
AN ‘AI JUDGE’ JUST SHOOK UP X GAMES ASPEN
In a newsletter to the X Games community on Jan. 21, newly instated ceo Jeremy Bloom laid out his plans to transform the action-sports property into two “distinct leagues,” summer and winter, along with what he says will include an array of related events to be hosted annually at “iconic” locations.
The new arrangement is just one way the ceo is shaking up the platform. During X Games Aspen 2025 (Jan. 23-25), a panel of scorekeepers for the first time included an AI-powered “judge” developed in collaboration with Google Cloud. During the event’s SuperPipe competition, the AI tool was used to analyze video footage, and then provided its own score for each athlete.
Ultimately, the AI judge was an experiment of sorts, and humans were the ones to make the final calls. But Bloom thinks the technology could be a judging “superpower” in competitions to come.
NEW YORKERS ‘RENT’ A SLICE AT DAIYA’S CRUSTBUSTER POP-UP
Last year, it was the hunt for a Vice President of Melting and the launch of a Slice Club. This year, Daiya is whipping up more buzz with Crustbuster, a retro “pizza-rental” pop-up in NYC that introduced the brand’s new line of pies.
On Jan. 24, the dairy-free food brand’s Blockbuster-inspired store lured in more than 500 consumers by providing a “no-commitment” opportunity to “rent” a Daiya dairy-free pizza slice and tackle the fear of missing out on dairy (FOMOO).
The pop-up was filled with those familiar rows of VHS tapes, which in this case were playful recreations of classic ’90s titles that signified the brand’s pizza options, like “Beauty and the Feast,” which represented Meatless Pepperoni. Nice.
After scanning their options, attendees headed up to the counter to “rent” a sample slice of their choosing, or opt for the “Director’s Cut,” and let a Daiya chef surprise them with a special pick. We say: one to watch. (Agencies: Factory 360, experiential; Manifest, p.r.)
DEWALT BLASTS THROUGH A DRONE-ACTIVATED SPHERE TAKEOVER
As far as coveted venues go, Sphere Las Vegas has been the industry darling since its launch in late 2023. For many corporations, the “largest LED screen on Earth” represents one of the largest marketing opportunities on Earth, and one of the latest brands to utilize the building was DeWalt. For a second year during World of Concrete, the Black and Decker-owned company leveraged the “Exosphere” and its 580,000 square feet of programmable LED panels.
This time around, millions of viewers both online and in Vegas (the brand ensured there were multiple vantage points) watched as DeWalt presented a construction site-themed multimedia display featuring drone-activated visualizations of giant cranes and workers blasting concrete with the help of the brand’s Powershift system.
The Sphere takeover, which ran Jan. 20-26, was designed to showcase the full impact of these “unsung heroes” on job sites, and additionally signified the launch of DeWalt’s “Built for the Unbreakable” campaign. (If you want to be dazzled by the interior of Sphere, check out Delta’s CES 2025 keynote experience.)
CRACKER BARREL’S ROBOTS WILL BRING SNACKS TO SUPER BOWL FANS
The Big Game is just around the corner, and among brands preparing to score fans’ attention is Cracker Barrel Cheese—and its snack robots.
During Super Bowl LIX weekend in New Orleans next month, the brand will unleash a fleet of AI-powered food delivery robots that will distribute free samples of its high-protein snacks, like its Sticks and Bites products, to consumers at tailgates, parks and popular hangouts around the city. Fans around NOLA can follow the brand’s Instagram account to stay up to date on the locations of the delivery bots… and we’re sure to be among them.
