I learned some brand activation ideas seem good on paper, but are just flat out awkward in person. Case in point, this was a rare flop activation by Diageo. It was an on premise brand activation in Vancouver for a whiskey brand which I have not seen diageo activate before or since - George Dickel.
Credit where credit is due, I really liked the women’s uniforms. We got long sleeve plaid shirts. My colleague was not so happy with his uniform. He showed up and was told he was going to be spending his day shining strangers shoes on the street.
The experience in this experiential activation was that customers at the bar were invited to come over to our sampling table, take a seat for a shoe shine, while us girls would prep them a sample cocktail and explain the tasting notes. In theory, I understand the logic behind this, Thinking that it would increase the time that people are at the sampling booth, therefore allowing us to communicate more information about the brand. But in execution, it was just awkward for all parties involved.
Maybe this activation would’ve made more sense to do in the fall or winter time when people are actually wearing closed toed leather shoes, but in the middle of the summer, most people were wearing sandals or sneakers. The experiential part was declined by almost everybody, so it was a waste of money by the brand to staff that extra person.