Spheres, Stories and the Future of Experiential Activations.

"The universe is made of stories, not atoms."

- Muriel Rukeyser

If you want to see into the future, you don’t need a crystal ball…

You just need 875,000 square feet of space and a few million blue LED lights.

The Las Vegas Sphere has caught the attention of the globe. (Or the globe has caught the attention of our sphere?). The 360 degree orb is covered with floor-to-ceiling screens which span an area larger than three American football fields. It has an infrasound haptic system (enabling audiences to feel the sound) with 157,000 ultra-directional speakers.

It’s the largest spherical building in the world - and an entertainment experience unlike anything we’ve seen before. And consequently it’s priced like one.

It costs $450,000 to secure a day of advertising through the Sphere. That’s roughly equivalent to nearly two years of advertising in Leicester Square.

That’s a lot of money. And there will be a lot of pressure to make it profitable. But it offers brands a unique vehicle to push boundaries with their storytelling. It blurs the lines between physical and digital worlds - presenting a chance to create next-level immersive experiences for audiences.

But before brands bet big chunks of budget on cutting-edge experiential activations - they need to answer one question: How does this help us tell our story?

Loyle Carner performing at the New Balance Marathon Launch

Narratives and communities

Stories are the currency of human contact.

They help us understand the world around us. They connect us with each other. And they transform brands from commercial operations into meaningful shared experiences.

These stories are told at each and every touchpoint between a brand and consumer. From shop shelves to YouTube ads. Sometimes these stories are told in weeks. The best ones are told over decades.

The story of a brand is what brings its audiences together. The most influential brands in the world don’t just have customers - they create communities. Events and experiential activations play a fundamental role in building communities. They allow audiences to get up close and personal with a brand - a chance to directly interact and tangibly become part of the story.

And this is the key. An event or activation doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s not a moment that exists outside of your brand story - it’s an important chapter in it. It’s not just about what you do. It’s about why you do it - and who you do it for.

Reinforced by the recent Business of Fashion report ‘The State of Fashion’;

“Connecting emotionally with consumers has become increasingly difficult in a world of ever-shortening attention spans. By meeting consumers in the real world with activations that span channels, brands can capture attention and build a more pervasive presence in customers’ lives.”

New Balance marathon launch - The community gallery

Breaking the fourth wall

At Gung Ho, we’re experts in helping brands tell their stories - and bringing them to life through meaningful activations.

We know it’s not just about hosting an event. It’s about creating a community.

We worked with New Balance to create a digital immersive space across four galleries for runners, athletes and influencers during the London Marathon. This experience put New Balance in the hands (and on the feet) of the people at the beating heart of the brand.

We created a space where like minded individuals could meet and share their experiences. We invited running clubs to attend - and had voiceovers from members of these groups telling their stories and describing what running meant to them playing across the four spaces. These unique experiences build connections. They illustrate how the New Balance community would engage with the brand at different speeds, colours and lenses.

And we were with them from the first moment to the last. The activation went far beyond the walls of the event space, stretching from local tube stations to the finish line of the Marathon.

New Balance Black History Month running route tour

In Liverpool, we worked with New Balance to create a bespoke running route through the city as part of Black History Month, helping local communities understand the history of the area and how it shaped the lives and experiences of people who passed through it.

The success of these events stem from an understanding of the New Balance story - and what it means to its communities.

We helped size? solve a slightly different challenge.

The retailer wanted to create an eye-catching activation which engaged sneakerheads - a hyper-passionate subculture. For this group, sneakers are far more than just something you put on your feet. They have significant cultural and historical value. People obsessively collect and trade. Collections are viewed as a form of art, with some sneakers gaining status as highly coveted "grails."

So this wasn’t just telling the story of size? - it was telling the stories of the thirteen brands it hosts, including Nike, adidas, New Balance, Salomon, Vans, PUMA Group and Reebok Europe.

Sneakerheads make extra effort to get to these events in person. But it’s impossible for everyone to be able to make every event. Which is why size? wanted to democratise the exclusivity of the event - extending beyond the physical event and echoing around digital spaces to engage the wider sneakerhead community.

This strategy paid off. The event attracted 171 key influencers on the day and the follow up content series achieved over 14 million views across press and social - effectively reaching the sneakerhead community both physically and digitally.

The building blocks

Brands are made of stories. Not atoms.

Events are powerful. But they only work if they are a natural extension of your brand story. The Las Vegas Sphere is a groundbreaking space and a glimpse into the future. But before a brand spends on the Sphere or any experiential activation - it needs to understand its role in the story, and why it matters to the communities at the heart of it.

Want to learn more about Gung Ho and how we help brands find meaningful creative solutions? Get in touch with the team here.