Top 5 Brand Activations of 2022

Published on 20 January 2023

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Re-Wilded Trafalgar Square

As we make our way through the first month of the new year, it’s often recommended to look ahead at what’s to come. However, we’d like to take this opportunity to look back at all the beautifully thought-out and brilliantly-executed brand activations of 2022. From the best PR stunts to brand pop-ups and OOH advertisements, this list showcases the very best that 2022 had to offer and sets the standard for the coming year…

Innocent: The Big Re-Wild

Innocent launched their Big Re-Wild campaign, encouraging urbanites to bring nature to the concrete jungle. They kicked things off by re-wilding one of London’s most iconic urban spaces… Trafalgar Square!

Using over 6,000 live plants, including; trees, shrubs, bushes, flowers, turfs and more, we were able to complete this 20m x 10m transformation. We even came up with the idea of producing a replica statue of the iconic Trafalgar Square lions and dressing it with moss, ivy and oranges. This was the statement piece that really grabbed the attention of visitors and it even impressed, famous outdoor survivalist, Ray Mears!

On top of these hired plants, we sourced 500 potted plants, from a UK supplier, that were given away to members of the public to take home and plant in their own gardens. Visitors also had the chance to go away with some free seed paper and a bottle of Innocent orange juice.

All in all, the feedback received from the activation was overwhelmingly positive, with many asking for it to become a permanent feature on the square! The stunt was covered, extensively, on major broadcast channels. Both the BBC and ITV came down to cover the stunt and it even featured as the backdrop for the weather report that day!

CPB London: Imagine a world…

The ‘Imagine a World’ campaign brought up issues regarding gender equality and social justice, doing so by bringing unconscious biases to the forefront of people’s attention.

CPB London created impactful posters for the workplace and a colouring book for kids & parents, to make sure that unconscious biases are not passed down to the next generation. 

CPB said that facing, questioning and talking about our unconscious biases is the only way to get rid of them once and for all. “We wanted to do something proactive to rebrand gender diversity and confront people with their biases, so we can all start to be free of them.”

Corona Plastic Letter

Corona are always front and centre on World Ocean’s Day. This year we activated a stunt for them, in Mexico, with a strong focus on bringing the important message – about the global plastic problem – to the world’s attention.

We collected the plastic waste along a stretch of beach, in a protected nature reserve, deep in the heart of the Tulum jungle. This clean-up operation took a team of 100 people a total of 2 whole weeks!

The 494kg of plastic ocean waste was then used to create the 40m letter visualising Corona’s commitment to net-zero plastic. A stunning video was captured, via drone and shown to the world.

La Vie: No Joke

Without a doubt the most amusing campaign we saw last year – La Vie, vegan pork manufacturers executed an OOH billboard campaign across Europe (launching in Shoreditch) with huge comedic value, despite it not being a joke!

The billboard reads: ‘A Jew, a meat-lover, a Muslim and a vegan walk into a bar and share a bacon sandwich. No Joke,’ creating the image of a very diverse pub lunch in the minds of passersby.

Romain Jolivet, chief marketing officer at La Vie, said about the campaign: ‘For over a year, La Vie has been on a mission to guide all consumers towards a plant-based lifestyle. Thanks to our unique ability to replicate the taste of pork without pork, our products bring everyone to the same table, regardless of their dietary regime and we hope to spread this messaging with the help of our new OOH campaign!”

Netflix: Glass Onion Villa

To launch Netflix’s latest, blockbuster film ‘Glass Onion’ we recreated the majestic Greek villa from the film and gave people a chance to experience the movie first-hand in a way that no one, aside from the characters, could even dream of…

We designed, produced and installed this giant, 4-sided villa (measuring 100sqm) on the forecourt of one of London’s busiest transport hubs – King’s Cross Station.

The build was designed to be accessible from all angles, giving passers-by a chance to easily engage with the activation and immerse themselves into the murder-mystery world of Glass Onion. Each side had its own purpose and activity for public entertainment. There was even a secret room, inside, accessible to those who completed a puzzle!

The activation ran live for a whole week and saw thousands upon thousands of visitors attend and engage (some even making the trip to London specifically for this experience). They even had the chance to take away bespoke, jumbo christmas crackers with a murder mystery game inside!

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery interactive installation at Kings Cross Station, London on the 17 December 2022

We hope these brand activations give you some great inspiration for 2023. If you’re looking to create your own memorable moment this year and need an activation agency to bring your ideas to life (or even come up with campaign concepts), please reach out to us via our contact page! We look forward to hearing from you.