Experiential Marketing at Advertising Week NYC

Every year over 100k people carve out four days of their week to attend Advertising Week New York: the biggest networking event for marketing, advertising, technology and brand professionals. This one-of-a-kind experience features daytime seminars and workshops led by some of the industry’s brightest minds, and creative pop-ups that showcase the future of the global industry.

With so many panels, keynotes, and happy hours going on, it’s hard to choose which events to pack your schedule with. A handful of advertising, marketing and media agencies, including FOX, Valassis, Pubmatic, Quad and Ampersand, turned to the New York Food Truck Association to produce branded activations that would capture attendees attention and remain the among the highest engaging booths that the conference had to offer.

The NYFTA Solution

For the fourth consecutive year we operated a rotation of branded food trucks throughout the day that served complimentary coffee, breakfast, lunch and dessert for Advertising Week attendees sponsored by our partners. Each activation was different from the next in their fully customized vehicle wrap design as well as the food and beverage that was served. Parked right in front of Lincoln Square Theater (near Lincoln Center), our trucks were excited and well prepared to be flooded with thousands of customers.

FOX kicked off the day at 8am with a branded Simpsons’ truck that offered coffee and iconic freshly made pink-glazed donuts for breakfast. Cups and napkins were imprinted with several Fox TV sitcoms, which riled up attendees’ excitement for other giveaways as they continued to shuffle inside. There they could also find Valassis, whose “Make a Scene Caffeine” mobile bar offered hot and cold Nitro brewed coffee throughout the day. Not only was it important to keep up with continuous demand for the morning service, but it was equally important to seamlessly swap them out with our partners offering a lunch service. That’s where we came in. Between permitting, stanchions, traffic control and communicating with our vendors, we ensured nothing but a seamless transition. Attendees lined the block as they waited for lunch to begin promptly at 12pm. To provide attendees with a generous variety, Ampersand offered mouth-watering BBQ options (chicken, pork and vegetarian sandwiches) and PubMatic served tacos and burritos. The day culminated with an ice cream truck sponsored by Quad, who offered flavors such as “KPI Pistachio” and “Insight & Analytics Strawberry Jam,” to highlight some of the amazing services they provide.