Swim for relief - Diana Nyad's 48-hour swim in Herald Square

Last Tuesday shortly before 9 a.m the long-distance swim legend Diana Nyad dove into the 120-foot long and two-lane wide pool in Herald Square and began swimming lap after lap.  In a pink swim cap she swam for 48 hours in a row to support Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.  

During these 48 hours of swimming she always had a guest swimmer with her in the water, from Olympic champs such as Ryan Lochte to Twilight stars like Nikki Reed, who put their heads and hearts into a couple of laps.  The water temperature was initially set at 84 degrees Fahrenheit but raised over time to 96 degrees to overcome the increasing autumnal chill during those days. 

The swim in Herald Square was a kick-off to a month-long effort to raise funds for AmeriCares, a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization that delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in need around the world and across the United States. When Nyad finished her 48 hours she had already brought in about $105,000 in the AmeriCares Relief fund, and the fund raising campaign still continues. 

Procter & Gamble with their brands Duracell, Tide and Secret had underwritten all production costs for the Nyad Swim for Relief event.  

In addition, they had also made sure that there was a guest swimmer in the lane next to Nyad the entire time of 48 hours.  Other brands represented in this event were Charmin, Tampax, Olay, Head&Shoulders and Pantene.  A great partnership to do good, entertain, and educate!

Step & Repeat Inspiration

A new, attention-grabbing trend has been taking over events. Brands are incorporating more unique step & repeats and 3-D media backdrops in order to generate more buzz. 

Step and Repeats
Typically seen on the Red Carpet, step and repeats have struck new ground at different events. With the increase in social media use, step and repeats provide the perfect photo op for guests to upload to their Facebook, Twitter, and Instragrams, allowing brands to gain more impressions instantly. Rather than reaching only the guests who attend, their friends news feeds will be blown up with photos and awesome representation of your brand with these media backdrops. Recently, the following ideas have been used by brands that your brand can now use as inspiration!

Flower Power 
A few different brands have used flowers to build beautiful step and repeats.

Museum of Modern Art: MoMa hosted a film benefit which featured a step and repeat wall built out of 20,000 fresh crimson roses.

Warner Bros.: For the movie premiere of Valentine's Day, Warner Bros. partnered with Warriors in Pink to build a step and repeat featuring 3-D hearts made out of roses.

POPSUGAR: At a private, promotional event Popsugar put on, they set up a wall built out of fake bright and light pink roses. They had a professional photographer taking pictures of guests in front of the backdrop throughout the night, but guests were also seen taking lots of pictures of their own.

Incorporating New Products
For new product launches and sponsorship activations, brands have shown off their new products in a step and repeat.

New Balance: For their first store opening in New York, New Balance showed off a red carpet step and repeat at the VIP Preview with real shoes!

Absolut Vodka: Absolut has used 3-D step and repeats on multiple occasions now. At Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox shelves held up tons of their limited edition Absolut Vodka bottles. Also, for the launch of their new Orient Apple flavor, producers used gold painted apples to add to their step and repeat.

vitaminwater: vitaminwater has been known to get pretty creative with their backdrops. For the premiere of Gossip Girl, they used actual bottles of vitaminwater held up on shelves to decorate the step and repeat.

Other Noteworthy Ideas

Findlandia Vodka: For their new product launch, Finlandia featured an ice sculpture wall to be used similar to a media backdrop.

vitaminwater: As previously mentioned, vitaminwater has used unique step and repeats for a number of events now. For the Rooftop Series during the Toronto International Film Festival, they used antique frames to highlight their brand name.

Private Events: For a young girl's Bat Mitzvah, a Juicy Couture inspired step and repeat was used with life size charms for the chains on the gold stanchions- an idea that could easily be adapted for other events!

In conclusion, these media backdrops have proven to be a big hit at both promotional and private events. Getting creative with 3D products and other props can effectively grab the attention of guests and ensure social media buzz.