As the leader in the home fragrance industry, Yankee Candle® is always surprising its loyal fans worldwide with new, exciting scents inspired by beautiful flowers, delicious treats, striking places and memorable experiences.
Newly launched, the Sakura Blossom Festival summer collection brings the ancient Japanese tradition of hanami (literally ‘flower viewing’) into the home, with three new fragrances that celebrate the beauty of nature and the country’s most enchanting experiences. Tranquil Garden, Mango Ice Cream and Berry Mochi blend rich, fresh, floral and fruity fragrance notes guaranteed to uplift the home on a warm summer’s day.
Yankee Candle® briefed Houston to introduce the collection to the press, influencers and consumers with a creative, engaging and unexpected activation that would bring the fragrances to life and increase brand awareness. Enter the Yankee Candle® Sakura Blossom Festival van. For two days, the branded, pastel hued Sakura Blossom Festival vehicle drove across London to visit publishing houses and influencers, and finally stopped at Boxpark Shoreditch to showcase the new products directly to consumers.
During our media day, we visited targeted publishing houses, including Hearst, Future and Bauer Media, as well as a selection of key influencers. More than 40 journalists across 12 titles visited the pop-up van and enjoyed interacting with Yankee Candle®, learning about the messages behind the collection and the new scents. To make the activation even more memorable, the press was treated to refreshments inspired by the Sakura Blossom Festival collection, including Japanese mochi ice cream and matcha tea, as well as the iconic Yankee Candle® Original Jar samples from the new summer range, delivered in branded gift bags.
The activation made it possible for Yankee Candle® to directly connect with key members of press, offering the opportunity to sample products and learn about the inspirations behind them in an engaging way.
For our consumer day, the Sakura Blossom Festival van was stationed at the Green at Boxpark Shoreditch. Located in the heart of East London, Boxpark Shoreditch is the home of the pop-up store, filled with an exciting and diverse mix of lifestyle and fashion brands, galleries, cafés and restaurants. The Green is a versatile entertainment space part of Boxpark Shoreditch, located directly next to Shoreditch High Street station, with good footfall and easy access.
For the day, Houston partnered with Boxpark Shoreditch’s own charming dessert bar, Soft Serve Society. Known for its unique, premium soft serve ice cream, Soft Serve Society created personalised flavours, Pink Vanilla and Matcha, to match the theme of the new Yankee Candle® collection. Visitors of the pop-up van at Boxpark Shoreditch were able to connect with the brand and learn about the Sakura Blossom Festival range whilst enjoying a cold matcha tea and a delicious ice cream inspired by the new summer fragrances. To give visitors a taste of the collection, smaller Filled Votive samples from the Sakura Blossom Festival range were handed out as gifts. Over 500 people visited the pop-up van throughout the day, generating lots of buzz and content on social media.
Summary:
To introduce the new Yankee Candle® Sakura Blossom Festival summer collection to the press and consumers, Houston were briefed to create an engaging activation that would bring the fragrances to life. Over the course of two days, The Yankee Candle® Sakura Blossom Festival van drove through London to visit several media houses and influencers, ending its journey at Boxpark Shoreditch for a consumer pop-up.
People:
The whole Yankee Candle® team was involved in this activation: Hannah Paul, Sam Harris, Paola Tonsi and Georgia Oliver.
Written by: Paola Tonsi, Junior Account Manager, Houston.