Fig’s DJ team travels nationwide with an experiential marketing company to create excitement for a new food product powered by a custom mobile DJ suit.
Executive Summary
Publicis Experiential, aka PubX, partnered with Fig’s DJ team during the summer and early fall of 2023 to produce a series of guerilla-style events to promote their client’s latest product, MiO Energy. MiO is a liquid water enhancer that adds flavor to water or any beverage, and their Energy edition promises bold flavor, essential B vitamins, and caffeine. The goal: Distribute one million samples of MiO Energy at large events in four different cities—Chicago, Las Vegas, Nashville, and Austin.
The Campaign
The idea that was posed to us was to have us deejay live to help hype up the crowds and emcee to interact with people and let them know the details and benefits of MiO Energy. But, a normal DJ playing from a table was not going to be the most dynamic for this campaign. Our client asked if we would design a traveling DJ apparatus, like one that they saw in a YouTube video, where the DJ “perambulated”—walked around and played music. We said “yes,” and our relationship—and adventure—began.
Challenges
The challenge of this project was to create a wearable DJ “suit” that was self-contained—that is, battery-powered. A design process ensued:
Do online research of how to make the suit
Do online research of what parts we needed
Draft up the suit on paper
Purchase the equipment
Assemble the first suit iteration of the suit
Testing the first suit iteration
Tweaking the first suit iteration
Designing how storage was going to look
Our first iteration was HEAVY and sometimes awkward—45 pounds total between all the parts. It was hard to walk with and the volume could have been louder in some performance areas. Hot summertime weather was a challenge as well. We had a folding piano stand ready on deck to provide a platform for the console and a much-needed “break” for our DJs (Granted, our DJs made the suit look good despite the weight challenges.)
Our second iteration was a big improvement: We replaced the large, bulky console with a battery-powered console and installed a custom-cut-and-painted “cigarette girl”-style shelf on our harness, and removed the speaker off the back of the suit and onto a stand or in a wagon. We also utilized a wireless clip-on microphone kit to transmit sound and, walk around, and connect with people.
How our services were used:
Fig shined in many ways, not only with the hosting and connections with the crowd, but also with connecting with our distribution teams from PubX. We understood the assignment: Host and play music. Share the gospel on MiO Energy over the microphone. Create a party. Get the sample-sharers rocking. Get the samples flowing. We were the catalysts and sentinels of “energy” of the sample-sharing of MiO Energy at all the events that we performed. Some of the events that we performed at included:
Chicago Air & Water Show
Wrigley Field + Jonas Brothers concert
Chicago Jazz Festival
ARC Music Festival Chicago
Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas
Life Is Beautiful Music Festival in Las Vegas
Various football games in Austin and Nashville
Results, Return on Investment, and Future Plans
We performed in four cities during a total of 17 days over three months
One million samples were distributed
Over ten major events were visited during our stay
Our partnership with PubX was a total success, not to mention delightful and enjoyable. Four markets got to experience MiO Energy—and our DJ team—in a creative, cool, and engaging way, and in turn, we created a service that we can provide for future events.
Bottom Line:
Deejaying is an art. Interaction is key. We’ve taken both to the next level with a new mobile DJ suit offering for events; its maiden voyage launched with our partner and client Publicis Experiential (PubX).
Fig Team:
Producers: Michele and James Gustin
DJ Suit Designer: James Gustin
DJ Team: James Gustin, Brent Rolland, Danny Choi
Photographer: Brian Carey
Video/Assistants: Codi Palm, Brian Carey, and Connor Godinich