Art, Emerging Tech: Five Insights on Bombay Sapphire’s Stir Creativity Platform

Visual artist Shavanté Royster is one of the emerging creatives Bombay partnered with for its Stir Creativity platform.

It was an eventful end to 2021 for Bombay Sapphire, a brand that is embracing the emerging artist and creative community through its Stir Creativity platform. Putting the messaging that “creativity can take us anywhere” into action, the brand activated a pair of artistic disruptions, from a novel neuroaesthetics technology to reviving Manhattan’s shopping districts with a shot of creativity—and Bombay.

Bombay Sapphire’s latest activation was its first-ever Holiday Storefront Series supported by a partnership between rising cult fashion designer Romeo Hunte and visual artist Shavanté Royster. The brand took over and repurposed storefronts in three different locations in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan where many small businesses shuttered during earlier days of the pandemic, replicating the spirit of Fifth Avenue’s iconic holiday windows through the eyes of Hunte and Royster. Capping off the program were local city dance performances in the windows and a nearby cocktail excursion that featured Bombay-mixed drinks on the menus of select local restaurants and bars.

Earlier in October, Bombay Sapphire also disrupted the art scene with its first-ever Sensory Auction held in New York City’s Lume Studios. The event offered art lovers the opportunity to bid on an original piece of art by contemporary sculptor artist Dan Lam—not with dollars, but with their emotional sensory response to viewing the creation. The auction took place on International Gin and Tonic Day and, naturally, the brand served a new Dan & Tonic signature cocktail inspired by Lam’s sculpture for the experience.

More From Bombay’s Event Portfolio:

• Cocktail Art: Bombay Sapphire Sensory Auction Inspires Creative Pairing
• Holiday Roundup: How 14 Brands Celebrated the Season with Live Experiences

We connected with Jaime Keller, brand director-North America for Bombay Sapphire, to discuss Stir Creativity and the brand’s connection to creatives. Five insights on leveraging art in marketing in 2022:

1. Always be authentic, relevant.

Bombay Sapphire is embracing meaningful, intimate experiences with consumers in the new era that allow them to engage from the safety of the outdoors or attend small-scale, local events that all, ultimately, map back to building awareness for and supporting a community (like emerging artists, or neighborhood businesses).

“From a creative lens, Bombay’s flavor profile really resonated with [auction artist Dan Lam’s] creative process,” Keller says. “It all comes back to creating authentic connections with people and inspiring creativity in everyone.”

2. Prioritize artist partnerships.

Bombay Sapphire is tapping into emerging and underrepresented visionaries as a key territory this winter and beyond. The creative community was so deeply impacted by the pandemic, so the brand shifted its focus to activities that heroed emerging, underrepresented artists who need support more now than ever.

“I think it shows that there are creative ways you can still drive engaging experiences, and it can still be done in innovative and unique ways,” Keller says.

3. Leverage emerging technology.

The future of experiential marketing is driven by new technology, and Bombay Sapphire continues to distinguish itself from the crowd in this realm. At the auction, bidders signed up for individual time slots to visit the gallery and be fitted with state-of-the-art neuro-aesthetic technology to measure their subconscious sensory reactions while viewing the artwork. As soon as the sculpture was unveiled, electrodes measured brainwaves, skin galvanic response technology detected perspiration and eye-tracking devices measured focus and engagement to determine the most passionate collector. Talk about self-expression, one of the brand’s core campaign tenets.

Bombay forged community connections with its Holiday Storefronts by transforming empty retail spots into unique displays.

4. Build in digital direction.

Targeting all consumers, Bombay’s three window display activations attracted both in-the-know consumers (thanks to Bombay’s pre-event paid social strategy), and passersby. QR codes affixed to the display windows offered audiences explanations of the experiences that they were viewing through the windows, including live dance performances and artists recreating a rendering of Royster’s work. The QR codes also supplied viewers with timing and location details of other window performances and cocktail experiences, encouraging foot traffic in the neighborhood.

5. Leverage community connection.

Both Bombay campaigns forged deep connections in the community. Take the window displays, which addressed the pandemic’s negative outcome for commercial real estate by transforming empty retail spots into unique displays. Bombay also brough Royster’s artwork to life with the debut of a new artist holiday gift pack, or limited-edition holiday collectible (that transforms into a spray paint can) featuring artwork by Royster. The gift packs were displayed and sold in local retail stores (and featured in QR code content) so that shoppers could experience the creativity of the brand as a platform. For fans who could not attend in person, the gift packs could also be purchased through ReserveBar.com spirits delivery service.

Apart from celebrating diverse creative artforms and encouraging foot traffic to businesses, the program also served as a platform for emerging creatives who are seeking new ways to connect with each other and work in pandemic times.

Agencies—auction: BBDO New York (creative); The Experiential Group (experiential); Volvox Labs (technology); Patrick Shillenn / Route 10 (artist curator); BBDO Studios (production); Janet Eisenberg (casting); Wax Editorial (content); Sonic Union (a/v). Agencies—window displays: Talenthouse; The Gathery; Nike.

Photo credit: Hagop Kalaidjian

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