Super Bowl LVIII: Furniture Brand Ashley Pops Up its Biggest Activation Yet in Las Vegas

“We knew we wanted to tap into country because we think it’s an underrepresented genre for consumers during Super Bowl week parties, especially for the parties that are open and free to the public like ours were.”

–Alexa Richardson, Director of Brand Activation and Field Marketing, Ashley Global Retail

Brand ambassadors distributed swag, like bandanas and hats.

For an event like the Super Bowl—the most watched telecast of all time with 123.4 million viewers this year—especially when it’s hosted in a lively city like Las Vegas, the overarching approach is to go big or go home. Furniture brand Ashley certainly took this to heart, having put on its biggest and longest activation yet, with five days full of high-touch consumer moments and live music performances to engage fans ahead of the Big Game.

Ashley House took over Resorts World Las Vegas’ sports bar Dawg House Saloon and Sportsbook, Feb. 7-11, with a game-ready lounge outfitted with the brand’s couches and recliners. Consumers could relax, eat and drink, and try out the furniture for themselves—as if they were watching a football game at home. Those interested in the featured products at the Sportsbook could scan QR codes displayed on tables to live shop.

More From Ashley’s Event Portfolio:

• Ashley’s Beach Retreat Invites Consumers to Envision Their Ideal Outdoor Setups
• Ashley’s Shoppable ‘Listening Rooms’ Pop-up in L.A. Gets the Pentatonix Treatment

Aiming to attract millennial and Gen Z consumers, Ashley chose Resorts World, one of the Strip’s newest hotel properties. The space stood out with two giant orange archways at the entrances that were modeled after the brand’s recognizable logo of a house outline. Inside, brand ambassadors interacted with participants by handing out merch giveaways and encouraging them to pose for the photo op. Ashley utilized digital screens to flash up its branding, and in the evening, a stage rolled out for exclusive performances by up-and-coming country music artists Cooper Alan, ERNEST and HARDY.

“We knew we wanted to tap into country because we think it’s an underrepresented genre for consumers during Super Bowl week parties, especially for the parties that are open and free to the public like ours were,” says Alexa Richardson, director of brand activation and field marketing at Ashley Global Retail. “We wanted to create that intimate experience and tap into the followings that these artists have, but provide a meaningful experience for country fans in Vegas and meet our consumers where they are. We thought it was just a natural fit.”

Ashley House brought the comfort of a game day lounge to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

While Ashley House was open daily to everyone, once 9:30 p.m. rolled around, the venue was closed off for a 21-and-up crowd to enjoy the nightly free country music performances in a dimmer, mood-lit environment. Richardson says its demographic research showed most of the central NFL experiences would cater to families, so the brand saw the week as a unique opportunity to lean into what makes Vegas, Vegas.

One reason Ashley chose Resorts World as its pop-up venue was the media amplification through the West Tower Screen, one of the country’s largest LED screens, spanning 100,000 square feet across the front facade of the hotel. A 30-second spot on Ashley and its entertainment lineup ran on the screen for a week.

Additionally, Ashley forged a media partnership with Barstool Sports, which had a content house in Vegas for the Super Bowl, on several of its podcasts to further reach the millennial and Gen Z listener demographic. Ashley outfitted the studio sets with furniture curated for the shows and had a direct partnership with Barstool Sports’ “Bussin’ With The Boys” NFL-themed podcast.

The activation served as a pop-up shop and performance venue at Resorts World Las Vegas.

The brand exceeded its attendance goals for Ashley House, anticipating about 2,500 consumers visiting the space per day. But each day saw more and more people come through, with Saturday welcoming 3,600 attendees, Richardson says. Following the weekend, Ashley donated all furniture from Ashley House to local first responders as a thank-you for their efforts keeping the city safe throughout the week leading up to the Super Bowl.

“With our experiential efforts, we’re trying to tap into those key pop culture moments—for example, we just launched our leather line at Art Basel. So popping up in those big consumer events and maybe in a way that the consumer wouldn’t expect Ashley to pop up,” she says. Agency: FlyteVu.

Photo credit: Ashley

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