How do brands play?

The strategy of play – 25% into the experiment

“For me, the most successful public art is the kind that gets people to engage with it, to start playing,” said Yuri Suzuki in a conversation with me for Playground Issue 3. I couldn’t agree more. Since then, I’ve been noticing how art, exhibitions – and brands – invite people to play.

For me, I realised, just like Yuri, the most successful brand activations are the ones that spark engagement and invite play. When done well, they do stick in my memory far more than a meet-and-greet or another round of drinks. With connection in high demand, ‘play’ is fast becoming a more powerful strategy than passive participation.

My deep dive when it comes to brands and play began with research, but also with recalling the moments when a brand really “played” well.

Nike and Pigalle’s basketball court takeover, which painted Instagram feeds and drew photo-chasers to Paris, is still unforgettable. In fact, the Pigalle Duperré basketball court is still there and actively maintained, receiving a new design or restyling every few years by Ill-Studio, Nike, and Pigalle.

Then there’s the simple joy of claw machines at events – they just work, every time. Recently, one featured a Hermès Birkin bag during New York Fashion Week. The twist? The claw was unwinnable. Conceived by Uncommon Studio and titled Pain (nice one!), it was a metaphor for hustle culture and luxury’s unattainable nature – a playful PR stunt that turned sticky for the game itself.

And of course, everything Jacquemus touches, with his mischievous brand gestures, continues to set the tone & the trends for playful brands.

Beyond fashion, there’s Red Bull’s adrenaline-fuelled activations and brands stepping into the gaming arena – though for this piece, I’ve focused on what we often call “brand activations.”

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So, how do brands really play – and why should we care?
Research and real-world numbers converge: when people are actively involved in playful, immersive experiences, they remember them more deeply.

• Experiential marketing builds memory structures that support brand recall, purchase, and relationship. (Source: Measuring The Return of Experiential marketing)

• The more immersive and emotionally rich the activation, the stronger the memory imprint. (Source: Revisiting experiential marketing: a Delphi study)

• In practice: 72 % of consumers say they feel more positive toward brands with meaningful event experiences; 74 % say it makes them more likely to buy. (Source: Event track Report)

• In the “What do 9,000 brand lift studies teach us about attention and memory?” research, attention was shown to be a strong predictor of brand outcomes – implying that experiences that command attention (i.e. playful, immersive activations) can drive awareness, consideration, preference and intent. (Source: Havas Study)

Play is more than play – it can be strategic.

And from my research, four clear categories of brand play start to emerge…

• Toys – tangible prompts, often small objects, designed to be touched, tested, collected or carried away. From branded card decks to limited-edition trinkets, toys invite physical interaction and extend the memory of the experience beyond the moment.

• Games – structured activities with rules, challenges and outcomes. Think table games, chess set-ups, or competitive tasks. Games give people a clear way in, tapping into our natural drive to compete, collaborate and win.

• Interactions – open-ended, DIY-style moments where the visitor becomes the maker. From customising an object to building something together, these activities turn passive audiences into active co-creators.

• Playgrounds – the larger arenas, built environments or installations that immerse people. These are the stages where a brand sets the tone, creating a shared context for exploration, connection and play.

Each acts as a prompt – an invitation to join in rather than just observe. They turn “networking” (who likes it anyways!) into something more meaningful: connection through fun. And at the same time, they become the bridge between brand and audience, transforming engagement into memory.

I keep noticing how often brands show their most playful side at festivals – and the lovelier the experience, the better the image I carry of that organisation afterwards. Playful brands seem to breathe a healthier, more positive culture from within. When a brand allows itself to step outside the box and do things for real, it becomes more than a message – it feels like a genuine way of speaking about who they are.

Gamification in practice: the rise of branded advent calendar

Every fall, there’s a noticeable influx of branded advent calendars. Not just the classic one-chocolate-a-day variety, but calendars filled with beer, socks, beauty products – even sex toys. What started as a seasonal tradition has become a widespread marketing format: a daily prompt that mixes surprise, nostalgia and brand touchpoints.

And it works. At Playground, our team received a stationery advent calendar from Pen Store last year – it became a daily ritual that initiated conversation and connection.

That’s the power of tapping into known ‘games’ and gamification: taking something familiar and infusing it with brand . Advent calendars, in their new branded form, have quietly become one of the most successful examples of everyday “playgrounds.”

Play of thought

So, how do you truly engage your audience? What’s the one step further - the ‘playful’ side of your business? How can you organically and playfully invite your audience to play?

For us, this is only the beginning. As myself and the team dig deeper, “play” keeps unfolding into an endless list of opportunities and strategies. We’ll keep writing about it, exploring how brands experiment, connect and create through play.

Play Experiment Update

I’m now more than 25% into the play experiment! I first wrote about it when launching the Rebranding Play series – and since then, I haven’t skipped a single day or regretted joining the fun. From writing silly short stories, making moodboards, and playing UNO with my partner, to a longer “play-date” in the library, each session has been so-much-fun. It’s not always easy to think what to play with, so I am in the works setting myself a ‘play box’ and a playground full of ‘prompts’.

These 30 minutes a day, spent on something playful and unproductive in the best sense, have been incredibly rewarding. I feel calmer at work, more focused in my strategic tasks, and overall more energised. I’d almost go as far as saying this already feels life changing….

Three of my studio playground co-workers are doing the experiment alongside me. And since I was the one who sparked the idea, I feel I can’t collapse — even when I caught a cold, I kept going. I know some of you also raised your hands to join in: how’s it going for you?

A few insights after 25 consecutive days of play:

– Play is a getaway, almost a small rebellion against the day

– It’s hard to start playing, but fun to continue — like many things in life

– Play is always an invitation to something unexpected, creative, new.

I’ve been keeping a careful archive and daily notes, and plan to share a mid-way reflection at day 45 – with maybe a bigger piece to come in the next year... who knows what gets out of it!

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Housekeeping

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Thank you for reading,

Auste & Playground team