In case you missed it, Fenway Park last Thursday and Friday held the, “Big Air” event (sponsored by: Polartec) amidst a blast of cold wintry weather to a few thousand people. With a 140 foot ramp protruding outward from the top of Fenway Park, and visible to some daily 100,00 cars on the I-90 pike, Fenway’s ‘Big Air’ certainly turned some heads…not to mention the ramp was taller than the light towers at Fenway…

Check out this great recap of the practice runs. 

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) who owns and manages Fenway Park and all the odd events that seem to be taking place there more often really hit a home run (in my mind) with this ‘Big Air’ event. Aside from the last non-baseball event I attended there (See: Boston’s Bacon + Beer Festival) I was a huge fan of this ‘Big Air’ event. Not only did it host snowboarders and skiers from all over the globe to compete in glorious fashion for a captive (yet small) Fenway Park audience, but from another standpoint it was something entirely unique to the city. Bringing vendors, advertisers and ideas that Bostonians don’t normally see (or hear about) on a daily basis, into the city.

Boston is home to a largely innovative culture, yet refined where we don’t like too many things out of the norm. Experiential marketing is exactly the opposite, it surprises you and captivates you with things you don’t normally see, or do, on a daily basis. Personally, I’m glad Boston is becoming more of a home for these kinds of experiential events. Why should NYC and LA have all the fun? And with a 140 foot ramp sticking out of a 103 year old ballpark, Boston’s interest in extreme sports marketing was definitely piqued.

Now, as a company who focuses on the digital side of experiential events, we thought this was a great event for the City of Boston. While some of the tech aspects at the ‘Big Air’ such as the massive display screens were far less than well executed’ there was hardly any interactive or engaging components, other than someone coming down the ramp every five minutes. Is there room for improvement? Yes, absolutely. Was it still a killer experiential marketing event? Yes, absolutely.

Our traditional, yet again forward-thinking culture in this town hasn’t typically welcomed these sorts of experiential events into our city, but that’s beginning to change. And speaking from a company who wishes more events like this occurred in Boston, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. The Big Air event not only provided something entirely different to the city’s landscape, but did so by bringing in brands who don’t normally have any reason to come to Boston. Brands like GoPro, Polartec, Hapfrie Insurance, Lifeproof, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association, Killington, Red Bull, Bose, Marmot, Visa and other companies who simply don’t vie for Bostonian’s attention. At least not with more important markets like NYC being so close….so, is it time for more big brands to come to the Hub? We think so, but as always, time will tell.

Now, some other questions remain…will FSG continue it’s trend of daring, bold and fresh events year after year? Will other Boston venues take interest in hosting these kinds of experiential events? Will big brands try to infuse new ways of reaching consumers through experiential marketing here in Boston? I certainly hope so. Because in a town filled with financial companies, startups, education and some fashion brands, there lies plenty of room for other big brands to capture Bostonian’s interest in spectacular and entertaining ways. 

Follow Cam King on Twitter here @CamKing747 // Follow @inphantry 

Are you a big brand looking to burst onto the experiential scene? Are you open to being pitched on creative digital services that implement emerging technologies? Drop us a line to our new business guy Cam King at: Cam@inphantry.com or email our whole company at: base@inphantry.com