Four Seasons Pop Down experiences showcase the iconic brand’s people, imagination, and creativity

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has a well-established reputation for luxury, but the heart and soul of the brand are the passionate craftspeople who create memorable guest experiences around the world. Four Seasons sought to celebrate the artistry and imagination of these people through a series of experiential and immersive events dubbed Pop Downs (a take on the popular idea of pop-ups). The concept, its execution and the results have won first place in the “Event Marketing” category of Ragan’s 2018 PR Daily Awards.

Pop Downs—all held in venues away from hotel and resort properties—were designed to excite the marketplace with new, authentic brand experiences; increase brand awareness; stand out in the luxury hospitality space; inspire engaging content; create connections with new and existing guests; and foster media and social media buzz. Always hosted in unexpected and unique locations around the world, the events celebrate staff like Michelin-star chefs, mixologists and florists—the people who bring the brand’s hotels and resorts to life. By holding the events away from Four Seasons properties, the focus is squarely on the artistry of its people.

The first Pop Down was held in Toronto, where Four Seasons is headquartered, followed by Philadelphia on the rooftop of a former high school, then on a superyacht in Miami, and most recently in a vacant retail space in Central Hong Kong. With each Pop Down, the brand transforms these unexpected spaces into one-of-a-kind events and experiences that are highly shareable across platforms. They also engage the public by hosting consumer activations in each destination, including floral picture frames throughout downtown Philadelphia; an artistic installation in Miami with the debut of Glass Horizon, an airborne skynet sculpture; and a surprise bakery where Michelin Star Chef Chan Yan Tak handed out his famous Pork Buns for free in Hong Kong.

Pop Downs are fun and engaging, they are a first in the hospitality industry, and feed the millennial desire for personal experiences.

A comprehensive media and content plan accompanies each Pop Down, securing journalists and social media influencers to attend press trips with curated itineraries that deliver behind-the-scenes access to the brand, the Pop Down and the participating craftspeople. Video content is developed to be optimized across platforms, and gives Four Seasons global audience a chance to experience Pop Down no matter where they are in the world.

Congratulations to Sarah Tuite, Brennan Holder, Stephanie Bridge, Anthony Field, Eleanor Deacon, Margot Reilly, Andrew Galloro and HL Group and HALO PR.