Role: Creative Direction & Strategy

Zulily became the Official Jersey Sponsor of the Seattle Sounders FC and the Reign FC in January 2019. As the new sponsor, Zulily had the opportunity to create an exciting fan activation at Century Link Field before every home game. The booth activation aims to drive brand awareness and education by highlighting Zulily’s brand traits: playful, energized, confident, and inclusive.

Zulily’s customers see shopping as a fun break, and they love the thrill of finding something that’s a great deal. The Thrill of the Find ball pit game connects the excitement of finding a treasure on Zulily with the thrill of finding a white ball among 30,000 Discovery Purple balls to win a premium prize.

The activation—which serves as a playful, fun break for both kids and adults—is also part photo booth, and captures people’s leap into the ball pit. Fans are encouraged to share their experience with #zulilyzone.

The team and I had a goal of making sure fans have a memorable experience as they get to know Zulily as a sponsor and local business. I felt confident that a giant ball pit would be a big hit because there’s psychology to back it up—humans are programmed to feel happiness when we see an abundance of round objects (think confetti, glitter, fireworks), so the ball pit experience actually makes people feel joy.

Every detail of the activation was carefully selected for maximum brand impact and fun. The ball pit was constructed as the main focus of the booth. It was important for me that the ball pit was large enough for adults to feel immersed in the experience, and for friends and families to enjoy it together. The final size was constructed at 12′ x 12′ x 4′ deep and filled with 30,000 balls that were color matched to Zulily’s main brand color, Discovery Purple.

Before each game hundreds of fans lined up to plummet into the pit as the camera captured their animated gif photo or slo-motion video that they could share with their friends on social media. Then, they had 2 minutes to dig and dive to find one of only 100 white balls to win a premium prize like a stadium blanket, clear stadium bag, or jersey rally towel.