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- Why brands are betting on Super Bowl pop-ups instead of ads
- Fitness-first pop-up: While on Earth brings workouts to San Francisco
- Travel and games: Béis turns Ghirardelli Square into a travel playground
- NFL style moment: Abercrombie & Fitch’s fashion activations
- Other notable activations and citywide brand moves
- How brands measure success from short-term events
- Lessons from this year’s Super Bowl activations
Super Bowl LX has become more than a game this year — it’s a marketing stage across the Bay Area. Retailers large and small are planting pop-up shops, staged activations and branded experiences in and around Santa Clara and San Francisco to capture the surge of fans and media converging on the region.
Why brands are betting on Super Bowl pop-ups instead of ads
With national ad slots commanding eye-watering prices, many companies opt for boots-on-the-ground activations. Pop-ups let brands be seen, felt and shared without the fixed costs of permanent retail.
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- Lower overhead than a permanent store.
- Opportunities for social content and earned media.
- Direct interaction with new audiences and influencers.
- Flexibility to test products and collect feedback.
Pop-ups create a live touchpoint where visitors can try items, attend events and post content. As one brand founder put it, only a few thousand people get Super Bowl tickets, but tens of thousands more can be reached through city activations.
Fitness-first pop-up: While on Earth brings workouts to San Francisco
While on Earth, the athletic apparel startup co-founded by an NFL star, set up its first-ever pop-up in the city days before the game. The brand used movement and community to introduce its products.
What visitors could do
- Daily group workouts and run clubs led by local coaches.
- Product try-ons and early previews of upcoming running shoes.
- Refreshments from a nonalcoholic beer partner and casual networking.
- A VIP panel with sports and entertainment leaders.
The activation aimed to convert online shoppers into real-world customers. The brand sells mostly online, so the pop-up doubled as a first in-person meeting for many attendees. It was an opportunity to demonstrate fit and performance before national release.
Travel and games: Béis turns Ghirardelli Square into a travel playground
Luggage label Béis chose iconic Ghirardelli Square to stage a multi-day activation tied to the travel rush around the Super Bowl. The brand used interactive play to showcase function and durability.
Highlights of the activation
- Relay races and luggage-themed challenges inside a local brewpub.
- Public game-day trivia and bingo nights with prizes.
- On-site sales of new Pro and Sport collections, plus a stadium-sized tote.
- Gifts with purchase and QR codes for discounts to drive post-event online sales.
Béis positioned the pop-up to expand its audience. While its core customers skew female, the brand aimed to attract more men and frequent travelers — including athletes — by emphasizing functionality at price points that matter. The goal: awareness and engagement more than immediate profit.
NFL style moment: Abercrombie & Fitch’s fashion activations
As the NFL’s official fashion partner for the season, Abercrombie rolled out several in-person programming items tied to both fandom and heritage style.
Programming and merchandise
- A limited NFL-licensed collection with team hoodies, tees and jackets.
- A pop-up shop inside the Moscone Center’s NFL Shop for a select window.
- An invite-only fashion presentation featuring athletes and partners.
- Custom pieces created for Pro Bowl participants earlier in the week.
The brand framed its activation as a capstone to a season-long partnership. By blending team-branded goods with archival looks, it aimed to reach both devoted fans and lifestyle shoppers. Abercrombie leaned into the stadium-as-runway idea to make the presentation feel authentically NFL.
Other notable activations and citywide brand moves
Beyond these pop-ups, several household names staged creative installations across the Bay Area to ride the Super Bowl wave.
- Levi’s set up a “Home Turf” activation near Levi’s Stadium, offering customization, live music and limited drops.
- Luggage brand Away rolled a giant suitcase prop through city neighborhoods to draw attention.
- Major advertisers invested in traditional TV ads, while some brands combined ad buys with local activations.
For marketers, the Super Bowl weekend is a multipronged play: national ad reach plus hyperlocal experiences that generate content and long-term customer connections.
How brands measure success from short-term events
Brands track a mix of metrics to judge pop-up performance. Direct sales are important, but so are digital and PR returns that extend long after the activation ends.
- On-site purchases and email captures.
- Social media impressions, shares and influencer posts.
- Traffic uplift to e-commerce and retention rates among new buyers.
- Press mentions and earned media value.
Teams often expect a “halo effect” after activations, where increased awareness drives later sales. Short activations can seed longer-term growth if brands follow up with targeted offers and content that keeps new audiences engaged.
Lessons from this year’s Super Bowl activations
Several patterns stand out from this year’s pop-up playbook.
- Authentic experiences outperform hard selling. Fans want memorable moments first.
- Partnerships amplify reach. Co-branded activations can bring new audiences.
- Physical activations should feed digital campaigns to extend lifespan.
- Testing new products in person helps refine merchandising before broader rollouts.
As the weekend unfolds, brands will watch both short-term metrics and the longer arc of customer acquisition. The most successful activations will be those that blend spectacle with genuine product utility.
