The intimacy of a private home offers a perfect setting for hosting exclusive dinners. At The Macallan Villa, VIP guests enjoyed signature culinary menus by chef Chris Sayegh, who crafted dishes that honored the brand’s Scottish heritage along with local ingredients inspired by Los Angeles.Photo: Courtesy of The Macallan
Hosting an event in a private home has long been a great way to make a major impact—because who doesn't love a house party? But many brands take it a step further, extending the celebration from one night into a multiday—or even seasonlong—stay.
When a brand takes over a private estate, it's an opportunity to create an immersive, high-touch, and intimate experience for executives, influencers, and VIPs. These activations aren't just about branding; they're about crafting memorable experiences that inspire genuine connection and excitement.
When Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido was planning its 2021 summer activation, the team knew a multiday beach house format was the perfect fit for what they were trying to achieve. “Doing a series of events in one space leads to a challenging schedule but lets us maximize output and resources from a production standpoint,” explained Samantha Cremona, the then-director of production operations at Olivier Cheng Catering and Events (OCNY), who added that the space's nine separate events each had their own host, guest list, decor, and experiential elements.
“When creating an event in this format, we can develop a branded baseline and then build upon/tweak/edit for each individual experience to make it unique for guests," she added. "So, combining really allows us to keep resources to a minimum and take a more sustainable approach, as opposed to if the brand were to choose to do all nine activations separately.”
And in 2017, digital media and entertainment network Awesomeness also found that a two-week private beach house rental was the best way to showcase all the different aspects of what the brand could offer. The result was a "multipurpose space where we could create content and film a number of our shows, as well as host a variety of events," explained Catherine Gill, the then-vice president of marketing at Awesomeness.
So, what does it take to turn a luxurious estate into an ongoing experiential haven? We took a look at some successful home-based activations from brands like Mike's Hard Lemonade, The Macallan, and more to identify some must-have moments for these unique experiences.
Ultimately, creating memorable photo and video moments was the main goal of the house, so Crush Studio took great care to make sure every corner offered a key moment—which involved sourcing a massive house, painting 75% of the walls, staging every room, and creating plenty of custom build outs, like a lava lamp wall in the entry, custom Pac-Man-inspired shelving in a garage arcade, and custom trim in the living room.
Every room of the Awesomeness house was used for events. The primary bedroom, for example, became a content studio for filming, while the attic (pictured) was transformed into an infinity-roomlike photo op. The backyard, which was decorated with string lights and colorful pool floats, welcomed guests for brunches, panels, and more.
