Okayplayer House: Creating a Traveling Immersive Brand Experience

Role: Creator and Executive Producer

Locations: Miami (Art Basel, twice) and Los Angeles (NBA All-Star Weekend)

Headline result: Three sponsored activations, including the first reggae headliner at Art Basel (Shaggy).

The challenge Okayplayer wanted an authentic way to stand out at major cultural moments across the U.S. It needed a branded, flexible concept that could work in different cities and attract sponsors.

The idea I created Okayplayer House: take over an unconventional space and, for one day, turn it into the ultimate hangout for music and culture lovers, with programming, performances, and brand activations.

What I did I led location scouting, build-out and staging, talent booking, staffing, and content capture, and secured a strategic partner for every event.

The three activations

• House #1, Miami Art Basel, with BET: at Red Rooster in Overtown, a gallery with Danny Hastings, a live taping of The Almanac of Rap, two panels, a live screening, and an after party.

• House #2, Miami Art Basel, with VP Records and BitBasel: Shaggy headlined at the Sagamore, the first reggae show during Art Basel.

• House #3, Los Angeles NBA All-Star Week, with The Finn Group (TFG) and Essentia: a block party headlined by Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh.

Why it worked I soft-pitched the concept to former BET colleagues, people I'd worked with for years, and locked in a sponsor within one meeting. For the second House, I paired VP's Shaggy album campaign with BitBasel's Art Week programming to give Okayplayer a bigger platform for Caribbean culture.