Miami International Boat Show

Creating a Brand Destination in a Product-Driven Environment

$150K budget | 100,000+ show attendees | 7+ partners and vendors | 5 days

The Opportunity

The Miami International Boat Show brings together marine manufacturers, dealers, designers, owners, and enthusiasts in an environment crowded with products and competing messages.

Sunbrella needed to do more than maintain a presence. The opportunity was to create an experience that demonstrated the brand’s leadership in marine performance while making its technical benefits relevant, approachable, and memorable.

Strategy

Rather than relying on a traditional product display, we created the Sunbrella Sun Deck—a hospitality-driven brand destination built around comfort, education, and real-world product performance.

The experience invited attendees to spend time with the brand. Product demonstrations, cleaning education, partner engagement, and thoughtful hospitality were integrated into an environment that felt useful and welcoming rather than transactional.

Every element reinforced a simple idea: Sunbrella helps people enjoy the outdoors without worrying about the inevitable spills, stains, and demands of marine life.

My Role

I led the strategic and operational development of the activation, aligning internal teams, external partners, event stakeholders, and vendors around a cohesive customer experience.

My role included shaping the experience strategy, coordinating cross-functional participation, guiding production and hospitality, and ensuring that every touchpoint supported both the brand story and the needs of the marine business.

Execution

The activation brought together:

An inviting outdoor lounge featuring Sunbrella fabrics.
Interactive product-care and cleaning demonstrations.
Branded hospitality designed to encourage conversation and dwell time.
Product education and coordinated engagement across sales teams, partners, vendors, and event organizers.
A visual identity that stood out while remaining unmistakably Sunbrella.

Business Impact

The Sun Deck transformed Sunbrella’s presence from a conventional exhibit into a customer destination where dealers, partners, customers, and internal teams could build relationships while experiencing the product story firsthand.

The activation reinforced Sunbrella’s leadership in the marine market, supported meaningful product conversations, and created a repeatable model for combining education, hospitality, and customer engagement.

Key Takeaway

The strongest brand experiences do not simply display a product. They allow people to experience its value.

Outdoor seating area with yellow umbrellas, white and yellow furniture, a small food stand labeled 'The Sunbrella Sun Deck', and people walking around on a sunny day with clear blue skies and lush green trees in the background.

Yellow outdoor café stand with striped yellow and white awning, labeled 'The Sunbrella Sun Deck,' with people walking and a woman ordering at the counter, surrounded by outdoor furniture with striped cushions.

A group of six people standing together under a large yellow umbrella at an outdoor event, with a sunny sky and event signage that says 'The Sunbrella Sun Deck' in the background.

A yellow booth at an outdoor event with a sign that reads 'The Sunbrella Sun Deck'. The booth has striped yellow and white awnings and various pillows and fabrics on display. There are people around, some sitting and some standing, with trees and a b

A cup of soft serve ice cream with yellow sprinkles and a yellow paper umbrella, placed on a white napkin on a counter. The cup has yellow and white stripes and the text 'Be Chill About Spills'. In the background, there is a bowl of raspberries and a

Close-up of a yellow sun umbrella with white text reading 'The umbrella sun deck' showing part of the umbrella's canopy and support poles.

Outdoor patio with yellow umbrellas, white cushioned seating, a yellow kiosk labeled 'The Subrella Sun Deck,' and a clear blue sky with a few clouds. Tall buildings are visible in the background.

Yellow shelving unit with baskets of lemons, bottles of cleaning solutions labeled 'Restore' and 'Clean,' a white card titled 'Sunbrella Cleaning Solutions,' and a quilted white stool.

Group of people enjoying outdoor seating at a sunny event with yellow umbrellas and a yellow Sun Deck booth, in an urban setting with trees and modern buildings in the background.