Minnesota was thrilled to host Super Bowl LII, but media coverage quickly dubbed it the “cold weather Super Bowl.” Explore Minnesota had to flip the script and show people that Minnesota is more than cold; it’s cool. So, we partnered with Minnesota’s top artists and brands to create the ’Sota Pop, a made-for-Instagram interactive pop-up that showcased the best of Minnesota’s seasons and regions. Artists transformed empty window displays into stunning photo sets, and local brands like Red Wing Shoes touted their Minnesota heritage. With an Instagram-friendly design, over the 10 days leading up to the Super Bowl, guests got to see and share all the reasons to plan a trip back.

Inspired by the trend in interactive museums like the Museum of Ice Cream and Color Factory, ’Sota Pop became the brightest, most shareable experience of Super Bowl LII.

In just one month, the ‘Sota Pop experience was created from the ground-up. Renting a vacant building outside the entrance of Super Bowl Live, this premium location ensured high foot traffic while avoiding the restrictions and budgets associated with being an official sponsor.

Once the walls were up, local artists spent countless hours creating individual rooms to represent the brighter side of Minnesota. Each room was handcrafted to provide an interactive experience for guests, from mini golf to Paul Bunyan with Babe the Blue Ox.

To entice influencers, a VIP event was held at the space before opening to the public on January 26th and the space remained open for the 10-day festival leading up to the Super Bowl.

As one guest said, “It was really attractive, bright, cheerful and showcased cool things about the entire state. The whole point… was to share it, so everyone…was an influencer for Minnesota.”

• Exceeded attendance projections by over 300% with 36,000 visitors (10,000 projected).

• Exceeded hashtag use by 52% with 20,400 uses (projected 13,400 uses).

• Voted “Best Marketer of the Super Bowl” by the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association, beating out large companies such as Target and Polaris.

• Received over 72 million earned media impressions and 11 million social impressions.