A Brand in Bloom: How Zyrtec Showed Up In Real Life This Spring

July 29, 2025

Even for the most hurried, stressed-out, on-the-go New Yorkers, it’s important sometimes to stop and smell the flowers. Especially when they show up somewhere unexpected.

And there may be few places in NYC where the smell of flowers is less unexpected than inside a subway station, a juxtaposition that made Zyrtec’s brand activation this May that much more memorable.

May is, of course, a peak season for allergy sufferers. Zyrtec wanted to remind them of the brand’s mission “to help people be their best selves and embrace all the things they love, symptom free,” so they partnered with Instagram-famous florist Lewis Miller for one of his viral “Flower Flashes,” a one-day, 4,000-bloom floral installation springing to life on the mezzanine of the 14th Street-Union Square subway station.

 
Commuters could walk through the immersive exhibit, take colorful selfies, and afterwards take fresh flowers from the display home as keepsakes. In five hours, Zyrtec brand ambassadors gave out 3,000 blooms!

Zyrtec’s brand activation surprised and delighted commuters at 14th Street-Union Square, the fourth-busiest station in New York. It serves over 21 million passengers annually on eight lines (SOURCE: MTA), its busy transfer flow representing a steady stream of fresh eyes to impact. Those eyes also saw a series of two-sheet posters reinforcing the theme.

 
For Zyrtec, the floral installation was about more than adding color to the commute. Because when brands show up in real life and meet consumers where they are, they build lasting trust.

In fact, it’s near-universal. In-person events increase brand trust for 95% of those who attend them, and for 47% the positive brand perception they take with them lasts at least a few months. More than nine in ten also agree that in-person events reinforce trust that a brand is good at what it does, that it’s honest, and that it keeps its promises. And ultimately, 85% say they’re more likely to make a purchase (SOURCE: Freeman).

 
That’s a big opportunity for brands – and real-world out of home media, both traditional and digital, can help ensure that brand events are well-attended and long-remembered.

While Zyrtec used this subway advertising campaign to complement the experiential portion of the activation while it was happening, other advertisers use out of home to promote their brand events in advance, pushing influence all the way down the funnel as they accumulate curiosity, engagement, and ultimately attendance.

Icelandair recently demonstrated the power and potential of out of home in support of its brand event in Boston. The campaign utilized both street-level and underground formats to promote its three-day Iceland: Around the Corner event, intended to provide a preview of what awaits would-be travelers to Reykjavik and beyond.

Brands get attention when they show up in unexpected places, and Icelandair’s campaign achieved organic social reach of nearly half a million (SOURCE: Sprout Social). As for the event itself, it was sold out, with 7,500 people attending (SOURCE: Icelandair)! More importantly, the airline also reported increases in intent, consideration, and flight bookings. The campaign was so impactful it won the grand prize at the OAAA’s 2024 Local Case Study Awards.

In a time when the digital world is more dubious than ever, the real-world presence of out of home advertising helps brands establish real-world trust.

And that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Let’s make your brand blossom together. Contact OUTFRONT today!

Author: Jay Fenster, Marketing Manager @ OUTFRONT

 

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