Essentia Water Made Anunoby Miss Shots for Fans in Times Square

A buzzer-beater that helped decide a championship is getting a second life in Times Square.

Essentia Water staged its "Supercharged Court" on the plaza between 42nd and 43rd streets.

The free basketball takeover ran on August 18, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby appeared alongside the Gersh Park Basketball team to recreate his own Game 4 tip-in.

The shot helped push the Knicks toward their first title since 1973.

The activation pushes forward Essentia's "Change the Equation" platform, a celebration of people who choose risk, effort, and ambition.

Anunoby sees his appearance at the Essentia Supercharged Court as a continuation of habits he already has.

"I'm a fan of drinking Essentia both on and off the court to stay hydrated," he said in a press release.

"They are all about changing the equation, and that's what we did when my team won the championship this year."

Overall, the celebrity partnership gives Essentia a face that New Yorkers already connect to the play, which buys the brand a more organic recall.

Fans Get Their Own Shot at the Tip-In

Attendees entered through an arena-style tunnel meant to mimic a player's walk-out.

Then they watched Anunoby and the Gersh Park team reenact the buzzer-beater on a full-court setup in the plaza.

Anunoby also clanked shots on purpose so fans could crash the rim and finish their own version of the play.

Essentia Water also layered in live entertainment and interactive stations, with product sampling running throughout, so hydration stayed visible all afternoon.

LED billboards overhead flashed Essentia and Anunoby visuals across the plaza.

Essentia's Director of Marketing Katharine Weiss connected the moment to the hydration company's brand positioning. 

"The Essentia Supercharged Court brings our 'Change the Equation' platform to life on one of the biggest stages for New Yorkers, inviting fans to experience the energy of a championship run."

Staging the play at street level turned a televised highlight into something people could participate in.

This physical proximity is the whole argument for the effectiveness of experiential marketing at building brand awareness and recall.

Live Activations Keep Winning Budget

Marketers keep pushing money into live activations because the return numbers hold up.

Experiential campaigns tend to return 3:1 to 5:1 on spend, driven by deeper engagement and higher conversion than traditional channels.

Seek.io's latest compiled data shows that 64% of attendees hold a positive impression of a brand for at least a month after an activation.

Another 78% of consumers say they recall a brand better through in-person interaction than online.

Essentia Water picked a play that New Yorkers already know by heart, which is how four hours on a plaza converts into a month of brand recall.

Several takeaways stand out for marketers weighing a similar move:

• Focus on moments that matter to fans: Anunoby's stunt re-stages something New Yorkers watched happen, removing the burden of explaining why it matters.
• Let the athlete's real habits do the selling: Anunoby's quote describes drinking the product before Essentia was involved, which reads as closer to routine than endorsement.
• Give the platform a physical stage: "Change the Equation" set the foundation, but the takeover gave fans something they can walk through.

A brand that celebrates the same feats close to its customers' hearts stops reading as an advertisement and starts reading as a neighbor.

Our Take: What Happens When the Celebration Ends?

A parked truck of bottled water can say "hydration matters" all day, and nobody will remember it.

What we like here is that Essentia gave fans something to do or spectate for four hours instead of just a banner to glance at.

We'd have loved to see the brand extend this activation beyond a single day.

A traveling version that hits other cities that have had their own championship moments across different sports is a great series to run.

One afternoon in Times Square makes a great photo op and produces brand recall, but it takes a longer campaign to make a habit.

Essentia Water is not the only brand betting that a physical build outperforms a media buy.

Netflix recently parked a man in a furnished billboard over Sunset Boulevard for three days, and local news crews covered the stunt for free.

Brands introducing new technology often rely on creative partners who can translate technical features into clear, engaging stories.

Explore these top creative agencies to help bring product innovations to life.