DoorDash - The Bag Lab at NBA All-Star 2026

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

 At DoorDash, we leveraged our NBA League Partnership to deliver an unforgettable, immersive experience at NBA All-Star’s Crossover Fan Fest in Los Angeles, with “The Bag Lab," a 2,500-square-foot immersive takeover anchored by a colossal, 25-foot-tall replica of the iconic DoorDash ‘Hot Bag.’ Instantly commanding attention, the space transformed a functional brand asset into a cultural canvas. Inside, fans customized their own mini DoorDash bags with exclusive patches, including designs by Los Angeles artist Laci Jordan, and selected NBA team-inspired bag charms representing their favorite teams, taking attendees on the ultimate journey of personal expression, powered by DoorDash. The momentum continued with exciting meet-and-greets featuring NBA stars like Tyrese Maxey, Rip Hamilton, and Stephon Castle at the custom DoorDash photo moment featuring a custom metallic basketball hoop installation.

How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?

The Bag Lab redefined fan engagement by shifting from giveaway culture to co-creation. Rather than distributing branded merchandise, DoorDash invited fans to design their own. This transformed a standard sponsorship activation into a participatory cultural moment – where fans became collaborators, not consumers. The result set a new benchmark for organic social reach and sustained demand, transforming attendees into powerful brand advocates.

The activation proved that modern fans will invest time – with consistent 60-minute wait times – when the value exchange feels authentic and personal. By enabling fans to personalize their own DoorDash bags with unique patches and charms, we elevated the experience from transactional to emotional, and concurrently generated authentic "walking billboards" while driving interest and excitement that had fans asking “where did you get that bag from!?”. For the industry, the benchmark is clear: experiential marketing must move beyond 'the expected' and toward culturally inspired, personal, shareable experiences. By investing in authentic fan pride and expression, and turning an operational brand asset into a customizable symbol of fandom, DoorDash demonstrated how utility, culture, and creativity can intersect to generate lasting advocacy. The Bag Lab establishes a scalable blueprint that challenges the industry to elevate its standards for experiential marketing.

Objective

Extending our season campaign goal to grow affinity and active users amongst Gen-Z, we looked to traditional sponsorship and create an interactive engagement, not passive observation for Fans. NBA All-Star was the perfect opportunity to create an IRL extension of our “In the Bag” campaign by designing an experience that felt inseparable from the culture of the weekend.  We reimagined DoorDash's iconic Hot Bag as a canvas for self-expression. By transforming a functional delivery tool into customizable merchandise, we gave fans the opportunity to create something personal, turning brand interaction into ownership, fostering a sense of pride and connection with DoorDash that extended far beyond the activation space. Authenticity was paramount. The experience needed to reflect the creativity, confidence, and pride that define NBA culture. From artist-designed patches to team-specific charms, every element was built to feel native to All-Star, not imposed upon it, while showcasing the unique DoorDash proposition. Finally, we designed for the power of social amplification. By creating a highly shareable, envy-inducing experience, we ensured the activation would travel beyond its physical footprint, creating a sense of ‘FOMO’. The goal wasn’t just attendance; it was advocacy, social currency, brand visibility to a broader audience after the weekend.

Strategy & Execution

The Bag Lab was meticulously designed around a simple truth: modern sports fans, particularly the discerning Gen Z and NBA fans, value personal expression, authentic fan pride, and social shareability over passive brand exposure.

Our strategy centered on being fan-first, giving attendees something meaningful to create and keep. Instead of merely imposing our brand, we seamlessly integrated DoorDash into an immersive experience centered entirely on fan passions. We offered interactive bag customization featuring unique artist-designed patches and team-specific charms. We fostered a powerful sense of personal ownership and identity while fans created a personal keepsake memorializing their All-Star experience.

Every element was intentionally designed to be social-first. The 25-foot DoorDash ‘Hot Bag’ created instant visual impact, while the 30+ unique designed bag charms and themed photo moment invited active content creation. The result was organic amplification driven by fan pride, not prompts, extending the DoorDash connection across social channels.

o   By establishing a scalable platform and crafting a flexible customization system, DoorDash resonated with diverse fan communities beyond NBA All-Star while maintaining a cohesive, authentic brand identity. The experience respected fans’ time and attention by delivering something worth waiting for, and worth sharing.

Organizations

• DoorDash

• WPP Media Sports & Entertainment
• NBA.

Links

•   Website

Featured

• Tyrese Maxey

• Stephon Castle
• Rip Hamilton
• SLAM Magazine
• Whistle Sports

Credits

Ariel Gambardella
Head of Brand Partnerships
DoorDash

Hank Kauffman
Basketball Lead, Brand Partnerships
DoorDash

Sarah Saltonstall
Senior Art Director
DoorDash

Erin Woolf
Copy & Brand Voice Lead
DoorDash

Julio Sotomayor
Senior Designer
DoorDash

Alejandro Juli
Creative Lead
DoorDash

Julia Walter
Social Community Associate
DoorDash

Jane Hong
Senior Manager, Brand Marketing & Social

Levi Williams
Manager, Brand Partnerships
DoorDash

Jeff Grande
Manager, Brand Partnerships
DoorDash

Dominick Esposito
Manager, Sports, Live and Gaming
WPP Media Sports & Entertainment

Maggie Jones
Head of Experiential
WPP Media Sports & Entertainment

Emma Graham
Manager, Live Events
WPP Media Sports & Entertainment

Kevin Reese
Manager, Sports, Live, and Gaming
WPP Media Sports & Entertainment

Jason Karlowski
Director, Sports, Live, and Gaming
WPP Media Sports & Entertainment

Lucas Vaughan
Director, Partnerships & Events
WPP Media Sports & Entertainment