The challenge
This one was on the water. On July 30, 2026, guests boarded The Hiyu at Sand Point Dock at 11 a.m., cruised Lake Washington, and stepped off at 2 p.m. The live hat activation ran the whole cruise. Staff and equipment had to be aboard before the boat left its Lake Union dock at 10 a.m., a full hour before the first guest stepped on.
The activation
Merch Troop supplied 300 hats in three styles, 100 each of rope caps, trucker hats and bucket hats. It also supplied custom embroidered patches in three designs, 100 of each, made ahead of time from the client's final artwork. Two staff ran two stations on board. Guests picked a hat and a patch design, and the crew applied the patch during the cruise. The day ran from dock access at 8 a.m. to a scheduled 3 p.m. unload back at Lake Union.
The result
The whole live window happened between two docks. A patch bar suits that. The patches were finished before anyone boarded, so the work on the boat was choosing and applying, with nothing to produce on the water.