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Did you know that what was considered to be the first brand activation happened in 1969 at Woodstock Festival? At the time, the relatively small and emerging brand, Levi’s, provided denim jackets and jeans to artists and festival-goers. Images from that event are still seen on ads for the brand today.
Since then, brand activations haven’t stopped and have gotten bigger, louder and more and more innovative!
As we are getting closer to the end of festival season for 2024, let’s look back on the brand activations that worked well this year and what’s been forecasted as the upcoming trends for 2025.
What was the most impactful brand experience at a festival this year?
Among the most popular brand and experiential activations at music festivals this year, Pinterest’s “Manifest Station” at Coachella certainly stood out! This activation gave festival-goers the opportunity to manifest their dream selves by creating personalised Pinterest boards that were brought to life with the help of on-site makeup artists and stylists.
The experience combined digital creativity with real-world fashion and beauty, offering participants an ultra-personalised and shareable moment that resonated strongly on social media.
The brand once-again hosted this wining concept at Cannes Lions 2024 while offering a charm bar with thrift-sourced materials, beads, charms and chains, a custom bag area constructed entirely out of repurposed materials like football jerseys and even a tattoo parlour. A smart and efficient way to combine personalisation with sustainability all the while staying in line with the brand core and values.
At pluto Live, we are convinced that, to guarantee the success of activations particularly at music festivals, brands must focus on the attendees needs by offering experiences that resonate with them, while staying coherent with their products and values. Obviously, the look of their stage/ area also plays a big part: vibrant colours, neon signs, light shows and glitter or indeed the opposite, pastel colours and a minimalistic set-up… the key is to keep in line with the brand identity, colours and material that are easily identified by the public but to make it visually appealing and shareable to encourage participants to talk about it on social media.
2024 has shown that brands have exceeded this and more with bigger, more impactful using experiential marketing to deepen customer relationships and 2025 will be no different but what are the trends forecasted so far for next year?
Personalisation
Without any surprise, one of the top trends for 2025 is Personalisation. Offering customers personalised experiences, such as exclusive offers based on past purchases or customised interactive experiences, personalisation will be a key priority to reinforce brand loyalty.
Inclusivity and Accessibility
Creating spaces that are inclusive and welcoming to all, reflecting the diversity of festival audiences and that ensure accessibility should remain top of mind for any experiential activation.
