More than 80,000 people will converge on a 700-acre farm in southern Tennessee June 13 to 16 for the annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. While festivalgoers listen to music on more than 10 stages from a diverse lineup that includes Mumford & Sons, Billy Idol, R. Kelly, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, most of them will also be sharing their experience instantly on Facebook and Twitter simply by swiping their R.F.I.D. wristbands at checkpoints throughout the festival grounds. Last year’s inaugural social integration was so successful—creating nearly 1.5 million social impressions via Facebook—that organizers are adding Twitter this year and expanding the involvement of Spotify to create greater incentive for attendees to allow the instant posts.
“At the end of the weekend, everyone that registered their wristband and connected to social will get a free 30-day premium subscription to Spotify, as well as a digital diary via email that recaps everything they checked in for and more content about the artists they checked in for,” says Chad Issaq, executive vice president of business development and partnerships for Superfly Presents, which owns and produces the festival. “We are giving our audience more ways to reflect on their rich experience at the event. Being able to deliver a diary is a really powerful thank-you.” Ford is returning as the sponsor of the social check-in program: guests who register their wristband (with or without connecting to their social networks) are entered in a drawing for a Ford Fiesta.
Bonnaroo is also expanding its wellness activities, adding a 5K ’Roo Run to the program that already included yoga. Issaq says he envisions expanding the run in future years, for example by inviting festival performers to lead teams that compete against one another, and lining up sponsors. “Our vision is to build assets within the larger aspect of Bonnaroo that can be monetized, but that are also a benefit attraction to the audience,” he says.
After the festival last year, organizers installed a 50-watt solar photovoltaic system to the property. Issaq says this will reduce the event’s energy footprint by about 20 percent. The system was funded by $1 contributions that fans could add to their ticket purchase in past years. Additional sustainability activities include prizes for festivalgoers who arrive in carpools of at least four people.
