In the park, Samsung's Galaxy Experience had several tents with different activities. In one tent, guests could use the Galaxy Tab S to order lemonade. Using Samsung's new streaming service, Milk Music, guests then picked a favorite genre of music, which matched up with a particular flavor of the drink. Those who liked indie music, for example, were offered strawberry lemonade. PMK-BNC handles marketing activations for the brand.
In another area of the Galaxy Experience, guests could take selfies on the Galaxy S 5, then use a Milk Music dial to change the filter. The lounge had carpets and tufted leather couches that lent a homey vibe.
In the brand's V.I.P. area, Catering by Michael's offered a champagne popsicle bar. The treats came in flavors such as honeydew-ginger and blackberry-rose.
The area had a "glamping" theme and served treats such as s'mores in Mason jars. Catering by Michael's handled food as well as cocktails in the lounge.
The Participation Agency created an activation for Red Bull Sound Select. Within the space, there was a V.I.P. lounge for artist interviews and for guests to lounge; the area was decked with carpets, soft furniture, and a cooler stocked with Red Bull.
Guests who signed up for Red Bull Sound Select could charge their phones for free in secure lockers within the tent.
In a V.I.P. area known as the "Lolla Lounge," Dobel Tequila offered drink samples at a sleek pop-up piano bar.Â
Inside the rooftop venue, guests could have their makeup touched up by artists from sponsor Benefit Cosmetics.
On Thursday, M.A.C. Cosmetics hosted a launch party for its new Mia Moretti collection, which is inspired by Lollapalooza and festival fashion, at Fulton Market Kitchen. As guests dined, artist Blue Logan painted the scene on a large canvas set up along one wall of the dining room. BMF Media Group produced.
At the dinner, stylist, artist, and Mia Moretti's close friend Cleo Wade wrote custom poems for guests on a vintage typewriter. Wade would ask guests "how is your heart?" or "what are your favorite things?" before beginning to type.
In a move meant to get attendees to associate its soft drink with a refreshing quality—and give them an opportunity to cool off from the hot Las Vegas temperature—Pepsi constructed a waterslide.
Visitors had the opportunity to receive a Pepsi-branded can cooler personalized with their photo and name.
An ice sculpture of a sofa decorated with the Pepsi logo proved popular among the snap-happy guests.
The cosmetic company created a “Beauty Hideout” where guests could win free products and were encouraged to download the brand’s “Steal the Look” app via colorful signage.
In keeping with iHeartRadio’s focus on music, professional makeup artists helped attendees recreate looks inspired by pop stars, rappers, and various other types of musicians.
The credit card company enticed cardholders to tweet about the iHeartRadio Music Festival via an interactive vending machine that provided them with a unique hashtag and prize once they posted a message about the event. Prizes included $10 prepaid MasterCards and free music downloads.
Guests could entertain themselves by playing on branded oversize Jenga sets or cornhole game stations at the network’s sandy beach-theme area.
Branded CW beach balls sat in inflatable pools and added to the beach-like environment, as did branded beach chairs, hammocks, and a stocked ice cream cart.
Guests who visited the retailer’s tent had the opportunity to customize a Macy’s- and iHeartRadio-branded T-shirt, as well as the chance to win a prize by wearing the shirts throughout the day’s festivities.
Guests who received branded airbrush tattoos at the Jim Beam station served as walking advertisements for the brand as they roamed the iHeartRadio Village.
The spirits company attracted festivalgoers to its station with a carnival-like atmosphere that included attention-grabbing stilt walkers.
To engage attendees, Bacardi gave them the chance to win prizes by playing ring and Frisbee toss games.
The brand lured attendees with a sign that read, “Get your face on a gig poster.” Participants posed for a photo, which was then printed on a promotional concert-like poster featuring iHeartRadio and Matador logos.
Revel Decor created the brand's lounge, which included a sleek white tent strung up with lights. A giant "K," which had the same font as the Ketel One logo, crowned the central bar. At the bar, specialty cocktails had names such as the "Chicago Cooler" and the "Pitchfork Picnic."
At a back bar, festivalgoers could concoct their own drinks by choosing from a variety of fresh herbs and flavors.
Beats Music had a lounge with plush couches in the V.I.P. area. Guests could rest and charge up devices including iPads and iPhones.
Chipotle built a lounge where guests could take advantage of free tacos and bottled water. Walk-ins were welcome, but some guests won reserved seats through an online contest.
Jim Beam's tent had a step-and-repeat in front of it. Guests were encouraged to snap photos and post them to social media with the hashtag #makehistory; the photos were then projected onto a social media wall in the tent. The step-and-repeat element (and social media tie-in) was also seen at other booths, including one from Hostess.
Inside the Jim Beam tent, guests could play free arcade games or foosball.
Topman offered live screen-printing. Guests could choose from different prints and have T-shirts, bags, or bandanas screen-printed while they waited. The activation drew one of the festival's longest lines.
At an area hosted by Goose Island, guests could type up "missed connections" notices on vintage typewriters. Colorful paper splashed with the beer brand's logo was supplied.
Never mind the skeptics who said Goldenvoice's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival had overstepped when it made the move to two identical weekends last year. The event returned to the Southern California desert in April with blazing buzz. About 80,000 people a day came to the massive event, and brands followed. Heineken's sponsorship activation included cold storage for cases of festivalgoers' beer, which was tracked using a fingerprint scan and kept cold until guests were ready to imbibe. V Squared Labs also created the visuals for the brand's dome on the festival grounds.
Harper’s Bazaar brought the ShopBazaar pop-up boutique to the desert. Throughout the festival's first weekend, the event took over the Jonathan Adler–designed Parker Palm Springs hotel. Former Elle event chief Caitlin Weiskopf oversaw the event. "All purchases were made on ShopBazaar.com at the MacBooks or iPads in the pop-up, and guests could walk away with clothes to wear to the show that day," Weiskopf said.
Back for its fourth year at Coachella was Lacoste, which brought its Lacoste Live Desert Pool Party to a private estate near the festival grounds with production by Made With Elastic. The event included an activity/art installation that invited guests to shoot paint-covered tennis balls at a massive polo shirt called “Polo Gigante.” Beta Creative was behind the setup.
For the fourth consecutive year, H&M was an official sponsor of the festival, but it expanded its presence this year from the festival's polo-field grounds to the 40-acre Merv Griffin Estate. More than 300 guests came for performances by Santigold, DJ Michelle Pesce, and others. Sleek signage in foliage and hedging served as chic, branded photo backdrops for celebrity arrivals.
More than 80,000 music lovers gathered at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, from June 13 to 17. In the spirit of garage rock, Ford erected a garage in the middle of the festival for its Fiesta Garage. Bands like Maps & Atlases and the Rubens performed while attendees lounged in mismatched armchairs. Also available were free customized T-shirts, iPads to browse the Internet, and a photo booth station.
The planetarium, shaped like a character from an Adult Swim show, offered screenings of the channel's content as well as celestial graphics. Adult Swim also sponsored fireworks after headliner Jack Johnson's performance.
The Pageant of the Cosmos offered carnival games with an Adult Swim–inspired twist. For "Balloonicorn in Space," participants donned a unicorn hat and had to pop as many overhead balloons as they could.
This year's Pitchfork Music Festival drew some 50,000 guests to Chicago's Union Park July 19 to 21. As part of the Twinkie marketing campaign that it has dubbed the "sweetest comeback in the history of ever," Hostess brought in a bright red food truck that doled out the recently relaunched treats. By the truck, guests could pose with a plush "Twinkie the Kid" and play a game of bags on a board that read: "Feed Your Cakeface."
Playing off its "Off the Wall" tagline, Vans had a painter create portraits of festivalgoers. The paintings hung on a temporary wall on festival grounds and will be auctioned off at future Goose Island Brewery events. Proceeds will benefit the 606, a local park and trail system set to launch in the fall.
With the hashtag #PopChipsToTheRescue, PopChips sponsored a so-called "rescue hut." Supplied by Tuff Shed, the activation was stocked with items that festivalgoers often need, including cell phone chargers. There were also games, a relaxation area, and an oversize prop frame that guests could use for photos. After the festival, PopChips worked with Habitat for Humanity to donate the hut to the Chicago community.
ZipCar recently partnered with the Chicago Loop Alliance on a pop-up art activation called "Fueling Local Art." At the festival, guests could watch local artist George Berlin treat the car like a canvas; after the event, the vehicle was washed off and returned to the local fleet of ZipCar vehicles.
Lollapalooza brought 300,000 fans and 130 music acts to Grant Park in Chicago from August 2 to 4, and brands vied to get in front of the throngs of media, music fans, and tastemakers. At the "Samsung Galaxy Experience," Samsung offered henna tattoos on festival grounds. Guests could pick a design from photos displayed on the Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy Note 8.0. At another station, flower wreaths were available.
BMF Media Group returned to the Hard Rock Hotel to host the "It's so Miami Lounge" throughout Lollapalooza weekend. Starbucks hosted its first Lollapalooza activation this year at the lounge. The suite offered oversize chess and Connect Four games, plus small café tables stocked with buckets of bottled iced coffee.
UrbanDaddy and Mini Cooper partnered to launch "Mini Night Out," which debuted at Lollapalooza. Through the campaign, guests could reserve a ride in the new Mini Paceman on Friday and Saturday for a "nightlife adventure," which included stops at Lollapalooza parties around town. Media, local influencers, and festival bands such as Imagine Dragons (pictured) sampled the service, which left from the Hard Rock Hotel.
On Saturday of Lollapalooza weekend, Fiji Water and Gilt City hosted the Better-Than-Backstage Rooftop Pool Party. Treats included snow cones made with Fiji Water. The event's main feature is an intimate performance from a Lollapalooza act, and this year's event offered live music from MS MR.
USA Network used a new "video paint" technology to promote its original drama series Graceland. Attendees were invited to a pop-up location in downtown Austin's busy bar strip, where they could use a digital paint-brush roller to project Graceland images on the walls of buildings.
