The Sundance Film Festival returned to Park City, Utah, on January 22. Running through February 1, the snow-filled festival lures brands to the city's Main Street to engage its guests, who include a mix of filmmakers, screen actors, and movie fans. This year, longtime sponsors such as Oakley and Grey Goose returned to host on-the-ground activations; Oakley partnered with AOL on its Learn to Ride activation, while Grey Goose served specialty cocktails at its Blue Door Lounge. But there was also a slew of fresh sponsors hosting first- and second-time events, including Airbnb, Wonderful Pistachios, and Pure Barre. Here's a look at what new and returning sponsors did to engage festivalgoers at the 2015 run of the Sundance Institute's annual festival.
The Haus is also hosting an experiential art activation by San Francisco artist Ivan Cash. Called "Self Less Portraits," the activity lets strangers—festivalgoers from all over the world—draw portraits of one another based on Polaroids. The activities tie into Airbnb's #OneLessStranger campaign, which is designed by the brand to encourage its users to engage in acts of kindness and share experiences on social media.
For the second year, hospitality company Airbnb partnered with the festival to host an activation in Park City. Dubbed the Haus, the activation took over a venue on Main Street. The spot, open through January 30, welcomes all festival attendees and offers a coffee bar with hot beverages from San Francisco's Four Barrel.
The Haus is designed to feel like an artists' live-and-work studio. Daily activities include collaborative art making; there are also storytelling competitions, talks, dance parties, and screenings.
BuzzFeed hosted its first activation on festival grounds this year. The "BuzzFeed Basecamp" was open on Main Street from January 24 to 25. The venue was open to the public and hosted private events at night. Activities included posing in a GIF booth with vintage ski gear. The booth's backdrop was a snowy mountain scene.
BuzzFeed also plied guests with spiked hot chocolate and so-called "BuzFeed Bites," which were snacks inspired by photos posted to its vertical BuzzFeed Food.
On Saturday, haircare brand Keratin hosted a pop-up salon at the MTV Music Lodge, a space where reporters conducted interviews with celebrities. Before they were interviewed, celebrities such as Jessika Van had their hair touched up by professionals. The pop-up salon space had decor inspired by a film set. Though the brand had hosted a gifting suite at the festival in 2013, this was the first time it had hosted a pop-up salon.
Keratin also provided branded props for celebrities to use in photos. Modeled on an Instagram post, a prop frame was printed with the activation's hashtag for easy sharing on social media.
Also at the MTV Music Lounge was Wonderful Pistachios, a new sponsor this year. The brand hosted a Nut Bar that offered celebrities samples of the snack in flavors such as Sweet Chili and Salt and Pepper. There was also a costumed plush pistachio manning the station, and complimentary branded earmuffs to help ward off the Park City cold.
Pure Barre, a workout studio, hosted its first activation at the festival this year. The brand set up a pop-up space that offered exercise classes to festival attendees and celebrities alike. Offering four daily classes from January 23 to 26, the activation drew famous guests including Ethan Hawke. While on site, celebrities posed for photos in front of Pure Barre's step-and-repeat.
Produced for Canon U.S.A.​ Inc. by Sunshine Sachs, Dentsu America, and A Creative Force, the Canon Creative Studio at Sundance took over another space on Main Street. The venue offered programming and a hospitality hub that showcased the company's products. Window light boxes featured an image of Park City taken by photographer Carla Boecklin, who used a Canon to snap the photo. Canon has had a presence on festival grounds for five years, but has only hosted the daytime venue for two years.
Produced by Best Events and PMK-BNC, Village at the Lift is a 13-year-running tradition. Held in Park City's Town Lift, the venue was open January 23 to 26 and housed a nightclub, a café, a portrait studio, and more. Dark House Wine is the official wine of Village at the Lift, and the brand served samples of its mulled wine. Celebrities such as Kellan Lutz could spin a wheel to win prizes such as a one-year supply of the wine.
Dream Hotels and Nylon magazine partnered to host an Après Ski Party for 350 guests, including actors James Franco and RJ Mitte. The party served drinks from sponsor Heineken and had plenty of magazines for guests to flick through. There was also an on-site V.I.P. lounge where celebrity interviews were conducted. Dream Hotels has had events at Sundance for the past 2 years, but this is the first year it partnered with Nylon.
