Chicago welcomed 385,000 music lovers to Grant Park at the beginning of the month for the 30th annual Lollapalooza music festival. Brand partners at the festival hosted experiential installations to create memorable moments and engage with the audience. Let’s take a closer look at the strategies of Lolla’s brand partners.

 

Bud Light Seltzer Sessions

    1. This unique side stage at the festival hosted intimate shows with surprise guests each day, plus, drink specials and exclusive merch. A secret set from Machine Gun Kelly attracted a massive audience to the Bud Light stage.
    2. Strategy: the element of surprise. For multi-day experiential campaigns, keep your fans coming back by announcing new experiences daily.

 

Bumble Hive

    1. The Bumble Hive experience gave festival-goers a spot to recharge their devices, cool down, get free merch, and take new profile pics for the app. 
    2. Strategy: make a digital experience social. Adding a physical aspect to this iconic digital app helps create a more memorable experience for users.

 

Grubhub Refuel Station

    1. In a partnership with local Chicago eateries, Grubhub hosted a curated food hall featuring 35 iconic restaurants. Grubhub offered exclusive discounts and perks using an on-site code found at the festival.
    2. Strategy: think local. Engaging neighborhood restaurants taps into Chicago’s foodie scene and helps give back to the local economy.

 

Toyota Music Den

    1. Photo-ops, giveaways, and exclusive performances – oh, my! Festival attendees enjoyed special sets from rising artists as well as festy accessories like fanny packs and bandanas.
    2. Strategy: branded merch, but make it useful. Don’t waste resources on branded merch that will end up in the trash. Think like a festival-goer and create merch that adds value.

 

Cupcake Vineyards’ Wine Lounge

    1. Cupcake Vineyards hosted a lounge complete with special wine offerings and unique photo ops.
    2. Strategy: custom photos create special experiences. Cupcake Vineyards printed selfies on top of frozen drinks. Talk about an Instagrammable moment!

 

*Photo by Beyond The Stage @BTSMag.