5 Of The Best of Coachella Brand Activations

Here’s a fact: people love Coachella!

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Awarded by Billboard as the “Top Festival” a total of six times, it sits comfortably on its desert throne as the festival marketing queen. But what about it makes hundreds of thousands of people flock to the California desert each year?

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Watching A-list headliners while the sunlight shines on your meticulously chosen ‘fit is a huge draw, but we can’t forget Coachella brand activations, either. Like other noteworthy annual pop culture events like the MET Gala, the festival is an opportunity for businesses to bring their marketing A-game and send a statement.

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‍The Concierge Club is here to give you a look at the hottest brand activations, installations, and interactive exhibits at Coachella that the festival crowds loved.

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1. Adidas Campus Experience | 2023

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Image source: Instagram

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‍This year, Adidas turned Coachella into a spring wonderland in full bloom.

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To hype the release of the Adidas x Bad Bunny Campus Wild Moss, they built an immersive pop-up experience featuring a bunny-shaped wooden entrance and stunning floor-to-ceiling floral installations made with 50,000 flowers of 60 different varietals (including 70-year-old Japanese Bonsai trees and imported Spanish moss). The interior of the cube was zen-garden inspired, complete with a stunning floral chandelier and hanging sneakers. The best part? Visitors had the chance to purchase the sneakers at the site ahead of the global release date!

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🏆 How they won at Coachella marketing: Not only did Adidas take festival branding to the next level with its very literal theme design, but they also enticed audiences with the exclusive opportunity to buy the latest sneaker design.

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There’s no doubt about it: they put their best foot forward to pull off one of the best brand activations we’ve seen at Coachella!

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2. Neutrogena Skin’s Vital Experience | 2023

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Image source: Instagram

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‍Neutrogena distributed more than 1,700 fluid ounces of sunscreen in the first weekend alone through branded sunscreen dispensers spread across the event grounds. As Coachella’s official skin and sun care sponsor, it understood the festival marketing assignment to a tee and succeeded in providing the “care” that attendees needed.

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Their pop-up included an interactive Skin’s Vital Experience to educate Coachella-goers on the major functions of the skin and how Neutrogena’s products support them. Dermatologists were also present to give festival-goers personalized skin assessments.

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🏆 How they won at Coachella marketing: The middle of the desert couldn’t have been a more perfect location for this brand activation. Neutrogena cares about your skin and showed it by taking care of festival goers at Coachella.

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They promoted their products through an immersive marketing experience in a festival setting where consumers needed them the most—whether someone forgot their sunscreen at home or just needed a touch-up, Neutrogena was in the right place at the right time.

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3. American Express Lounge | 2022

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Image source: Instagram

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‍For card members, the American Express Lounge was the ultimate space to relax and recharge (both literally and figuratively). They offered various wellness activities, as well as a crystal bar, tarot card and astrology readings in partnership with Smudge Wellness.

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For upgraded convenience, hydration stations, snacks, charging stations, and a cash bar were at the ready. Attendees also had access to an artist pop-up shop featuring exclusive, limited-edition festival merchandise from Billie Eilish and Conan Gray.

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🏆 How they won at festival marketing: Coachella is a lot of fun, but it can also be quite exhausting—enter American Express. Their branded lounge helped people get the break they needed while treating them like festival VIPs.

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Plus, the crystal bar, tarot cards, and astrology readings did an amazing job of tapping into personal experiences at Coachella. People don’t easily forget these types of readings, especially when given at the iconic Amex Lounge. All that, combined with exclusive merch, it’s no doubt they received a ton of Amex signups.

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4. Pandora Oasis | 2022

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Image source: Instagram

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‍The Pandora Oasis by the iconic jewelry brand was a dreamy escape of summer sunshine with hints of cinematic nostalgia and rock-’n’-roll.

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Apart from the hands-on product experiences, an on-site ear-piercing station turned the space into the most bejewelled one in the desert. Their garage jam space with live instruments enabled attendees to play music and hold impromptu karaoke sessions. SHYGIRL and Charli XCX also gave stellar performances to cap the experience.

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🏆 How they won at Coachella marketing: Pandora understood that getting a piercing is an experience and made themselves a part of it.

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Through the garage jam space, they allowed attendees to unleash their inner rockstar at one of the most iconic music festivals in the world. It stands as truly one of the best festival brand activations to date.

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5. YSL Beauty Station | 2019

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Image source: Instagram

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‍The YSL Beauty Station at Coachella in 2019 might have been the brand’s first activation for the festival, but they totally slayed with their extraordinary aesthetics.

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Demanding attention in the middle of the desert, their Coachella pop-up installation was complete with vintage convertibles and gas pumps situated along Route 111 on the road to the venue. Who knew a gasoline station could be so Instagrammable?

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🏆 How they won at festival marketing: Instead of trying to compete with tons of other brands and live performances at the venue itself, they created an experience worth stopping through on your way to or out of the festival grounds. Visitors were encouraged to look their best and experiment with a virtual mirror to try on shades, a product vending machine, and an area to customize their own YSL lipstick.

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Create Moments that Defy Expectations at Coachella 2024

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As the dust settles and the music fades, it’s evident that Coachella stands tall as the epitome of festival marketing done right.

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At The Concierge Club, we’re witnessed firsthand the power of experiential marketing, and Coachella exemplifies the very essence of what makes it so potent. From captivating brand activations that seamlessly blend with the festival’s vibe, to immersive experiences that linger in the hearts of festival-goers long after the event, Coachella has mastered the art of connecting brands with their target audience on a deeper, more personal level.

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What are you waiting for? Partner with us as we draw inspiration from Coachella’s playbook and harness the spirit of creativity and community that keeps bringing visitors back year after year. Let’s redefine the future of brand marketing at Coachella together!

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‍Contact us today to learn more about how we can get you centre stage with unforgettable Coachella brand activations.