Activations Are the New Booths: Marketing Magic at Lollapalooza
After attending Chicago’s 20th anniversary Lollapalooza Music Festival this past weekend, I noticed a significant shift in how brands engage with festival-goers. It’s no longer just about setting up a standard booth and handing out merch stamped with your logo. Instead, brands are embracing what can only be described as “activations”—immersive experiences designed to captivate and memorably engage attendees and social-media fans alike.
The marketing takeaway was clear: activations have officially replaced traditional booths. Nearly every brand had its own unique experience, transforming simple promotions into full-blown adventures.
Beyond Basic Merch Giveaways
Gone are the days of merely distributing free stuff. Free stuff is everywhere! Your giveaway, for many, is simply a means to an end. It is hot, and you’re giving out water bottles – the customer drinks the water, and your brand is quickly forgotten. With this in mind, brands must take creativity to new heights to be remembered by these festival-goers.
One great example is Toyota, known to festival goers everywhere for their long-standing “Toyota Den Free Bandana” promo. The premise was simple: Visit the Toyota Den. Give them your email. Get a free bandana. Pretty simple, right? Sure. But it doesn’t do anything to inspire you to learn more about Toyota other than clogging up your email inbox – the opposite of good marketing, really.
This year, they stepped it up by offering uniquely branded, commemorative, customizable keychains — only available to those who wait in line for the “customization suite”: a mini design studio set up on an iPad inside a new Toyota EV.
Rather than simply filling out a form, getting their merch and walking away, fans must sit in and experience (even if just for a few moments) what the inside of a Toyota EV is like. While they wait in line, they watch other festival goers pick up their custom keychains and listen to Toyota-funded DJs jam out. So much more than just “a line” – it becomes “an experience.”
The key takeaway here is that sure, people love free stuff – but simply giving it away doesn’t create a meaningful connection. By turning the giveaway into a fun and memorable experience, brands ensure the interaction is more significant. This engagement not only makes the swag more memorable but also enhances the brand’s overall impact. This also entices micro- and macro-influencers alike to share their experiences with their audiences, growing your audience quickly outside of your usual sphere of influence.
Gamification and Brand Engagement
One of my favorite “activations” this weekend was a food truck offering flights of various fries. After sampling different flavors, attendees were encouraged to vote for their favorite and follow the brand on social media to see the results. This clever use of gamification didn’t just give away free fries; it created a reason for people to stay connected with the brand after the event AND immediately connected them with the brand online, ready to be marketed and sold to in the future! Brilliant.
By adding a competitive/gamified element and leveraging social media, the food truck turned a simple snack into a memorable experience. This approach left a positive impression, a full tummy(!), and fostered ongoing engagement with the brand.
The Takeaway: Make It Memorable
This trend highlights a crucial shift in marketing strategy: to resonate with and be remembered by consumers at events, brands need to create experiences rather than just promotional booths. The interactive and gamified nature of activations ensures that attendees walk away with a stronger, more memorable connection to the brand. It’s not just about what you’re giving away but also how. And this doesn’t just apply to music festivals! Home shows, conventions, parades, street festivals — anywhere you are engaging your audience in real-time is an opportunity to break from the standard convention and get outside the box.
For those looking to dive deeper into successful brand activations, this article offers some fantastic examples to get your ideas flowing.
Inspired? Interested? Not sure how to tackle an “activation” of your own? Reach out to us!
