Major brands dominate Melbourne Cup with Birdcage marquees
The famous Birdcage was again on display at Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup festival, which was dominated by some of the country’s biggest brands.
Tens of thousands turned out at Flemington racecourse for the annual event, but the Birdcage was yet again the hot ticket.
Nine, Lexus, Crown, Geelong beer brand, Furphy, and G.H. Mumm – which boasted a “trackside-first ‘Now Boarding’ campaign – were just a few that showcased two-storey marquees on the day, while activations were set up throughout for festivalgoers to enjoy, whether they were there for the races or not.
As usual, the Birdcage was littered with big-name talent and executives, with the Nine marquee alone hosting a number of notable figures, including acting CEO Matt Stanton, The Block’s Scott Cam, Samantha Armytage, A Current Affair host Ally Langdon, and MAFS Australia couple, Cam Merchant and Jules Robinson.
Other names spotted on the day included singer Ronan Keating, UK actress Elizabeth Hurley, and athlete Nedd Brockmann.
While the Birdcage has typically been known for its exclusive celebrity appeal, this year noticeably aimed to draw in influencers, with many of the activations within the site fit with photobooth ops, hashtags and themed merch – in other words, not the type of stuff Matt Damon would have been interested in at last year’s Derby Day.
For Nine, this was the first of a six-year deal confirming that the network will take on Melbourne Cup coverage, which it picked up after both Ten and Seven pulled out of negotiations late last year.
Nine will now turn its attention to its annual general meeting to take place in Sydney on Thursday.
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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