Splendour in the Grass’ record year with three new sponsors
Despite the headwinds following last year’s arguably disastrous weather-affected Splendour in the Grass festival, three new brand sponsors signed on for a record 2023.
Period apparel company Modibodi, tequila brand Casamigos and beauty brand Garnier all joined the activation space this year, hosting a luxury loo, pop-up bar and hair styling station, respectively.
Kristy Rosser, founder of Secret Sounds Connect and senior vice president, marketing solutions & client services at Live Nation ANZ, said Splendour in the Grass remains Australia’s most established multi-day camping music and arts festival, and has always had a strong client base of returning partners, and this year, Secret Sounds Connect had no problem finding new sponsors.
“It was a record year for us in terms of sponsors,” she told Mumbrella. “We’ve had really great feedback from our clients.”
“Clearly we were weather impacted, but that didn’t stop any brands from showing interest.”
Rosser said the agency works closely with brands in executing activations right from the start.
“We’ll take a brief from the client and work with the marketer on developing how they can show up [at the festival],” she explained.
“We can draw on really strong insights that we have based on our experiences working in music and what punters want.”
Aimee Stewart, head of brand partnerships at Secret Sounds Connect, told Mumbrella that last year was a heartbreaking moment for the entire Splendour in the Grass team and brands were able to recognise that, and want to return for a bigger and better 2023.
“Brands were really keen to get involved. This was the first time Modibodi and Garnier had activated in the music space, and it was wonderful having them on board.
“And everyone was really impressed with their activations,” she said. “It was really great for them to have tangible experiences with consumers.
Modibodi set up a premium bathroom pop-up, giving the first 150 people who signed up to their database or purchased a product access to their luxury loos each day of the festival.
Liana Lorenzato, chief marketing officer at Modibodi, said: “We wanted to created an activation that really spoke to this audience and met them in the spaces that they like to engage with.
“Activating at a festival aligned to our wider marketing strategy to reach 18-25 year olds, and when the opportunity to partner with Splendour in the Grass arose, we knew this is something we had to jump on,” she told Mumbrella.
“The activation was a massive success. As a primarily ecommerce business, the ability to meet our audiences and consumers in real life and discuss their experiences of menstruation, giving them the opportunity to touch and feel our designs, all the while educating and breaking taboos, sharing our brand values and product ranges, was invaluable.”
Meanwhile, punters were treated to luxury hair experiences at the Garnier Hair Food Hub, with free hairstyling services on offer.
Marketing director at Garnier & Thayers, Alexander Bachem, said: “When planning for 2023, we were looking at different ways we could appeal and attract younger consumers, while also staying true to our brand values. With Splendour in the Grass being such a key moment in the live music calendar, we felt this was a great opportunity to experiment in a new territory.
“Activating at a major event wasn’t necessarily new territory for us, however, this was the first time we’ve had a presence at a music festival. It was fun…It added value to a festivalgoers experience with a fun, self-care moment.”
Bachem said the brand was thrilled with the outcomes of the festival weekend, and are thankful to the agency for assisting in putting on “such a fantastic event”.
“We were able to add a Garnier styling moment to hundreds of people over the weekend,” Bachem told Mumbrella.
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the agency beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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topics
Aimee Stewart
Alexander Bachem
Garnier
Kristy Rosser
Liana Lorenzato
Live Nation
ModiBodi
Secret Sounds Connect
Splendour in the Grass
This really is odd when it’s not Secret Sounds Connect who activate everything. Lots of
Agencies do work at these festivals.
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