Breaking Through the Noise at Sundance

It’s been a few weeks after returning from our first Sundance Film Festival, where we planned and executed a large-scale event for HBO to promote their new docu-series McMillion$. Being our team’s first time at Sundance, we didn’t know the ins and outs, but we did know among other brands that show up heated lounges, food & bev along with tech heavy photo ops are popular. The beginning of a new year is a crazy time in experiential as Sundance kicks off a run of some pretty influential events such as: Waste Management Golf Open, CES, The Grammy’s, oh and The Super Bowl! So, our first thought was, how do we stand out among not only the noise of the film festival but all these other cultural events as well. Well, let us tell you how we broke through the noise by focusing in on these three key areas: branding, demographic, experience.

So, after booking our venue and getting plugged into the scene we quickly learned branding was going to be a challenge with the strict guidelines the Sundance Institute implements during the festival (which anyone that has activated there before knows the struggles). Since we were not able to have free rein of the exterior of our space or partner with local shops to brand their windows we looked to wild postings and an in-character street team to be our source of mobile branding, something no one else had done. Days before the festival started, we had wild postings promoting the experience put up around town and gave handbills to local shops as a talking point to consumers. We quickly saw our street team, dressed as Rich Uncle Penny Bags, was a hit with festival attendees. They stood out in their bright outfits, were engaging and great for grabbing the attention of consumers who have a long list of festival to-dos. Creating interest and conversations was the first step to generate buzz for the activation. When it came to exterior venue branding, we looked to alternate methods of production to fabricate the exterior of our space that was more permanent such as painting the door. By transforming the exterior to bright we creating another building that stood out to consumers as they walk up and down Main St. We wanted to again create a touch point through the consumer journey that tied everything together. If you walked into a building that looked like it always does at Sundance you lose a piece to the consumer journey.

Honing in on our key demographic was another win for us, many of the experiences at Sundance are exclusive and credentialed but we wanted to open up our doors to the public something that just isn’t really done. Well word quickly spread and next thing we knew our line started every morning an hour or more before we opened. The streets were buzzing with locals and industry professionals alike wanting their chance to win big. Each day we saw people waiting in line to get into the experience and consumers leaving would shout to those in line “you guys I promise you this is worth it!” By creating a space where anyone and everyone could come in for this unique experience, we had created our own brand ambassadors.

Lastly was the experience, like we mentioned photo ops and lounges are big for brands at Sundance, but we wanted to bring something new to the table. So, in a world full of tech we looked to take a completely analog approach, moving away from VR/AR and focusing in on creating an old school but immersive experience that told the story to guests. Peel aways were the focus of the space so from the moment consumers entered the experience they were peeling to get their custom cocktail at the bar or even peeling from our game wall for their chance to REALLY WIN! The little details go a long way so when we had branded “happy meals,” a giant fry box photo op, prizes from the original McDonald’s Monopoly game (yes, even a sea-doo!) and a DJ playing the best tunes of the 90’s guests couldn’t help but have a blast. I mean who doesn’t want a chance to party on a Monday? This experience truly told this crime centered story in a fun way that got attendees excited to tune in and watch McMillion$, which premiered on February 3rd on HBO.

And that’s how we cracked Sundance, nothing fancy or credentialed just a whole lot of storytelling and focusing in on the little details that contribute to attendee buy-in. At the end of the day telling a story and creating valuable touch points throughout the consumer journey, immerses the consumers into something more than a place to pop in a check out for a quick phone charge, but more a place they want to hang out in and be a part of the story. Now that we’re Sundance veterans we can’t wait to see how we take things to the next level at Sundance 2021. Cheers to breaking the mold!