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How Do Brands Sound at Festivals?

Brands use music for commercials all the time; it's a tried and tested relationship and one that the brands are always looking to develop and expand upon. It's inevitable then that we're seeing more and more brands piggybacking on the festival experience every summer, but are they really welcome in these scared havens of music worship?

When it comes to music festivals, KISS front man Paul Stanley advises not to go anywhere without "Purell, condoms, and breath mints." Although a bit crude, Stanley does present a valid point. Why do people attend music festivals anyway? Aside from tripping into strangers' tents and drinking excessively, festival-goers attend because of their passion for music. Being bombarded with brands certainly isn't high on their list but there is an understanding that events need sponsors.

Corporate sponsorships, together with food, drink and merchandising sales, account for as much as 30% of total music-festival revenue, according to people familiar with the industry. But it's not as simple as slapping the first brand that comes along all over your stages and tents; the type of sponsors is extremely important to the overall vibe of the festival and generating meaningful interactions with consumers. So how do you pick a winner? Well there's the obvious hook-up with alcohol brands and telecommunications, two staples of the festival experience, but with a potential million dollars in rights up for grabs, festivals such as Lollapalooza in Chicago welcome anyone and everyone to stage sponsorships including in recent years major brands such as Red Bull, Sony, and Google Play. Glastonbury festival gets it right, choosing sponsors that directly affect its 175,000 festival-goers in positive ways. For example, Carlsberg beer donates earnings to charities and Millets camping retail chain setting up makeshift outlet stations. On the other side of the coin though, indie type festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo tend to steer clear of stage sponsors because they feel it creates more distance between the audience and experience. A recent study suggests they may be right with many festival goers expressing their dislike of the presence of underwear brand Sloggi at last year's festivals, saying its fashion show was out of place and "chavvy." Xbox also met with resistance because fans felt that a computer game brand didn't fit in with the outdoor nature of festivals.

These tales from the fans themselves suggest that a successful partnership may have more to do with the experience on off than the brand itself. Ford, Miller Lite, Mattel and Garnier sponsored Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee in extremely creative ways, keeping the audience constantly involved. Garnier set up a hair washing station and helped people look their best in the midst of chaos and high temperatures. Mattel furnished an air-conditioned tent where people could play the board game Apples to Apples. Lastly, Ford's Fiesta Garage tent, also air conditioned, was a place for festival-goers to see intimate performances from some of the artists, screen print their own T-shirts and charge their phone. Now that sounds like a festival I would love to go to, what young adults wouldn't love to get their hair done, chill in the AC, and charge their phones so they can instavideo every performance? So engagement with fans seems to be the key and it's something that Yahoo took to the next level in their sponsorship of last weekends Wireless Festival. The Internet giant aimed to engage fans across their mail, Flickr, Tumblr and OMG services with the intention of generating exclusive content and providing fans with a multi-platform space for interacting and sharing their experience. What better way to engage a young audience than a live social media share-fest!