In light of this weekend’s V festival, the end of August Reading festival, and early September’s Bestival, brands from here, there and everywhere are cashing in on that ‘happy go lucky’ festival vibe. Gone are the days when festivals were actually free and when policing was trusted to those lovely Hells Angels chaps (who only took pay in beer, may I remind). Now we live in days where live music is a much bigger business…

For the musician, festivals and live gigs are becoming increasingly the best way to earn top dollar. Brands such as Spotify and GrooveShark are to thank for that. The digital world allows for music to be downloaded at a cheaper price, if for a price at all. Live music is therefore not only more popular because of stages such as the O2 Arena (notice the brand music link) but also because it makes artists money that they may not be earning by having their track on iTunes or Spotify.

Bands are being paid increasing amounts to perform live, which in turn, increases the price of the festival or gig overall. What does that mean for brands? Well, it means that the individuals who are attending these costly 200 pound festivals have a bit of disposable income. Brands can market to the consumers through the event that these festival goers know and love. Thus it seems that the brands are trying to identify with their consumer, a topic that I have touched on before in relation to football advertising.  It’s all well and good saying this but where are the examples? Well, here’s some I made earlier:

Kellogg’s

You will have seen Kellogg’s ‘Kraving’ the festival scene at the Big Chill and will be seeing them at both V festival and Bestival. The primary focus is to promote their new Tunes and Spoons campaign which aims to get those young, affluent individuals to eat some cereal for breakfast instead of cold pizza… The Kellogg’s tent will offer both Krave and Crunchy Nut cereals whilst at the same time playing some tunes (at least they are trying to fit in).

I can actually see this doing quite well. They are targeting an audience that tend to skip breakfast because they are either too busy, or just can’t be bothered to cook – or toast for that matter. Well the beauty of cereal is you just add milk. No, it really is as easy as that! It’s convenient and supposedly healthy at the same time and if they get it right, they can turn these individuals into habitual Kellogg’s cereal eaters.

Jack Daniels

This is arguably a less complex method to look at involving that old ‘ticket give away’ ploy. The guys at Jack Daniels are offering customers the opportunity to win Reading/Leeds festival tickets when they sign up. Pretty simple I think you will agree, but effective none the less. The campaign is appropriately named ‘Mud, Sweat and Cheers’ and offers the Jack Daniels drink and a mixer all in one can.  Some may be so rash to add that this new product may not be suited to the traditional whisky on the rocks drinker; they are probably not far wrong. However that is the whole point, they are targeting a younger generation who drink, say, in the heat of the moment and don’t want to waste precious party time preparing ice in heavy glasses..