Festival Brand Activation for PepsiCo at Honeyland Festival

The Challenge

To create a social media-worthy festival brand activation for a global beverage brand.

PepsiCo’s “Dig In” campaign, aimed at supporting Black-owned businesses, needed an impactful presence at The Honeyland Festival. The challenge was to create a space that resonated with the campaign’s ethos while engaging a diverse festival audience. They contacted Staging Solutions to craft their festival brand activation, “Reunion House”.

What is the “Dig In” campaign?

The Pepsi Dig In campaign was launched in 2020 to support Black-owned restaurants. The campaign aims to generate $100 million in sales for these businesses over five years. It focuses on fostering community and celebrating the diversity and creativity of Black culinary talents. The campaign provides a platform for Black-owned restaurants to gain visibility and access to resources, helping them thrive in a competitive market.

The Solution: A Nostalgic Festival Brand Activation

Staging Solutions crafted a nostalgic cook-out environment, embodying the essence of the Dig In campaign. The space was a creative fusion of a miniature house, engaging activities, and environmental scenic elements. The design harmoniously blended PepsiCo’s branding with the festival’s vibrancy, creating an exciting and memorable brand activation experience.

The Reunion House, complete with a porch swing, was designed to evoke feelings of nostalgia and community. Activities like giant Connect Four and Cornhole allowed for interactive, light-hearted competition, further enhancing the communal atmosphere. Food tastings connected festival-goers with the delicious flavors at the heart of the Dig In campaign. Hands-on t-shirt printing offered a personalized take-home memento and a tactile way for participants to create a lasting memory of the festival and the campaign.

• Experience design
• Event production
• Art direction
• Construction management
• Custom fabrication
• Print and signage management
• Game assets
• Logistics and trucking
• Installation/strike

The Impression

The Reunion House installation was an instant hit. Festival-goers were drawn to its unique aesthetic and interactive elements. The activation became a hub for engagement, conversation, and social media activity, effectively amplifying the campaign’s message.

Attendees were captivated by the inviting porch swing and the lively yard games. The physical environment created an approachable space for stories, laughter, and connections.

PepsiCo’s “Dig In” campaign, aimed at supporting Black-owned businesses, needed an impactful presence at The Honeyland Festival. The challenge was to create a space that resonated with the campaign’s ethos while engaging a diverse festival audience. They contacted Staging Solutions to craft their festival brand activation, “Reunion House”.

The Impact

Reunion House increased PepsiCo’s social media engagement metrics and provided a stream of user-generated content from the attendees. This project was a vivid demonstration of how thoughtful, engaging festival brand activations can leave a significant mark on both the brand and their audience.

The Process of Crafting a Festival Brand Activation

Discover: Our journey began with a conversation, a digital roundtable where curiosity led the charge. We asked, we listened, and we absorbed PepsiCo’s vision for an experience that would resonate deeply with the festival-goers at Honeyland.

Define: Clarity follows curiosity. We focused PepsiCo’s vision to emphasize the homey aesthetic of the Dig In campaign, and infuse it with the energy and spirit it needed to stand out at the festival.

Design: We translated the vision into a tangible reality. Our designers and fabricators turned PepsiCo’s concept into Reunion House, ensuring every detail contributed to an immersive experience that felt like home yet buzzed with energy.

Develop: Collaboration is critical. Working closely with the PepsiCo team we refined the concept, ensuring every element aligned with the brand’s objectives and would engage the audience to the fullest.

Deploy: This is the stage where our plan moved into action: Fabrication, logistics, trucking – our event production team meticulously managed every piece. On-site, we executed the installation (in the pouring rain) with precision, ensuring every detail was picture-perfect.

Deliver: After the event, we gathered to review the impact. It was time to reflect on the success of the activation and explore how we could further maximize the investment for future brand activations.

Festival Brand Activation FAQs

What is a festival brand activation?

A festival brand activation is a marketing strategy executed through an immersive, interactive brand experience at a festival. This approach goes beyond traditional advertising, aiming to engage the audience deeply through memorable, participatory activities that resonate with the festival’s theme and atmosphere.

Why are festivals good opportunities for brand activations?

Festivals offer unique opportunities for brand activations because they draw large, diverse crowds in a vibrant and engaging environment. This setting allows brands to create memorable experiences that foster a deeper connection with the audience. The interactive nature of festivals is conducive to experiential marketing, where attendees can directly interact with the brand, increasing brand awareness and loyalty. Furthermore, festivals often attract media attention, amplifying the brand’s visibility beyond just the attendees.

What value can festival brand activations bring brands?

Festival brand activations offer significant value to brands, mainly through user-generated content, access to diverse demographics, and the preference for memorable experiences over material possessions. When attendees share their experiences on social media, it generates authentic content that can broaden the brand’s reach and appeal. Festivals attract a wide range of demographics, allowing brands to engage with diverse audience segments. Moreover, statistics show that modern consumers, especially millennials, value experiences over material goods, making festivals ideal for creating lasting brand memories.

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