PALM SPRINGS, CA – APRIL 15: Duckworth performs at the American Express Platinum House at Parker Palm Springs on April 15, 2018 in Palm Springs, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for American Express Platinum )
As headlines continue circulating following Beyonce’s record-breaking weekend one performance and standout sets from stars like Eminem, SZA and The Weekend — Coachella delivered a memorable experience for more than 200,000 obsessive music fans from all parts of the country.
Despite a slight spike in pricing, weekend passes to this year’s festival sold out in just three hours, with general admission tickets selling out within 35 minutes. Standing as the nation’s high-grossing festival, Coachella is also respected for attracting a richly diverse audience, mirroring the multicultural crowd with a curated lineup that reflects many of the most celebrated artists across genres.
Capturing a prime consumer segment, Coachella also presents a tremendous opportunity for brands to directly engage attendees through strategic sponsorships and experiential events. From elaborate parties and on-site activations, to branded tents and sponsored stages — companies have explored every angle to integrate their brand into the festivities. With millennials making up more than 50% of Coachella’s attendees, consumers are exposed to a broad spectrum of brand experiences — from smart and subtle, to overt and intrusive.
Entering their fourth year as a title sponsor of Coachella, American Express became the festival’s first official credit card in 2015. The multi-year partnership allows the brand to offer exclusive experiences to cardmembers and fans alike, such as providing weekend passes, access to exclusive events, and providing various surprises through the Coachella mobile app.
Using the festival as a platform to launch their new global brand strategy, AMEX rolled out a lifestyle and influencer-driven approach to activating the brand. Rooted in the insight that multicultural millennials today live hybrid lifestyles that seamlessly merge their personal and professional interests, the brand shifted their focus from promoting products, infusing brand messaging and acquiring more advocates, to instead organically tapping into the ethos that drives the demographic.
Taking this lifestyle approach, AMEX designed an on-site space for all festival attendees to take a break from the frenzy, connect with new people, and share the moment with friends. “More than promoting the brand or getting people to do different things, we saw that people really just want an escape,” stated Walter Frye, VP of Global Entertainment Partnerships. “We know that people are living life forward, and we know that millennials value experiences over material things.”
While thousands flood the festival grounds to watch their favorite artists perform on the biggest outdoor stages, these music fans also makeup a crowd of entrepreneurs, business leaders and passionate creators. With the growing convergence of media, marketing and technology empowering today’s do-it-yourself generation to design the lives and careers they want, the company’s new campaign “Don’t Live Life Without It” is a nod to millennials being mobile, progressive and hungry for new experiences. “Our new global brand strategy is about living life forward,” Frye states. “Living life forward is about living life with intention, following your dreams, and finding ways to make a difference at the same time.”
The American Express Card Member Experience on-siite at Coachella 2018
Anchored in the concept of living life forward, the on-site activation was designed to create a fun, communal atmosphere where people can unite around ideas and shared interests. In addition to open bars, lounge decor and designated areas to snap photos, the space became a vibrant hub for networking and conversations. “Our strategy recognizes the fact that people today live hybrid lifestyles,” stated Frye. “Millennials don’t separate work and life — instead, they are equally immersed in both, which has shattered the concept of work-life balance and made it a more fluid reality.”
In addition to a reimagined on-site experience, AMEX also took over the Parker Palm Springs to host the second consecutive year of Platinum House. Teaming up with a roster of partners such as Republic Records and SoulAnnex, the pop-up experience included live performances, morning meditation sessions, SoulAnnex classes, food and drinks, as well as a variety of interactive activities for guests. “Last year, our position was American Express brings you Platinum House, reflecting our vision as a company — This year, the story is told through the eyes of our partners and card members,” stated Janey Whiteside, GM of Global Premium Products. “Creatively, we wanted the experience to reflect less of our voice, and instead allow our most influential partners and card members share their interpretation of the Coachella experience.”
The creative minds spearheading this strategy were enlisted from the Platinum Collective, a select group of influencers, entrepreneurs and thought-leaders assembled to curate the experience for card members and their guests. One example is interior designer Daniel Arsham, CEO of Snarkitecture, who developed the aesthetic for Platinum House. “The best way to utilize the Collective is to empower people to do what they’re good at, and figure out how to bring their brands to life in an authentic way,” Whiteside stated. “As a brand, that’s they key to success — you have to get out of the way and let creators do what they’re great at.”
AMEX introduced this initiative as an innovative step forward in the influencer marketing space, steering away from traditional tactics and allowing members of the Collective to have ownership in the campaigns the brand creates. “Intrinsically, everybody in The Collective is successful in their own right, targeting a younger audience, and doing so effectively,” stated Whiteside. “We look to identify influential people who have both the brain power and marketing power to think about designing brand experiences differently.”
Beyond building expansive personal brands or amassing large followings, the criteria for joining the collective is based on being closely tied into culture and actively shaping it. By embodying traits that define the new era of influence, measured more by the ability to build community and make profound impact, the Collective serves as a specialized group of builders, thinkers and leaders positioned as a collaborative resource for the brand. “We have conversations with members of the Collective about what the future of experiences looks like and how to better engage audiences,” says Whiteside. “The defining factor is not how many followers you have on Instagram — the Collective is carefully selected based on the brand they’ve built, the work they’re doing, and the real impact that they’re making.”
With this year’s Coachella activations providing a preview of what’s to come from AMEX at large-scale events, the brand is confident and committed to deviating from forcing brand experiences upon audiences and following a blueprint grounded in the values and evolving lifestyles of their millennial consumers. “We’re always listening, because you can’t be essential if you don’t know what the needs of your consumers are,” Frye stated. “Coachella marks the first introduction of our now campaign, and we remain focused on assuring that the elements of that strategy come to life in everything that we do moving forward.”
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PALM SPRINGS, CA – APRIL 15: Duckworth performs at the American Express Platinum House at Parker Palm Springs on April 15, 2018 in Palm Springs, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for American Express Platinum )
As headlines continue circulating following Beyonce’s record-breaking weekend one performance and standout sets from stars like Eminem, SZA and The Weekend — Coachella delivered a memorable experience for more than 200,000 obsessive music fans from all parts of the country.
Despite a slight spike in pricing, weekend passes to this year’s festival sold out in just three hours, with general admission tickets selling out within 35 minutes. Standing as the nation’s high-grossing festival, Coachella is also respected for attracting a richly diverse audience, mirroring the multicultural crowd with a curated lineup that reflects many of the most celebrated artists across genres.
Capturing a prime consumer segment, Coachella also presents a tremendous opportunity for brands to directly engage attendees through strategic sponsorships and experiential events. From elaborate parties and on-site activations, to branded tents and sponsored stages — companies have explored every angle to integrate their brand into the festivities. With millennials making up more than 50% of Coachella’s attendees, consumers are exposed to a broad spectrum of brand experiences — from smart and subtle, to overt and intrusive.
Entering their fourth year as a title sponsor of Coachella, American Express became the festival’s first official credit card in 2015. The multi-year partnership allows the brand to offer exclusive experiences to cardmembers and fans alike, such as providing weekend passes, access to exclusive events, and providing various surprises through the Coachella mobile app.
Using the festival as a platform to launch their new global brand strategy, AMEX rolled out a lifestyle and influencer-driven approach to activating the brand. Rooted in the insight that multicultural millennials today live hybrid lifestyles that seamlessly merge their personal and professional interests, the brand shifted their focus from promoting products, infusing brand messaging and acquiring more advocates, to instead organically tapping into the ethos that drives the demographic.
Taking this lifestyle approach, AMEX designed an on-site space for all festival attendees to take a break from the frenzy, connect with new people, and share the moment with friends. “More than promoting the brand or getting people to do different things, we saw that people really just want an escape,” stated Walter Frye, VP of Global Entertainment Partnerships. “We know that people are living life forward, and we know that millennials value experiences over material things.”
While thousands flood the festival grounds to watch their favorite artists perform on the biggest outdoor stages, these music fans also makeup a crowd of entrepreneurs, business leaders and passionate creators. With the growing convergence of media, marketing and technology empowering today’s do-it-yourself generation to design the lives and careers they want, the company’s new campaign “Don’t Live Life Without It” is a nod to millennials being mobile, progressive and hungry for new experiences. “Our new global brand strategy is about living life forward,” Frye states. “Living life forward is about living life with intention, following your dreams, and finding ways to make a difference at the same time.”
The American Express Card Member Experience on-siite at Coachella 2018
Anchored in the concept of living life forward, the on-site activation was designed to create a fun, communal atmosphere where people can unite around ideas and shared interests. In addition to open bars, lounge decor and designated areas to snap photos, the space became a vibrant hub for networking and conversations. “Our strategy recognizes the fact that people today live hybrid lifestyles,” stated Frye. “Millennials don’t separate work and life — instead, they are equally immersed in both, which has shattered the concept of work-life balance and made it a more fluid reality.”
In addition to a reimagined on-site experience, AMEX also took over the Parker Palm Springs to host the second consecutive year of Platinum House. Teaming up with a roster of partners such as Republic Records and SoulAnnex, the pop-up experience included live performances, morning meditation sessions, SoulAnnex classes, food and drinks, as well as a variety of interactive activities for guests. “Last year, our position was American Express brings you Platinum House, reflecting our vision as a company — This year, the story is told through the eyes of our partners and card members,” stated Janey Whiteside, GM of Global Premium Products. “Creatively, we wanted the experience to reflect less of our voice, and instead allow our most influential partners and card members share their interpretation of the Coachella experience.”
The creative minds spearheading this strategy were enlisted from the Platinum Collective, a select group of influencers, entrepreneurs and thought-leaders assembled to curate the experience for card members and their guests. One example is interior designer Daniel Arsham, CEO of Snarkitecture, who developed the aesthetic for Platinum House. “The best way to utilize the Collective is to empower people to do what they’re good at, and figure out how to bring their brands to life in an authentic way,” Whiteside stated. “As a brand, that’s they key to success — you have to get out of the way and let creators do what they’re great at.”
AMEX introduced this initiative as an innovative step forward in the influencer marketing space, steering away from traditional tactics and allowing members of the Collective to have ownership in the campaigns the brand creates. “Intrinsically, everybody in The Collective is successful in their own right, targeting a younger audience, and doing so effectively,” stated Whiteside. “We look to identify influential people who have both the brain power and marketing power to think about designing brand experiences differently.”
Beyond building expansive personal brands or amassing large followings, the criteria for joining the collective is based on being closely tied into culture and actively shaping it. By embodying traits that define the new era of influence, measured more by the ability to build community and make profound impact, the Collective serves as a specialized group of builders, thinkers and leaders positioned as a collaborative resource for the brand. “We have conversations with members of the Collective about what the future of experiences looks like and how to better engage audiences,” says Whiteside. “The defining factor is not how many followers you have on Instagram — the Collective is carefully selected based on the brand they’ve built, the work they’re doing, and the real impact that they’re making.”
With this year’s Coachella activations providing a preview of what’s to come from AMEX at large-scale events, the brand is confident and committed to deviating from forcing brand experiences upon audiences and following a blueprint grounded in the values and evolving lifestyles of their millennial consumers. “We’re always listening, because you can’t be essential if you don’t know what the needs of your consumers are,” Frye stated. “Coachella marks the first introduction of our now campaign, and we remain focused on assuring that the elements of that strategy come to life in everything that we do moving forward.”
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