Festivals, Millennials and Healthy Food Marketing
From Coachella to the Warped Tour, the millennial generation is crazy for festivals. In fact, a recent study by Eventbrite, a global marketplace for live experiences, found that 1 in 5 American millennials attended a music festival in the past twelve months. Thanks to strong attendance numbers and the wide range of demographics represented, brands and healthy food marketing are looking to find their place in the latest events to draw in this increasingly influential generation.Here are just a few ways to succeed when involving your brand at a festival:
1. Show an unexpected side of the brand
Festivals are teeming with fans always looking for the next big act, whether it be indie rock or EDM (Electronic Dance Music). So why not make your brand just that. McDonald’s SXSW food truck is one such example that stood out in the land of artisanal cocktails and fusion taco trucks.At the 2015 SXSW, their truck served their traditional fries and shakes but also offered consumers a healthier option, like their McCafe Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie. According to an AdWeek video interviewing festival-goers, it seems many consumers who may not have been aware of this healthier side of the brand previously were pleasantly surprised to give it a try.
2. Give them a peak behind the curtain
Festivals allow a brand to create an authentic experience that showcases the brand’s heritage, personality or shared values with the consumer. Something that those in healthy food marketing only dream of.Christine Bohle, head of consumer partnerships at Eventbrite said of millennials in a recent Beverage Daily article,“this generation highly values authenticity and is slower to trust big brand marketing. Millennials in general are more likely to appreciate locally sourced products and ingredients and are less trusting of big corporations than any other generation.” She goes on to say, “Millennials want to give their money to a company that stands for more than the bottom line.”The takeaway for brands? Create an environment that can tell your story. Let consumers in on the process, let them speak to the employees who work on the production line, or showcase decisions your brand makes to better society. Go ahead, tell your story.
3. Make it shareable – We’re talking reach. It is important to know that there is tremendous opportunity to create mass reach around your brand’s festival activation with 75% of all social conversations about festivals being generated by those between the ages of 17-34. While that statistic may not sound like a surprise, this one might.
According to Eventbrite’s study , 54% of online chatter occurs before the event. So start talking early. And don’t forget the #hashtag.Whether your brand be large or small, festivals are ripe for the picking to target the millennial consumer with healthy food marketing.