With the writers’ strike forcing cancellations of award shows, people are hearing more and more about how it is changing marketers’ plans. The obvious effects that everyone hears about include cancelling TV buys, altering creative, and migrating to non-traditional vehicles. But you don’t hear much about how it more residually changes the ambush marketing game.
I’ve been in Park City for a few days before Sundance Film Festival even starts and it’s already apparent how many more brands will be in town this year. It’s predominantly because this year, Sundance is where the influencers will be more than ever, as well as their legions of followers. With Golden Globes parties cancelled and other awards shows on the list of endangered species, movie stars, producers, wannabe stuntmen, directors, aspiring writers, groupies, and actors/authors/choreographers will soon converge on the snowy town. And the brands will follow.
On top of the official Sundance Film Festival sponsors leveraging the official marks of the property through official activations, there will be plenty of brands attempting to leverage the concept of Sundance through unofficial activations. It’s an interesting and continually evolving phenomenon that includes every type of gifting suite possible, influencer-only parties that everyone thinks they’re on the list for, brand experiences in the most random of places, and plenty of free swag.
The feeding frenzy begins...
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