As fan-tailing reaches a new zenith (see Stan Stores in Brand Spaces: 24/25), brands looked beyond the Californian desert to connect with far-flung fans and those too young or budget-stretched to attend (the cost is considerable). YouTube offered multi-screen livestreaming with integrated merch purchasing, while Coachella expanded its Fortnite universe, and real-life activations in two cities connected K-pop fans.

Pinterest and American non-profit Goodwill positioned themselves as festival fashion helpers, the former framing its platform as the go-to resource for fashion and beauty trends and the latter assisting attendees with creatively customising second-hand clothing. Meanwhile, Google harnessed Coachella to demonstrate the festival-relevant features of its new Pixel phone.

Dovetailing with the FOMO-countering detailed above while pursuing consumers at the intersection of Gen Z and Alpha (Zalpha), American youth fashion brands Hollister and PacSun leveraged Coachella’s tentpole status to back their own events – creating more easily accessible (and in Hollister’s case, year-round) performances with musicians who also feature in sponsored content.  

Coachella’s Web3 app saw users earn prizes, such as unreleased music and festival upgrades, for completing online and onsite missions, gamifying the event while granting organisers more insight into attendee activities.