ITNTW: Coachella – the ultimate PR playground

The last two weekends saw thousands of music lovers, influencers and A-list celebrities head to the Californian desert to partake in one of the most anticipated music events of the year, Coachella. This year saw Lana Del Rey headlining alongside Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat. Aussie DJ Dom Dolla was also a crowd-favourite amongst the audience, including one Taylor Swift.
Coachella has made a name for itself in the social media world, each year it seems to be flooded with influencers and regular attendees in bo-ho outfits with the iconic ferris wheel backdrop. Brands have recognised the power in this, with hundreds of companies partnering with influencers, or creating interactive pop up stalls with the hope of winning over attendees and their followers.
So with influencer partnerships and brand activations combined, Coachella has become the ultimate PR playground!
Here are some of our favourites from this year:
Alix Earle X Poppi
American beverage company, Poppi, partnered with influencer Alix Earle for the weekend of Coachella, creating their own spinoff ‘coachEARLEa’. The partnership promoted the launch of their new lemon-lime flavour and saw Alix and her entourage invited to stay at ‘Casa Poppi’, a luxurious house the brand rented out. ‘Casa Poppi’ was decked out with on brand styling including giant inflatable limes in the pool and fluorescent pyjamas worn by all attendees.
Alix Earle was the perfect ambassador for the soft drink brand, known for her unfiltered approach to influencing, including her love for partying , Earle also holds a majority Gen-Z audience, aligning seamlessly with Poppi’s marketing as soda “reborn”.
Pinterest’s Manifestation Station
Pinterest took to Coachella to capitalise on their reputation as the hub for style inspiration. Partnering with the festival itself, Pinterest created the Manifestation Station, in which festival attendees could be styled by professionals with various coachella-themed accessories including butterfly hair clips, face jewels and metallic eyeliner.
This partnership was a strategic win for Pinterest, raising its relevance at an event traditionally dominated by its competitors Instagram and TikTok.
Drink 818
Queen of Coachella, Kendall Jenner, fittingly took to the festival to install a pop up stall for her tequila brand Drink 818 entitled the ‘Outpost’. The western-cowboy aesthetic of the stall fitted in perfectly with its Californian desert surroundings as well as current fashion trends. Combined, these made the Outpost extremely “instagrammable”, enticing organic social media hype for the brand. The pop-up was also stocked full with plenty of freebies from partnering brands, including Chamberlain Coffee, giving a teaser into the brand’s collaboration that has now been announced. This partnership allowed 818 to tap into the predominantly Gen-Z audience of Emma Chamberlain and definitely helped the success of the pop up over the Coachella weekends.
Written by Victoria Guest, PR & Influencer Coordinator