Brand Activations at CurlFest
The tagline of CurlFest is “Celebrating the magic of natural beauty.” Affirmation is a powerful mission that CurlFest embraces as create “an empowering and uniquely magical experience where women and girls of every shade, shape and size can come and be celebrated for who they are, unconditionally.”
They just wrapped up CurlFest in Brooklyn, NY, with plans to host an event in Atlanta in September of this year. It was founded by Charisse, Simone, Tracey, Gia and Melody (Curly Girl Collective) pictured below.
Check out some of the brand activations from CurlFest and be inspired as you translate your brand into live experiences. Grab your notebook and take notes as you learn from the beautiful example of CurlFest around pre-event communication, building anticipation, corporate sponsorship and brand partnerships, branding and more!
CurlFest made this Social Media Graphic available for their vendors. This allowed them to extend the reach of their brand, promote the festival itself and ensure consistency of branding.
Save The Dates are a great strategy to use to get the word out about an event AND to limit competition from other events that may share a similar target market.
Countdowns build anticipation and are an excellent, EASY way to maintain consistency.
While you can rely on attendees to post about your event, you may want to consider having a dedicated Social Media Team/Squad or Influencers. In addition to the coverage from the CurlFest Team, these selected Influencers were able to cover more ground and to amplify the brand. Invest in people who know how to do social media well to ensure that you cover your event from multiple perspectives.
Differentiating tickets is a great way to increase revenue. Notice this graphic that lays out the benefits of each ticket level, and the date that tickets go on sale. Also notice how the ticket price isn’t visible on the flyer, which increases the likelihood of people visiting the Eventbrite Page (increasing traffic).
Posting answers to Frequently Asked Questions is a great way to create content AND ensure that people know all of the things they need to know to have a great time at your event.
Make it as easy as possible for your attendees to get to your event by providing clear instructions for how to get there and where to enter (if your event is in a large stadium or park with multiple possible entrances).
This is a great example of how to recognize sponsors, while also honoring the look and feel of the branding for the event. In this case the Forbes logo is written in white under the CurlFest logo. When using event sponsors it is important to be intentional about where and how you will acknowledge their partnership. This is also great because Forbes is recognized by itself in this asset, independent of the other sponsors which is branding GOLD!
Highlighting speakers and performers is excellent social media content. Similar to the “I am a Vendor” Graphic, individual speakers, performers, or personalities will greatly appreciate their own dedicated flyer. Again, this ensures that the branding for the event is consistent across the digital universe.
Notice how the physical activation of the festival mirrors what was promoted online (similar font in the letters + similar color scheme of hot pink, orange and blue). Also, hello Photo Op! Any event that you are hosting MUST have a “Photo Prop,” “Photo Booth,” “Step and Repeat” or “Branding Photo Backdrop” to encourage attendees to post on Social Media. You want this Brand Asset to be attractive to your attendees and you want it to be clearly visible no matter the shot!
Another cute Brand Activation from Target!
Target had a professional photographer with the branded Social Media Image in the Ball Pin. It is also a fun activation that brings out the kid in attendees so it’s interactive!
Target’s activation was well represented at CurlFest. Notice their branded backdrops using language that resonates with the Target Audience. Also notice the branded pillows. The Target Logo is also visible on all of the branded assets.
Cream of Nature’s activation included large swag bags (hello Grocery Shopping in the future) and their staff wore “Hi Honey” T-shirts. Cream of Nature was not only promoting their brand but a specific product.
Cream of Nature representing in their t-shirts. T-shirts are an affordable way to activate your brand at live events as you can see they look powerful in group shots!
The Grass Wall is a staple at Summer Events. In this case, Creme of Nature added their logo, and some of their products to the wall. Anything in multiples is powerful, even these wooden crates!
Eden Bodyworks had an adorable grass wall Photo Backdrop.
This was another iteration of the grass wall. It is beautiful, however as you can see, the placement could have been better so that you can see the brand! Be mindful of logo and hashtag placement in photo props and photo ops.
It wasn’t clear who this Brand Activation was attributed to, but the hashtag was a great way to track engagement at the festival itself!
BET Her had a cute Brand Activation with the use of the “Crown” theme. They also had multiple hashtags they were promoting at the event.
Primark had a cute activation. These Carnival Style prize games are very fun and worth the investment if your brand has multiple pop-ups at Live Events. A low-cost version of this is to have Trivia, or some other game at your Vendor Booth.
Urban Skin Rx had a colorful pop-up where attendees could use the different colored sunglasses and the Peace Sign Photo Prop. Also notice how the brand was visible in both the Chair and the Sign next to the chair!
This brand bought some heat with the temporary tattoos on the chest of the Models. You can always incorporate humans into your Brand Activation.
Curls Unleashed had a very cute Jelly Tote and their activation was a hair coloring station. Also notice the products on the shelf!
Word Cutouts are a simple but easy activation at an event!
Fans are another cheap and functional Branded Product to giveaway at Summer Events. In this case CurlFest has a branded fan, and so does Planned Parenthood with an advocacy message.
A closer look at the CurlFest branded fan that includes the Instagram Account (hello HELLA followers) and the hashtag for the event (hello impressions)!
Another small photo prop that I’m certain was population that day.
DevaCurl had two cute activations. A beautiful piece of art and chair prop, and a tongue in cheek “Wetter is better” tagline featuring their logo. Based on the mist on the glass, it also looks like this activation may have been a mister of some kind. Perfect for a Hot Girl Summer :)
Another super cute hashtag created by CurlFest to designate a particular area of the festival.
A Great use of hashtag and a Photo Backdrop for Festival attendees.
A branded tank-top with Directional Signs in the brand colors. Merch is one way to either bring in revenue OR to clearly identify event staff. It is important to orient people using signage at events with a large physical platform.
People LOVE tote bags and often don’t bring them to festivals and outdoor events. This one is sure to get lots of use even outside of the festival grounds.
Directional and branded signage also makes a great photo op for attendees.
Also check out the Brand Presentation the CurlFest Website here. In particular, note the way the Sponsors & Partners are recognized prominently on the home page:
When you click each logo on the CurlFest website, it actually leads you to the brand page.
Remember, when seeking sponsorship brand care about your metrics. CurlFest makes that visible on the “Sponsors” page.
You MUST know your audience stats (at the bare minimum a breakdown of Gender, Social Media Impressions, Attendance (if it is a new event you can use Estimated Attendance) and the dates.
Also note the questions they ask potential sponsors on the application here.
Note the Vendor Application questions here (with a clear deadline to apply).
Notice the Brand Mentions on the “Get Ready” page, seamlessly integrated into the content here.
Notice the Volunteer Application here (most events could use some volunteer support, especially events of this size).
Notice the Photographer Application here.
Notice the RFP for Live Artists here.
Spend some time on the website learning how they capture Press Mentions, show images and videos from past events, and how they segment the mailing list for both Atlanta and New York City.