Coachella Music and Arts Festival is hailed as one of the most iconic music events in the world. Boasting star-studded sets from music icons across every genre, surprise acts, and jaw-dropping performances from your new favourite band, Coachella appears to have mastered the art of the festival.
But that’s not all. This year, the festival set a new standard for event coverage with its impeccable social strategy. So now that the dust has settled in the infamous Coachella Valley, let’s take a look at what made the festival’s coverage so great.
It flexed on the fundamentals.
Whilst Coachella’s creative content headlined its social channels, it was the brilliant basics that really stole the show. In the age of instant information, fans want news and updates, and they want them fast - and Coachella? Well, it listened. Through the use of perfectly optimised social bios, crystal clear call to actions and uber-informative highlights, Coachella kept fans in the know, creating a satisfyingly simple user experience for attendees and home-viewers alike.
It induced FOMO with shareable moments
Thanks to its clever content strategy, Coachella induced FOMO in fans the world around. From Bad Bunny’s Jet Ski ride through the desert floor to star-studded, surprise appearances from the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Billie Eilish, Coachella captivated audiences far and wide by bringing fans the moments they actually wanted to see, and more importantly, share!
Oh, and that’s not all. When it came to social creative, the arts festival truly practised what it preached, pushing awe-inspiring visuals with every post. When we weren’t seeing perfectly timed shots of our favourite live performances, our feeds were filled with super cool visuals of the festival in all its glory (as if our FOMO couldn’t get any worse).
It captivated dual audiences with careful content curation.
Constructing a perfectly balanced content mix is no mean feat - especially when it comes to live event coverage. With fans on the ground requiring speedy and simple, key messaging - and home viewers expecting the whole razzle-dazzle, it can be tricky to nail the best of both worlds.
However, Coachella stepped up to the mic when it came to content curation. Providing key info via saveable posts and frequent stories, the festival successfully kept attendees in the loop. Whilst at home, fans across the world were able to watch the event unfold set by set through regular Reels and Coachella’s impressive live streaming capabilities.
It met fans' needs with lightspeed production.
Over the years, fans’ content expectations from bands, venues, and events have grown exponentially. They want to see the highlights from shows they attended (or missed out on) and they want this content fast. This is where Coachella truly excelled, setting a new standard for festivals and events around the world.
Shortly after each performance, fans were greeted with perfectly polished edits, showcasing the very best bits from the festival’s show-stopping sets. Through this exceptional production effort, Coachella provided fans with the goods and in turn, managed to ride the engagement wave whilst the hype was high. And boy, did they reap the return.
It did the most, without doing it all.
Coachella knows its audience, and this was clear to see from the festival's platform strategy. Of course, like any major event, coverage could be found across all of the festival’s platforms. However, it really leaned on Instagram and TikTok, leveraging visual storytelling to captivate followers with frequent and well-thought-out posts. Through this strategy, Coachella perfectly exemplified how brands can do the most, without doing it all.
What can we learn from this?
Other than the fact that we simply have to pick up tickets for Coachella 2024, here are a few things we can take from Coachella’s impressive social strategy, to help us perfect our own event coverage.
Whilst impressive content will wow the crowd, nailing the basics will keep them coming back for more.
The secret to producing content that will land? Put yourself in your audience's (dancing) shoes, what would you like to see?
As live-streaming capabilities continue to evolve, it’s more important than ever to cater to both physical and virtual audiences in equal balance.
Coachella’s speedy turnaround of high-quality visuals spearheaded the festival's successful content strategy. This is your sign to invest in production for your next event.
You can do the most without doing it all. Pick your platforms strategically, lean in and you're off to a flyer.
Interested in finding out how we could help showcase your next event? From creative production and on-the-ground social coverage to strategic consultancy - we’re well-versed in the lot and would love to help bring your event to life. So get in touch anytime.