Brands hope for street credibility—by association—at annual rock festival For more than 120,000 rock fans, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held April 29–30 in Indio, Calif., was the place to see the hottest new rock and hip-hop groups. Yet for some fashion companies, the 7-year-old indie music event is becoming a rich hunting ground to spread the word about their products.

Established lines such as Quiksilver Inc., DKNY Jeans and up-and-coming lines such as Meltin’ Pot camped out at several hospitality houses located outside the festival. The labels threw parties with guest lists that included musicians who increasingly command fashion cachet. In turn, the fashion labels’ marketers were able to use the relaxed atmosphere of the houses to give their products to these up-and-coming celebrities.

The Italian-based denim label Meltin’ Pot gave more than 150 pairs of its premium jeans to the tastemakers passing through the hospitality house sponsored by rock magazine Spin.

Since the house guest lists are reportedly tightly controlled by marketers and public relations people, the fashion labels can be sure they are not wasting product, said Colin Brickley, Meltin’ Pot’s West Coast entertainment and public relations manager.

“They’re going to spread the word about the brand,” Brickley said of the musicians and other tastemakers who received Meltin’ Pot’s jeans. “It’s exactly where you want the word to be spread.”

Quiksilver, Ben Sherman, Oakley, Ocean Pacific and Miss Sixty joined Meltin’ Pot at the Spin house. DKNY Jeans sponsored a house with Motorola Inc. DKNY’s VIPs were treated to cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and rock star Paul Thomson of Scottish band Franz Ferdinandplaying records at the poolside party. Music magazine Filter sponsored a house where Urban Outfitters and Puma had a presence.

Fashion brands and other companies often look for additional ways to communicate with potential customers apart from advertising, said DKNY public relations director Kristin Kavanagh. Being associated with events that carry burgeoning street credibility, like Coachella, is one way to connect with an increasingly elusive customer, she said.

DKNY maintains a presence at just one other music festival, South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, Kavanagh said. But she believes Coachella is gaining enough cachet that other brands will want to be associated with the festival.

Fashion brands sold on the grounds of the festival are typically associated with the alternative music culture being showcased at Coachella. They also can make a political or outsider cultural statement.

T-shirts and hoodies designed by Long Beach, Calif.–based Cardboard Robot were some of the merchandise sold at the festival’s official retail area. The label’s designs feature punk-rock art with a political edge. And El Monte, Calif.–based Cultura Y Mas sells T-shirts with images of Latino revolutionaries Emiliano Zapata, Che Guevara and Subcomandante Marcos. But not all clothing labels sold at the festival fit into a new music category. Fresno, Calif.–based Ephraim offers fashion tees and hoodies bearing Christian messages.Gutierrez said business was good at the festival.

His sales of T-shirts and hoodies increased 30 percent from his sales at Coachella last year. But the overhead was high, too. Gutierrez said a 20- by-10 booth cost $4,000.

Brand dance

The cross-marketing appeal of Coachella is miniscule compared to the Sundance Film Festival, the annual independent movie festival held in Park City, Utah. The film festival has been nicknamed Brand Dance, thanks to the more than 65 parties, events and hospitality suites vying with burgeoning film talent for the attentions of festival-goers, according to Indiewire, an independent film news outlet.

The emphasis on marketing at Sundance diluted both the original purpose of the festival— independent films—and the impact of marketing at the festival, according to Bryan Rabin, cofounder of Los Angeles–based lifestyle marketing firm Rabin Rodgers Inc. His company produced events for the William Morris Agency at Sundance as well as the Spin magazine event at Coachella. It also retains such fashion and beauty clients as Hermegrave;s, L’Oreal, Frankie B. and Oscar de la Renta.

“There are great people doing business at Sundance,” Rabin said. “But I feel that Sundance has become so convoluted with branding opportunities that it’s become a flea market for bad branding.”

He said that some companies feel shortchanged when their marketing efforts only result in a couple of sentences in a magazine.

“Companies are so desperate for association with celebrities, but they often waste their time,” Rabin said.