With the carmaker back as headliner, the cross-country tour heads to six POWDR mountains
Giving proof that we’ll follow your experiences just about anywhere, EM popped off the Superstar lift at Killington, cleared the moguls, hung a left at the famous K1 lodge and cruised right into the Subaru WinterFest national tour kick-off.
The annual traveling cold-weather tour brings free pop-up weekend music festivals to six of the ski POWDR-owned mountains—Vermont’s Killington, Copper Mountain and Eldora in Colorado, California’s Sierra-at-Tahoe, Utah’s Snowbird and Mount Bachelor in Oregon—through April 14.
More cold-weather strategies:
- Sundance 2024: How Nine Brands Brought Experiential Marketing to the Mountains
- Five Steal-worthy Ideas for Cold Weather Outdoor Activations
- Subaru Carves Out Micro-events, Adventure for its 2022 WinterFest Tour
The three-day experiences take form as lifestyle music festivals anchored by a main stage boasting concerts inside a “WinterFest Village” set up near main base lodges and programmed with tunes, Subaru displays and activations from multiple partners.
The car company is back as title partner, once again letting Subaru owners flash their keys for access to VIP parking spots and a host of other perks across several branded trailers. Subaru has its Wilderness family of vehicles on hand to promote, as well as local dealers to answer questions (and generate leads). A branded LOVE area lets visitors create their own messages using magnetic letters on whiteboards and take selfies for social media.
“Our search for fun and adventure doesn’t hibernate during the winter,” says Subaru senior vp-marketing Alan Bethke.
Elsewhere, Harman Kardon sponsors the main stage entertainment and activates on-site with a creative Harman Hut, a (much-needed when we were there) warming yurt featuring portable Bluetooth products and a (safe) indoor fire and special giveaways. Guests can refuel at the Hydro Flask “Wilderness Café” with free coffee, cocoa and organic energy bars from Kate’s Real Food. There are also snow-themed lawn games and Solo Stove-branded warming/s’mores zones. And test gear from brands such as Nordica, Cardiff Snowcraft, Mammut, Thule, Dynamic Wax and Luno.
A subaruwinterfest.com microsite ties it all together online and across social channels. Agency: In-house by POWDR. Tour Management: Field Athletic Management. Logistics/Staffing: Encore Nationwide. Trailer Fabrication: EPS Doublet.
Check out more scenes from the WinterFest Village:
