“This was an opportunity for us to not only engage the 250,000 people who are coming in across the two weekends, but also to bring a bit of that flavor back home. We really tried to create that connective tissue between the two.”
-Molly Spychalski, Head of Partnership Marketing at Postmates and Uber
The Postmates ReTreat featured a footprint opposite the main stage and share-worthy touchpoints like a “donut tree.”
For its third year partnering with Coachella, food delivery service Postmates turned up the heat with a garden-inspired footprint themed around its chief offering: tasty treats. Across both weekends of the festival, April 14-16 and 21-23, the Postmates ReTreat served as the first branded, open-air experience to be featured within the event’s VIP area. The space featured premium culinary items for purchase, a luxe dining area and lounge, a complimentary hydration station and, of course, plenty of photo moments, including a “donut tree.” But with its sights set on boosting brand awareness beyond the festival grounds, Postmates extended the program to foodies in Los Angeles with deliveries of the exclusive festival bites right to their doors.
Postmates worked with merchant partner The h.wood Group to add flavor to this year’s activation. Three of the hospitality brand’s most popular venues—The Nice Guy, SLAB and Delilah—were enlisted to whip up customized menu items (think: pulled pork sandwiches, truffle fries and spicy tequila cocktails) that festivalgoers could buy and munch on while enjoying another premium offering within the festival scene: a place to sit down.
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When attendees weren’t chowing down, they could participate in multiple photo ops. Like an archway covered in bougainvillea at the entrance to the footprint, the aforementioned donut tree (which doubled as a source of shade), a silver sphere installation, and lush greenery and plants sprinkled throughout the space.
“When we’re able to find moments like this where we can bring experiential to life, connect one-on-one and do that in a way in which those music fans are doing something that they love, it’s a really powerful experience for not only our consumer, but also our brand,” says Molly Spychalski, head of partnership marketing at Postmates and Uber.
As a brand endemic to the L.A. community, Postmates was determined to engage the locals who couldn’t make it to Coachella this year, or who preferred streaming the festival at home. The complete curated menu from The Nice Guy, SLAB and Delilah was available for delivery via the Postmates app in the L.A. area during the festival, ensuring that the same fare being served 100-plus miles away in Indio could be enjoyed from the comfort of home.
Rounding out the Postmates ReTreat campaign were influencer partners who captured content on-site for fans following Coachella from home, or those planning out their on-site agenda for the second weekend of the festival.
“Coachella is one of the tentpole cultural moments that we think is really important for the Postmates brand to have a presence at when you couple both the size and the cultural aspect of it,” says Spychalski. “And this was an opportunity for us to not only engage, say, the 250,000 people who are coming in across the two weekends, but also to bring a bit of that flavor back home… So we really tried to create that connective tissue between the two.” Agencies: Dorothy (experiential); Parker|Phoenix (p.r.).
Take a Spin Through the ReTreat:
Photo credit: Postmates
