Mateusz Schreiber, Managing Director of substanz.berlin, an agency for festival marketing and brand cooperation, explains in an interview with Monika Monika Monzel, Editor-in-Chief of EventMasterBook.com, how traditional brand sponsorship in the context of music festivals is increasingly developing into immersive brand experiences.
Instead of simply placing their logos on the festival’s marketing banners and promotional materials, more and more brands are opting to create interactive experience spaces that provide festival visitors with unique and unforgettable moments. According to Mateusz Schreiber, this shift is a win-win-win situation for the brands, the festival-goers and the organizers, as it allows the brands to connect with their audience on a deeper level while enhancing the overall festival experience.
A prime example discussed by Schreiber is the "FLEX with AXE & Luciano" festival marketing concept, developed by substanz.berlin. First launched in 2023 and expanded in 2024, AXE’s festival appearance features an 80 square meter pop-up music video studio where festival guests can perform like stars and get their own professional video content.
The studio offers three themed sets (clubbing, shopping, traveling), high-quality fashion pieces and videographers who usually work with well-known hip-hop artists. The participants can demonstrate their style and creativity during the video shoot. Their videos are then set to the music of well-known German rapper Luciano and can be shared immediately on social media. Schreiber emphasized how this setup increases reach for both the brand and the content.
Schreiber also mentioned that in 2023, despite using a smaller studio and attending fewer festivals, they experienced remarkable success. He proudly highlighted the recognition they received at the ESNS Awards 2023 for the "Best Festival Brand Activation". This achievement, which was voted on by festival organizers, was particularly meaningful to Schreiber because it demonstrated the appreciation from Europe’s largest festival promoters for the effort behind their activation. In terms of numbers, they were represented at three festivals in 2023 and shot 309 music videos with over 1,000 participants over seven festival days. Schreiber noted that this level of output is impressive considering that producing a single music video normally takes a full day or longer.
Organically, in just two weeks, the 30-second videos created at the festivals generated around 405,540 minutes of watch time across the social channels of festivalgoers. As Schreiber explained, this is equivalent to 281 days of continuous playback of Luciano’s track "Mios mit Bars," which he finds pretty incredible. In the interview, he expressed his appreciation for the reach that he and his team have achieved with these activations.
From Schreiber’s perspective, festival marketing concepts like FLEX with AXE & Luciano isn’t just a fun experience for festivalgoers but a powerful marketing tool for consumer brands. It helps brands to move beyond standard sponsorships and become an integrated part of the festival culture. According to Schreiber, such activations offer companies new opportunities to engage, inspire and stand out in an increasingly competitive environment.
Note: This article is a summary of the German article with the original interview, to be found at EventMasterBook.de: Immersive Markenerlebnisse bei Festivals – Interview mit Mateusz Schreiber.
Cover image: The FLEX with AXE x Luciano music video studio, exterior view (source: substanz.berlin | www.substanz.berlin)
Image 2: The FLEX with AXE x Luciano music video studio, interior view, and Mateusz Schreiber (photos: substanz.berlin | www.substanz.berlin; collage: eventmasterbook.de editorial team)
Related topics: festival trends, event trends, sponsoring trends, festival marketing, music festivals, immersive brand experience, brand experience spaces, festival experience, festival sponsoring, wow! factors, experience design, music video studio, AXE, Luciano, rap, hip-hop, video studio, FLEX with AXE & Luciano campaign
Summary: Festival and Sponsoring Trends – How classic brand sponsorship is changing into immersive brand experiences – Interview with Mateusz Schreiber, substanz.berlin, on the FLEX with AXE & Luciano festival campaign
