Last year, BottleRock Napa Valley brought 120,000 fans to the heart of California wine country for Memorial Day, and the music, food and drink festival had flavors for every palate. The Smashing Pumpkins treated rock lovers to an acoustic performance of “Tonight, Tonight,” the Wu-Tang Clan served up a classic set for hip-hop heads, and Lizzo delivered pop aficionados a fresh batch of hits along with a nightcap of breathing exercises.
Those performances are not the only things the fans will remember. They’ll also remember how everything just seemed to work seamlessly: Text messages went through, friends were found, selfies were snapped and pictures were posted, thanks to event co-sponsor Cisco and its new Wi-Fi 6e product suite, which provided attendees free internet access throughout the festival weekend.
Beyond captivating fans with its technology story, Cisco also nurtured business relationships in their onsite suite, hosting clients and prospects alike while also partaking in festival activations such as the Verizon Viewing Deck and the Salesforce Platinum Lounge. The networking giant hosted its own activation, the very popular Cisco Silent Disco, where thousands of attendees donned individual wireless headsets and rocked out to special guest DJ performances throughout the day.
Activations like this reveal just how far we’ve come from the old days of marketing, when B2B brands rarely looked to live music for partnerships. Today’s executives are more diverse in just about every way. They skew younger and more female, with 45% under the age of 35 and over half being women. And they also hail from a much broader spectrum of backgrounds, with a 50% higher likelihood of being Hispanic.
That means the old ways of reaching decision-makers may not work as well anymore. Modern B2B companies like Cisco can find high-level, targeted audiences at festivals like BottleRock, where a rainbow of genres draws a wide range of attendees. Plus, fans welcome brands in these environments with 70% of global fans agreeing brands can enhance the experience.
A diversification of strategies
Cisco and other brands are now diversifying their strategies through live music and bringing emotion to the marketplace. B2B brands bring activations to other festivals, and book platinum suites and cabanas to host leadership and clients alike. These places are today’s version of the clubhouse at Augusta National, and other gatherings of old-school executives. Today, as live music enters an international golden age, top artists can be found all around the world.
Last year was the biggest ever for live music. Record-setting attendance, revenue and brand-affinity numbers revealed that a post-pandemic spike in concertgoing has solidified into the new normal. As the industry leader, Live Nation produced over 50,000 shows across 45 countries in 2023, serving 145 million fans and featuring more than 5,000 artists.
Destinations like BottleRock, Ohana Festival and Austin City Limits Music Festival provide a unique backdrop for making emotional connections. Eight in 10 decision makers say they’re excited to do business at live events. More than half of them say that in-person connections, like the ones formed at live events, are vital to deal-making.
That holds especially true in the B2B realm. Four out of five live music fans have decision-making power in the industries with which the sector is most interested in engaging, and 83% of fans who are decision-makers believe B2B brands at concerts and festivals are more culturally relevant.
Indeed, the same music lovers who spent their 20s scoring general admission tickets to Lollapalooza are now executives who can’t wait to relax with clients in the platinum lounge while rocking out to Kendrick Lamar. Those who were avid hip-hop heads during their college years are now thrilled to finalize deals over champagne during a Lupe Fiasco set at a smoothly run festival like BottleRock.
Speaking of BottleRock, the festival will be back in Napa this May. The 2024 lineup has something for everyone, with headliners including Megan Thee Stallion, Stevie Nicks, Pearl Jam, Maná, Ed Sheeran and Queens of the Stone Age. I wouldn’t miss it for the world—and now, neither would many of the world’s leading B2B brands.
