Life is Beautiful: an artist-lounge activation with Red Bull

About 40%of the roughly 1,000 artists and VIP guests in the hospitality area were reached with the brand

My roleLead and creative. I ran the one-month project with Red Bull and the festival, from the first meeting to the product drop.

TeamMe as lead and creative, with Red Bull's Las Vegas marketing team, the festival's staff, the FMHI team and outside vendors for goods.

Budget and timelineA one-month project, run under a fixed budget. Dollar figures are kept confidential.

Video still: Life is Beautiful project: Red Bull and Farmers Market Hawaii Apparel (FMHI) — **Life is Beautiful project: Red Bull and Farmers Market Hawaii Apparel (FMHI)**Featuring Ian Clement, Marketing Manager, Red Bull Las Vegas. Contains one swear word.

A conversation in a festival office turned into a two-hour planning session, then an artist-lounge activation that tied back to the brand's identity. This is the story of how it came together, told by the people who were there.

The VIP tent, empty and then full

The empty artist VIP tent with tiki-mask tables and a surfboard overhead, before the festival — Before: the tent built out

The same VIP tent packed with guests under blue and purple lighting — During: the VIP tent live

Wide view of the VIP tent full of guests under draped fabric and string lights — The full tent on the night

Meet the team

Tim Hirata with two members of the Life is Beautiful team in festival shirts — With the Life is Beautiful team

Tim Hirata with five Life is Beautiful and venue staff in an office — With Life is Beautiful and venue staff

The problem

Farmers Market Hawaii Apparel (FMHI) was a Hawai'i streetwear brand with a store in Las Vegas that wanted to be seen next to the biggest names in music and culture. Life is Beautiful, a major festival in Las Vegas, was the stage. The goal was not a booth. It was to build brand awareness inside the artist hospitality VIP area, tie it to the brand's Hawaiian identity, feature the brand's creative director as a Red Bull artist, and make a mark.

What I did

Phase 1: the meeting

Three teams in one room: FMHI, Red Bull and the festival. We set the goal (wow VIP artists with a Hawaiian theme), agreed who owned what, and locked concrete deadlines.

Phase 2: build

Production, approvals and confirmations for everything on site, from menus to the cooler display to the goods.

Phase 3: live

Three festival days in the VIP tent, face to face with artists and guests.

What we built. Three custom Red Bull drink menus (one a day), a custom Red Bull canvas cooler display with live painting, and a custom bar for an exclusive limited drink. For the festival, custom tees and hats, keychains and frames, and fresh Hawaiian leis flown in overnight. I ran the schedule, the approvals and the vendors, and sent the agenda recap to every team.

The result

Music Festival of the Year

the festival I built an activation inside was named Music Festival of the Year at the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards

How this was measured: from Pollstar's list of winners. The award belongs to the festival's organizers.

About 40%

of the roughly 1,000 artists and VIP guests in the hospitality area were reached with the brand

How this was measured: my estimate, from my case study.

About 10%

estimated increase in revenue at the brand's Las Vegas store in the two to three months after the event

How this was measured: my estimate, from my case study.

In person

with headline artists and festival leaders, including Mumford & Sons, RZA, Imagine Dragons and Kehlani

How this was measured: from my case study. These were face-to-face meetings, not endorsements.

Unpaid shout-out

Mumford & Sons called us out on their own Instagram post, without us paying or asking

How this was measured: from my own account.

What I am not claiming. The 40% reach and the 10% store lift are my estimates. The budget and sales figures are not shown. The festival's own results and awards belong to its organizers. The festival has since ended.

Reference

"Working with Tim was a sincere pleasure. His radiant smile and positive attitude really exude all that our festival stands for because in the end positivity prevails as Life is really beautiful."
Sameen A., VIP, Nightlife and Partner Manager, Life is Beautiful Festival

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