Top tips for delivering marketing ROI when activating your brand at a live event

Indicia Worldwide's Simon Andrews gives his lowdown on the brands that made a splash at Sydney's WorldPride/Mardi Gras, with differing levels of investment.

What makes a successful marketing campaign at a live event? After witnessing many celebrations of love and diversity at Sydney Mardi Gras, authenticity is top of my list. Creativity and relevance follow closely behind. It’s not enough for brands to just show up and show support. To be successful, a marketing campaign must emotionally connect with the target audience; make them laugh, love or cry but crucially, it must also be authentic to their brand values and culture. It goes without saying, for Mardi Gras, that means avoiding all perceptions of rainbow-washing. 

Brands that chase the pink dollar, without activating authentically, risk landing the wrong messages and putting themselves further away from discerning LGBTQIA+ consumers – who contribute an estimated 0.5% or USD3.7 trillion in annual global consumer spending. Events like Mardi Gras and WorldPride are wonderful opportunities to actively engage the LGBTQIA+ communities and build connections, while also bringing long-term value to your brand. In 2022, both corporate and government investment in Sydney Mardi Gras totalled $3.68 million, while the event’s cash income had increased 6% in comparison to the year before, signalling a growth in brand partnership, corporate support and ROI.

For any marketer looking to realise ROI at cultural events, here are my three key takeaways: 

Key takeaway #1: Be one of a few

Whilst the volume of official brand activations found around the inner suburbs of Sydney over WorldPride/Mardi Gras was staggeringly high, the number of official sponsors to either, or both events could be counted on two hands. Importantly, the brands aligned with the values of the event. Perfectly suited to the demographic profile of the attendee: think alcohol (Absolut Vodka, Johnnie Walker, Little Creatures and Squealing Pig), services (Booking.com, American Express and Optus) and ‘lifestyle’ (Durex). Based on the frequency of interactions with these brands, particularly through outdoor media, this is good news for sponsorship managers. So, ten out of ten to WorldPride/Mardi Gras for keeping the sponsor profile limited and focused.

Key takeaway #2: Do something different

Whilst there were relatively few official sponsors to WorldPride and Mardi Gras, the list of guerrilla brands was significantly longer, and their creativity impressive. Here are a few of my favourites:

• Uber: The brand got it right in three ways. One, they owned the space around a number of major traffic intersections and walkways; two, they reinvigorated their consumer by taking them on a bus ride rather than a car trip; and three, they partnered with a community organisation (Black Rainbow) that knows that pride with a lower case ‘p’ is much more than parades and day drinking.
• COS: The Australian fashion retailer stayed true to the sponsorship managers handbook and aligned the consumer offer with the brand, and they did it very well with a tote bag designed by Aussie drag icon Courtney Act (also in partnership with Black Rainbow). Safe, certainly, but also classy and no doubt a hit with their shopper.
• Lizzo: Well…just…because. Lizzo’s people plastered posters on buildings around Darlinghurst and Kings Cross – no reference to an album release or record label in sight. Seems Lizzo just wanted to say Happy Pride. What a legend.
• And a shout-out to all those independent shops, hotels, train stations, event spaces, art galleries and shopping centres that did something more than just hang an un-ironed rainbow flag from the $2 Shop in their window!  

Key takeaway #3: Focus on design

Whether it was official sponsors or those that found novel ways to jump on, the quality of design and brand activation in general was the best I have seen for any major event in Australia in recent years. A combination of elements – in unknown quantities – is most likely responsible for this: the openness of the audience to fresh design aesthetics, the identity of brands involved, and the quality of graphic design in Australia today. As I moved around the city that weekend, taking photos of each new poster or pop-up encountered, I was increasingly impressed by the variety of visual treatments, word/graphic combinations, novel integrations of cultural elements, and the wide spectrum of sentiments expressed through branding. 

Be inspired by Sydney’s high standards

There are a lot of reasons to support Sydney Mardi Gras each year, and while WorldPride, sadly, won’t be there next year (it will next be hosted in Washington, DC in 2025), I strongly recommend marketers take a day trip to the inner east of Sydney to experience the ingenuity of brands involved or inspired by the festival. If this year is anything to go by, the standard has just gone up several levels.