August saw Sziget Festival mobile partner Telekom connect the music extravaganza to a global audience through its Festival Buddies – branded and connected tele-presence bots.
Telekom, Hungary’s leading mobile operator, worked with agency DDB Budapest to activate its festival sponsorship by introducing a friendly, tech-up device that allows people around the world to attend the festival without actually being there in person.
Three ‘Festival Buddies” were created and carried around by festivalgoers and thus enableld users visit the festival by not only seeing and hearing what is going on in real-time, but also to interact with them live.
The soft, lightweight robot-mascot buddies were worn on the shoulders of specially recruited festival ‘Buddy Guides’ and users can communicate with them and with other festival attendees via a live video connection link.
Not only can people see the users’ faces on the tablets embedded in the heads of the bot buddies, but by pressing a button they can remotely control the device’s hand in order to make gestures (such as ‘fistbumps’ and ‘waves’).
They can even squirt water at other festival attendees.
The can take control of their own quasi festival experience by telling the Buddy Guide where to go, what to see, which bands to watch, what they would like to do, to chat to any other festival goers prepared to interact with the robo-creature and the user logged-on to it.
The Buddies can even pay for drinks.
Visit Sziget Festival with the #Festivalbuddy from DDB Budapest on Vimeo.
Of course, this interactive, sharing experience replies on Telekom’s on-site HD stream and festival 4G mobile network.
The devices were in initially trialled at several smaller festivals before appearing for their ‘official debut’ at Sziget – one of Europe’s biggest summer music events (the recent winner of EFA’s ‘European Festival of the Year’ Award).
Those wanted to attend the event through the Telekom Festival Buddy through 12 to 17 August simply needed to go online at http://festivalbuddy.hu/, accept terms and conditions and press ‘Enter BuddyMe’ to take control.
Comment
The Festival Buddies not only ensured the property itself was seamlessly connected to the wider world, but they also brought Telekom’s ‘Life Is For Sharing’ brand strategy and tagline alive through its festival partnership.
Indeed, Telekom’s wider positioning and marketing approach is built around the idea that ‘sharing is what makes humans social, caring and supportive’.
The device spearheaded Tekeom’s ‘We Bring Everyone To The Festival’ campaign idea to life
This is an inventive communication concept and, despite the devices somewhat strange appearance, certainly links neatly to the sponsor’s brand ideal.
And it certainly avoids the need for all the queuing for the filthy portaloos and getting your wellies muddy.
Links
Festival Buddy Website:
Telekom Website:
Sziget Festival Website:
DDB Budapest Website:
