In the summer of music festivals, brand value also rings out
From the Coca-Cola I-Days in Milan to the Kappa FuturFestival in Turin: companies on the hunt for partnerships with concerts, a fast-growing sector that engages audiences like few others
4' min read
4' min read
'Where words do not reach... music speaks,' said a certain Beethoven. The reference was to that ability to make souls vibrate that is inherent in the art of sounds and silences, especially when practised live, in concert. The 'Ludovico Van' was talking about music in the highest sense of the word, but his lesson fits perfectly with a practice that modern marketers know well and brands have learnt to frequent: in a communication scenario crowded with words that are not always convincing, with music, if you are good, you get to touch the audience's heart much better. And with live music you can reach the audience segment you feel most affinity with.
Beyond some parasol polemic, the live music sector, here in Italy, is is in excellent health: in 2023 it reached a record turnover of 967.4 million and on Wednesday 16 July the new Siae Entertainment Yearbook certified the third consecutive year of growth, after the dark two-year period of Covid. Brands know this and, having archived the lockdown, have resumed attending festivals with renewed passion.
Coca-Cola and the I-Days Milan
One of the most active is certainly Coca-Cola, for the third year running title sponsor of the I-Days in Milan, a 400,000-plus spectator festival organised by Live Nation, which saw Olivia Rodrigo perform on Tuesday 15 July, before the Post Malone concert on 28 August. The event, according to Paola Donelli, Frontline activation marketing director of Coca-Cola for Italy, represents "the most eagerly awaited concert series of the Italian summer and we chose to become its title sponsor because it is a unique opportunity to strengthen this vision, offering moments of authentic connection with people". According to the manager of the multinational beverage company, music is "the engine that creates emotions, connections and community. The Coca-Cola Milan I-Days embody these values, they are a symbol of aggregation, inclusion, sharing and optimism, values that have always guided us". What better exists "to connect even more directly with the new generations, proposing immersive and meaningful experiences".
The sponsorship with the I-Days is part of a broader strategy of dialogue with music, on the part of Coca-Cola, which between May and June in Pantelleria christened the Island Fuze Tea Festival and with the Fanta brand, in 2024, he took part in the Max Pezzali tour, until collaborating with Fedez on the video for Mille, the summer 2021 hit.
Robe di Kappa and the Kappa FuturFestival
If we move from the perimeter of rock and pop to that of electronic music, the summer event of reference is surely the Kappa FuturFestival, which concluded on 6 July at Turin's Parco Dora, with over 120,000 attendees over three days attracted by Anyma, Carl Cox, Peggy Gou, Nina Kraviz and Meduza. Here the relationship with the title sponsor - the Turin-based Robe di Kappa brand, in the portfolio of Marco Boglione's BasicNet - is very evocative: organising the FuturFestival, since 2009, is in fact Movement Entertainment, a company owned by Maurizio Vitale, son and namesake of the founder of the sportswear brand of the two iconic 'little men', back to back.
