January 21, 2015
Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival annually transcends upon Park City, UT bringing traffic and attention to the ski resort town and drawing in various luxury brands with events and sponsorships throughout the festival.
The influx of visitors during the nine days of the festival draws guests to the city on private jets and to hotels such as the Waldorf Astoria to attend events organized by brands, including Bang & Olufsen. Making a presence at the international film fair will align luxury brands with the talent and art behind Sundance participants and the prestige of the festival.
“Sundance Film Festival is one of those events that everyone should attend at least once in a lifetime,” said Anthony Tivnan, president of Magellan Jets, Boston.
“Partnering with other high quality brands provides added value to our customers and gives them fringe benefits for using our services,” he said.
Ready, set, action
Sundance Film Festival draws producers, actors, writers and other film crew members to Park City to watch, understand and appreciate the work of independent filmmakers. Dramatic and documentary films in both feature-length and short film genres are presented.
Getting to Park City can sometimes be a daunting task in late January, so jet providers such as Magellan Jets and XOJets are providing guests exclusive opportunities to arrive at the festival.
In November, XOJet collaborated with concierge company Element Lifestyle to provide passengers exclusive opportunities at their destination (see story). The Sundance Film Festival package is a result of Element Lifestyle and XOJet’s partnership.
Guests will be able obtain VIP tickets to film premieres and events as well as fly roundtrip with XOJet.
“The Sundance Film Festival brings the best and the brightest in film and entertainment together, and XOJet is all about making these types of events accessible to our clients,” said Shari Jones, chief marketing officer at XOJet. “We have deep ties to the entertainment industry and as a choice carrier for Hollywood, we very much support all types of artistry and events important to the industry.
Magellan Jets is offering the “Perfect 10 Package,” which will provide roundtrip transportation, themed gift bags, accommodations at a private ski home at Resorts West Reserve Collection and access to the festival’s events.
“We began that experience for our customers as soon as they board the aircraft, and it’s important for us to make the entire experience as seamless as possible,” Mr. Tivnan said. “By doing this, our clients are able to focus on enjoying the event, rather than worrying about what to do next.
“Magellan Jets is a full service solution and proactively providing attractive accommodations and experiences in locations our clients interesting in going is what we do worldwide,” he said.
Ice Lounge at Waldorf Astoria
Automaker Acura will also be present at Sundance Film Festival with a studio on the corners of Main Street and Heber Avenue, offering warm drinks and a look at the 2015 TLX.
Denmark's Bang & Olufsen and Germany's Audi have teamed together to create the “Bang & Olufsen House” by Emerge. The exclusive event requires guests to apply prior to their arrival at the festival. It will host panel talks such as the session about drones and will also offer nightlife activities.
Apply to attend B&O House
The house is being shared on social media with the hashtag #BangAndOlufsenHouse. The brand is counting down the days on the Bang & Olufsen social sites with this hashtag.
Drone session in B&O House
Waldorf Astoria in Park City kicked off the week of Sundance with the opening of its Powder Ice Lounge, a 14-foot bar made from carved ice. At 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, the lounge had a party to celebrate the festival.
Festival festivities
Film festivals highlight the pure talent of filmmakers around the world and allow brands a chance to target interested consumers as well as align themselves with top artists. Brands are consistently seen at the various festivals throughout the year.
For instance, Switzerland’s IWC Schaffhausen built exposure for its involvement as the official “festival time” partner at New York’s 13th annual Tribeca Film Festival through a live social stream that kept fans in the know.
IWC reprised its role as festival time partner for a second year April 16-27 where the watchmaker celebrated cinematic arts. Many watch brands look to the sporting world to build awareness among a captive audience, but for IWC this partnership will yield similar results (see story).
Similarly, for fashion labels, Cannes Film Festival provided a bevy of red carpet photos of stars in their gowns and tuxedos.
Armani and Elie Saab chose to highlight these photos and content further than social media by frequently updating their content Web sites. Since Cannes is such an important date in the fashion calendar, it made sense for these brands to create a singular place online for consumers to view photos (see story).
Aligning with celebrities and independent artists at film festivals presents brands with an extra exclusivity as film enthusiasts follow the events of the revered films of this year.
“What would usually be reserved for directors, actors, producers, etc. within the industry is now at the fingertips of film lovers looking for an insider experience,” XOJet's Ms. Jones said.
“We also recognize that more and more clients are looking for experiential travel and with the help of Element Lifestyle connecting the dots and crafting unforgettable itineraries, we can provide our clients with the most amazing trips and fun weekends imaginable,” she said.
Final Take
Nancy Buckley, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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