Envelope The Luxury That Is The Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival took place amidst the magical, snowy perfection that is Park City, Utah. And while film is always the foundation of Sundance, but the increase in the number of luxury brands via various events, installations and activations is somehow different from previous years.
The combination of such with the base of celebrity and storytelling in a manner which is reflective of the unique Sundance DNA makes for an intoxicating and new layering of elements that seems to be very seductive and alluring to an increasingly greater number of companies selecting this Festival over other promotional options.
A Sundance Film Festival attendees prepares to take a photo of the iconic Egyptian Theater on Main Street in Park City, Utah
There is a humming but an easy co-existing of a number of companies amidst the fervor and excitement of FOMO event-to-event. Somehow it all flows smoothly and is intimate yet highly-charged all at the same time. Understand, though, that the beauty of this is that it's not a free-for-all. Every door is invitation-only, and they mean it. This is very evident by the hulking security guards that part the way for guests and then quickly re-seal shoulder to shoulder behind me once one heads toward the pulsating music and lights of whatever event is next on the list. That's part of the secret sauce of this cultural phenomenon.
Yet, Sundance is just exclusive enough to be desired somehow without disdain. This is probably due to the breadth and width of film topics mixed with a heavy infusion of technology that runs parallel with the luxury and celebrity. This is the draw for such functions as the Rand Luxury Lounge held at the St. Regis Hotel in Deer Valley during Sundance which hosted private dinners and invitation-only film receptions with actors from Zach Galifianakis, Kyra Sedgwick and Gerard Butler.
High-end brands from Oribe haircare to DeLonghi to Cohiba cigars clamored to be a part of demonstration stations within the various events. Why? To both educate further about the brand's quality offerings and get onto the radar more deeply via word-of-mouth. Bradford Rand of Rand Luxury who produced the lounge simply stated, "Luxury is back" when asked about interest level around the event. And for brands trying to connect with both traditional and emerging tech filmmakers and vice-versa, it's an opportunity to meet within a highly curated atmosphere.
Actor Gerard Butler with Bradford Rand at the Rand Luxury Lounge at the St. Regis in Deer Valley during Sundance Film Festival. Photo credit: Harley Hall
Indeed, Julian Jacobs co-head of Marketing at Hollywood agency UTA and a man who spends his days immersed in brands and strategy sums up the trend perfectly, "There is a resurgence of meaningful marketers here at Sundance now. CES and Cannes Lions Festival can be a bit big and overwhelming." Jacobs continues, "But here there is still a connection to creativity in a real way. There is a lot of intimacy at Sundance, and that's the draw."