- 7-Eleven is teaming with Live Nation and can function the primary naming-rights partner of the When We Were Young Festival and convey onsite experiences to The Governors Ball and Rolling Loud, per a press release.
- The convenience chain will sponsor a 7-Eleven Hangout activation and the 7-Eleven Stage at When We Were Young and can host a Slurpee Street activation at The Governors Ball and Rolling Loud.
- The partnership puts the long-lasting brand at the middle of live music culture and will help it connect with crucial millennial and Gen Z consumers through nostalgia.
7-Eleven is popping up the amount to eleven through its partnership with Live Nation. The partnership represents the primary time the live entertainment company, which also includes Ticketmaster, has sold the naming rights to a U.S. festival. By securing its first-ever naming rights deal for a well-liked festival and activating at two others, the convenience store chain can put its brand at the middle of culture and connection, in accordance with Marissa Jarratt, executive vp and chief marketing and sustainability officer at 7-Eleven.
“By teaming up with Live Nation, we’re bringing the 7-Eleven brand to the center of unforgettable fan moments. We’re desirous to recreate the fun and excitement that comes with visiting a 7-Eleven store in an immersive music experience for the following generation of name fans,” Jarratt said within the press release.
When We Were Young Festival takes place Oct. 18-19 on the Las Vegas Festival Grounds and is headlined by pop-punk emo giants Panic! on the Disco, Blink-182 and Weezer. The 7-Eleven activation on the festival “channels early 2000s emo energy” and will speak to the millennial consumers for whom this sort of music is nostalgic.
The immersive, social-first activations are intended to be paying homage to in-store experiences. The Slurpee Street at The Governors Ball (June 6-8 at Randall’s Island in New York) is inspired by a summer block party and features a stoop and free Slurpees. An analogous activation will appear on the hip-hop-focused Rolling Loud festival and nod to street art culture.
Music festivals are a part of a music event market that was valued at greater than $250 billion in 2023 and is forecast to grow to greater than $775 billion by 2035, per an Allied Market Research report. As music festivals have proliferated, Live Nation’s slate — including genre-specific ones like When We Were Young and Rolling Loud — and major events like Goldenvoice’s Coachella have grow to be heavy with brand activations as experiential marketing returns to pre-pandemic levels.
Unilever’s Dove this month iterated on its “Let Your Body Body” campaign with an effort that leveraged music festival season to advertise the brand’s whole body deodorant line. Likewise, Scotch-Brite prolonged a musically focused campaign with a presence at Coachella.
Seven & i Holdings, parent company of 7-Eleven, announced in its latest earnings report that 7-Eleven’s same-store sales within the U.S. fell 2.7% in fiscal 2024 and are expected to contract by one other 1.5% in fiscal 2025. The parent company last month announced plans for a U.S. IPO but can also be evaluating a takeover bid from Alimentation Couche-Tard.
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