Dive Brief:

• For this year’s Coachella festival, Absolut Vodka returns to the metaverse with the revival of a Decentraland activation from last year’s music festival while simultaneously updating its strategy with a focus on in-person connections, according to a press release.
• Absolut.Land on the Decentraland metaverse platform reopens its doors April 14 and will feature cocktail themed NFT wearables, music from Two Friends and vending machines to order cocktails to a user’s doorstep.
• The Pernod Ricard brand is extending its reach beyond the metaverse by partnering with Hey! Vina, a friend-finding app. The duo will launch the Find Your ‘Best Festival Friend’ platform, which includes a quiz to help find like-minded festival friends.

Dive Insight:

After being an early adopter of metaverse marketing last year, Absolut is once again making the technology a main focus of its Coachella sponsorship. The campaign comes as some of last year’s buzz around the metaverse has retreated, in part because the technology is still largely unformed, making the short-term benefits unclear for some marketers.

For Absolut.Land’s second time out, the brand is overhauling its metaverse space with new experiences while extending the push with a focus on human connection. Last year’s activation focused on creating connections between those at the festival and those at home, with Absolut.Land acting as a space for the two groups to interact. This year’s sponsorship campaign takes the idea of human connection a step further with the Hey! Vina partnership helping attendees make new connection at the festival.

“We see how 'phygital' marketing experiences foster new connections and bring people together, which is why Absolut has further invested in Coachella to create an all-around inclusive experience,” said Matt Foley, vice president of marketing at Absolut, in a statement.

The effort also includes a special-edition cocktail kit which, when ordered, will enable customers to send an additional kit to a friend. The vodka company is promoting this year’s Coachella activation through partnerships with best friends in the entertainment industry, like Rachel Recchia and Genevieve Parisi from “The Bachelor” and musical artists Two Friends.

Like the previous year’s space, Absolut.Land will heavily feature cocktail recipes and music, but now includes an enhanced onsite element and new artists. This year’s space will focus on the vodka brand’s recent “Born To Mix - World of Absolut Cocktails” campaign. Those onsite at the festival will have the chance to try the brand’s newest flavor, Absolut Wild Berri, which is set to hit shelves in May.

The campaign is a reflection of Coachella’s ongoing popularity with brands. It also show that despite the metaverse losing some of its luster, brands continue to explore the space for limited-time activations around big events.