Every spring, Coachella draws more than just music lovers to the California desert, it attracts the world’s biggest brands looking to make a cultural statement. With over 250,000 attendees across two weekends and a digital reach in the millions, Coachella has evolved into a global stage for immersive brand storytelling.
Here’s how some of the standout activations this year took the festival experience to the next level:
Aperol Spritz
Aperol brought a bold and culturally attuned activation to Coachella 2025, centring its presence around a vibrant branded lounge featuring cocktails and festival-ready merchandise. The brand elevated its footprint by orchestrating a surprise meet-and-greet with Charli XCX, one of the festival’s most anticipated performers, an unexpected moment that quickly became one of the weekend’s most talked-about experiences.
The activation extended seamlessly across digital channels. In a sharp nod to Charli’s Brat era, Aperol temporarily adopted the album’s neon green as its Instagram avatar and reimagined her Coachella billboard in Aperol orange. The result was a multi-channel, multi-sensory presence that demonstrated not only creative alignment but cultural fluency at its finest.
818 Tequila & Rhode
This year, 818 Tequila and Rhode returned to Coachella with a joint activation that underscored the power of cross-category brand partnerships, and how founder-led brands can drive cultural relevance through experience design.
Located within the 818 Tequila activation, Rhode brought back its now-iconic photo booth: a sharp, content-ready installation that seamlessly blended product sampling with social storytelling. Upon entry, guests received mini bottles of 818 Tequila alongside Rhode’s viral lip treatment, reinforcing each brand’s hero product in a moment that felt both intentional and playful.
More than a photo op, the experience was crafted with creator culture in mind, designed for seamless capture, organic amplification, and maximum aesthetic clarity. It worked not because of its scale, but because of its precision. Every detail reflected a deep understanding of how audiences engage with brands in 2025: visually, experientially, and socially.
With two high-visibility founders, Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner, at its core, the activation drew significant attention. But its real success lay in how it merged product, personality, and platform into a single, high-impact moment.
At Coachella 2025, Pinterest returned with an activation that brought its core brand proposition, visual inspiration, to life in a distinctly tactile and personal way. Framed around the idea of “Remix Your Style,” the space showcased Pinterest’s trend forecasting and user data, spotlighting styles such as “soft goth,” “pink gothic aesthetic,” and “purple gothic nails.” This activation offered festival-goers a real-time opportunity to explore and embody these emerging looks, turning digital trends into tangible, personalised experiences.
Through interactive styling sessions and makeup consultations, Pinterest enabled attendees to experiment with the latest festival trends, bringing their digital inspirations to life in a hands-on environment. This seamless blend of online discovery and real-world engagement showcased Pinterest’s unique ability to inspire and empower self-expression in a highly personal, festival-ready context.
The Ultimate Cultural Catalyst
Coachella is no longer just a music event, it is a high-impact cultural catalyst. The scale, visibility, and influence of the festival offer a unique environment where brands can test and scale experience-led strategies. And the results are proving invaluable.
As consumer expectations continue to evolve, Coachella is becoming a prototype for how brands can operate at the intersection of culture, commerce, and community. The brands that succeed are those investing in emotional resonance, creative bravery, and strategic storytelling.
