2025 | 08. September
13 Years of Festival Madness: How Brands Become Experiences
His first festival summer was over a decade ago. David Barral knows how to embed real emotions for brands amid large summer events. In this interview, he explains why festival and outdoor appearances pay off, which trends are currently hot, and why Tomorrowland and Burning Man are at the top of his bucket list.
David, you’ve got several festival summers under your belt – which was your first?
That was 2012 for the brands Cardinal and Red Bull. Thanks to this duo, I basically experienced all the major Swiss festivals up until the 2013 season.
What memories stand out from that time? Was there a moment in a project that made you especially proud?
The double-decker Cardinal booth back then consisted of eleven 20-inch IBC containers – a logistical challenge that required close coordination with the organizers. After the success in 2012, we were allowed to completely rethink the booth, developing a new design and activation. We focused on a concrete pain point for festival-goers: warm beer cans on the campsite.
Together with an inventor from Basel, we quickly developed a turbo fridge – the “Super-Cooler.” Using dry ice and pure alcohol, we created a rapid-cooling process that chilled cans of all kinds to 6–8°C within 60 seconds.
Why is it worth considering a festival or roadshow appearance? What role does a live activation play in the marketing mix?
Brands meet their audience at festivals and roadshows in a positively charged environment. With the right activation, these emotions can be linked to the brand DNA. Strong experiences make the brand message stick in people’s minds for a long time.
Does a festival appearance always have to be a grand project?
No. Size doesn’t matter as much as the brand message and how it aligns with the interests and needs of the target audience. A perfect example is our relatively small 20-minute booth in 2023, which featured a craft corner for friendship bracelets and became a crowd magnet.
David Barral in action as overall project manager at Roche’s 125th anniversary, 2022.
How can a brand stand out effectively with its on-site presence?
A successful activation has a clear message that visitors can experience directly. The sweet spot is where a relevant activation solves a real pain point for attendees – like Cardinal’s Super-Cooler back in the day. The biggest mistake is ignoring the needs of your audience.
Which trends or developments have you observed in recent years?
Before Covid, self-staging was key – activations designed to be shared on social media. After Covid, shared experiences gained massive importance. Today, it’s crucial to address both – or even better, combine them.
Logistics have also evolved significantly. Sustainability is more important than ever and requires new solutions and approaches.
With the right activation, these emotions can be directly linked to the brand’s DNA.
With the right activation, these emotions can be directly linked to the brand’s DNA.
David Barral
If you could design a festival or outdoor event completely freely, what would it look like?
Uhhh, tough question! Ideally, a full-on experience like Paléo: there’s something for everyone. You can even bring your own wine bottle! There’s so much love in it—from the à-la-carte restaurants to custom cup holders and student art projects, all the way to the super diverse music lineup. The crew is special too—most of the work is done by volunteers who genuinely enjoy what they do, and you can feel that. The fact that Paléo manages to pull this off again and again shows how much they value their helpers.
And finally: at which festival—anywhere in the world—would you love to work?
Tomorrowland or Burning Man, where you can fully dive into the festival world. At Burning Man, the isolation and extreme climate would be a real challenge—that infrastructural challenge excites me! And Tomorrowland, because of the attention to every possible detail.
