Morning Yoga

Troo Music Lounge

I wrote about the Budwesier Troo Music Lounge and it's solar powered cell phone charging stations, shaded seating, and showcase space for up and coming acts, and I wasn't disappointed when I saw their space.

A high energy performance by Nashville band Heypenny.

As advertised, ample cell phone charging, lots of shade, a great venue for smaller acts, and everyone enjoys the 3ft mister fans on a hot day.

One of the cool things that I wasn't expecting was the Lager Sessions interview area hosted by Spin and Budweiser. Moe talks about their annual shindig, Moe down.
They definitely had some draw with their acts throughout the weekend. Below, Russian Circles blows it out to a packed house.

A pretty cool effort and very user friendly. I hope that Budwesier will continue it's involvment with fesitvals- especially if they keep doing it this well.

Odwalla

Odwalla made a last minute press release just before Bonnaroo sharing their sponsorship of recycling at the Festival. Additionally, they were hosting Robert Kennedy Jr. to discuss topics of environmental concern on the Solar Stage.

Their presence on site was well coordinated, well branded, and made recycling the path of least resistance for many people who would otherwise have just chucked their aluminum, plastic, or cardboard wherever they could.

When we came through the gates, each group was given a big blue Odwalla recycling bag.

Also, there were Odwalla branded recycling centers were scattered all over the place within the Centeroo area.

It was interesting to see Odwalla's fancy pants, well branded recycling centers juxtaposed with the arts and crafts style of Clean Vibes trash talker stations.
An interesting byproduct of the clean vibes trading post we documented from the Roo (where people trade in recycling for points redeemable towards music, gear,and tickets), is that people kept 'stealing' our recycling. We had about 7 people in an RV space and racked up some pretty astounding piles of bottles, cans, cups, and wrappers. Whenever we came back from shows, the industrious barterers had ganked our recycling and left us a new bag. I hope they won those tickets to next years Broo.
One of the most storied and effective ways to cut through the clutter and connect with people through their blinders, is the hand held sign. I saw several examples of this old school, pre-twitter communication that helped interupt anyone in it's path. I didn't see RFK, but I was glad to see Odwalla being supported outside of their twitter feed and unmanned recycling stations.

What's that smell?

Maybe it was because I was hot and heavy on their twitter feed all weekend (which was prolific to say the least) or maybe it was because their shampoo/conditioner samples spotted the grounds like weeds, but I felt like Garnier had a strong presence at the Roo this year.

Inside their tent, they had "sing in the shower" Karaoke, free sample products (full size and travel samples), hair washing and styling, and lots of seating for cooling off in the shade. People crowded the booth, many chics toting dudes who were happy for the cold air and shade. There was a paper number system- much like at a deli counter. When we went by the booth, they were on number 607. The number a girl from our crew pulled was 910.

So, with 300 people before her, we knew a wash and style wasn't in her future, but the idea was unique. They also had a self service station where people could try products and primp to their hearts desire.

Garnier may not seem like a natural fit for the crowds of "unwashed hippies." The truth is, I can't think of a place with a longer average hair length than a summer festival. Guys and Girls with lustrous locks flocked to the booth, which was slammed all weekend long.

As I wrote in an earlier post, Garnier also sponsored the pay showers that were dotted around the grounds. Free shampoo samples came with the $7 all you can scrub hot or cold shower.

As my bathing options post breaks down, pay showers and salons may not be for everyone, but those who put them to use seemed to be universally pleased.

Overall, I'd say Garnier has wriggled itself into a nice little spot within the Bonnaroo brand family. Their brand isn't for everyone, but those who were drawn to it did so in droves. Congrats to the Garnier Team for a great showing at Bonnaroo.

Coming Soon...

Reviews of Garnier, Odwalla, Whole Foods, Spin, Sharpie, Clean Vibes, Fuse, and several others.

Check back for continued updates throughout the week.

Missed Opportunity? Gold Bond powder samples...

It was super hot and muggy, with very light mud on the main walking roads.

What would you do for showering for 3 or 4 days? The options were...

Baby wipe bath: Name says it all. Go through anywhere from one to dozens of baby wipes trying to wash the party off of you. This is also a refresher between more intense baths.

Water troughs: Throughout the 700 acre site, there were cargo containers with long troughs and dozens of faucets. People did everything from brush their teeth, to wring washcloths that they had just scrubbed their feet or junk with.

Bird Bath: You stand in or next to a small bucket of soapy water; apply water to body, dry in the sun or with a towel.

Gravity shower: Some people brought 3-5 gallon bladders, hung in the sun, and enjoyed the free shower from their tent or camper.

Garnier Fructis was selling showers for $7. They had small stalls, hot and cold water, and free shampoo samples. I had one on Friday morning and I gotta say, it was the best $7 I spent that day.
If you’re lucky enough to have access to an RV shower, do it up. They range from tiny, porto potty sized numbers to bathrooms bigger than most in apartments in NY. I poached a shower from the RV on Sunday morning that was pretty incredible as well.

Playback clothing

I was excited to see what these guys did at Broo. A really cool concept- shirts and hoodies made from polyester made from recycled plastic bottles.

There is a lot going on at Bonnaroo, and many people have on 'blinders' as they are following the person in front of them, traveling to the bathroom, or walking to a show. I was looking for Playback without blinders on, and it took me 2 days to find them!

I looked for 2 days and finally found their booth set up. Once I found it, I was stoked. Awesome product, awesome story, awesome dudes.

It seems like these guys missed a cool opportunity to let the outside of their booth stand out and let people know they were there. Even a big banner that said "t-shirts from bottles" hung across the white roof of their tent, could have helped draw their brand out from the shadows of their booth.

Also, there could have been tie - in with the trash talkers from Clean Vibes.

By each set of trash/compost/recycle bins, there were "Trash Talkers" telling people about recycling ALL WEEKEND. Every conversation could have ended "and when you recycle your plastic, you could wear it as a t-shirt, like this one, made from Mt. Dew bottles from Playback Clothing, located in Centeroo."

I hope Danny and the rest of the Playback folks had a great time at the Roo and got good exposure that will help spread the word about their awesome product.

Sports!

I questioned how much traffic a place like the Major League Baseball stop would get. I was surprised at how crowded it was.

The audience skewed male, of all ages. MLB has clearly been here before and did some things right.
I was surprised at how few brands collected emails or contact info. MLB was one of the few. While they waited to use the batting cages, they were asked for their email, and I assume to sign off on a waiver of liability. I don't know if these guys offered up their junk email address (the one from college they don't use anymore, except for crap like this)or their primary email address. I guess it depends on how much they like baseball.

Their set up included batting/pitching cages, a few 20 x 20 shade covered areas, and the MLB electronics trailer that included computers to check the web, and several big ass built in gaming systems with benches.

On their computers, the homepage was set to MLB.com, but you could surf anything you wanted. Interestingly, every 5 minutes, the computer would direct you back to the MLB.com page. Annoying, but good for the brand.
This shady spot was busy all weekend long. I asked the dude running the set up how well received it had been. He said he'd had dozens of requests asking if the baseball chairs were for sale (they weren't, but I hope they have a few to raffle off next year if interest is there), and that people had been sleeping there for up to 3 hours.

Amongst brands who have been here before, there seems to be a better understanding about the needs of festival people. At the very least, they're more understanding of the kid passed out for 3 hours or sitting directly in front of the fan for 5 minutes. I hope that as brands continue to be introduced to our scene, they learn from brands like MLB and Xbox, and go with the flow.

Randoms...from a week ago today

Bungaloo

I hadn't heard of Bungaloo before I mentioned them in a post a few weeks ago. I love the idea behind the company- making painting easier, more fun, and less intimidating-all while using colors that actually match.

Their booth at the Roo was pretty straight forward, but their community art project and the academy they sponsored were pretty sweet!

The community art project involved using thousands of hand painted tiles to cover the teardrop shapes that will (from what I understand) be permanently displayed at Broo now. Awesome addition, and a great creative way to let people get hands on with your brand!

I don't know how Bungaloo gauged the success of their project, but it seems to me they made a few thousand good impression with the creative folks at the Roo. I had fun watching their project unfold and seeing all the excited people who got to express themselves, and contribute to the community art project.