During
Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival 2015, Lyft and PayPal collaborated to deliver a unique riding experience for concert goers that showcased both the ease of riding with Lyft and paying with PayPal. The festival brings in 40,000 to 60,000 attendees a day coming from San Francisco and the surrounding area [
Wikipedia]. We had a chance to chat with the Lyft Marketing Team about what made working together at Outside Lands such a unique success.
Why did Lyft decide to work with PayPal for Outside Lands? Do you typically see an increase in sales around these larger events?
We first worked with PayPal in March of this year for the debut of
Magic Mode at SXSW. With Magic Mode, SXSW Lyft riders had the chance to win a ride in an exciting car like a Ferrari along with a specially-curated Pandora radio station created for each unique rider’s experience. Since it was such a huge hit at SXSW, we wanted to recreate it with a musical twist.
For Outside Lands, we decked out 10 music-themed vans that passengers could request right in the app. From a recording studio van equipped with a karaoke machine and Rock Band, to genre-themed vans like bluegrass, classic rock, and even a 90s boy band van, Magic Mode got passengers ready for action on their way to the show. We hand-selected top drivers for each vehicle, and Pandora curated custom playlists to complete the in-car experience. We typically see a surge in demand around larger events like these, and Outside Lands weekend proved to be one of the busiest to date.
Have you activated a campaign around other events that come into town, for example, baseball or football games? What other types of events and where else have you done this?
As the official ridesharing partner of the
MLB, we've worked on digital, social, and email campaigns, as well as experiential in-person activations and branded content. At this summer’s All-Star game in Cincinnati, fans could spot custom-wrapped cars and onsite Lyft ambassadors. We've also partnered directly with teams like the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants. Earlier this season, we hosted a special Lyft Night with the Giants at AT&T Park. We gave out custom swag (like giant foam mustaches) and discount codes to the 40,000 attendees, and parked a giant pink monster truck outside the stadium for fan photo ops.
What tips and tricks/best practices have you learned from participating in these events in the past?
We've found our biggest successes come when we create truly integrated campaigns. For Outside Lands, that meant having a broad partnership with the festival, onsite presence with our ambassadors, a compelling experiential activation, a strong relationship like PayPal to help broaden our reach to new customers, and coordinated digital, social, and email marketing efforts. That sounds like a lot, and it is — but it’s important to check all our boxes if we want to make the most out of a big event.
Have you learned any interesting insights when participating in the events that allow you to focus or increase your resources?
With large events like Outside Lands and SXSW, our goal is to help alleviate congestion and make sure passengers and drivers have a positive experience. To achieve those goals, we’ve found that communication is key. Whether we have designated pickup and drop-off zones, or just encourage walking a block or two away from the festival to avoid overly crowded areas, we try to make it as easy and safe for our drivers and passengers as possible.
Where do you see room and opportunity for growth leveraging these event activations?
This is just the beginning — we're excited to grow our on-site presence at major festivals and continue to run Magic Mode across the country. Right now, we're thinking about how to scale sourcing all the special vehicles, and how soon we can plan the next Magic Mode!
What is the benefit of focusing on events in comparison to daily ad-hoc rides?
Don’t be fooled! We're always focused on ride growth across our markets, but high-visibility events like Outside Lands give us a unique and worthwhile platform to tell our story. Whether it's a Magic Mode execution that decreases traffic and offers crazy in-car experiences, or giving fans surprise and delight moments with custom giveaways and themed cars for sporting events, these activations are extremely valuable. Users, new and old, have a chance to engage with our brand while having a great time.
Is there any data or metrics in regards to ridership, drivers and sales from these events compared to a typical day that you can share?
Without sharing specific numbers, Outside Lands proved to be one of our busiest weekends in SF to date, and we saw more passengers than ever use PayPal as their payment option during the festival. We've seen similar ride growth at events like SXSW, Coachella, and other major festivals and look forward to working with PayPal again for future events.