Event Marketer Spring 2022 - 18

e
STRATEGY
ADVENTURE
SEEKERS
Subaru's reimagined WinterFest returns as a micro
festival tour in the mountains
AMONG BRANDS embracing the microevent
trend of 2022 is Subaru, which has
reimagined its WinterFest platform as a
music and mountain lifestyle adventure
tour featuring small, curated and hightouch
experiences under the umbrella of
its large presence at eight resorts across
the country. The platform, which launched
in 2014, is returning to the slopes after a
two-year hiatus to meet the pent-up consumer
demand for outdoor recreation, to
maximize the winter experience for brand
devotees, and to evoke an " emotional connection "
with 25- to 34-year-old outdoor
adventure seekers.
At the heart of the tour is a showcase of
the Subaru Wilderness Family of vehicles
and, in addition to live musical performances,
the experience includes food and
beverages alongside giveaways, gear demos
and even special appearances by avalanche
rescue dogs. WinterFest kicked off in Kil18
EVENT MARKETER SPRING 2022
lington, VT, at the Killington Mountain
Resort, Feb. 11-13, and will wrap in Bend,
OR, at Mt. Bachelor, April 14-16 (Powdr,
Park City, UT, handles).
" WinterFest has always been a way for
Subaru to connect to its owners, potential
owners and mountain resort visitors. Our
goal has always been to make someone's
day at the resort better and to provide a free,
memorable experience for whoever wants
to come, " says Matt Barber, brand partnerships
and experiential marketing manager
at Subaru of America. " Before Covid, we
started to refine that experience and make
it more about a full-scale lifestyle festival
that is unique to the resort visitor. "
Festival attendees can relax in a Subaru
WinterFest village offering s'mores and
other treats from partnering brands including
Alpine Start, Kate's Real Food and
Alpine Start Coffee (served in Klean Kanteen
mugs). Tiny houses have long been
popular at WinterFest, says Barber, and
this year presents a newly-designed rollout
featuring two different activation outposts.
One is a Subaru WinterFest station where
fans can win giveaways and demo winter
sport equipment. Subaru owners can
visit the area to drop off their skis for a
quick, complimentary custom " Wax and
Relax " service (using nano technology) by
Dynamic Wax. The other outpost offers a
Subaru brand experience featuring vehicle
audio demos and a timeline of more than
50 years of adventure vehicles culminating
with the 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness
edition.
All festival attendees can explore gear
demos from Mammut, Nordica, Thule and
Arbor Collective while Subaru owners can
opt in the VIP treatment (think: free VIP
parking, special gifts and perks including
free lift tickets).
There is also live music hosted by Subaru
audio partner Harman Kardon on the
main stage at each resort. Music performances
will spotlight national touring bluegrass,
indie and Americana bands including
Dawes, Twiddle, Trampled by Turtles and
The Ghost of Paul Revere. In addition, all
Subaru fans can attend satellite shows taking
place outdoors on an all-new, fully custom
pop-up stage built from a 1999 Subaru Sambar
at each of the eight resorts.
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Event Marketer Spring 2022

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