In July 2018, we were challenged to build a modular, scalable brand storytelling experience for 19 Crimes wine. Set to debut at Outside Lands 2018 (one of the world’s largest music festivals), the installation’s primary target was digitally savvy concertgoers whose wine engagement is typically low.

Our challenge: Develop a socially shareable brand experience that’s true to our disruptive brand ethos and engaging enough to stand out from a stimulating music festival environment — in less than a month.

Our objectives: Drive awareness, consideration and trial, with target metrics including: 4k visitors (2% of total festival attendees); 5k glasses sold; 1MM digital impressions; a 2% increase in AR app downloads; and a 15% engagement rate on social media posts.

We built The Prison Ship, an immersive experience that brought the 19 Crimes brand world to the real world.

This 3-day installation showcased our digital activations to bring our brand story to life, and through social media integration, tapped into our highly sociable audience to amplify the experience.

Centered around our Infamous Pub (wine bar) and manned by a cast of brand characters, The Prison Ship subverted traditional wine tasting norms. Mobile charging stations brought in foot traffic, and The Warden himself greeted visitors with the threat of time served (with a wine ration or two) before ushering them to our digitally integrated Mugshot Booth.

At our AR stations, visitors could scan our labels with their smartphones to discover the story behind each wine, as told directly by the convicts on our bottles. Meanwhile, VR stations transported visitors (wine glass in hand) to the hull of a Victorian convict ship.

Through social listening, we knew that we were speaking to a millennial audience more interested in the narrative behind the wine than tasting notes or terroir. As early adopters of new technology who see their smartphones as their lifeline, our audience looks for brands that help them appear in-the-know and bring value to their social circle. Essentially, this non-conformist, adventure-seeking millennial looks for authentic experiences that enrich their life, and which enable them to create rogue stories of their own to share with their gang.

An experiential activation was key to grabbing the attention of an ever-changing millennial audience and building a sense of community.

The Prison Ship was installed for 3 days at Outside Lands, which has an annual attendance of 200k visitors.

True to our brand ethos, rather than set up our installation in Wine Lands (the festival’s dedicated wine tasting section), we went rogue and dropped anchor in Hellman Hollow, an area typically reserved for experiential activations.

Leading up to the event, we leveraged Instagram and Facebook to join the social conversation around #OutsideLands and promoted our own tag (#19Lands) with the goal of engaging festival-goers digitally and on-site. At the event, the Prison Ship allowed us to generate both branded assets and user-created content to continue to drive the conversation. Additionally, we partnered with local micro-influencers to further amplify our reach by creating and sharing their own content featuring 19 Crimes and the Prison Ship.

The Prison Ship made waves, surpassing benchmarks to deliver 52MM digital impressions and recognition from Variety as one of the top moments of Outside Lands – the only brand to receive the honor.

Over 3 days, 5.5k visitors sampled 21k glasses of wine (37.5% and 320% above target, respectively) delivering tenfold ROI. The AR experiences drove a 10% increase in app downloads (5x target), with a 2.5 minute average session duration (25% above category norm).

Social media results include: 26% engagement rate (22% above industry benchmark); 90% positive brand sentiment; and 200+ UGC posts (233% above competitor).