Who: EE and Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts

Objective:  EE has been involved with the Glastonbury festival for the past 15 years, albeit previously under the Orange brand. EE seek to raise awareness, and to let people know who they are and what the brand stands for. It is also keen to demonstrate its technology and get people to use it. Having been the first company to launch a 4G mobile network, EE hopes to encourage more people to experience 4G connectivity.

Strategy: The aspect of EE’s involvement with the Glastonbury festival that has been consistent since 1998 is the provision of recharge facilities for festival goers. This year, the two recharge tents provided 4G connectivity, which festival goers could also connect to by following a broadband-enabled tractor that drove around the festival site. EE also enhanced its smartphone app, developed over the last three years, with stage times, maps and the opportunity to share musical wishlists with friends.

Rationale:  EE’s head of sponsorship, Matt Stevenson says, “Our key positioning is to enhance the experience of the festival. The recharging tents carry on being important to festival goers, but with over 2,000 performances during the festival, the importance of planning can’t be emphasised enough. Boosting 2G, 3G and adding 4G, and also providing festival goers with the opportunity to share their plans with their friends through their smartphone, adds to their festival experience. We saw 200,000 downloads of the app – and with 177,000 people on the Glastonbury site that’s not a bad figure.”