Brands involved: Monster Energy
What we did:
In the early days of GorillaUK, we lived and breathed the world of energy drinks. After all, it was where our MD Andy Gregorek got his start!
After completing his degree at Glasgow University, Andy met with Red Bull at a skateboarding event at the SECC. From here, the partnership started, and he gained hands-on experience with Red Bull during the early stages of their business, where he serviced most of their internal departments and explored the creative world of event marketing. With time, that experience inspired Andy to start his own marketing and events business.
After going solo, one of our first clients was Monster Energy, which was looking to break into the European market with a bang. From high-flying stunt action to racing around Battersea Power Station (which we covered in our last article 👀), we managed all their event activations across 3 years.
With 180 event activations across seven European countries in one year under our belt, many stories are waiting to be told…
“In the first year, we operated without enough branded equipment, which was a huge learning experience. It’s easy to get the job done when everything you need is already there, but you’re the most creative when there’s a challenge to overcome.
Sometimes the solution came from using assets from other activations, but other times it meant getting creative. We found the Kenworth Truck on eBay, of all places! This and a step frame 45ft trailer were used to create the Monster Energy Reefer Truck. For it to succeed, it was important not only to make it visually fit the part but also to register the vehicle legally; this took a bit of thinking outside the box. After exploring our options, it was finally registered on a showman’s licence, complete with sink and bed in the rear, to get around some tight paperwork corners!”
“Download Festival 2008 was our biggest launch event by far. We had one goal: get seen in as many places as possible.
Extreme sports have always been a big part of Monster Energy’s marketing strategy; non-stop stunt shows featuring skateboarding & BMX, FMX, moto trials, and mini motos had an edge that dovetailed with the festivals they targeted. However, even then, people didn’t think it would work.
Download had already cemented itself into the calendar as a huge event. While that might seem like an easy win for a brand, between the live music and other activations, there was a big fight for attendees’ attention. So we broke it down into:
Keeping music first – Instead of competing with the bands for attention, we put on an afterparty for the campers, ‘The Monster Army Camp’, complete with a scaffold, watchtower and a lot of bright lights, army props, tents and even tracked tanks! We invited Kerrang DJs, including DJ Doom, to play for the metal fans, even creating our own mosh pit.
The Great Ball of Steel – Music is one way to draw people in, but we needed something truly stand out to keep people with us. We created the Monster Energy Xtreme Sports arena. Our Hospitality truck provided a hospitality solution for half of the guests and VIP’s and the other half of the double-sided unit for the festival goers. This was the centrepiece and surrounded by skate & BMX ramps, Moto trials course, Ball of Steel and Mini FXM.
Together, it formed a solid foundation to build on and keep the party going for festival goers while getting Monster’s products into their hands.”
“You’re going to run into challenges on every job; it’s how it goes. Whether it’s ideas, processes, logistics or set-up, it all comes down to finding solutions and making things happen. Sometimes that will be making the best of what you have, and other times, leaning on relationships you build along the way.”
Want to learn more about how to bring results through event fulfilment? Get in touch with our team – https://www.gorilla3pl.co.uk/contact/
