Pukkelpop x Proximus: the never-ending festival!

Overview

Project
synopsis

Proximus and Pukkelpop, each an authority in their field, reached out to us with a lengthy wish list. They wanted the festival to break out of its analogue borders and reach more people while ensuring some continuation throughout the year. A digital space for the fans and those still coming of age to get to know the DNA of Pukkelpop. We built just that, and added some gamification and a talent hunt. A bunch of partners joined in on the fun, and together we created a virtual place to be for music lovers.

Challenge

The true challenge wasn’t in the tech part—we can safely say we master that one. Trickier is the balance between creating brand awareness and building meaningful connections. You can slap a banner on Roblox and expect it to work magic. But that won’t do much. Like with all content marketing, you have to give or create something of value. The people who enter your digital world have to feel like it’s worth their precious time. Because don’t be fooled: the competition for attention is just as vicious—if not more—in the virtual realm. Luckily, the client is no rookie. Every nook and cranny of digital Pukkelpop was thoughtfully designed, with mini-games, incentives and just the right vibes.

Show me the world!

Collaboration

A match made in Roblox

Maybe we say that every time, but we solemnly mean it: our clients are the best. Both P’s are very mature, you can feel they work from a place of confidence. They never micromanage or even dream of interfering in our domain. They put their faith in our expertise, give us the space and budget needed to build cool sh*t and are super grateful afterwards. What's not to like?

"The virtual Pukkelpop world is the result of an intense collaboration with digital developer yondr. The way they managed to capture the genuine Pukkelpop atmosphere and translate it into a virtual playground goes beyond our expectations. They really went the extra mile, it was a pleasure working together!"

– Frederik Luyten, Press & Media Manager Pukkelpop

Experience

Riding hot-dogs and growing veggies

It’s not exactly a digital twin, but a lot of the iconic places of the festival terrain can be found in the Roblox version. There’s the camping, where you play ‘find your tent’ (can it get any more real?). In the Boiler room, a laser game awaits you (try avoiding the beams by showing off your best moves). Or bring your veteran game to the table in Marquee memory, matching posters from all previous Pukkelpop editions. When simply roaming around, visitors should keep an eye out for the hidden voucher, it might just contain the lucky code for a duo-ticket to the real thing.

The partners pulled out the creative stops as well. Visitors find themselves riding a giant ‘frikandel’ from Van Reusel, heading down the Proximus Fiber fast-track, or harvesting digital veggies and have Foodmaker turn them into a tasty bowl. Unless an obstacle run is more to their taste? Then OnePlus is the go-to spot to dodge giant cables, flip over phones and tumble between chargers. It’s possible, it’s the future, it’s amazing.

Impact

Virtual talent is the real thing

We made a direct link to the actual festival, with activations pouring over in the real world. Make enough healthy bowls at the digital Foodmaker booth, and they’ll hit you up with a veggie burger on the grounds. Or you could be showered with a performance by young music sensation ISE, simultaneously in Roblox and on stage. A talent that emerged from the talent hunt Proximus and Pukkelpop organized online, ISE was given the opportunity to launch herself on- and offline. We recorded her performance in the mocap studio, enjoying the two tracks she would bring to the audience for the first time.

After the festival, when all the tents are cleared, hangovers cured and artists off to the next one, Pukkelpop will remain active in Roblox and look forward to edition 2024. And so will we!

"We are and will remain a festival where musical talent is given every opportunity. With this initiative, we also hope to get artists excited about new channels and offer them the opportunity to tell their story in a way that belongs in the lifeworld of Gen Z and soon to be Alpha. With a digital revolution in full expansion, it makes sense for us as a festival to experiment with this. That totally fits the DNA of Pukkelpop."

– Frederik Luyten, Press & Media Manager Pukkelpop