Chance wanted to create unexpected, authentic partnerships with brands to help spread his message before, during and after the festival. So even though a brand like Citi had a long history of partnering with musicians and tours, their track record in hip-hop was still fairly green. Aligning with Chance for an exclusive cardmember pre-sale would help cement their credibility in a genre that was previously underserved to their customers. For Bud Light, a partnership with Chance at Lollapalooza would help establish the brand’s Bud Light Music platform and reputation for curating unexpected multi-genre collaborations at major festivals. For H&M, selecting Chance as the only rapper in a Kenzo campaign headlined by models and actresses was a maverick move. And for Honda, who had been looking to target Chance’s exact multicultural, youthful audience, a festival partnership gave them an opportunity to reach a young, influential audience in a receptive environment.

Citi was the first brand partner to invest in the festival, chosen for its accessibility across multiple income levels. Citi’s Private Pass pre-sale sparked a flurry of fan pride (and just as much envy) to score tickets days before the general on-sale.

Bud Light shared Chance’s ethos as a challenger brand by looking to make a dent in the market at the expense of longtime rival Miller, who dominated Chicago beer sales. Bud Light’s partnership was capped with a performance at Lollapalooza featuring fellow Chicagoans Flosstradamus, Dwayne Wade and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child.

Honda, whose third largest market is Chicago and has a history of supporting small business via its Chicgaoland NW Indiana Honda Dealers, came onboard as the festival’s official automotive sponsor.

And H&M, known for partnering with vanguard artists, inked a deal for Chance to become a celebrity ambassador for its exclusive 2016 H&M x Kenzo collaboration.

By combining efforts, the brand partners were able to help Chance The Rapper’s Magnificent Coloring Day break an all-time White Sox attendance record by selling an historic 47,725 tickets to the festival — and delivering a unique experience in the process. The Citi pre-sale was one of the company’s most successful of 2016, and prompted a high volume of social media buzz among cardmembers as well as fans who wanted to sign up for a card. Bud Light’s Lollapalooza collaboration instantly went viral and garnered media coverage from more than 20 outlets mentioning the brand’s involvement. Honda’s branded photo booths helped capture more than 550 prospective customers’ contact information, while a sponsored Facebook post from Chance thanking the brand was liked more than 7,900 times. And H&M x Kenzo’s collaborative campaign lended huge visibility to Chance during the festival lead-up, with more than $200 million in global ad spend.