Up to this point most branded entertainment projects in The United States have taken place in the broadcast arena. Nature Valley’s unique relationship with the national parks, and our fans’ love of music, made it possible to move beyond broadcast to a new form of branded entertainment – the sponsorship and creation of a series of intimate, acoustic concerts held in our national parks. The inaugural concert featured musicians Andrew Bird and Tift Merritt with just 10 of their fans watching live in Mojave Desert. As such, the normal restrictions placed on traditional branded executions don’t apply.

Nature Valley is a granola bar brand with a mission for preserving US national parks. Their Preserve the Parks program has donated over $1.8 million and worked to advance restoration projects in America’s national parks. Recently, amidst federal funding cuts, this mission of preservation took on renewed urgency and inspired the Quietest Show. Experiencing music and nature have a long tradition in America and the Quietest Show is a continuation of this tradition. The Show featuring Andrew Bird, was acoustic, for an audience of 10 and adhered to the “leave no trace” ethos that’s in keeping with their preservation efforts

The Quietest Show is the first of its kind on behalf of America’s national parks. The goal of the platform was to create a simple, sharable, and memorable experience for this unprecedented music event. All of the content is free and users can donate funds to preserve the parks and share the experience socially to raise awareness on this issue.

The Show is especially relevant, and effective, given the current government funding cuts that are impacting, and even periodically closing, our parks. This year in particular, the show fell during a time when national park funding was coming into the limelight as Congress budget debates roared on. The Quietest Show happened at just the right time to have a huge effect.

The participants were able to be a part of an unprecedented experience, but more importantly the national parks issue was made relevant and contemporary. Our Quiet Show for 10 people reached an audience of 2.4 million. In addition the media picked up the story and ran with it. Our story was told online and in the pages of Rolling Stone, Vice, Esquire, and The Wall Street Journal to name a few.