When Splendour in the Grass announced they were banning all selfie sticks, there was a lot of buzz in TV, print and plenty of chatter on social media. As a festival sponsor, we saw an opportunity to bring to life Telstra’s brand message, ‘It’s How We Connect’, by creating the biggest selfie stick in the world.

Taking inspiration from Australia’s love of BIG things, like the Big Banana, Big Prawn and Big Pineapple, we knew that the Splendour audience would be amused by something so kitsch and that it would be even more surprising coming from Telstra, the epitome of a large corporate brand to most of the audience.

Not only that, but it was, of course, the only selfie stick at the festival, and the only way festival goers could get an epic shot of themselves in the middle of all the crazy festival action.

When it was announced selfie sticks were banned at Splendour, we knew there was an opportunity to win over the 30,000 festival goers. We built “The Big Selfie Stick”, giving fans an iconic selfie with the festival in full view.

Over three days, the Big Selfie Stick towered above the festival. A promoter was positioned on the selfie platform, ensuring the ultimate selfie. At a push of a button, the large 50-inch monitor above changed from a locked screen to a digital mirror, exactly like it would on a smartphone.

After the participant captured and picked their favourite selfie, the promoter entered their number through a cloud-based system. The image, complete with pre-designed brand skin, was sent directly to the customer’s phone to share across their own social media accounts with a hashtag linked to Telstra.

With 18% of total festival goers engaging with the activation and an estimated 57% of activation participants sharing their group selfie through their social channels — we significantly exceeded our objectives over the course of the festival.

A Big Selfie Stick selfie was taken every 30 seconds during Splendour! A total of 3,292 selfies were taken and shared through social, leading to over 1.3 million online impressions for Telstra, making them one of the most talked about brands at Splendour in the Grass 2015.

Key figures:

• 1.3 million #thebigselfiestick impressions*

• 5,230 people engaged with the selfie stick

• 3,392 selfies taken

• 1 selfie taken every 30 seconds

• 28 live hours

• 5,230 people engaged with the selfie stick

• 3,392 selfies taken

• 1 selfie taken every 30 seconds

• 28 live hours

Splendour in the Grass is Australia’s biggest music festival. It’s a rite of passage for young music fans and they use the social channels at their disposal to share their experience. The Big Selfie Stick was a middle-finger, rock n’ roll response to the recent ban of selfie sticks at Splendour and brought Telstra’s brand message ‘It’s How We Connect’ to life. The unique Telstra branded selfies flooded all the relevant social channels. The ‘Big Selfie Stick’ helped Telstra engage in a positive conversation on social with a younger audience they seldom reach, even becoming one of the most talked about brands at the festival.

Music is a key marketing pillar for Telstra, helping shift brand perceptions amongst young consumers. As Australia’s biggest music festival, Splendour in the Grass represented a huge opportunity to connect with our audience.

We realised that Splendour had become a rite of passage for young music fans and that social media is where they share their experience. Our strategy was to create a culturally relevant experience that festival goers would want to participate in and share.

We identified two key things that spring boarded us into our idea:

1. Our target love taking selfies and Splendour is one of the ultimate places to take a selfie.

2. Most selfies at festivals look the same - poor lighting, average backdrop, and not enough space for multiple friends.

In April, when it was announced nationally that selfie sticks were banned at Splendour 2015… the scene was set!

Splendour in the Grass is a rite of passage for young music fans and they use the social channels at their disposal to share their experience. As a first-year sponsor, the challenge for Telstra was to stand out amongst a sea of ‘cooler’ brands, while doing something that would feel relevant to festival goers. We also had to consider the reality that getting young people to share anything with Telstra branding on it is near impossible.

The Big Selfie Stick was a middle-finger, rock n’ roll response to the recent ban of selfie sticks at Splendour. The sheer size of the stick meant the activation was hard to miss. The unique Telstra branded user-generated content that it created was enthusiastically shared by our audience, ensuring the Telstra message was seen well beyond just festival goers in the most relevant media to our audience – social.