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; even more surprising that it was coming from Telstra, a company that epitomizes the idea 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.

Over the 3-day duration of Splendour in the Grass, the Big Selfie Stick towered above the festival, at 10 meters in length – a normal selfie stick is 105 cm) and was located in the prime position to give participants the ultimate selfie with the festival grounds and atmosphere as the backdrop.

A promotional staff member was positioned on the selfie platform, ensuring the ultimate selfie. At the push of a button, the large 50-inch monitor above changed from a locked screen to a digital mirror, exactly like it would on your smartphone. Participants saw themselves on the screen and positioned themselves for the best shot possible, picking the best before customizing the image with a pre-designed skin.

Once the participant was happy with their selfie, the promotional staff entered the user’s number and using the cloud based system COSI, the image was sent directly to their phone to share.

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

After selfies were banned at a popular music festival, Telstra, Australia’s biggest Telco, provided a middle-finger, rock ‘n roll response, erecting the world’s biggest selfie stick, right in the centre of the action. Festival goers could then share their Telstra-branded selfie with their friends on their own social channels, bringing Telstra’s brand message, ‘It’s How We Connect’ to life. For every person who participated, we received and stored their phone numbers through a cloud based system, allowing us to provide further promotional material to participants that opted in.

Music is a key marketing pillar for Telstra and one of the main ways the company shifts brand perceptions amongst young consumers. The idea not only had to win over festival goers, but it also needed to achieve real scale and reach those people following the fun at home.

In order to gain the attention of this very specific target audience of 30,000 young music-lovers, we knew that we had to do something that was cool, added to the experience and was easy to share. Most importantly, it had to stand out.

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

1. Our targets love taking selfies, and Splendour in the Grass 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.

Splendour in the Grass, one of Australia’s largest music festivals, provides a rite of passage for 30,000 young Australians keen to celebrate their transition into adulthood. Close behind is a flood of brands, equally excited about the chance to reach young music lovers. This year, when festival organizers banned selfie sticks, it caused an uproar, even making mainstream news! Telstra saw this as an opportunity and came to the rescue by building one of the world’s biggest selfie sticks.

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 accept the reality that getting young people to share anything with Telstra branding is near impossible.

Our goal was to ‘drive connection’ with young music lovers, create a unique experience, and amplify engagement.