As Sundance takes its last bow in Utah, marketer interest in the festival continues to grow

Sundance is taking over Park City, Utah, for the last time.

The film festival, which kicked off Thursday and runs until Feb. 1, has drawn the film industry and marketers keen on branded entertainment opportunities to the ski destination for years. As the festival prepares to take its last bow in Utah ahead of a move to Boulder, Colorado, next year, marketer attendance could be even higher than usual.

David Anderson, UTA’s partner and co-head of entertainment and marketing told Marketing Brew he is noticing outsize interest. When it comes to sponsors, “it feels like they’re showing up with both a seniority and a size of presence that has not always been the case, because it’s the last one,” he told us, noting that “strong attendance” isn’t just from sponsors.

“We host a dinner for marketing executives on Friday night, and I think we have more CMOs coming than ever before,” he said.

That attendance serves as a reminder of the changing landscape of both entertainment and advertising. Brands are entering the entertainment realm, standing up studios and appointing chief entertainment officers. As that investment continues, it’s becoming increasingly important for marketers to show up at key festivals like Sundance, whether it’s in Park City or not.

Ahead of the festival’s kickoff, Gap announced that it had hired Paramount veteran Pam Kaufman to serve as its first-ever chief entertainment officer, a hire that could be a point of conversation at the festival as marketers figure out how to navigate a further push into entertainment, Anderson noted.

“I think it’s going to cause other big brands to question, ‘How am I playing in the space?’ and, ‘What should we be thinking about that?’” he said.

Moving, schmoving

For years, Park City has been viewed as a special place to the marketing community, since it served as one of the first destinations for marketers and Hollywood to mingle. (It helps that the annual Brand Storytelling conference coincides with Sundance.)

Main Street has served as the hub for many brand activations over the years, making it easy for passersby to dip into multiple experiences. Returning sponsors Chase, Acura, and Adobe have supported the festival for more than 14 years straight, and this year, there are also pop-ups for some Sundance breakout films with big anniversaries, including Little Miss Sunshine, which came out 20 years ago.

The move from Park City to Boulder marks the end of an era for Sundance in more ways than one: Festival founder and legendary actor Robert Redford died last September. In honor of Redford, some brand sponsors, like Acura, are participating in a tribute.

But the move to Boulder could be a major opportunity for brands looking to get in on the next iteration of the festival. “We are confident in the future of Sundance,” Jennifer Symington, assistant VP of marketing for the American Honda Motor Company, the parent company for Acura, told Marketing Brew.

It helps that Boulder has a similar mountainous vibe as Park City, which sets Sundance apart from more urban film festivals, like the Tribeca Film Festival. But some marketers are optimistic that the new location could also offer even more options for marketers as they look for venues for sponsorship hubs next year.

“We’re supportive of Sundance wherever they go,” Amy White, global head of corporate responsibility for Adobe, told us. “The magic of Sundance is…bringing all those folks together and in some ways, in a physical space that is not traditional. You’re not in the streets of New York, you’re not in Hollywood, you’re in this mountain town, and Boulder will be the same, where there’s a certain number of coffee shops, there’s a local charm.”

Some longtime brand sponsors for the festival even see it as a chance to potentially do more with the festival while still maintaining the festival’s enduring appeal. “Boulder has a similar vibe in that it’s a mountain town,” Alan Lewis, senior specialist of marketing for Canon, said. “I think we’re probably going to do [something] similar in what we do… ideally, we’d love to expand it.”

Jennimai Nguyen contributed reporting to this piece.