Is the purchase of Fyre Festival one of the savviest acquisitions of the year?
You might remember the monumental disaster that was Fyre Festival, an event made even more infamous by a Netflix documentary. Fyre Festival has now been bought and lives on but, says Mitch Strong, Founder & CEO of Pulse, despite its troubled background, it could rise like a phoenix from the flames.
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The rights to Fyre Festival, made infamous by its sensational Netflix documentary, sold to an unknown buyer on eBay this month for just over $245,000.
At first glance, it might look like a jokey punt on one of the most notorious brands of the 21st century, but the new buyer – who now owns the IP, social handles, brand name and trademark – may have made one of the savviest brand investments of the year.
Look past the chaos and it’s clear that the original idea behind the festival wasn’t half bad.
Yes, Fyre Festival was a flop, and its failed relaunch didn’t redeem it, either. The name has become shorthand for how hard and fast a brand can go from hyped to horror show. But look past the chaos and it’s clear that the original idea behind the festival wasn’t half bad. And its new owner might have a massive opportunity on their hands.
Above: The first iteration of Fyre Festival was a disaster in 2017, and was documented in a Netflix show.
The festival experience has changed
Fyre Festival was ahead of the curve when it came to influencer marketing. Think back to the start of the documentary: aspirational content, social-first storytelling, a clear lifestyle proposition, and a roster of influencers that made the brand feel global. That’s the formula modern festivals are still emulating. Fyre envisioned the future of festivals as experiences that felt curated, full of content to explore, and built for a social media-savvy audience. In 2017, the live event space hadn’t caught up. Now, festivals exist in a completely different era.
Brands that thrive in this new format are the ones that understand how live entertainment has changed.
Festivals used to be about music, community and letting go with friends and strangers. That’s still a big part of it, but now there’s a new layer. Festivals are designed for the social media age where people want to document, share and shape experiences in real time. They don’t just want to film what they are watching, they want to film themselves enjoying what they are watching whilst looking glamorous and cool – a far cry from what I used to look like at a mud-filled, foul-smelling Glastonbury.
Successful festivals are embracing this shift and evolving from a few stages in a field to media ecosystems. Brands that thrive in this new format are the ones that understand how live entertainment has changed, and that means rethinking how content, storytelling and partnership delivery come together. When working with brands on their festival briefs, we pull content and media delivery into the wider festival partnership plan. This helps ensure a 360-degree approach, both online and offline, actively shaping the festival experience for our clients.
For example, in our work with Strongbow, we created artist spotlight sessions ahead of its sponsorship at Brighton Pride and Fabuloso 2024. These brought the brand into the DNA of the festivals and were showcased on the official event page for Brighton Pride. The goal was to align with the live music mission and help grassroots talent break through, so this helped both brands deliver more value, authentically and at scale.
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Above: Strongbow created artist spotlights ahead of the Brighton Pride festival last year.
Without this steer, it would have been just beer and cider pouring rights. Instead, we built a full content plan that embedded Strongbow Live into the festival experience, reinforcing its commitment to emerging artists and natively getting their branded video onto the official socials, with a targeted media delivery approach ensuring 14 million impressions, reaching more than five million unique UK viewers.
Imagine Fyre returning in 2025 with the right team, the right partners and a clear understanding of what works for modern festivals.
For Strongbow and every brand aiming to stand out in the festival space, it’s no longer about just putting up a branded stage or handing out freebies. It’s about meaningful activations, digital integration and delivering real value before, during and after the event. That brings huge opportunities, but also significant complexity.
Planning for the unpredictable
Fyre had a strong campaign and massive hype, but the operational side went down the toilet. Leadership veered off course and completely underestimated the challenge of delivering a live experience at scale. There’s a huge amount of logistics behind festivals, from legalities and weather to managing contractors, airline delays, missing stock, no-show staff, health and safety issues, and a whole list of things you can’t predict months in advance.
Fyre fell at every hurdle, but that’s easier to do than people think. As someone who’s on the ground at festival activations day in day out, I know how tough it is to plan for the unexpected. I’ve spent hours tying down tents in bad weather, wrangling with customs and dealing with difficult clients under pressure. The truth is, a lot of brands and agencies still underestimate these challenges. We’ve seen campaigns go sideways due to delayed permits, import issues or teams not showing up.
Above: The documentary trailer highlights the huge issues that the original Fyre Festival had.
Relight my Fyre
Now imagine Fyre returning in 2025 with the right team, the right partners and a clear understanding of what works for modern festivals. It could be rebuilt in a way that both nods to its past and turns it into an asset. There’s truth in the motto “if you build it, they will come”, but this time it has to be built in the right order with the experience driving the story, not the other way around.
And, now, there’s a real opportunity to get it right. You can’t buy the kind of name recognition Fyre earned from the Netflix documentary. People haven’t forgotten. With the right approach, the new owner could flip the narrative, keeping the name, but giving it a fresh reputation. The relaunch could embrace its infamous origins and offer something that gives attendees and brands a chance to thrive, not just survive.
It might seem like novelty, but Fyre still commands attention. With the right direction, partners and creativity, there’s a real chance to write its next chapter.
There’s even space for a second Netflix doc, this time showing a comeback. Fully produced, weather-proofed and backed by experts and partners, this sequel could be the redemption story. The value in Fyre now isn’t just in relaunching as a music festival but bringing back a platform. Think fashion collabs, curated travel, branded content, even tongue-in-cheek experiences like gourmet versions of the infamous cheese sandwich or “I survived Fyre Festival” merch. There’s a huge pool of opportunity to do something interesting and innovative.
Rising from the ashes
We all know Gen Z and Alpha are harder to reach through traditional channels. That means experience marketing is more important than ever. Fyre’s new owner can tap into that power with a brand that younger audiences instantly recognise.
It might seem like novelty, but Fyre still commands attention. With the right direction, partners and creativity, there’s a real chance to write its next chapter. And there’s a lesson here, too, for how brands and festivals approach marketing in 2025; it’s about giving the people a great show, not a shit show.
