At its core, Coachella has always been more than a music festival. It’s a cultural pulse check where the worlds of fashion, technology, design and branding collide under the desert sun. In 2025, that convergence hit a new stride. Brands didn’t just sponsor stages or hand out samples. They built moments, immersive, tech driven, emotionally charged spaces that blurred the line between marketing and memory.
In this article, we break down five of the most talked about activations at Coachella 2025 and unpack what made them resonate. Each one is a lesson in modern experiential marketing, how to meet your audience where they are and then make that moment unforgettable.
In a festival landscape saturated with DJ stages and branded cocktails, the Rhode Skin x 818 Tequila photobooth found a way to break through. This Coachella 2025 brand activation fused beauty and beverage culture into one of the most talked about social experiences of the weekend.
Located near the festival’s main flow of traffic, the booth invited guests to insert a custom Rhode coin before stepping inside for a quick photo session. Every participant received a Rhode lip tint and a miniature 818 tequila bottle, seamlessly pairing product sampling with a memorable experience. The booth’s minimal, soft toned aesthetic reflected both brands’ visual identities, while the limited edition nature of the items added a layer of exclusivity that resonated strongly with festival goers.
Within hours, the activation went viral on TikTok and Instagram, it featured Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner and other influencers, which helped spark massive buzz and proved that even small scale experiences can drive huge reach when rooted in culture and personalisation.
Why it stood out: This activation shows that effective festival activations don’t always require a massive footprint. By combining personalised interaction, aesthetic art and cultural relevance, Rhode and 818 created a micro moment that felt both meaningful and shareable, an approach that many brands overlook in high traffic environments like Coachella.
A returning favourite at Coachella 2025, Heineken House stood out not through flashy design, but through consistency and energy. Set inside a vinyl inspired dome, the space blended retro visuals with a curated lineup of live DJs, including Pusha T, Channel Tres and HoneyLuv.
The layout was simple with a bar, dance floor and lounge, but the atmosphere was immersive. Branded content loops played on surrounding screens, and custom drinks kept guests inside longer than the average sponsor booth. It was a fully enclosed space with its own crowd, its own energy and a lineup that rivalled official sets.
Why it stood out: Heineken built a music led experience that felt authentic to the festival environment. Rather than interrupting the audience flow, it became part of it, a reliable space to recharge, reconnect and keep the party going.
For its first year at Coachella, Pinterest created personal style and visual culture. Their “Remix Your Style” activation brought the platform’s most searched trends like soft goth and coquette core into a tactile, walk through environment designed for self expression.
The space was made for content creation. Attendees could build digital mood boards, try on curated festival looks and snap photos in trend themed zones. Every element, from textures to typography, mimicked the Pinterest UI, bridging digital discovery with a real world, interactive brand experience.
Why it stood out: Rather than just referencing culture, Pinterest became part of it. The brand translated search data into immersive storytelling, showing how personalisation and aesthetics can power a festival ready activation that feels both relevant and shareable.
At Coachella 2025, Sol de Janeiro debuted as the festival's first official fragrance and body care partner with Casa Cheirosa, a 30 by 30 foot sensory activation designed to immerse attendees in the brand's signature scents.
The installation featured six interactive zones: Attract, Enter, Entice, Engage, Chill and Extend, each offering a unique olfactory experience. Inspired by Rio's iconic orelhões (public phone booths), the activation reimagined these structures as vibrant scent portals adorned with original artwork. Festival goers could explore the full Cheirosa Perfume Mist Collection, including Cheirosa 76, Cheirosa 40 and Rio Radiance Cheirosa 87.
Why it stood out: Casa Cheirosa seamlessly blended cultural elements with immersive storytelling, offering a multi sensory journey that elevated the traditional brand activation. By transforming fragrance exploration into an engaging experience, Sol de Janeiro set a new standard for beauty brand presence at music festivals.
Amex returned to Coachella 2025 with a refined, detail rich brand activation built exclusively for Card Members. While other sponsors leaned on spectacle, Amex focused on curated, small scale interaction moments that felt crafted rather than crowded.
Inside, guests could design personalised charm keychains, snap photos in a pastel toned booth and take part in a dart game for limited edition snacks and brand giveaways. The space was styled like a living Pinterest board, warm and nostalgic, with lounge seating that encouraged people to stay and explore.
It wasn’t loud or oversized but it did not need to be. The value here came from exclusivity and personalisation, offering a private, low pressure alternative to the festival’s high energy chaos.
Why it stood out: Amex played to its strength, focusing on customer and experience design and delivered a space that felt rewarding, calm and completely on brand. In a weekend full of overstimulation, this activation stood out by helping guests slow down and engage on their own terms.
Coachella 2025 proved once again that music festivals are no longer just about the line up, they’ve become a testbed for brands looking to connect through culture and creativity. The most effective activations weren’t the loudest or largest, they were the ones that understood the setting, respected the audience and delivered experiences that felt immersive, intentional and emotionally in tune with the moment.
From fragrance led storytelling to personalised photobooths, these campaigns showed how brands can turn cultural presence into meaningful engagement. And for marketers, the takeaway is clear: in an experience first world, showing up is not enough, you have to design moments that matter.
At FutureLabs, we partner with brands to do exactly that, crafting interactive brand activations, immersive environments and technology led experiences that drive attention and create impact.
Explore our work to see how we bring ideas to life across entertainment, retail and live events →
