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The event saw brands and agencies discuss key festival insights – past, present and future – as well as their trend predictions for the 2016 music festival season.

Pia Stanchina, industry manager, Google:

• The UK saw an 11% growth in festival-related searches year-on-year in 2015.
• Growth was driven specifically by mobile – Google identified a 36% increase in festival-related searches via mobile devices.
• More than half of searches are made on mobile devices. 
• Coachella is the top searched festival when compared to Burning Man, SXSW and Glastonbury.
• Searches for Coachella 2016 tickets were being made one-hour after the event had finished in 2015.
• Weather searches spike in the two days prior to Glastonbury, which Stanchina sees as an opportunity for brands to tap into last minute conversations with consumers.

Spencer McHugh, brand and marketing director, EE:

• Mobile data usage at Glastonbury has increased by 930% over the last two years.
• EE predicts the figure will increased by 500% by 2020.
• 77% of this traffic will be video data.
• 8tb of data was consumed over the 2015 Glastonbury weekend.
• EE's Glastonbury 2015 festival app was accessed 4 million times over the weekend. 

Clare Lusher, marketing director, MAMA Festivals (Live Nation):

• The UK festival audience is 14 million, or 23% of the population.
• The US festival audience is 33 million, or 10% of the population.
• The UK festival market is driven by concept- and creatively-driven events.
• Top headline talent and large scale outdoor concerts fuel the US festival scene. 

Lucie Greene, worldwide director, JWT Intelligence:

• Three quarters of UK millennials attend one festival per year, meanwhile one quarter attend more than four festivals each year.
• One-third travel internationally to attend a festival.
• 73% are interested in experimental festivals – which has seen the festival purpose diversify. 
• 76% spend more on an experience than on "stuff." 
• 73% are more likely to share their event experiences on social media as opposed to "stuff." 

Hunter’s festival strategy

The summit sought to highlight Hunter’s decision, , to shift away from the traditional fashion calendar and focus on consumer engagement, namely its connection to music festivals, and it kicks off the brand’s 2016 festival activities.

The wellie brand is set to launch a digital festival hub next month, meanwhile pop-ups and guerilla activity at festivals across the globe are also on the cards this year. 

Alasdhair Willis, creative director at Hunter, explained that festivals provide a valuable space for brands to create an emotional connections with consumers.

"Festivals are more than just a destination for live music. The reach and commercial opportunity of festivals makes them a very serious business. The non-disposable moments at festivals carry so much weight – they are unforgettable, water-tight, locked-down emotional memories that as a brand, you want to access and be associated with." 

He added: "Our search insights have revealed how demand [for Hunter festival product] starts in April and grows massively from June, all the way through to September… what these insights have told us is that we need to have a sustained [festival] narrative from April right through to September, an ‘always-on’ festival conversation which will enable us to have a much closer relationship with our customer."