EWE Festival Kraftwerk (Power Plant): Practice-Hub for Energy-Selfsufficient Events
Description
The energy provider EWE has been present at festivals for several years. In 2023, however, the brand stand was supposed to not only be inspiring and entertaining but also to present a key EWE topic to the target group: the energy transition.
The EWE Festival Kraftwerk (Power Plant) was conceived in cooperation with JOKE Event. As a kind of practice hub, the power plant tested the feasibility of a green energy supply at festivals. This is a very pertinent problem, as temporary event venues represent high energy consumption and infrastructure requirements and therefore a high environmental burden. The aim of the overall approach, from the stand concept to operation and activities, was to authentically communicate the brand message “#sustainablewow”. This included the resource-efficient use of materials: Stand frames from the previous year, durable raw materials such as steel and wood, as well as real plants instead of plastic decorations were used. The events provided a challenge to the muscle power of the visitors – from a Bubble Bike to treadmills with fans, arm wrestling and pull-ups.
In line with the central topic of an energy-neutral stand supply, technologies were tested in terms of practicability, availability, challenges and costs. Wind and solar energy were produced on site and stored in various battery formats, while green hydrogen was used as a fuel independent of weather conditions. The initial conclusion of the team of agency workers and EWE employees was that an autonomous, energy-neutral power supply is currently still a big challenge. The much-advertised hardware is not adequately available, nor attractive on economic grounds, and the path to an energy-self-sufficient event is very complex.
The project was communicated across various media to accompany the festival tour – via digital channels, PR articles and at trade fairs. The company thereby seeks to promote communication on energy-self-sufficient solutions beyond a sustainable brand experience.