In the Summer of 2015, a few friends came to us with an idea to produce a “digital gathering” at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. These friends were all from digital media companies and had been going to Sundance for the past several years; renting homes, entertaining clients, tearing up the slopes and taking over bars in and around Park City. It was a great time at the iconic Sundance Film Festiv
al, but they wanted something more, somewhere they could celebrate the current and near future of brand storytelling. Digital Storytelling@Sundance Film Festival was held Jan. 20, 2016 at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley. Sponsors provided the underwriting to invite 80 guests, representing major brands and their agencies, for a 3-night stay in Park City, kicking off with a ½ day of presentations, cocktail reception and dinner at the famous Stein Eriksen Lodge. Guests and sponsors spent the weekend together, enjoying the festival, the slopes and the unique networking opportunity in and around the Sundance Festival. It was a highly charged and creative time where media partners, brands, agencies, creators and storymakers were able to collaborate, form new relationships and exchange ideas. With so many smart people in attendance, all driving this new era of brand storytelling, we used the opportunity to capture 23 video interviews - over 13 hours of comment and perspective from the most involved and pioneering individuals actively creating and distributing brand-funded content. We discovered that there is a creative renaissance upon us that is redefining advertising strategy, media models, resource allocations, talent acquisition and so much more. It’s a big story that will unfold for years to come. Our role in this story is two-fold; 1) facilitate in-person collaboration amongst brand storytelling stakeholders and 2) capture the essence of the in-person experiences to distribute to a wider audience to extend the learnings.
