Kids brands headed to the two weekends of Coachella this year, signaling that they’re beginning to embrace these types of mega music festivals as a way to get in front of families to introduce new products and make a high-impact marketing splash.

Last year, the California-based festival drew 125,000 attendees per weekend, and it’s not unusual to see families attending the event together, especially since kids five and under are free. (Coachella even sells branded kids apparel on its website.) Tickets to attend aren’t cheap (it’s about US$600 for a three-day pass), but that just means parents are even more likely to take their young kids along instead of shelling out for babysitters.

Here’s how kids brands are looking to take advantage of the festival’s popularity with families.

Barbie bonanza 

Mattel is launching Barbie’s first-ever activation at Coachella this year. The campaign is called “You Can Be Any Barbie,” and it’s playing out across both of Coachella’s two weekends (it ran last weekend, April 10 to 12, and will run again this weekend, April 17 to 19).

The exterior of Barbie’s Coachella activation. Courtesy of Mattel.

Mattel set up a branded building, which includes a photo gallery showcasing different Barbie dolls through the years, a place to make custom charm bracelets (pictured above) inspired by different Barbies and Kens, and a spot for photo ops. (Leaning into the music theme of Coachella, Mattel also put together a Spotify playlist called Barbie Festival Era.)

A music festival like Coachella is a cultural hotspot where attendees can express their brand love, said Nathan Baynard, Mattel’s VP and head of Barbie, which makes it an opportunity for a brand like Barbie to reach younger demos. “Coachella is one of the most powerful cultural stages for individuality and creativity, making it the perfect place to bring Barbie to life in a bold, immersive way,” he said. “We’re excited to invite a new generation to step into their own Barbie persona and celebrate who they are—because you can be any Barbie, entirely on your own terms.”

MGA’s music play 

MGA Entertainment is using the festival as a way to introduce its new mini record player in a big way. Its working palm-sized Miniverse Real Music Record Player is aimed at kids ages eight and up. The strategy is to have consumers buy mini vinyl records separately to play on it, with a lineup of songs that includes hits from Britney Spears, The Beach Boys, TLC and Elton John.

To build interest ahead of the player’s June launch, the company is showcasing it at Coachella as part of an activation on both weekends to give attendees a chance to try it out for themselves. Tying into the Miniverse brand (a line of miniature collectibles, including SpongeBob products like the Krabby Patty), MGA showed up at the event with a miniature replica of Coachella for attendees to snap photos with. The activation also offers treats (bite-sized, naturally), give-aways and a scaled-down version of Coachella’s poster lineup.

The popularity of Coachella and the opportunity to get the product in front of multiple generations, including kids, makes showing up at the event a natural move for MGA, says CMO Josh Hackbarth.

“Coachella has evolved into a truly cross-generational cultural moment, where music, nostalgia and self-expression come together, making it the perfect stage for MGA to bring Miniverse to life,” he tells Kidscreen, adding that this past weekend, the activation had a “festival atmosphere that connected with everyone from kids and teens to kidults and parents.”

And beyond

Other brands and familiar names hit the festival, too. K-pop group Katseye brought out the KPop Demon Hunters singers for a surprise performance of their hit song “Golden”. And there was an activation from Gap, which is prepping its own evolution into content that is likely to target kids.

And though Coachella itself is already half over, these activations signal that kids brands are beginning to explore IRL and immersive opportunities like music festivals that might not seem like obvious kids destinations—and could be an avenue for other brands to consider.

Inside MGA’s Coachella experience, which is highlighting its Miniverse brand. Images courtesy of MGA Entertainment.

For MGA, events like Coachella are a powerful way to grow its business across demos, and, when done well, an activation at events like this can be a mic-drop moment for brands. “It wasn’t just about showing up, it was about creating a space where people of all ages could come together, share in the moment, and experience the brand through music, creativity and play,” says Hackbarth. “That kind of multi-generational connection is incredibly powerful, and it’s exactly how we’re reimagining play beyond the toy aisle.”