The Festival That Went Up in Flames
What we can learn from the demise of Billy McFarland and Fyre Media Inc.
Back in 2017, a strange phenomenon began to appear on social media. Influencers from around the world began posting a seemingly cryptic burnt orange square, telling their followers that they too could attend utopia, by clicking on the website link. The warm glow of the square filled social feeds and from there, one of the most infamous marketing campaigns began.
Fyre Festival commenced with the perfect recipe; they had top influencers on their payroll, a large budget and a great agency behind them, but behind the scenes, the foundations that the festival was built on was a web of lies and deceit.
Fresh new talent
Anyone in the world of marketing knows the name of Billy McFarland. The man-child who spent most of the Netflix documentary, FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, drinking until he passed out on the beach, racing his jet ski up and down the shores of the Bahamian island and bumping fists with rappers and socialites.
