LOS ANGELES — Coachella revelers are getting ready to pitch their tents, performing artists are running through their final rehearsals and thousands of global brands are gearing up for what will be one of the biggest content-making weekends of the year. What began as a grungy early 2000s desert fest has since evolved into a high-end global cultural phenomenon. The Coachella Valley Music and ...

People dance at the Sahara Stage during the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on Sunday, April 13, 2025.

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LOS ANGELES — Coachella revelers are getting ready to pitch their tents, performing artists are running through their final rehearsals and thousands of global brands are gearing up for what will be one of the biggest content-making weekends of the year.

What began as a grungy early 2000s desert fest has since evolved into a high-end global cultural phenomenon. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio is regarded as one of the largest of its kind in the world, drawing more than 125,000 people a day across two consecutive weekends in April.

As the festival has grown, so too has the allure for big brands like Guess, Rivian, Soho House and Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila looking to capitalize on Coachella as a marketing megaphone.

Both off and on the festival grounds, these brands host a series of parties, pop-ups and other VIP events that lavish celebrities, influencers and artists with premium experiences. The hope is they will then share those experiences with their large online audiences.

The Absolut Heat Haus, Soho House's VIP pop-up The Hideout, and the Coca-Cola Pop Shop are just a few of the brand activations that aim to build a rapport with the festival audience.

This turn toward a high-end consumer market — which reflects a broader trend among many retailers to cater to the affluent — hasn't been without its critics, especially from music purists who view the festival as overly commercial.

But in many ways, the festival creates the perfect marketing opportunity for global brands to reach Gen Z consumers, who accounted for approximately 17% of total global consumer spending of $57.6 trillion in 2024, according to Nielsen.

"People come to Coachella with the idea in mind that brands will bring their best foot forward. Not only are they looking for their favorite, tried-and-true brands to be there, but they're also looking at what's the next big thing," said Jessica Lanzon, director of partnerships and experiential at Ciroc.

The vodka maker offers the Ciroc Athletic Club, an invite-only pop-up that includes a padel tournament and many luxury amenities, like customized merch and bottomless cocktails.

Marc Lotenberg, the founder and chief executive of Dorsia, a members-only platform for exclusive restaurant reservations, estimates brands can spend up to tens of millions of dollars at Coachella.

The biggest global stage

"It's Coachella, then it's everything else," said Lotenberg. "Nothing else compares to the amount of eyes that you get during Coachella. It's the biggest global stage."

Dorsia hosts the Zenyara party series, an exclusive after-hours gathering that transforms the private lakeside estate into a nightclub.

The company helped introduce Nobu to the festival last year. The famed Japanese restaurant is returning to this year with meals starting at $375 per person.

Dorsia also offers suites at Coachella's main stage that start at $70,000 per weekend and accommodate 10 guests who will get backstage access, dedicated service and premium amenities.

"There's no ceiling when it comes to how much people are willing to pay when it comes to experiences," Lotenberg said.

Some of Coachella's most elite attendees won't spend their day at the actual festival, choosing instead to hop between the many exclusive day parties, powered by brands like Revolve.

Over the last decade, the Cerritos-based online fashion retailer has hosted its own mini-festival featuring A-list performers and a star-studded guest list. Last year, Grammy-winning rappers Lil Wayne and Cardi B performed. The off-site festival held in the Coachella Valley is invite-only and hosts around 2,000 people.

"It was quite simple. We saw the impact pretty immediately in terms of traffic to the site and conversion sales," said Raissa Gerona, chief brand officer for Revolve. "Because we've been doing it for so long, we have become the destination ... to shop for all things festival and not just Coachella."

It's not all about high fashion and luxury mansions. The spirit of outdoor camping is in Coachella's DNA. The nature-themed boutique hotel company AutoCamp and electric-truck maker Rivian have partnered up for Camp Rivian.

The companies are hosting a curated group of influencers and media partners to stay at a pop-up campsite featuring AutoCamp's modernized Airstreams. Invitees get the opportunity to test drive Rivian's newest R2 SUV to the festival and indulge in the communal glamping site.

AutoCamp's Chief Operating Officer, Bryan Terzi, said it felt like the right moment to try out a deluxe festival camping concept.

"People would really get it because it's happening at Coachella," he said. "I don't know if this type of experience would really work at other smaller festivals like Austin City Limits."

L.A.-based clothing retailer Guess is going all-in on the accommodations with its Guess Compound. The denim brand rents out 10 of the valley's most luxurious villas, hosts up to 60 people, provides high-end amenities like IV drips, massage therapy and an onsite coffee pop-up from La La Land and puts on exclusive after-parties.

Nicolai Marciano, the chief business development officer at Guess, said the effort is about creating more brand equity and building relationships within Coachella's creative community.

"There's a lot of different types of talent from musical artists performing to people from reality TV shows and people that make great content — when you put them all together, it's exciting to watch as an end consumer," Marciano said.

Claudio Bravo, of Bravo Luxury Retreats, is the chief executive behind the private luxury community next to the festival that hosts Guess. The property contains 16 villas with more than 100 bedrooms, as well as a standalone 10-acre estate set aside for high-end stays and brand activations.

During festival season, Bravo charges around $150,000 for a weekend at one of the villas. He sells out every year, up to six months in advance, catering to wealthy individuals and corporate clients.

"These houses are very luxury, very modern. You feel like you are in a resort," said Bravo. "I built these houses especially for this – like I was building a hotel."

Bravo is developing another 14-villa project in nearby La Quinta, which hosts annual professional golf events.

Walker Drawas, a brand marketing agency which has worked at Coachella for years, is involved in six events at the festival, including Kendall Jenner's "818 Outpost."

"Brands today are starved for content and starved for news," said Adam Drawas, co-founder of the agency. "The consumer needs to engage with newness and new content so many times a day, and so brands really need a content wonderland that can give them a big bank of content."

Sean Breuner, the chief executive of luxury rental company Avant Stay, said at each of their properties, renters will interact with products and amenities from 15 to 20 brands — many of them in the fridge — seeking out high-end consumers.

VIPs expect a private chef, a driver to take them back and forth to the festival grounds or auxiliary events, private security, IV drips provided at home, an on-call cleaner and private tennis or pickleball lessons.

"The majority of festivals you go to don't have art installations or people who are dressed to the nines in festival outfits," Breuner said.

Drawas said he believes the market is only going to keep expanding.

"This began in music. It transitioned into fashion," added Drawas. "Now it's just a consumer wonderland."