Features
A Closer Look At Electroland
Pollstar spoke with Raphael Aflalo, co-founder of My Love Affair, a company specializing in artist-brand endorsements, instrumental in the first edition of Electroland, which takes place in
– Electroland
at Disneyland Paris
Electroland kills two birds with one stone. On the one hand Disneyland Paris is suffering from a lack of visitors in the range between 18 and 25 years old, who are more interested in clubbing and festivals rather than theme parks.
On the other hand Disney Business Solutions, an internal branch of Disneyland Paris, is constantly looking for new business opportunities.
An electronic music festival in the midst of one of the world’s most famous theme parks seems like one.
To realize this endeavor, Disney Business Solutions has employed My Love Affair, a company founded by Cathy Guetta, the ex-wife of David Guetta, and Raphael Aflalo – experts in bringing together artists and brands.
Most of the artists they’ve worked with so far – Will.I.Am, Justin Bieber, Mark Ronson,
“We were advising on the kind of music, the name of the brand, Electroland, we built the website and developed a social media strategy,” Aflalo explained.
Disneyland’s own event team handles the production.
The stage is located in the park’s Production Courtyard, where the main attractions like the Tower of Terror will be open to festivalgoers.
The main promotional partner is Radio NRJ France, complemented by billboards all over the country.
Organizers expect some 8,000 people, while the section of the park that’s been sealed off for the event can hold 10,000.
Ticket sales are going well, according to Aflalo, who was worried that prices – euro 68 or euro 85 for the VIP version – might be too high. But it turned out that VIP tickets are selling even faster than basic tickets.
“This year is a test-run. The idea is to do it every year, expand it to two days, add stages for different genres,” he says.
A multi-day event would also allow Disney Business Solutions to sell hotel packages. Discounts on Disneyland hotels are already available in year one, but would increase in popularity if the event stretched over multiple days.
The premiere of Electroland will end at midnight, to allow revelers to catch the last metro into town.
Disneyland Paris celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2017. Park security is already tight in the terror-stricken French capital, with metal detectors in place at the entrances, so there probably isn’t much more that can be done.
The buzz generated by the announcement of Electroland took Aflalo by surprise. It wasn’t just the fans but also the acts that got excited.
null – Raphael Aflalo
My Love Affair
“These DJs cross the entire world and party everywhere, from pool parties to big venues. But to play in a theme park surrounded by rollercoasters and other attractions and, of course, iconic Mickey Mouse, is quite new.”
Aflalo thinks the July 8 date means that a lot of Parisians will not have left for the summer holidays yet. What is more, Electroland would give them a chance to rediscover a city landmark they probably outgrew over the years.
Aflalo realized early on that brands and artists could be a good match, with the brand sponsoring all the things that labels don’t have money for anymore, and the artist making the brand look cool.
He met Cathy and David Guetta at a club night in the south of France a few years ago and talked about brand endorsement.
In June 2011 My Love Affair was founded.
“I’m convinced that brands have great potential to do their own events, like Corona [SunSets] Festival. It’s a new way to bring entertainment to customers, and most brands have bigger budgets than labels,” Aflalo said.
Of course, not every brand can collaborate with any artist. But an electronic music festival in a theme park is “a natural connection.”