818 wanted new ways to reward loyal fans, deepen relationships with its college demographic and unlock community-exclusive opportunities with events and merch, while capturing consumer insights, product feedback, and authentic sharable UGC from their community.

Within weeks of joining TYB, 818 was preparing for its annual festival outpost, a large-scale multi-brand desert activation tied to one of the year’s biggest cultural moments. To build engagement and drive community participation, 818 launched a festival-themed giveaway Challenge on TYB, inviting fans to share original 818 festival recipes for a chance to attend. The brand also used QR-enabled signage across the Outpost and Uber touchpoints to drive festival attendees directly to its TYB profile. Together, the activations generated thousands of Challenge participants, turning festival excitement into measurable community growth and shareable UGC.

818 drove an 80% increase in community growth, achieved 89% member engagement, and grew to 7K followers shortly after joining TYB. The festival campaign generated immediate momentum, with more than 2,000 members applying to attend by completing TYB Challenges and submitting original festival-inspired 818 recipes. The activation also captured over 100 content submissions at the event, giving the brand authentic, shareable UGC to repurpose across organic and paid channels.