Sunset at Coachella: From Guerilla Marketing to Backstage with the Artists

With Weekend 2 of the Coachella Music Festival kicking off today, we wanted to share the story of our unique relationship with the biggest music festival in the U.S. and arguably the world. But hey, maybe that’s just our Los Angeles bias showing.

Each year, Coachella hosts an impressive 125,000 music lovers. Based in Indio, California, the festival transforms the desert into a lush paradise where people of all cultures and backgrounds gather to hear the hottest names in pop, EDM, and rock.

For our founders, Anton and Matthias, the festival scene was familiar territory. Both were deeply embedded in the music world, with musical backgrounds of their own. Matthias mixed on vinyl, Anton on a modern Pioneer board, and both had attended legendary music gatherings like Burning Man.

The timing of Sunset’s U.S. launch couldn’t have been better. We saw the perfect opportunity to activate a brand that celebrates good vibes and bring Germany’s most iconic soda to some of the world’s hottest artists.

The “Guerilla” Beginnings

In a testament to the agility of a startup, Team Sunset had a wild idea: guerilla marketing in the desert. Within 24 hours, the team was driving to Indio. With a car full of Sunset, a stack of yard signs, and our three-man “Elite Sunset Squadron,” we began placing signs everywhere, from parking lots and gas stations to highway off-ramps.

Each sign carried a simple promise: a six-pack of Germany’s most iconic soda delivered to you.

Admittedly, we met a few angry neighbors, and engagement wasn’t quite at the level we’d hoped for, but the experience was invaluable.

From ideation to execution, we learned how to close the gap between a cool idea and reality. In just one week, we developed a campaign, designed the creatives, and hit the road. As a startup, you have to be agile and just a little bit crazy to follow through on bold ideas.

Guerilla marketing is all about winning hearts at a low cost. The goal is simple: low cost, high impact. Through this process, we talked face-to-face with potential customers and received incredibly positive feedback. In fact, some of those original desert testers are still loyal customers today.

We even met a few people who helped bring us back to the desert.

2025: From the Sidewalk to the Stage

A year later, Team Sunset moved away from yard signs and into one of Coachella’s most iconic stages: The Do LaB. After networking with amazing contacts during our first year, we officially made it inside the gates.

This time, we brought Sunset directly to festival-goers and performing artists, and this time without the angry neighbors. It turns out our early guerilla efforts paid off, proving that in the startup world, a little craziness goes a long way.