In this series, Agency Correspondent Heather Nicholls takes you behind the scenes of some of the most compelling brand activations and events.
In the eleventh edition, we meet Sense, the global brand experience agency, behind the Madri Excepcional Experience at All Points East 2025.
The brief
Since launch, Madrí Excepcional has grown at an incredible pace to become one of the UK’s best-known Spanish beers. Awareness was high but love for the brand hadn’t yet caught up. People were drinking it, but they weren’t connecting with the brand behind the product. The challenge for Sense was to change that. The agency was tasked with creating an experience that would deepen engagement and sell the Madrí story to a young, urban festival crowd at All Points East.
The execution
Sense started with audience insight from AEG, the festival organiser, then layered in trends from its Futures Lab – ‘Main Character Energy’ and festival ‘Alter Egos’ – alongside inspiration from Madrid’s street culture.
The result: Soul Street, an immersive urban space anchored by an iconic roof installation featuring the Chulapo character from Madrí’s logo.
Rachael Tettey, senior account manager at Sense, said: “Having been around 20+ years as an agency, we don’t divert too much from a winning process formula.”
The agency refined every detail with the festival audience in mind – from flat designs through to full renders, multiple site visits, material tests and design refinements. This included determining how tall the rooftop Chulapo could stand and designing day-to-night transitions with layered lighting and neon.
Tettey said: “When it finally came time to build and activate, every detail paid off in creating a stand that was both functional and unforgettable.”
Close collaboration with Molson Coors and suppliers was central. “Having partnered with Molson Coors for many years, our team has developed a deep understanding of their brands and we truly feel like an extension of their team,” Tettey said.
She added: “This strong foundation allowed for open and honest conversations where ideas could be challenged and refined to suit the unique festival setting. We worked hand-in-hand with suppliers to push for the best solutions, ensuring premium finishes and elevated details that enhanced the overall experience. By never cutting corners and investing the right time and resources, we created an activation that truly stood out.”
With cost efficiency and sustainability high on the agenda, Molson Coors challenged Sense to reuse existing kit and keep budgets tight. The agency repurposed a two-tier structure from a 2023 activation for another Molson Coors brand.
Tettey said: “It wasn’t without its challenges, but with some refurb, rebuild and creative reimagining, we transformed the old stand into something fresh and festival-ready.”
The result
Sense created an experience that immersed festival-goers into Madrid street culture. A customisation station offered artist-personalised merch and festival outfits. The stand became something of a social media hotspot, with visitors photographing and filming at every corner – from a giant bottle cap photo moment to naturally Instagram-worthy design details.
Tettley said: “The stand became a true social media hotspot, with visitors snapping photos and filming TikToks at every corner: from our giant bottle cap photo moment to the naturally Insta-worthy design details and interactive elements woven into the space.”
Physical, real experiences were central to the process. Visitors had to crack codes for personalised merch and spin wheels to unlock surprise lockers. Sense kept tech minimal after research showed festival-goers crave nostalgic, tactile interactions.
Early results are strong: dwell time was noticeably higher, bar sales rose year-on-year, and 99% of surveyed visitors said they’d return. 80% described the activation as fun, 67% called it ‘great vibes’.
“We’ll be digging deeper into the full impact through our EMr tool, tracking ROI, brand equity, competitor behaviour and sales uplift,” Tettey said. She described the response as “high praise” from a “notoriously tough festival crowd”.
AEG selected the stand as the official launch spot for media and stakeholders ahead of the festival, with food and drink served and an exclusive live performance.
Tettey said: “This project reaffirmed two of our core principles: be human and sweat the details. Every design choice, every material and every interaction matters – there’s no room for ‘good enough’.”
What did they learn? “Keep helping clients to be brave enough to trust their agencies, to keep activations simple, human and real,” Tettey said.
Sense returns to Victoria Park next year with Madrí for festival activation 2.0.