“Partnering this year with the Wynn Las Vegas to bring three of our events is really fantastic, stepping up our hospitality game as well as some amazing VIP packages and experiences,” Medium Rare co-founder Joe Silberzweig told Adweek.
The XS will also host SI the Party the Saturday night before the game, a Sports Illustrated nighttime event that features music from The Chainsmokers and Kygo.
Gronk Beach, hosted by Super Bowl winner Rob Gronkowski, began in 2020 and this year will take over the Wynn’s Encore Beach Club with featured musical guest Afrojack joined by DJ Irie and Dante.
Guy’s Flavortown Tailgate—Better With Pepsi is free for more than 10,000 fans. The celebrity chef will serve custom dishes, plus musical performances from country singer Dustin Lynch and DJ Diplo in the hours leading up to the game in a space behind the Linq just off the Strip.
Bringing in the brands
This is the sixth year Medium Rare has produced Super Bowl events, and each year its productions have gotten bigger, attracting more brands.
“We targeted the Super Bowl because clearly it’s the biggest weekend for sports entertainment of the year, but we saw it was underserved from an experiential standpoint where most of the events were for the super affluent and not for the general consumer,” said Silberzweig.
The agency wanted to insert fun for all into the Super Bowl experience, so they started with Shaq’s Fun House, proved the concept and grew with Gronk Beach. Guy Fieri was added along with the SI party, and all were designed to appeal to a wide audience. Fieri’s tailgate is free, while prices for the other events are accessible for most fans.
Medium Rare has seen increased demand from brands that want to be present at the Super Bowl weekend without being an official NFL partner and without paying $7 million for a 30-second commercial, and its celebrity partners offer a high profile way to connect with fans.
Not only do sponsors get their messages delivered at the events, they are able to amplify them through the followers of the celebrity hosts.
“It’s almost like getting a mini Super Bowl commercial, because Shaq is your ambassador on Super Bowl weekend and he’s out there in the media talking about it. He’s on social media, doing posts, doing content, talking about what he just did with your brand that Super Bowl weekend,” said Richman.
