Google Sundance

Here’s the plot: in modern day America, two excited Selffee team members journey to a faraway location, a quaint mountain ski village in the Wasatch mountain range in Northern Utah.  They have been challenged by a corporate contractor to liven up its promotional event. Armed with two printers, a case of gourmet vanilla bean marshmallows, two cases of sugar cookies, gallons and gallons of hot cocoa, their voracious appetite for making people smile and a can-do attitude unmatched by their contemporary peers, the duo rides into town looking for the chance to expose eager indie film connoisseurs to the joy of eating their own face.

                                   

There’s a blockbuster hit waiting to happen!

That’s right folks, next stop on the Selffee train was the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the premier independent film festival in the United States.  With so many talented artists, filmmakers, actors and actresses at this magnificent event, the Selffee team knew it had to bring its best performance to stand out.  But it was certainly up to the task.

After such a massive success at the Google Flatiron popup in Midtown Manhattan just a month prior, the good folks at Google brought out the Selffee team for another exquisite activation.  Repurposing the Church Public House at the corner of Park and Heber avenues in Park City, the Google folks transformed the old restaurant and pub into the YouTube house, which would feature a multitude of events, screenings and parties over the span of the festival.  And we must say, once again, the folks at Google know how to put on a quality activation.

Inside the space was a tri-level orientation, with a main entry way and lounge area to start, a recessed bar space with two separate bars on either side, and an upstairs balcony seating area with full length glass windows for sensational views of the surrounding mountains and falling snow.  This chic, modern lodge was an ideal location and environment for the Selffee squad to showcase its own unique talents and creative storytelling--with Selfie Marshmallows and Selfie Cookies.

The Google folks put us behind one of the two bars in the main space on the first level, opposite the other bar serving food and drinks.  Our set up fit perfectly on the main bar surface, giving the guests an up-close-and-personal look at the world’s only Edible Photo Booth.

On the first day, we prepared our famous Selfie Marshmallows.  As tends to happen before folks understand just what the Selffee team is there to do, the guests showed some hesitation before approaching the bar.  But once a marshmallow or two was printed and dropped down into some hot cocoa, the word spread quickly, and the rush for the Edible Selfies was on.

And the two-man Selffee Squad was more than ready when it came.  With one team member snapping photos and processing them through the computer, and the other placing marshmallows on the printers and preparing the hot chocolate, the duo printed Selfie Marshmallows and poured hot cocoa for tons of guests in the span of about two hours while guests milled about the beautiful space or sat in on a photo editing workshop.  We didn’t stop moving during the entire two hours, totally in the zone of getting people their custom treats as quickly as we could given that the line started to extend to the entrance. The excitement from the guests was palpable.

The second day’s event was a bit smaller, but held the same enthusiasm for the Selffee custom treats, as the YouTube house held a private event featuring the actors, actresses, and producers of one of the year’s films.  But word of the Edible Selfies had spread, and demonstrating its versatility and adaptability to a client’s needs, we got to work printing our Selfie Cookies for the guests who flocked to the Selffee bar. The three hour afternoon event flew by as the Selffee team, once again, brought its playful, engaging banter, as well as its usual dedication to hard work and focus on the customer experience.

The two days at Sundance was a supremely enjoyable experience in sharing our Edible Selfies with film fest attendees.  As fans and supporters of independent films, the festival goers are attuned to spot the difference between the fake and the authentic, between poor and high quality.  And it was obvious from the response that the guests of the Google / YouTube house could sense the authentic joy of the Selffee team, and that they loved the high quality photos that appeared on the marshmallows and cookies over the two days.  In fact, the Selffee energy was flowing so purely that one guest even asked to work for Selffee on the spot because he loved the energy and the vibe of the Selffee team so much. And the answer is: yes! We did bring him on to work future events with Selffee!  

We loved seeing someone as excited to spread the Selffee love as we always are, and we were even more excited to bring in a newcomer to the Selffee family who obviously shared the same passion for genuine human connection, lighthearted fun and simply making people smile.  It was not surprising to find such a connection at an event like the Sundance Film Festival. And the Selffee story that unfolded was a beautiful tale indeed.

The snow fell heavily as the duo rode out of Park City.  The film festival a success, and the intended smiles delivered, they watched the mountains fade into the distance.  

“Will we be back next time?” one asked.

“I don’t know, my friend,” replied the other.  “But we’ve got work to do in the meantime. There are thousands, maybe millions of folks out there who do not yet know the joy of eating their own face.  We have to do everything in our power to bring that to them.”

WIth that, they rode off into the sunset, hearts full and heads held high.