As the Official Snack Partner of Edinburgh Fringe, the world's largest performing arts festival, Cheez-It is appealing to festival-goers with a city-wide Seize the Cheese this Fringe campaign. This activation to boost awareness and cultural relevance included sampling experiences, a large-scale installation at Waverley station, and a challenge to find the Cheeziest Joke of the Fringe.
To center cheesiness and comedy, the campaign invites performers to submit their cheesiest joke so that a panel of judges can whittle down the submissions to five finalists, and festival-goers can vote for their favorite by scanning QR codes scattered across the city. Ultimately, on the 14th of August, one comedian will be the recipient of the Cheeziest joke of the Fringe trophy for their humor and wit.
City-Wide Comedy Campaigns
Cheez-It's Seize the Cheese this Fringe Activates Festival-Goers
Trend Themes
-
Festival-embedded Snacking — Snack brands gain cultural relevance when product sampling is woven into high-traffic entertainment moments, creating new value through contextual trial and shared audience experiences.
-
Participatory Comedy Marketing — Audience voting, performer submissions, and branded joke competitions turn passive sponsorships into interactive cultural platforms with measurable engagement potential.
-
City-wide QR Activations — Distributed QR codes across urban festival environments connect physical discovery with digital participation, expanding location-based marketing into scalable real-time engagement systems.
Industry Implications
-
Snack Foods — Packaged food companies can differentiate beyond flavor by aligning with humor, festivals, and communal experiences that make snacking part of the entertainment narrative.
-
Live Events — Festivals and cultural venues benefit from branded activations that add playful participation layers while generating sponsorship revenue and audience data.
-
Experiential Marketing — Agencies specializing in immersive brand campaigns can build stronger impact through city-scale installations, interactive contests, and hybrid physical-digital touchpoints.