The eighth annual UT Social Media Week will include a session on the much-hyped and failed Fyre Festival.
Leo Morejon, an adjunct instructor at West Virginia University, will speak on the work of Fyre Media at his session, “The Fyre Festival—They Couldn’t Even Spell Fire Correctly,” at 5:05 p.m. Thursday, February 28, in Patrick Auditorium, Communications Building Room 321.
The Fyre Festival was a 2017 “luxury music festival” founded by Billy McFarland, CEO of Fyre Media Inc., and rapper Ja Rule. It was heavily promoted by celebrities who are social media influencers. The festival ended up being indefinitely postponed, and the organizers have been sued multiple times.
This year, documentaries on Hulu and Netflix have rekindled conversations about the festival fiasco.
Morejon said he sees teaching lessons in the festival’s marketing.
“The Fyre Festival has brought a lot of attention to influencer marketing and online marketing in general—and not all of it good,” Morejon said. “As a marketer, I want to shed light on the positive side of things and give people a different perspective for them to think about.”
Morejon is an award-winning sales leader, speaker, content creator, and educator known for his work as a pioneer in real-time social media including the Oreo Super Bowl blackout tweet and a campaign for the most likes on Facebook in a 24-hour period.
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CONTACT:
Amanda Pruitt (akpruitt@utk.edu, 865-974-6727)
Amy Blakely (ablakely@utk.edu, 865-974-5034)