PLAYING WITH FYRE

Deepti Aravapalli, Matthew Watanabe, Veda Yagnik

PLAYING WITH FYRE

Deepti Aravapalli, Matthew Watanabe, Veda Yagnik

LET’S MEET THE CAST
The FYRE Team

BILLY MCFARLAND JA RULE GRANT MARGOLIN

LET’S MEET THE CAST
Tangential Players

KENDALL JENNER OREN AKS KEITH THE PILOT

LET’S MEET THE CAST
Affected Players

MARYANN ROLLE CALVIN WELLS TREVOR DEHAAS

BACKGROUND
Timeline of Events

2013
Billy McFarland starts
Magnises, meeting Ja
Rule in the process
BACKGROUND
Timeline of Events
2016
McFarland and Ja leave
Magnises to found Fyre
Media and the Fyre App; Fyre
Festival is born
2016
FYRE hires Jerry Media
as their official marketing
agency. They also bring on
Keith and Grant.
BACKGROUND
Timeline of Events

2016 Jan 2017

FYRE pays to have some of A promotional video is
the world’s biggest models released; the infamous
come to the Bahamas for a orange tile campaign goes
party/shoot. viral. FYRE nearly sell out.
BACKGROUND
Timeline of Events

Feb-Apr 2017 Feb-Apr 2017

Keith and other FYRE FYRE “hires”
members bring up hundreds of local
potential issues. workers on Great
Exuma to work on
the festival.
BACKGROUND
Timeline of Events

Feb-Apr 2017 Feb-Apr 2017

Festival rumors Jerry Media/FYRE
surface; Fyre Fraud delete questions/
launches on Twitter comments on social
media.

FYRE FEST
Billy McFarland
Subtitle

WHO IS BILLY
MCFARLAND?
ENTREPRENEUR
VISIONARY
 LIAR
SERIAL FRAUDSTER
BILLY’S PSYCHOLOGY

DESIRE FOR STATUS

PERPETUAL LIAR

UNABLE TO ADMIT FAILURE

DECEPTIVELY CHARISMATIC
BILLY MCFARLAND JA RULE
MAGNISES
The Millennial Black Card

TOWNHOUSE ACCESS COMMUNITY EXCLUSIVE OFFERS

MAGNISES
The Millennial Black Card

TOWNHOUSE ACCESS COMMUNITY EXCLUSIVE OFFERS

MAGNISES
NYC’s Most Exclusive Credit Card
MAGNISES
The Millennial Black Card

TOWNHOUSE ACCESS COMMUNITY EXCLUSIVE OFFERS

 UBER FOR
BOOKING TALENT
BREAKDOWN
How We’re Going to Analyze the FYRE Scandal

1 MARKETING

2 OPERATIONS

3 FALLOUT
MARKETING
MILLENNIALS
The Consumer

1981 1996
GENERATION Y
91 Million
Millennials in the US
Millennials You
Might Know
$40,000
> $100,000

64% of Millennials
$1 trillion
/year in US consumer spending
75%
of Millennials
30%
engage with a brand on social media
at least once a month
 MILLENIALS ARE MORE LIKELY TO…

• follow a brand on social media before purchasing

The best way to market

• spend on a brand they had an exchange with on social media
to millennials is through strong
online reviews and photos.
• purchase from a brand they follow online
INFL U ENCERS
“FYRE STARTERS”
Fyre Influencers
Subtitle
ORANGE TILE
CAMPAIGN
$125,000
$250,000
THE ISSUE WITH
INFLUENCERS
OPERATIONS
KICKED OFF THE ISLAND
NO INFRASTRUCTURE
UNLIVABLE TENTS
SELLING VILLAS THAT DIDN’T
EXIST
LYING TO INVESTORS
LYING TO CAROLA JAIN
WITHHOLDING PAY
FYRE BAND
MISTREATING LOCALS
FALLOUT
D U M P S T E R
EXPECTATION vs
REALITY
EXPECTATION
REALITY
 Pablo
Escobar’s
Island!

EXPECTATION
REALITY
“SECURITY” “CONCIERGE”
EXPECTATION
REALIITY
EXPECTATION
REALITY

Food
EXPECTATION
REALITY
REALITY
EXPECTATION
 REALITY

ALYSSA LYNCH

AUSTIN MILLS
$26 million
Lost By Investors and Consumers
SO THEN WHAT
HAPPENED?
FALLOUT
Penalties and Lawsuits

May 1, 2017 $100 million class-action lawsuit is filed

Second class action lawsuit is filed

May 2, 2017
Fyre issues cease and desist letters to critics

May 4, 2017 Third suit is cites negligence and fraud

June 30, 2017 McFarland arrested

October 11, 2018 McFarland sentenced to 6 years in prison

April 24, 2018 Grant Margolin (CMO) is penalized by the SEC

 HAS RECEIVED A LOT
OF SUPPORT

“FRAMED” BY FYRE

ESSENTIALLY BOOTED
OUT BY JERRY MEDIA

MOVED ABROAD AND

STARTED FRESH

OREN AKS
 BASICALLY NO
CONSEQUENCES

IS ACTUALLY IN
THE PROCESS OF
STARTING A NEW
MUSIC FESTIVAL

JA RULE
LOCAL IMPACT
• Exuma Point Go Fund Me
LIQUOR TAXES
TOURISM GROWTH
RECOMMENDATIONS
What We Would Do Differently

- More Regulations (whistle blower process)

- Stricter punishments for everyone involved

- Mechanisms to Pay People Back

- Third parties involved should not be allowed to start more

businesses? Ja Rule’s new festival?

- Stricter Advertising Regulations

- Accountability for people who promote things

PLAYING WITH FYRE

Deepti Aravapalli, Matthew Watanabe, Veda Yagnik

 SOURCES
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/music-festivals/7777047/fyre-festival-timeline-fiasco

https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/television/fyre-festival-the-story-behind-the-world-s-greatest-party-that-never-happened-1.818165

https://www.vogue.com/article/i-went-to-the-fyre-festival-tell-all

https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-expectations-vs-reality-2017-4#before-his-sentencing-in-october-mcfarlands-attorney-randall-
jackson-asked-the-judge-to-give-him-a-lighter-sentence-citing-a-psychiatrist-report-that-said-he-was-diagnosed-with-a-bipolar-related-disorder-
29

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fyre-festival-organizer-billy-mcfarland-sentenced-6-years-fraud-charges-n919086

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/11/arts/music/fyre-festival-organizer-sentenced-fraud.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-founder-billy-mcfarland-bio-profile-2019-1

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/18/how-fyre-festivals-organizer-scammed-investors-out-of-26-million.html

https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-fyre-festival-founder-billy-mcfarlands-first-big-millennial-scam

https://www.gq.com/story/billy-mcfarland-comeback-kid

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/04/29/the-founder-of-the-disastrous-fyre-festival-has-a-history-of-
overpromising-elite-access/

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/blink-182-kendall-jenner-emily-ratajkowski-lawsuit-fyre-festival

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/06/fyre-festival-billy-mcfarland-millennial-marketing-fiasco

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/18/how-fyre-festivals-organizer-scammed-investors-out-of-26-million.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/01/535163332/organizer-of-failed-bahamas-musical-festival-arrested-for-fraud

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/01/526392280/fyre-festival-hit-with-100-million-suit-organizer-says-we-were-a-little-naive