A new record built together.
Our third year powering UNTOLD 2026
Our third year powering UNTOLD 2026
UNTOLD, Europe’s largest music festival and third-best festival in the world, needed to convert a record-breaking 2026 edition into unstoppable momentum for 2027.
Together with the UNTOLD team, our data-led paid media strategy and real-time campaign management helped sell 40,000 Star Edition passes in record time, with two sell-outs in 24 hours.
4 days & 9 stages
24 hours
festival’s history
Four days, nine stages, one goal
UNTOLD is the world’s third-best festival, held every August in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Since 2015, it has grown into a four-day, nine-stage spectacle drawing hundreds of thousands of fans from across the globe.
Ahead of the 2026 edition, our third year as their digital partner, the goal was clear: turn festival-scale data into precise, real-time marketing decisions.
Driving 2026 sales,
launching 2027
With over 500,000 attendees across 4 days and 9 stages, UNTOLD’s marketing ecosystem spans dozens of channels (social, paid media, influencers, PR, and ticketing), each generating its own stream of data.
The challenge was twofold: sell out the 2026 edition while simultaneously engineering a flawless, high-velocity launch for UNTOLD 2027 Star Edition, all without losing momentum in the final, most unpredictable days before the festival.
“Our challenge was never a lack of data—it was the sheer volume of it. UNTOLD generates information across dozens of channels at once: social, paid media, influencers, PR, ticketing, each with its own stream. We needed someone who could turn all of that into clear, on-the-spot decisions. Before working with Grapefruit, the hardest part was maintaining a single, unified view of performance and reacting in real time, especially in those final, most intense days before the festival.
What made us continue the collaboration with Grapefruit was the results, and the way they work. After the first years, we already trusted that the Grapefruit team understood the rhythm of a festival the size of UNTOLD, and that they don’t just execute, they think strategically alongside us. Continuity mattered to us: a team that already knows the product, the audience, and the way we work can deliver far faster and more precisely. This year, the challenge was even bigger: sell out the 2026 edition while flawlessly launching UNTOLD 2027 Star Edition. We needed an on-site partner we could count on for both.”
Data to decisions, side by side
We partnered with the UNTOLD team on cross-channel data analysis, translating it into real-time action. Our team built a segmented audience strategy with tailored creative and messaging for every phase of the campaign, briefed the creative teams (photo, video, design) to keep every touchpoint on-brand, and coordinated paid media execution across the full funnel.
But some decisions can’t be made from a distance. For the entire festival week, we had two dedicated team members on-site at UNTOLD’s office in Cluj-Napoca, working shoulder to shoulder with the client’s team.
Irina Petrea (Data Analyst & Marketing Manager) tracked marketing performance against objectives on a daily basis, while Anca Mitrica (Digital Strategist & Business Development Manager) focused on driving sales. Together, a single, integrated dashboard pulled together social, paid, influencer, PR and ticketing data every day, giving the team the evidence to make calls like reviving a paused campaign at the right moment.
There’s a different kind of energy when you’re right in the middle of it. Being on the ground meant feeling the festival build, hour by hour, alongside the people who make it happen, and reacting the moment the data called for it, not a day later.
That closeness, that shared rhythm between our team and UNTOLD’s, is what turned a strategy on paper into decisions made in real time.
“The way of working with the Grapefruit team is very close and transparent. We worked from a single integrated dashboard that pulled together social, paid, influencer, PR, and ticketing data every day, and the Grapefruit team reported findings and recommendations to us daily. This was also a first for us: we used AI as a tool to bring reporting together across all channels, turning scattered data into a single, clear, real-time picture.
During festival week, we had two of their people right on-site, working shoulder to shoulder with us.
The chemistry on-site was exactly what we wanted. Anca and Irina were simply wonderful—they didn’t feel like external support, but like two of our own, living the project 100%. A shared rhythm formed between the two teams, and a level of trust you simply can’t build from a distance.”
Two tracks, one rhythm
Execution ran on two parallel tracks:
- For UNTOLD 2026, our team monitored the integrated dashboard daily throughout the sales period, reporting findings and recommendations to the client’s marketing team every single day. In the final week before the festival, we spotted an opportunity in campaigns the team had already considered closed, and made the call to reactivate two of them, unlocking meaningful last-minute revenue.
- For the UNTOLD 2027 Star Edition launch, we designed and coordinated the full paid media rollout around the reveal moment, with audience segments, creative, and messaging pre-built for each phase of the drop. Close, daily collaboration between our strategy team, the client’s marketing department, and creative partners kept every channel aligned from reveal to sellout.
“Grapefruit doesn’t just execute a brief—they think alongside us, own the outcome, and show up exactly when it matters most, right beside us on the most intense days of the year. They’re a true extension of our team, and we genuinely mean that.”
Breaking records together
The numbers speak for themselves. UNTOLD 2026 welcomed over 500,000 attendees across 4 days and 9 stages. The reactivated campaigns generated significant, unplanned revenue in the festival’s final days. And the UNTOLD 2027 Star Edition launch became the strongest in the festival’s history: 40,000 passes sold, two sell-outs in 24 hours, half of a two-week sales target reached on day one, and nearly 51% of sales attributed directly to paid media in under 24 hours.
- For UNTOLD 2026 - One Edition: 500,000+ attendees, 4 days, 9 stages
- For UNTOLD 2027 - Star Edition: 40,000 passes sold in a record time from reveal
- 50% of a two-week sales target reached in the first 24 hours
- ~51% of sales driven by paid media in first 24 hours
- Two reactivated campaigns generated meaningful last-minute 2026 revenue
“The UNTOLD 2027 Star Edition launch was one of the strongest in the festival’s history: 40,000 passes sold in record time, two sell-outs in 24 hours, and half of a two-week sales target reached on day one. Just as important was the moment at the end of the 2026 campaign, when the team spotted an opportunity in campaigns we’d assumed were finished and decided to reactivate two of them, unlocking meaningful last-minute revenue. That kind of decision, made at exactly the right moment, is what makes the difference.”
The UNTOLD perspective
Răzvan BotezatuChief Growth Officer, UNTOLDGrapefruit team perspective
“Three years of collaboration with UNTOLD, and I’m still amazed by what we manage to achieve together! For Grapefruit, UNTOLD is a strategic partner with whom we break records and set new standards year after year.
Being with the team, right at the heart of the action in Cluj, reconfirmed for me that this project’s success is built on a huge collective effort.
I was impressed by the mobilization power behind the festival: seeing over 100 specialists from multiple companies, part of the event’s content team, working side by side 24/7 and adapting instantly to live requirements, is a clear example of synergy, dedication, and professionalism. For us, this on-site collaboration was a powerful catalyst and a valuable experience that, in day-to-day work, you might otherwise gather over an entire year.
I want to thank UNTOLD for being an extraordinary partner with whom we work as a single team.”
“We’ve worked with UNTOLD for years, but being there in person is a different experience altogether. You feel things in real time and react instantly to whatever comes our way, whether it’s an unplanned idea or an unexpected challenge. Our chemistry as a team goes beyond the screen, and this year in Cluj proved it once again.
We were all in the room together, looking at the data, when we spotted a trend from the previous few weeks and decided to act immediately. That’s how we reactivated two campaigns, and by lunchtime, everything was implemented. Sitting down physically with the whole team means you see things faster, and you move faster.
Being part of the world’s third-best festival means everything we do is ambitious by default. It’s not a matter of “ifs” but always a matter of “hows,” and that’s exactly why we believe in the power of dedicated teams.
I’m proud of every target we hit, but what I’m proudest of is the relationship of trust we’ve built over the years with UNTOLD. They welcomed us with open arms. We became one team, and we know from experience: you only go the extra mile when everyone is aligned around the same goal.”
“UNTOLD is the third-best festival in the world, which means information about it is spread across multiple channels. Day by day, we tracked our progress against our 2026 objectives, flagged any areas that seemed to be stalling, and correlated data across multiple streams to make quick decisions. My end goal was to keep the big picture in sight across UNTOLD’s channels and help the team achieve its targets.
Being physically there meant we were in the middle of it together: shoulder to shoulder through the celebrations, the debates, and the last-minute changes in approach. You are fully immersed, mind, body, and soul, and you can actually see and feel the impact of your work as it happens, not after the fact or just in a daily meeting.
Coordinating so many live communication channels during the festival’s peak days requires complete alignment. Working side by side with the UNTOLD team made cross-channel management seamless and kept our messaging consistent, even when the stakes were highest.
Beyond setting new records and achieving each objective, what made this collaboration so special was the relationship we built with the UNTOLD team. They were so welcoming and open to our ideas from day one that we felt like we were part of their team, making every step along the way feel truly shared.”
The partnership continues
“We’re glad to take the collaboration further, into the 2027 edition and into new projects across our wider portfolio. And we’re doing it with real confidence, knowing we have people beside us who will support us and help us grow every step of the way.”
This is only the beginning. Following UNTOLD 2026’s success and the record-setting 2027 launch, we’re proud to continue and expand our partnership with UNTOLD, extending into 2027 and into new projects across the client’s wider portfolio.
Stay tuned: what’s coming next promises to be even more impactful.
Ready to build your next success story? Let’s talk.