Maybe I’m a little bit behind, but I only recently heard about The Lake of Stars Festival in Malawi. Since 2004 the unique festival on the shores of Lake Malawi has raised money for charity and showcased the music of east and southern African artists and Western DJs (including this year’s line up featuring the likes of Gilles Peterson and Rob Da Bank). Fantastic. Given that sub-Saharan Africa is largely ‘off the map’ when it comes to global brand campaigns in entertainment/music I was interested to see who’s jumped on board. Particularly since the festival is also marketed to UK audiences. Looking at the website it seems brand involvement is rather small, and limited to traditional sponsorships from travel agencies, tour operators and an airline. If these sponsors add any value to the event in the form of ‘brand experiences’ I can’t tell. I can’t help but think that a festival like this, offering such an exceptional music experience, presents an incredible opportunity for a major brand to make its mark. Joy