MUMBAI: Sensation White, synonymous with creativity and style, recently celebrated ‘Be Sensational’ as a tribute to the ultimate fans who are vivacious and experimental. The event "Sensation - Welcome to Pleasuredome" was held on 5 March, at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad, for the first time in India.

In an exclusive interview with Radioandmusic.com, General Manager, Sensation International -Brenda Munsterman, shares the idea behind bringing the brand to India, its strategy and the future plans.

How did the planning for Sensation India happen? What factors attracted the dance fiesta to come to India?

We wanted to come to India for some time already. India is one of the biggest countries in the world and the Indian crowd is known for its party enthusiasm. About five years ago, we came to India for the first time. Unfortunately, we were not able to find the right combination of city, venue and local partner to make it happen. This mainly had to do with the fact that we were only an indoor event back then. When we developed the 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome' show especially for outdoors, we could look into India again and so we did. 

India has many party hotspots, especially Goa, where a lot of dance festivals happen. You chose the very different city - Hyderabad. Why?

We indeed looked into several different cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Goa and eventually chose Hyderabad. Main reasons are Hyderabad being a well developed and well organized city, it has a young population, it is centrally located with a good airport. It is also a beautiful blend between cultural heritage and a modern city. The big Gachibowli Stadium fits our show perfectly and the Telangana Tourism Board and the local government have shown us a lot of support.  

We understand that Telangana government and local bodies have supported a lot for the event. Can you share some information about the kind of support extended by them?

Yes, we were very happy with the support from the local government and the Tourism Board and this was one of the main reasons we chose Hyderabad as the city for Sensation. The support came on different levels and in different fields -for example the local police force, but also from a media perspective where the Tourism Board supported us with out of home media and screens at the airport. 

Budweiser has been fantastic with their branding and marketing and we witnessed a strong  association between both brands. What was the strategy behind the brand integration?

We believe both Budweiser and Sensation are high quality brands that fit each other well. We had already worked with Budweiser related brands in other Sensation countries (like Bud Light), so knew what we could achieve together. Sensation wanted to enter the Indian market and was very happy to be able to partner up with Budweiser, already being a well established brand in India. 

There is a buzz in the industry about Sensation being confirmed till 2020. Can you share more information about the place and idea you have in mind?

When we go to a city, our intention is always to stay for the long-term. Our initial talks were indeed about the coming five years, so yes, that would mean up and till 2020. The first year is always a big test after which we decide on plans for the years to come. Hyderabad treated us very well. Of course we are going to evaluate this event first, but so far the results seem very positive. If all goes well the coming years, we might stay forever!

Will Budweiser continue to the title sponsor for the next four years?

We have not evaluated the event with Budweiser yet, so cannot say how they feel about this, but for us, this was a positive experience and we would love to talk with them about the coming years. 

The world is going digital and we know that many international festivals are being telecast live in India. Considering not many music fans can travel, will Sensation also be interested in digitally showcasing the event live at different venues?

This is not something we looked at before, but could be something we can discuss. To be honest we’d rather look into possibilities of making it easier for people to join us in Hyderabad and celebrate with us. 

Now that Sensation is in the league of the best music festivals in India, how will you make sure you will ensure differentiation for the brand year after year?

Sensation tours around the world with different shows. At this moment, we have five shows running. If you have seen one Sensation, you have not seen them all! We will surprise year after year and will bring a totally new show when it comes to decoration, acts, special effects and DJ line-up. We still have to decide what show themes we can bring to India in the years to come. Next to the new show theme, there are some unique elements that always stay the same. That is the quality of the production and of course, the unifying white dress code.