Excel Gum is set to return to Montreal’s Osheaga music festival this weekend with its Refreshment Zone misting station. The brand’s relaunch is driven by a shift in overall strategy, prioritizing experiential activations and influencer partnerships in a bid to better engage with the coveted Gen Z demographic.

At the fest, Aug. 1 to 3, the Refreshment Zone will feature a large-scale refreshment environment including gigantic water sprays, calm chairs, branded portable fans, a photo opportunity with the brand’s French slogan and samples of Excel Refreshers. To further engage festival-goers, Excel will add surprise giveaways and social components around the zone.

The activation is part of a larger campaign that includes national earned media, influencer partnerships and real-time fan involvement. Middle Child managed public relations and XM; EssenceMediaCom handled media and sponsorships; and The Mars Agency handled in-store marketing.

Patrick Zeng, marketing director at Excel parent company Mars Canada, tells Media in Canada that, compared to previous years, the team is placing greater emphasis on IRL moments, such as immersive concert experiences, and leveraging social engagement through surprise rewards for attendees who share their Excel Gum experiences on social media. This strategy, Zeng explains, enables the brand to forge deeper connections with its target audience, which naturally gathers at live music events like Osheaga.

Through social listening on Reddit, Zeng says, the brand discovered that festival-goers were talking about the misting station that was launched at the event a few years ago, and that Gen Z users were craving cooling areas to beat the heat and stay comfortable between sets. “And we listened,” says Zeng, noting that the activation “reflects the refreshing sensation of the gum in a tangible way that, combined with tasting, creates a multi-sensory immersive experience.”

The company’s shift to IRL moments comes after it renewed its partnership with Live Nation Canada for 2025, promising to enhance the summer concert experience through a series of immersive activations called “Concert Confidence.”

That coincided with the brand’s new look, which included dynamic angles and bold colours intended to convey Excel’s confidence message. Last year, the brand promoted its new line of fruit-flavoured gum with its Fruity Chunes rooms at Osheaga and Toronto’s Veld festival (both on the first weekend in August), as well as at select concerts at Budweiser Stage .

According to the company, the activation drew 18,000 visitors over the two festivals, generating over 2.3 million earned social impressions from user-generated content created by attendees. When combined with campaign amplification efforts, the total impressions exceeded 13 million.

“Building on the success of those activations and our Live Nation partnership, this summer we’re further reinforcing Excel’s presence in the music scene with our ‘Concert Confidence’ activations,” Zeng says.

He adds that the company has a long history of working with live events, which are important because “music is one of the three chewing moments most closely associated with chewing gum consumption.”

Refreshment Zone builds on the company’s presence in the overall music scene, with earlier efforts like the “Study Beats” campaign, which is based on a Spotify playlist with sounds like a person chewing gum or popping blister packs of gum.

Throughout the year, Excel will continue to activate at Budweiser Stage with a Chew & Chill Patio. The space sports the brand’s new look, with bright blue chairs, logos and confidence-inspiring messaging, along with merchandising and ticket upgrades for other summer events.