For The Love (FTL) has been pushing the boundaries of what event brands are capable of since they first began. Underlining all FTL events is the brand’s genuine values and love for what they do. FTL blend positive vibes, music, fashion and even lifestyle into a vision of ‘enabling you to experience high profile artists and create unforgettable summer moments at iconic locations around the world’, and they do it well. One such event was the most recent Melbourne edition with Flight Facilities.
“It went better than I could have ever imagined. Everything fell into place and the brand really came to life – the weather was perfect, Flight Facilities Decade DJ set was amazing and our fashion partners Nana Judy holding their 10-year anniversary brought that high profile personality to the mix and was the icing on the cake for the event,” says FTL director Ben Tucker.
While Ben seems to be living the dream – combining music and travel as a career – it wasn’t an easy path to make that a reality. There were a few set backs on his journey but he chose to learn and grow from these experiences rather than let them defeat him. His path eventually collided with Tom Caw and the directors from Beyond The Valley and the rest is history.
“It came to a point in my career where I loved hospitality and I loved entertaining people but there was limitations with venues and I had a desire for more,” Tucker says.
“My vision with my previous business partners for events wasn’t the same. I just thought, ‘Stuff it, I’m going to go off and do my own thing’. And like most entrepreneurs I expected to nail the vision on my first one, but it didn’t quite hit the mark. There were a few issues and I needed to go back to the drawing board. It was a hit to my confidence but I knew that if I backed myself and pushed through it would pay off.
“And it did… in the last year we have seen over 10,000 attendees across three countries headlined by Flight Facilities, Hayden James and now Duke Dumont. I’ve been really lucky to work with incredible companies and brands like Life Without Andy and Nana Judy and it’s kept me very humble and very driven,” Tucker says.
Just by having a quick glance on social media, it becomes apparent that FTL are killing it in all aspects. Ben prides himself on his digital marketing and what he is able to encapsulate through the content.
“The FF event that we ran earlier this year sold out over 5000 people within three weeks,” he says. “Yes the act has a lot to do with this of course, but our connection to our audience through emotive marketing is a huge factor. Instead of telling them how ‘cool’ we are and that they need to buy tickets to our event, we focus on highlighting what our audience can expect to feel, the moments they will experience and the memories they will walk away with. And because it comes from a genuine place of wanting to add value to peoples lives, it works.”
FTL struck a chord with MTV early on, which was a big deal for the Melbourne brand. It gave the company the chance to branch out internationally and reinforced their core values, with Tucker confessing: “They’re a media giant, so having them notice and then want to work with us was very humbling. They were amazing to work with and I learnt a lot from that experience.”
Since that pairing FTL has been growing rapidly, continuing to work with high profile brands, artists and having already expanded to Bali and Los Angeles.
“Bali and LA feel like a second home to me. I just thought they were two very iconic locations that were easily accessible by Australians as well. The lifestyle and culture of both locations suit the FTL brand perfectly,” he says.
Although Tucker has already achieved a lot with FTL, he has bigger visions for the future. He wants to consolidate the brand’s image in its current locations, and team up with the governments – rather than just collaborating with artists, brands and media.
“Another crazy vision of mine is to turn FTL from a music and lifestyle event into a global entertainment and lifestyle company by working with the government tourism boards at the locations we hold our events at,” he beams.
“We‘re currently in talks with the Indonesian Government to create a beautiful and engaging tourism campaign around Bali and Indonesia and have the event as the entertainment aspect that will be marketed to a worldwide platform. It’s an exciting concept that really resonates with our vision, and if we pull it off, we will be adding value to the lives of millions which is my ultimate goal.”
Check out For The Love on social media to find out what they’re up to next.
Written by Chelsea King