Victorian dance music festival Beyond The Valley has launched its 2026 campaign, ‘Fortune Favours The Curious’, placing the festival inside a fictional television universe dubbed the B.TV Network.
This marks the third year running Untitled Group, which organises the festival, has built its launch around a narrative concept rather than straight festival footage.
The launch video centres on ‘Beyond The Briefcase’, a game show pitting two teams against each other to win the BTV briefcase. In its final frames, the video teases the first name on the 2026 lineup: Dutch artist Ki/Ki, sound tracked by a snippet of her track What’s a Girl to Do in ’25.
As ever, the festival is set to take place over the new year period.
Two years ago the festival launched with the ‘Life In Technicolour’ campaign, a nod to Pleasantville and The Wizard of Oz. Last year’s ‘The Great Escape’ leaned into the idea of “corporate dystopia” — an idea to which we simply cannot relate at B&T. Both stayed grounded in the real world.
This year takes the next step, moving past the act of escaping and into what BTV conceives of as a post-escape world.
This format shift has let Untitled Group “paint a picture and give people something to connect to,” senior marketing manager Steph Mrmacoski told B&T.
“‘Fortune Favours The Curious’ is about being that active participant in your life. Fortune is what you get when you participate and say yes to things,” Mrmacoski said.
That philosophy extends beyond the launch video itself. Fans can sign up for presale access to play Beyond The Briefcase online, a new interactive game show format that will drip-feed lineup Easter eggs and festival news, alongside five BTV experience packages up for grabs.
It’s an evolution from last year’s Birthday Trail, the scavenger hunt built around the festivals tenth anniversary.
Partner tie-ins are also woven through the game. Trendy hiking shoe brand Salomon gets a nod in the spot via the game show’s runner character, a call-back to the BTV Run Club activation. When it was announced, the Run Club raised eyebrows, but proved successful.
“It is a world within a world, and that world, of course, has a run club,” Mrmacoski said.
Eight briefcases will be won across the campaign period, each built around the festival’s different partners including Bunnings, Triple J and The Daily Aus.
While the campaign’s creative idea is interesting and fun, it still needs to perform. Driving pre-sale purchases is essential for the festival — and essential for punters to avoid disappointment.
Last year, BTV “sold out within an hour,” of the full lineup being announced on 21 August according to Mrmacoski.
That said, scarcity remains a powerful motivator of consumer sentiment and action. That scarcity plays a role in driving pre-sale sign ups.
On-site, the ‘Fortune Favours The Curious’ theme will extend into two expanded activation zones, ‘Main Street’ and ‘Downtown BTV’, alongside the returning Valley Stage, The Dance Dome and the Dr Dan’s stage. There is also a new area for attendees to enjoy, The Woods. Mrmacoski described it as a stage but “not in the traditional way that you might think of it”.
Bunnings is set to return “bigger” than last year, according to BTV. Salomon, meanwhile, is set to build on last year’s much-discussed Run Club with the introduction of ‘Base Camp’, a Main Street destination for energy restoration.
Festival favourites will also return, led by The Lounge Room alongside The Daily Aus’ podcast programming. POOF DOOF, which bills itself as Australia’s favourite queer party brand, will also return to Downtown BTV with ‘Cirque Du Slay’, serving nightly DJ sets, drag icons and the ‘Yummy Crew’. The Palms Pool House and The Sanctuary, the festival’s quieter areas, will also return.
Jack Daniel’s House Party will return with “extra surprises” and Red Bull’s ‘Unforeseen’ has promised attendees a hidden party. The Smirnoff Schmall Klub will be back for its third year running with a new twist. The Daily Aus will join Beyond The Valley as the official pre-sale partner.
“Starting the next decade of Beyond The Valley is something our whole team is incredibly excited about. Selling out our 10th anniversary edition in under an hour was a milestone moment we won’t forget, and a true reflection of the incredible community that has grown with us over the past decade. We genuinely cannot wait to share what we have in store,” said Untitled Group co-founder and managing partner Filippo Palermo.
Accommodation spans general and premium camping, pre-pitched tents, and lux camp packages across classic, deluxe, ultra deluxe and the returning signature tier. Festival entry tickets are available in four-day, three-day, two-day, NYE-only and single-day options, with ticket and car pass bundles also returning.
Beyond The Briefcase was conceived in-house, with production company Enamoured Iris handling execution.
