Last week I wrote a recap about how BlackBerry bombed in its “love” for the band U2. At the end of that post I praised U2 both for putting on a great show and for giving it away for free on YouTube. Today I wanted to share the story of how a band at the other end of the musical spectrum, Phish, continues to draw loyal fans by adding fun experiences to the period leading up to its shows. Phish’s annual Halloween act shows how entertainment properties must keep their act fresh, and I believe there are lessons for any brand in how to be meaningful by just having fun with your fans.

Jessi Link, one of our search stars, clued me into the Phish Halloween experience recently and I was very impressed. Every year the band plays a “festival” in which it is the only band. It usually goes over a few days around Halloween and there is a buildup for very loyal fans around where they will play and what they will play.

For this, the 8th year, Phish decided to have a little more fun with their audience. The band started out by putting up a map of the U.S. and an announcement to “Save the Dates” of October 30 through November 1. On the Phish: Festival 8 website, the band gradually removed states from the map over a series of days to narrow down where they would actually be playing. Of course the removal had to be done in Phish style; for example, some were carried away by ants, others were turned over by Vanna White, and one floated off with a hot-air balloon. You can see one screenshot of the map in progress below. Eventually the state of California was unveiled as well as the specific venue: the Empire Polo Fields in the city of Indio.

But that was not the only suspense around the annual Phish fest. Another Halloween tradition of the band is to play what they call a “musical costume” each year, which is an entire set from another band’s specific album. Past show “costumes” have included The Who’s Quadrophenia and The Beatles White Album. Like the disappearing-states act, Phish put up 100 different albums on a virtual board and gradually “killed” them until there was only one “left alive.” After some teasing around Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Saturday night the band played The Rolling Stones’ 1972 double album, Exile on Main St.

Reports say that around 40,000 fans attended the Phish event Halloween night. Not bad for a band that has played thousands of times and doesn’t have a single major hit record or song. Instead, Phish plays great music for a loyal following, and understands that the more they have fun with their shows and their fans, the more successful they will be.