Most festivals use some mix of professional staff and volunteer workers to run their event. Finding the right balance between professional and volunteer staff depends on the size and culture of your event and can be a process of trial and error. Unfortunately, when event safety and event security are at stake, there is little […]
From the Experts: Making Volunteers the Lifeblood of Your Festival Read More »
The city of Chicago has one of the most thriving summer festival scenes in the United States. On any given weekend, neighborhoods will be brought together in collective rejoice around eating, drinking, or dancing as they make the most of the city’s few short months of great weather. This past weekend, Chicagoans were spoiled with
5 Reasons We Love Chicago Blues Festival Read More »
There was a time when the idea of corporate sponsorship for a concert or festival would have seemed absolutely horrifying. Back when rock ‘n’ roll was still counterculture, people actually bought music, and flower crowns weren’t retro, there was no such thing as brand presence at concerts. Michael Jackson’s Bad tour in 1983 completely changed
“Every festival has a huge lineup these days, and when you’re competing with somewhere like Ibiza, which hosts every big DJ in the world every weekend, you have to work your unique value propositions.” – Ross Gardiner, Black Circle Media Marketing a destination festival effectively comes with a unique set of challenges, and a considerably
More Than Music: How to Market a Destination Music Festival Read More »
We Know Festivals. The Reykjavik-based Aussie founded one of the first social media marketing companies in the world back in 2007, and since then has worked with entertainment agencies like Warner Music, Paramount Pictures, and EMI, and now in the festival sphere with Secret Solstice, Lost Paradise, The Ark, Ostend Beach, Rampage, and many others.
No Messy Transaction Cancellations Mean You Make What You Sell In the past, it was possible for credit card transactions to be made on site only for the account to turn out to be maxed out or overdrawn. The result: you get stiffed and the customer walks away with a tray of beers. Whether that
4 Advantages of Cashless Payments Read More »
Running a festival in a city is an entirely different beast than taking over a field in a rural area. The number of potential obstacles—ranging from angry neighbors to unresponsive mayors—can seem on the surface to be unreasonable and impossible to surmount. But the civic landscape can offer incredible diversity and potential if you have
MASTERCLASS: Decibel Founder Sean Horton on How to Throw an Inner City Festival Read More »
Red Bull ushered in an era when brands would fund projects and events that made them look cool in the eyes of the consumer, and the “soft sell” approach became the mantra of marketing. And while consumers continue to be turned off by tacky logos emblazoned on the side of buildings, many companies still haven’t
Ultimately, it all comes down to ticket sales. You can have the most innovative social strategy, a forward thinking and enticing lineup, excellent vendors and well oiled infrastructure, but if you come short on your ticket sales, the event is going to fail and you’re going to be shouldering a significant burden. There are so
5 Simple Ways to Seriously Beef Up Your Ticket Sales Read More »
