Festival Event Marketing: How to Promote It Offline and Online

Festivals aren’t just about music, art, or food. They’re also huge business opportunities that can be realized with the help of smart marketing. In this article, we’ll talk about how to promote a festival both offline and online, using different materials and tools.

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Offline Materials: How to Attract Attention on the Spot

• Posters and Flyers

Posters and flyers are classic offline advertising. They should be bright, creative, and informative. Consider placing posters in places where your target audience often hangs out. These can be universities, cafes, clubs, as well as other events taking place in your city.

At the Coachella festival in California, organizers place posters in local music stores and popular cafes. This not only increases event awareness, but also helps build a local community around the festival.

• Uniquely Designed Tickets

Don’t forget about the tickets! They can be not only a pass to the event, but also a souvenir. Use unique designs and elements that can be saved. Consider partnering with local artists to create original designs.

The Burning Man Festival in Nevada is known for its unique tickets that not only give access to the event, but also become part of the participants’ collection.

• Promotional events

Host promotional events in the run-up to the festival. These can be small concerts, master classes, or competitions. This will create interest and involve people in the atmosphere of your festival. You can also hand out flyers and tickets at these events.

Fun fact: According to marketing research, 75% of people who participate in promotional events later come to the main event. For example, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival holds pre-festival jam sessions in various clubs around the city, which helps attract the crowd and create an atmosphere of anticipation.

• Souvenirs

Develop branded souvenirs: T-shirts, caps, bags, etc. These items can be sold at the festival and are a great way to spread the word about your event. People wear these items and become living advertising carriers.

At the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, you can see a lot of people wearing T-shirts with the festival logos, which helps to popularize the event and attract new visitors.

Using mockups is a great way to visualize your offline merch like hoodies, tote bags, and T-shirts before they go into mass production. Free mockups make it easy to create presentable images that can be used in marketing materials and on your festival website. You can customize the designs by adding logos, graphics, and text to create a unique style that will grab your audience’s attention. Not only do mockups help with developing visual content, but they also help test ideas to ensure the final product will be appealing and meet your attendees’ expectations. They are also ideal for showcasing concepts on social media platforms, which can greatly increase interest in your event.

Let’s Go Online: How To Conquer The Internet Space

• Social Media

Today, social media is a powerful tool for promotion. Create festival accounts on all major platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Regularly publish interesting content: announcements, videos from preparations, interviews with artists and participants, as well as memes and funny reels. These help so much to promote the festival.

The Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) festival actively uses Instagram to publish bright photos and videos from previous events. This not only creates anticipation but also increases ticket sales by 40% every year.

• Content Marketing

Create a blog or a section on the festival website where you will publish useful articles, interviews, and tips on preparing for the event. Not only will this drive traffic, but it will also help build a community around the festival. For example, you can write an article about how to prepare for the festival: what to pack, where to stay, etc.

Austin City Limits Festival regularly posts articles on its website about local musicians who will be performing at the event, as well as tips for relaxing in Austin. This creates additional interest and engages the audience.

• Video Marketing

Don’t forget about video! Create a promo video for the festival and post it on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. You can include interviews with participants and behind the scenes of the event. Visual content is very effective, as it quickly attracts attention and can be easily shared.

According to Cisco, by 2025, 82% of all Internet traffic will come from video.

• Email Marketing

Collect email databases and send out information about the festival, as well as special offers for subscribers. This could be a discount on tickets, access to closed events, or simply interesting facts about the festival.

Glastonbury Festival in the UK actively uses email newsletters to inform its subscribers about the start date of ticket sales and special promotions, which significantly increases interest in the event.

Combine both approaches for maximum effect. For example, at the festival, you can use QR codes on tickets that lead to pages with additional information about the event, as well as special promotions on social networks. How do you promote your festival currently?

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Wrap Up!

Festival marketing is the art of combining creativity and strategy. Using a variety of offline and online materials, you can attract more visitors and create an unforgettable atmosphere. The key is to constantly interact with the audience and create interesting content that will inspire and attract. Remember that in today’s world, a successful festival is one that is well thought out and vividly presented both in real life and online.