Spring should be a time for cleaning out the old and swinging for the fences. In todays blog post we are highlighting a new festival that is stealing hearts and scoring runs!
Spring forward by injecting creativity into your next event.
I love the creativity of this event. New events make me feel alive again!
Last year I came across a new event that is showcasing baseball legends and live music. Two great combinations. Innings Festival is promoting National Headliners, baseball legends, and the upcoming season. On top of all this they are featuring one of my favorite bands! Hot diggity dog this sounds fun!
You don’t have to be a baseball fan to appreciate the freshness of this event. Each year we see the same happenings take place. The 12th Annual Seafood Festival. The Blues & BBQ Festival. The 18th Annual Art Show & Craft Fair. These staple events have been around for years and we enjoy them. But some years we need something new. Like the Innings Festival.
“Put me in coach, I am ready to play.”
When I consult corporations or event managemnet teams. My initial step is to gather insight. From there I try and figure out how we can make this event stand out.
Let’s take a look at what the process looks like. The first step is to find out what the main theme of the event is?
Once we do this we ask one simple question.
Why are you putting this event on? For marketing , revenue or a passion project?
Here is an example. Bars and restaurants feature St.Patrick themed parties. The reason being…. because they know it’s a big day and generates great revenue. By establishing the why we can then work on creating an event that stands out.
Let’s take a look at a past conversation from one of our clients.
Our client wanted to throw a Blues Festival.
Why the Blues? “It’s popular” “People always ask for the Blues.” “It has a draw.”
We’ve received this response before and from a business perspective it makes sense. But we want to help the client leave at lasting impression, to do this we need to add some flavor into the mix. The first thing we will do is draw up a mind map. You can do this on a dry erase board or have all your team members or marketing department make their own.
Our results looked like this.
The festival will offer
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live music ( blues, jazz )
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free parking
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art vendors
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BBQ
It’s obvious the client knew what they wanted to showcase. Which is a very strong suit. But before we move forward let’s look at last years data.
In a five-mile radius we found the following. Three: art & craft festivals. Two Blues and one jazz festivals.
By the data, we can tell that the area is in need of something new and fresh.
Our next step is to go around the room and have the board members answer this question.
What is your end goal? “Owner: Generate cash flow and capture a new audience.”
“Marketing department: brand awareness”
“Workers: get out the office and have fun”
Excellent reasons. These are amazing answers. Let’s dive deep into them. You stated that you would like to capture a new audience. Here are some recent numbers from a survey that coincide with your event.
The average age of blues fans
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21-30 the audience is 3%
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31-40 the audience is 9%
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41 and older the audience rises to 87%
From these numbers, we are going to be targeting an audience who is 41 and up. Let’s ask your marketing department a question to help clarify our mission. “What is the average age of your ideal client profile?”
Our ideal client is between the ages of 34 and 40. These are the folks who enjoy our offerings.
We now know that a Blues & Jazz Festival will not capture our target audience. Before we move on let’s touch base on your companies Brand Awareness. “Will this festival help raise Brand Awareness for your Distillery?”
No, it will not. Let’s go back to the drawing board and brainstorm some fresh ideas? From there we went around the table again and brainstormed. We came up with a festival concept that captured their ideal client profile. The event was new to the area and it featured a concept no one had tried out before. Our brainstorming session helped build brand awareness. And it helped every one get to know our ideal client better.
Before you promote or plan your next happening install these creative strategies.
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Ask a lot of questions
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Know what your offering
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Figure your WHY
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Research surrounding events
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Brainstorm
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Revise
Capture new audiences by creating new events. Want to spice up your next happening? Read our latest Blog on How To Create A Fun Event P.s CJS loves Blues & Jazz. The above content serves as an example.
