Blog: Event Promoter Tips

FestivalNet

For music festival performers, stage hands, and tour managers, there's nothing more important than having an organized and well-equipped backstage area to have a smooth and positive concert experience. Many musicians and their staff have had too many bad experiences at music festivals due to lack of backstage facilities, most notably at a rock festival last year that had to be canceled part way through its four-day run. The band Electric Callboy was included in the event, and according to their tour manager Ian Roberts, they had to deal with a host of unpleasant backstage conditions, including a faulty air conditioner in the dressing room and having no drinking water or hospitality backstage. "Catering for lunch was pretty much non-existent at all," Roberts said. "The staff, the bands, nobody should have to experience this, ever."

Event planners should keep in mind that a festival will only be successful if the event is enjoyable for both the performers and the audience. The comfort and wellness of your performers should be prioritized, and it's imperative to supply your backstage area with all the essentials so that they can prepare for an awesome performance. Here's a guide for providing backstage comfort and facilities for festival performers. 

Safety is key to a safe and enjoyable festival, highlighting the importance of reviewing safety initiatives ahead of any summer festival this year. For instance, new safety and security rules have been instituted for the 2024 Fairport Mardi Gras in Ohio, with the goal of preventing rowdy behavior. For first-time festival facilitators or seasoned coordinators who wish to conduct a comprehensive review of event plans well in advance, managing common safety concerns in relation to festival infrastructure is a great place to start. From the value of a simple yet effective layout to how a comprehensive plan can go a long way, there are several basics that should never be ignored.

For event marketers looking to email to get the word out on their event, the question then becomes: How do you stand out?

1. Make your email look great on mobile

It's a mobile world. Given the love affair with all-things-mobile, it's not surprising to learn that more people rely on their phones for everything from checking their email to RSVPing to an event.

When it comes to events, arguably the most groundbreaking technology over the past few years has been that of the RFID tag or bracelet. At festivals and other big events, bracelets were once used simply to indicate that customers had paid their ticket and had therefore garnered access to the event. Today, however, high-tech tags and events are serving a host of additional purposes. To understand why high-tech tags are upping the festival experience for organizers and attendees alike, read on.

It costs just $100 to mint and sell an average NFT, yet the benefits it could bring your festival are numerous. Let's dive in and take a look at a few recent festivals that have relied on this technology. Coachella, Tomorrowland, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and The Grass is Green (in Australia) have all relied on NFTs for a wide variety of purposes. NFTs—non-fungible tokens that essentially allow you to buy into a code stored on the blockchain—are quick and easy to mint, but the fact that they are blockchain-backed adds a high level of safety—which is vital for large event organizers. In what ways can you make the most of NFTS for your own festivals?

Festivals are a revered meeting place for people with a passion for music and the great outdoors, yet sadly, many leave a big carbon footprint behind. It is estimated, for instance, that each person in a typical festival can generate a footprint of 25kg of CO2. Around 80 percent of this footprint is caused by attendee travel, 13 percent by energy, and 7 percent by waste. However, these figures fail to take into account the cost of building structures and transporting materials for infrastructure. How can organizers design and build safe, sustainable sites that protect the planet as much as they entertain those with a penchant for live music?

We all talk about Public Relations and marketing like it is a mysterious force somewhere out there that, if harnessed, is the magic that delivers large happy crowds to our annual Fair. It's not that enigmatic. The truth is closer than most of us know. We spend thousands of dollars on marketing, public relations, advertising, branding and imaging to help us deliver our message with outside organizations each year. Has it occurred that we may have neglected a major source of positive public relations and marketing?

Outdoor festivals are everywhere. You often hear about how successful a music, art, or food festival was from friends and family, and now you want to deliver the same. Nowadays, people consider WiFi a necessity at almost all events, indoor or outdoor. With the increase in contactless payments and guests demanding internet connectivity, having a steadfast event WiFi is worth your investment. Keep reading for more insightful solutions to elevate your upcoming festival experience while using outdoor event WiFi.

Festivals are a huge part of communities, offering residents and visitors a place to gather, celebrate, and have a great time. When a festival comes to town, it can increase tourists and visitors and get community members out of their homes and into the city's central area. Business owners can benefit significantly from community festivals, which help increase traffic, and sales and provide new opportunities to create emotional connections with local and visiting customers. Here’s an article to learn more about how our brain functions and control emotions.

The popularity of Instagram, NFTs, and online forums has led to a democratization of art, music, and all things creative, in a way that was unforeseen just a decade ago. Just ask Edinburgh-based artist Trevor Jones, who, as recently as 2019, was borrowing money off friends to pay his mortgage. Today, he can make as much as $4M in a day by organizing his own NFT art sales. Artists and musicians are also joining forces, bypassing traditional galleries and museums to hold their own exhibitions and festivals and avoiding high commissions for agents and event organizers.

Finding sponsors for an event takes time, patience and a professional approach. Although there are many sources to find potential sponsors, the best and most efficient approach is to become "business matchmaker." Essentially, you will be matching businesses with customers and clients. Approach sponsors with a win-win scenario and focus on what you can provide them - access to their target market. When companies can clearly see a return on investment for their sponsorship, you will find they will be much more interested in sponsoring your event.

It’s a beautiful day for a special event. The sun is out, and the high is predicted to be 85ºF. Organizers have taken everything into account for a fun and safe experience. Upon entry, ticketing staff encourages people to wear sunscreen and a hat and to visit the hydration stations regularly. The medical tent is centrally located, well-marked, and well-staffed. Security and volunteers are trained in recognizing signs of heat distress in attendees. Everything is going great…until the music starts and people rush the stage.

With the density of the crowd, eventually, people start showing signs of hyperthermia. The symptoms are sudden; once people start succumbing to them, they are hard to identify and extract from the crowd. And unless treated quickly, symptoms can potentially be fatal.

Sickness and fatalities at an event can also result in fines, lawsuits, and/or permanent shutdown of future fairs and festivals. Any experienced organizer will tell you it is nearly impossible to prep for the individual medical needs of thousands of people. However, using a strategically placed Outdoor Cooling Mist System that lowers the temperature of the crowd can help mitigate some of the liabilities and potentially enhance the production and stage environment.

"If you think breaking even is alright, you are doomed for failure."

The themes for events cover a wide range, but most of these special events have an underlying purpose: to raise money. While this commercial aspect may bother some purists, there's no getting around the fact that events are excellent fundraisers that also raise awareness. All kinds of good causes can be helped including nonprofit organizations, local businesses, community members, and more. There are so many ways to help your community whether it is an in-person event or a virtual fundraising event! In addition, some of the money generated can be set aside for your next fundraising event. For many groups, the question is simply: What's the best way to raise money? There is no quick answer. What might help is to look at some of the fundraising techniques used by other event promoters.

If you love music festivals, art shows, and other outdoor celebrations but you are worried about their environmental impact, the good news is that, like other industries, the festival industry, is becoming more eco-friendly. Events like Glastonbury, for instance, have completely banned the use of single-use plastics. Considering the fact that this festival has hundreds of thousands of attendees, the big reduction in waste is sizable.

As an event marketing professional, you know that with all of the excitement, creativity, and smiling faces also comes weeks of planning, strategizing, and tying up loose ends.

To make the event promotion process less cumbersome and more actionable, we've created this list of actionable business tips that will help you be a better businessperson and a better event organizer for any of your upcoming events.

1. Meditate More, Stress Less

It is no secret that the pressure event promoters face when planning an event can lead to a lot of extra baggage both mentally and physically. From the moment an event is booked, the clock is ticking, and deadlines, last-minute adjustments, and the strong drive to go above and beyond often hover over organizers.

How do you become the best manager for a successful event? According to research, the most desired quality in prospective managers is a good personality. Surprisingly, an individual is more likely to be hired based on their character rather than their skill set. The specific personality traits that topped the list were drive, creativity, and open-mindedness.

So how can you take this knowledge to improve your event management skills? See the list below for a list of the top 5 qualities that make up a sussessful event manager.

If you’re planning a music festival, you probably have a lot on your plate already. From booking the venue to approaching the right performers, you need to make sure everything goes perfectly. But unfortunately, none of this is enough to make your event a success unless you have the key component.

An effective promotion strategy.

The way you market your event is integral in determining whether your festival will be a hit. To sell tickets, you need to create enough hype to get your audience excited. But how do you go about generating excitement for upcoming events?

1. Plan and organize

Like any other aspect of event marketing, go in with a plan. Know what your goals are, identify your target audience, and have things mapped out. Event planning is essential before you execute your strategy.

Start with a clear idea of what sort of event promotion you are going to do on which social media platforms, and what you hope to accomplish.