For example, the number of music festival attendees in the U.S. reaches 32 million each year, 14.7 million of whom are millennials. On average, people will travel 903 miles to go to a U.S. festival.
Not located anywhere close to Coachella Valley? Explore local opportunities to find the perfect event with which to associate your brand. Festivals provide a marketable platform that reaches out to millennials as they thirst for the entertainment and experience.
What are some ways to promote your brand at a festival?
1. Create an experience integrated with the festival rather than only promoting a product or a service.
2. Talk to the event organizers; don’t just buy a spot for your booth.
3. Get involved on social media before and during the event. Use hashtags and mention organizers or participants. Create a buzz on social media by showing what happens behind the scenes in prep and during the event.
4. Integrate your brand design with the theme of the festival. But don’t change your colors or logo; the audience needs to remember you after event.
5. Offer special deals available only to the attendees.
6. Create personalized bags with your logo for the giveaway. Anyone can use a bag to store their purchases and free stuff, while your brand will advertise itself.
7. Think of other cheap and useful giveaways like t-shirts, hats, branded bottles of water on a hot day, or a phone charging station or hotspot.
8. Give away coupons or create a contest for the tickets prior to the event bought out by your brand.
9. Provide useful information for the attendees about the festival. For example, line-up information or festival map.
10. Think of a creative way to collect leads on the spot. Make sure to follow up with your leads after the event.
11. Don’t be afraid to partner with another brand if the networking creates a better experience to the participants.
12. Be bold and trendy, the audience is already there, you just need to captivate them.
Great examples of brand presence for festivals:
Hunter, an iconic rain boots company, embraced the opportunity of rainy weather at Glastonbury Festival in 2013 and gave away 5,000 pairs of their rain boots.
Garnier found a creative opportunity to serve the needs of attendees at a musical festival by providing a free hair-washing on a hot day.
Now is the time for your brand to be creative and for you to be bold. Use the opportunity of your local festivals to market your brand, create leads, and boost sales.
