Understanding the Festival as a year-round event
Embedded Files
What is to be achieved in the concentrated festival period?
A Festival usually takes place during a concentrated period of time.
A Festival is a place where audiences can engage in multiple performances, attend discussions, and be part of a community. Because of the intensity of the schedule of having multiple events happening very close to each other, audiences and artists can have a communal experience while being disconnected from their daily worries and fully immersed in an artistic experience.
What may be achieved at other times in the year, and how?
While a Festival usually lasts a short time (from a day to a few weeks), the planning of the festival is a year-round event: from curating and scheduling artists, dealing with logistics, negotiations, booking of venues and hotels, etc.
When it comes to our audience, we should also think of a Festival as a year-round event. While the intensity of the communication between us and our audience will happen right before and during the festival, it is important to keep in touch with them, so we are in their radar throughout the year.
Activities
Pre-Festival
Press announcement with Festival programming.
Release of ticket sales (this can be a strategy to obtain additional donors, by allowing them to book in advance before shows get sold-out).
Create expectation using behind the scenes content and interviews.
Targeted advertising to audiences that attended similar events on previous festivals which might be interested in the current programming.
Publicity strategies before the festival.
“Get Ready” e-mail before Festival begins, to ticket buyers and previous attendees.
During the festival
Day before the event e-mail to attendees on general information (reminder of time of the event, location, and other general details).
Publicity through press, reviews, interviews.
Online / social media campaigns (backstage stories, clips of events).
Post-performance receptions to achieve a stronger connection with the audience.
After the fesitval
Thank you for coming email.
Survey of their experiences.
Marketing strategies such as posting the best moments of the festival online to keep the festival present during the year.
How to provide feedback, amendments and additions:
How to provide feedback, amendments and additions:
The toolkits are open-sourced, continuously developed tools. Therefore, festival and cultural practitioners from all backgrounds and levels of experience are invited to expand these materials by adding their own contributions, building on the gathering of knowledge and insights shared with the whole festival-making community worldwide. Please email info@festivalacademy.eu for feedback, amendments, and additions.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse