subject: Field Marketing In A Field - Festivals And How Experiential Marketing Works There [print this page] .
These environments can be fantastic places to host an experiential marketing event, as the festival-goers are in a relaxed and happy mindset and as a consequence may be more open to spending some time at your stall or sponsored area.
Music and performance is usually the main focus of a festival, but there are market areas in almost all festivals which provide the perfect setting for the public to try products and interact with a brand.
Many festivals now have corporate sponsors - but these sponsors do more than just splash their logo around. They provide services, samples and entertainment. Drinks companies often sponsor bars and sometimes provide free festival services such as phone charging stations and bank machines.
So what are the main aims of marketers at festivals?
Brand Awareness
Some festivals direct their appeal to teenagers and young adults, so a festival can present a fantastic opportunity for a brand to capture the imagination of a younger demographic. Hopefully this positive introduction can encourage brand loyalty in the future (see below) presenting a great return on investment.
Sampling stalls are a commonly used format for drawing in the crowds, in fact some companies don't sell anything at a festival at all and rely on goodwill generated by their generosity. Others feature heavily discounted products to ensure a crucial first sale, which many in turn kick-start a relationship with your brand or product.
Brand loyalty
Drinks manufacturers often sponsor festival bars because they hope that after drinking their particular drink a few times at a festival the customer may develop a taste for it that may carry on beyond the festival gates. This brand loyalty is invaluable to marketers, and having the same customers repeatedly visiting their stall over the course of a few days at a festival can inspire this in a way that not many other venues can.
Entertainment and Engagement
Providing enjoyable experiences is another way to market successfully at a festival, it can also entice a festival-goer to engage with your stall. Fairground-style games with prizes can incentivize the engagement with your stall and bring out people's competitive streak!
There are more types of festivals than you would believe, and finding the right one is essential for an effective campaign. For example, a campaign directed towards teenagers would not work so well at a festival with a more mature crowd. But on the whole, a festival experiential marketing stall can provide great returns and you probably won't be short of staff who will volunteer to work there!
