Festival Marketing Gurus Gather For London Seminar
AIF Seminar: Festival Marketing and Promotion
Tuesday February 18th 2014 9:30 AM – 5.30 PM
Minster Exchange, London, EC3R 7PP.
- Speakers to include representatives from YouTube, Bestival, Leefest, PRS Foundation, Storm Crowd, Get in Bed and Kendal Calling
London: - Following the great success of last year’s marketing and promotional seminar in Sheffield, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) will stage a one-day marketing and promotion seminar in London next month featuring Joe Elkins (Get Involved / Bestival), Matias Llort (YouTube), Lee Denny (LeeFest), Sarah Thirtle (PRS Foundation), Steve Machin (Storm Crowd / The Dot Tickets Org), Andy Smith (Kendal Calling) and Gary Pitt (Get in Bed). Through workshops and presentations, the seminar will reveal how a festival can stand out in a crowded market using social media and digital platforms such as video, as well as more traditional channels. Advertising will also be addressed in the form of five-minute pitches from radio, print and online media brands, to convince festivals why their precious pounds are best spent in their sector. Joe Elkins of Bestival will give an overview of the marketing strategy of the annual 55,000 capacity sell-out event, in particular looking at how to attract attention by producing unique marketing content in the build-up. The talk will cover the event’s social, digital and traditional platforms as well as how to establish a year round dialogue with an audience. Andy Smith of Kendal Calling (Best Medium Sized Festival, Festival Awards) will also talk about how to get extensive global press and thousands of hits whilst spending precisely nothing. Matias Llort, Strategic Partner Manager EMEA - Music at YouTube will deliver a presentation on the possibilities of streaming video for music festivals. This will include how video can help to market an event and how local events can reach a global audience through video content. Funding is an area Lee Denny of Leefest is more than familiar with. He will be presenting a case study about the pros and cons of raising £50K in less than a month through crowd funding and what the impact of this has had on the future of his event. Sarah Thirtle of PRS Foundation will also be presenting ways that festival promoters can apply for funding – to support new artists as well as cover marketing and promotional costs. A series of pitches will also explore how a festival’s advertising budget is best spent – in broadsheet, print music publications, online media or radio. Each sector will be represented by different media brands which will have five minutes to convince festival owners and promoters where to spend their pound. The sessions will be moderated by Gary Pitt of brand partnership agency Get in Bed. Listings information: Event: AIF Seminar: Festival Marketing and PromotionDate/Time: Tuesday February 18th 9:30am – 5.30pm. Place: Minster Exchange, London EC3R 7PP.Price: £74.50 + VATTickets: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/aif-seminar-festival-marketing-promotion-tickets-9221099557
The Association of Independent Festivals is a not for profit body set up in 2008 to represent independent music festivals in the UK and Ireland. Conceived by Bestival promoter Rob da Bank and Graphite’s Ben Turner, the Association’s founder members included Bestival, Cornbury Festival, Evolution Festival, Secret Garden Party, Kendal Calling and WOMAD. With almost 50 members ranging from the 2,000 capacity ‘In the Woods’ in Kent to the 55,000 capacity Bestival in the Isle of Wight, AIF enables the promoters of some of the UK & Ireland’s most innovative and successful festivals to speak with one voice when addressing the wider music business and government. AIF aims to establish best practice for festivals in a variety of areas such as security, the environment and beyond, providing a knowledge base for festival promoters, as well as creating collective purchasing and marketing opportunities for its members. AIF operates as an autonomous division of the Association of Independent Music. For press enquiries please contact:Hugo Mintz – hugo@namepr.co.uk, 020 835 77305