With outdoor festivals beginning to take place again, you might be facing the prospect of planning your first festival. Since there are so many variables involved in making sure this type of event goes off without a hitch, we are going to give you a rough guide to success!
Step 1: Know your audience and your budget
Before you get into any of the finer details, you should work out the type of person that you think will want to attend your festival. Knowing your approximate budget will also be key to being able to plan the event carefully.
These two factors will be a huge help with the next step…
Step 2: Make a shortlist of venues (and decide on one!)
The information you need to make a strong decision about venues should already be in your hands from Step 1. Knowing your audience’s key demographics should make it easier to select a venue that is close to your audience. Your budget will determine the size of the venue, and if you can afford everything that is included such as catering.
Be sure to have a rough idea of how much your entertainment/performers will cost. Since they are the stars of the festival, you need to make sure you have enough budget left to pay them!
Step 3: Determine how much you will spend on partners for the festival
By this stage, you need an idea of how much you will spend on external caterers, equipment, parking facilities etc. If the venue you choose does not offer its own catering, you might want to consider teaming up with some local food trucks to feed your festival’s guests, for example.
Step 4: Test event equipment
Make sure your venue is equipped with all the necessary (working!) equipment for staging a festival. Here is a basic checklist:
- Microphones
- PA System
- Lighting
- Power source and generators
- Cords and wiring
- Headsets, walkie-talkies and any other communication tools staff may need
Step 5: Make plans for crowd control
Outdoor festivals can be prone to overcrowding, so you need to take the necessary steps to keep conditions safe for your guests. One way of doing this is by partnering with a ticket sales platform to sell the right amount of tickets to guests.
Also, carefully consider how you will control your entrances and exits. Make sure the venue is equipped with clearly-signposted gated entrances/exits. If these can be monitored by a security team, then even better.
Step 6: Attract your guests!
When everything is in place, you need to promote your festival to your target audience. From PPC (pay-per-click) ads online to distributing physical flyers, there are a ton of ways to market your festival.
If social media campaigns and email marketing are not getting you enough traction, consider partnering with an online influencer who is popular amongst your target audience. If they can put in a good word about your festival, you should see interest soar!
—
This article was written by Jack Vale, a writer from Happy Writers.
WE’D LOVE FOR YOU TO SHARE THIS IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEBSITE BUT PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING COMPLETE INFORMATION: Event Producer Strategist, Entrepreneur, Speaker, and Coach, Annette Naif, CEO & Creative Director of Naif Productions
# # #
About Naif Productions:
Naif Productions is a strategic event planning, design and production firm specializing in corporate, live coaching sales events, social, non-profit, and weddings. Based in New York City, we produce events worldwide from Fortune 500 clients and coaches to families and charities. Naif Productions specializes in helping clients attain their goals, realize return on investment, and achieve the most unique, creative experiences.
About Annette Naif:
Since 1986 Annette Naif has been designing and producing custom events, helping clients create their unique style that translates into a memorable and profitable experience. Annette spent 17 years producing events in the motion picture industry where she helped coordinate numerous productions for film and episodic television programs. Since then Annette’s been running her own event production company, coaching other event planners, teaching an event operations and production course at NYU, and now is the CEO & Creative Director of Naif Productions.