Marketing approaches taken by festivals across a multi-channel experience
For the next stage in my research, I am looking at the ways other festival events market themselves through a multi-channel experience approach.
Multi-channel Marketing is a practice which involves reaching an audience through multiple channels, like social media, email, mobile apps, physical print and more. (WIX, nd) Multi-channel Marketing creates a universal user experience and brings consistency and familiarity with users. It also expands your audience as content is shown to users across many different platforms, so more people become aware of your event.
Reading / Leeds Festival Multi-channel Experience
What I have done is looked at Reading and Leeds Festival. I think they make a good example for a multi-channel marketing approach because their brand is well-known and one of the most famous UK festivals.
Their website uses a red, yellow, black and white colour scheme. This is iconic to the festival and is something they have used for many years, and they continue to use it in all their advertising campaigns. Their logo is also iconic, with the two arrows and faded texture. They always use images of the festival and use effects such as collage for a gritty effect and to show the spontaneous feel of the festival.
On their social media accounts they use the same logo and the same username, so they can be found easily by using the same name and image, which is more easy to recognise. They always link to other social media and their website too on their accounts. On the Instagram they use the same style for their story highlights, using the same colours and fonts so it matches and is pleasing to look at.
For posters I noticed that they use red for the Reading Festival and yellow for Leeds Festival. I went back and noticed that they do this on other platforms too, which helps to keep the two events separate. Although they are run by the same people, they are in two locations across the country. so it helps to make it clear which is which so that users don’t get confused between the two. For the posters, they use different sizes of text to bring attention to bigger acts, and to create hierarchy. They also reuse things like the arrows from the logo, but in other areas of the design. The arrows are like a shorthand version of the logo, and are used as an icon in their own way.
The merchandise and official shop for the festivals also use the same colours, fonts and the arrow icons. The merchandise shows the festival name, which would promote the event more when the person wearing it is out and other people can see.
As a whole, the brand uses simple things like colour, icons, type and imagery to be easily recognised. They stand out because they have managed to make a visual identity unique to them, so other people can easily spot them.
Conclusion
“There are so many different channels that you can find your audience on, and that number is growing every single day.” (West, 2021)
I am going to make a brand language that can be used across all channels, like Reading and Leeds Festival have done. Doing this for the Freedom Festival will mean that users will become familiar with the event and begin to trust it. Based on the statistic above, I will pick out the most important social media, as well as use web and print methods to promote the festival.
References:
Reading Festival (2023) Reading Festival Line-up Poster [image}. Available online: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newburytoday.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fwhat-to-take-what-not-to-take-what-items-are-banned-at-re-9324274%2F&psig=AOvVaw0iuxmVIo3gae2VMJ-SjMsw&ust=1699300176787000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBEQjRxqFwoTCIDRqc3QrYIDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAG [Accessed: 05.11.2023]
Reading Leeds Festival (2023) Leeds Festival Line-up Poster [Image]. Available online: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fclunkmag.com%2Freading-leeds-2023-line-up-yard-act-sleep-token-and-arlo-parks-announced-in-second-wave-with-over-70-names-added%2F&psig=AOvVaw2Ota7VPrCBz0Mitv6Gjqjf&ust=1699300318865000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBEQjRxqFwoTCJC_-pDRrYIDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE [Accessed: 05.11.2023]
Statista (2023) Most popular social networks worldwide as of October 2023, ranked by number of monthly active users [Image]. Available online: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/ [Accessed: 05.11.2023]
West, Chloe (2021) Multichannel marketing: What is it and how to start using it effectively [Article]. Available online: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/multichannel-marketing/ [Accessed: 5.11.2023]
WIX (nd) Multi-channel Marketing [Article]. Available online: https://www.wix.com/encyclopedia/definition/multi-channel-marketing [Accessed: 1/11/2023]