What happens to the festival industry in a year when the greatest show on earth, Glastonbury, takes a year out, asks Orla Ryan of ignis

When Glastonbury, a festival the size of Southern England’s seventh largest city, takes a fallow year, you would think that the rest of the festival calendar would reap the rewards – but has it?

Yes, some of the events have filled their fields, some have even hit record numbers. Others have struggled, some have even fallen by the way-side. By no means has it been a bumper year for the industry. So where have the Glastonbury masses gone? And how do you ensure your brand is  investing in an event that is going to deliver?

With 135,000 tickets on offer and two million applicants, each year’s Glastonbury show brings disappointment to roughly 1,865,000 people. That’s a lot of people who have gathered to plan and plot their festival attendance. Having collectively bought into the concept of the festival experience, all it takes is for one of the group to ask, ‘so where now?’ and plans are re-plotted elsewhere. In a year without Glastonbury, these fledgling festival plans never got off the ground, and the disappointed masses were simply not there to be absorbed.

So, what does it all mean for next year? We have digested the 2018 season, beyond the promoter stats and demographics, to analyse some of the trends when considering brand investment in festivals in 2019.

It’s a sell out! (or is it…?)

The true attendance figures of each festival are always difficult to unpick. No show ever wants to admit that they have under-achieved. Having rattled around festival fields for a few years now like we have, you get the feel (and the data) to tell you when an event is under-performing, and 2018 has seen a few of those.

As a brand, how do you know whether or not to believe in the audience figures that are being sold to you? The only answers I can give you are knowledge, experience and a view of the wider picture than the individual promoter is selling you. Be sure of the credentials behind new events, beware of exaggerated growth claims and consider whether the event is delivering ‘best in class’ in the genre in which it exists.

With the disappointed 1,865,000 back in the mix and with so many great events on offer, 2019 has all the credentials to be a booming festival year.

Does the experience outweigh the effort?

Emerging onto the scene in 2004, Bestival and Secret Garden Party were refreshing new concepts – music festivals that were not about the music.

Now, 14 years later, Secret Garden Party is no more, and Bestival has been refreshed after a few tough years. But why? What went wrong for these festival pioneers?

I don’t believe that the concept of putting on a fabulous party is, or ever will be, dead. It’s more that the rest of the festival industry caught up with the realisation that a festival is about experience, and so there are now more events than ever delivering truly great experiences, and the competition is fierce.

In essence, in order to attract the audiences, it comes down to whether the experience is worth the effort of the festival hardships: the travel, the weather, the tent, the port-a-loos… The cons list is long.

When you are no longer the stand out and most unusual event of the year, you need to remove obstacles to remain relevant. For example, in order to survive, Bestival removed one significant obstacle – the Isle of Wight ferry – by shifting location from the island to the Lulworth estate in Dorset!

Urbanisation

One genre of festival that cuts out a number of the festival obstacles is the urban festival. For those less keen on the idea of three days of camping and with more attainably-priced day tickets on offer, urban events become a more accessible option.

With articles on ‘how to ace a one-day festival’ appearing in this year’s Time Out festival guide, you get a real sense of the growth of these events.

The ‘promoter chess’ (which has seen Wireless move to Finsbury Park, Lovebox to Gunnersbury, Field Day to Brockwell and All Points East stake a claim in Victoria Park) just shows how much competition and appetite there is.

London is not the only city hosting these Urban shows – TRNSMT, Parklife and Tramlines are increasingly popular events held in Urban spaces across the country.

These urban parks are also playing host to a wide array of events, aside from pure music festivals. Melas (from the Sanskrit for a gathering, festival or fair) delivering culture and creativity, and festive shows taking winter residencies, provide colour and choice to the event space. The diversity of events on offer provide distinct audiences and an array of opportunities relevant to different brands.

With a reduced initial outlay, and fewer days to budget for, the on-site spend at these events is often much higher, which can make them an attractive option where sales are a factor.

Outstanding in their fields

So which events looked tipped to thrive in 2019?

From the Michelin stars and champagne bars of Wilderness to the immersive theatrical spectacle that is Boomtown, these events are producing true ‘best-in-class’ offerings. Creamfields is another event that has a single-minded purpose in delivering the best EDM (Electronic Dance Music) experience going.

These events attract wildly differing audiences, but they know what they stand for and strive to produce the best in what they do.

Reading and Leeds, on the other hand – with a diversified line-up – missed the mark this year. Their line-up, still an important factor for most music festivals, was found lacking. The traditionally Rock’n’Roll based pair of festivals branched out into a much more Urban scene this year which, rather than attracting a more diverse audience, left it confused. I am sure these festival giants will be back on track next year, but it just shows that even the big events can get it wrong some years too.

Do it different

So how should a brand engage within the festival arena for 2019? It is about fitting in and standing out at the same time.

Find a fit with the festival-going human and be relevant to them. Don’t, however, slavishly follow the standard festival format. Expecting consumers to hunt out your allotted 10 X 10 space is not going to give you the return that you are looking for.

Look to stand out. Do different. Think about how the audience will engage, and what your brand offers that is unique. Consider how you can generate a buzz about your brand, not just about the brand space that you could create.

Hot

Immersive events – the experience is everything

Urban events – making the festival experience more accessible

Whatsapp – the unglamorous glue that holds a festival squad together

Not

Middle of the road – know what you stand for and be the best at it

Secondary ticketing – the rebellion against over-priced tickets is on

Single use plastic – Glastonbury has banned plastic water bottles in 2019

Orla Ryan is Head of Experiential at ignis, a multi-award winning independent brand experience agency based in Fulham. Over its 29-year history, it has worked for a wide range of clients ranging from Jameson Whiskey, Sheraton Hotels and Fuller’s, to Betfair and Cuticura. A member of the Institute of Promotional Marketing, ignis won two Gold trophies and a Silver for its #JamesonBeOriginal360 experience work for Pernod Ricard Travel Retail and Jameson in the IPM Awards 2017; the same campaign then went on to win a Silver and a Bronze in the pan-European IMC Awards.

The post 2018… a fallow year for UK festivals? appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Branston, the UK’s best-selling pickle brand, is to launch a UK sampling tour this month, as part of a wider marketing initiative to aimed at reinforcing the pickle brand’s positioning as ‘the perfect partner for cheese’.

The activity will amplify the success of the brand’s ‘Please The Cheese’ campaign and bring Mr. Cheddar, the down to earth hero of the TV ad, to life. At each event, Mr. Cheddar will greet consumers with samples and tap into the nation’s love affair with cheese by encouraging them to pose and upload photos on Instagram using the #PleaseTheCheese hashtag.

The tour will take place at 11 events and 12 supermarkets and comprises of 39 live activities across the UK from now until the end of the year. Key dates include Lambeth Country Show in London (21-22 July), Bristol Balloon Fiesta (9-12 August) and Bournemouth Air Festival (30 August-2 September).

At the events, consumers will be able to try different products from the Branston pickle and chutney ranges, accompanied by Cathedral City cheese and Jacob’s crackers from the Branston sampling van. With up to 5,000 samples distributed per day, Branston’s sampling activity aims to reach more than two million consumers in total and recruit a new generation of pickle lovers by reminding them of the delicious taste combination of cheese and pickle.

Branston lunchboxes, key rings and goodie bags will be handed out and consumers will also be given recipe cards, Branston dip pots and money off coupons for Branston pickle.

Nisha George, senior brand manager at brand owner Mizkan, says: “We wanted to bring this association to life in an impactful way to reconnect with our loyal customers, engage a host of new ones and to invigorate the pickle category nationwide.”

The Branston brand is owned by Mizkan Euro, the European subsidiary of Mizkan, a privately-owned Japanese business started in 1804, which is the number one Sushi seasoning supplier in the world. Mizkan is a global business with over 210 years’ experience in producing high quality products. Mizkan Euro brands include Branston Pickle, Hayward’s Pickled Vegetables, Sarson’s Vinegar and Dufrais vinegar.

The post Branston launches #PleaseTheCheese festival sampling tour appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Tic Tac is launching a pop-up interactive experience, designed to encourage people to open up in a fun and light hearted way, in London’s Covent Garden. The activity supports the brand’s new ‘Open up’ marketing campaign.

Guests will be invited to create their very own bespoke Tic Tac flavour mix from a choice of 10 individual flavours. These will include favourites such as Fresh Mint, Orange, Passion Fruit and Cherry Cola, which can be combined together to create a completely new combination.

Guests can then personalise their unique pack with a light-hearted message on the label, to help them ‘open up’ in a fun way and share their special personalised treat with their favourite person. Fans will also have the opportunity to inspire the flavours of the future by sharing their flavour combination ideas. The most creative suggestions will be shared with Tic Tac’s Research & Development team for potential future innovation.

The taste journey continues with a  ‘Mixers’ cocktail bar, inspired by Tic Tac’s flavours, and a socialising area to bring the Tic Tac experience to life where people can learn interesting facts about the brand, while relaxing with an exclusive cocktail.

Guests will also be encouraged to ‘Shake their Tic Tacs’ in the Tic Tac GIF photo booth. There will also be an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to Elrow, the hottest music festival of the summer, for anyone sharing their GIF using the hashtag #TicTacOpenUp.

A Tic Tac spokesperson says: “Tic Tac has been helping people to make fresh connections for almost 50 years. We are incredibly excited to ‘open up’ with our fans and welcome them to this unique experience. We are also looking forward to discovering the different flavour combinations people will create.”

The Tic Tac Open House will be open to the public from 12.00pm – 8.00pm on Friday June 15^th and Saturday June 16^th 2018, at The White Space, 5 Great Newport St, London WC2H 7JB. Entry is free and includes one personalised pack of Tic Tacs per person (each pack contains 100 Tic Tacs).

The pop-up is being promoted on Tic Tac’s Facebook page.

The Tic Tac brand is owned by Italian confectionery company Ferrero. It was originally launched in 1969.

The post Tic Tac pop-up supports ‘Open Up’ campaign appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Ribena has launched a major summer on pack promotion, ‘Pick Your Own Gig’, offering customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland an opportunity to win tickets to a Ticketmaster event of their choice – with runner-up prizes of free music downloads and free bottles of Ribena.

The campaign was created by activation agency tbk and is its first project for the brand.

Pick Your Own Gig builds on Ribena’s musically-distinctive ‘Ribenary/Zoobydoo’ advertising, and aims to use events to build even greater relevance amongst its consumer heartland, 16 – 24 year olds. It also references the brand’s historic advertising, which traditionally emphasises the quality and provenance of the blackcurrants picked for making Ribena.

Featured on more than 20 million bottles, the fully integrated campaign is being supported through digital, Out of Home (OOH) and a national sampling campaign.

The promotion runs until August 31st 2018. The daily prize pool includes a £200 Ticketmaster egift card, two £100 Ticketmaster egift cards, five £50 Ticketmaster egift cards, 2,000 £1 Amazon egift codes and 7,993 Free Ribena 500ml Coupons. Winners will be selected through daily ‘winning moments’ prize draws, and not all prizes will necessarily be won.

Consumers in mainland UK have to buy a promotional pack and then go online to www.ribena.co.uk/win/ and enter the last four digits of the pack barcode and their personal details. There is a ‘No Purchase Necessary’ route for entry in Northern Ireland, while in the Republic of Ireland consumers have to answer a skill-based question to enter.

Ribena Marketing Controller Charlotte Flook says: “Ribena is growing up, and events offered us the perfect platform to engage with our young adult audience”.

Andrew Ryan, Head of Brand and Partnerships at tbk, adds: “Taking Ribena on a journey into the events space gave us great opportunity to contemporise the brand while still acknowledging the brand’s tremendous heritage and tradition through the language of ‘pick your own’.”

tbk is an award winning brand activation agency that works with clients including Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Krispy Kreme, TUI, Carphone Warehouse and Wickes.

The post ‘Pick your Own Gig’ with Ribena this summer appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Mondelez International  is launching a new on-pack promotion across its Maynards Bassetts candy bag range, offering over 1,000 music-related prizes to consumers.

Running through to August 31st, the Maynards Bassetts Sweet Sounds of Summer promotion offers consumers the chance to win prizes including gig tickets, headphones and portable speakers. Mondelez says the promotion aims to tap into consumers’ fun side over the summer season, particularly appealing to 20 to 45 year olds.

To have a chance of winning a prize, consumers must purchase a promotional pack, find their code inside, then go to www.sweetsoundsofsummer.com and type it in to find out if they have won instantly.

Marta Sanso, senior brand manager for Joyful Candy at Mondelēz International, says: “Sweet Sounds of Summer will appeal to adults who have a fun side and are looking for ways to celebrate the summer months. It involves the same packs that consumers know and love, with the addition of a fun competition for all to enjoy. With the weather warming, the summer is a great time to drive candy sales and with attractive on-pack activations offering an opportunity to excite customers, we hope to drive further penetration.”

A year ago, Mondelez ran an on-pack promotion for Maynards Bassetts offering consumers the chance to win a ‘bonkers day out’, including a trip to the Wacky Sheep Race event in New Zealand.

The Maynards Bassetts was acquired by Mondelēz International when it bought UK confectionery company Cadbury. Mondelez is a global snacking company with 2016 net revenues of approximately $26 billion and a world leader in biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy and powdered beverages, with power brands including Oreo and belVita biscuits; Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; and Trident gum.

The post Maynards Bassetts hits high notes with on-pack music promotion appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Asahi Super Dry, the Super Premium Japanese beer, has launched a significant outdoor and online advertising campaign, as well as embarking on a series of partnerships – including this weekend’s Arcadia Festival – that will see the beer at the forefront of immersive experiences across London this summer.

The ‘Remastered by Japan’ OOH campaign has been featuring on more than 600 digital road, rail and London Underground display sites this month, along with larger scale placements in prominent locations such as Shoreditch and Borough High Street.  A heavy-weight social media campaign will also run nationally, creating significant impact for the newly relaunched brand.

The brand has also signed a number of partnership deals which will see it featuring in a number of immersive experiential activations.

For the first time, Asahi Super Dry is the official beer partner of Secret Cinema Presents Blade Runner – The Final Cut: A Secret Live Experience. The 1982 cult classic, set in a dystopian world, explored themes that were way ahead of its time, aligning perfectly with the values of Asahi Super Dry as a progressively minded brand. There will be 80 secret live experiences running until the end of June.

The brand is also the lead beer at dotdotdot London’s latest release, VR experience Somnai, mixing live performance and multisensory elements with immersive technology, while this Bank Holiday weekend (May 5th and 6th) Asahi Super Dry will partner with Arcadia for its 10th anniversary spectacular.

In addition to the above, Asahi Super Dry will be celebrating summer with an array of music gigs and films at the Somerset House Summer Series and Film 4 Summer Screen across July and August.

Laura Mitchell, Director of Brand Marketing at Asahi UK Ltd, says: “When we relaunched Asahi Super Dry earlier this year, we wanted to ensure its marketing would reflect the identity of the brand and put us at the heart of forward-thinking experiences, with a mix of Japanese culture. We’re delighted to be partnering with some truly exciting experiences that feed consumer curiosity and showcase the brand in a contemporary manner.  We strongly believe the ‘Karakuchi’ taste of Asahi Super Dry will make a huge impact, but it is equally important we pay homage to the brand’s heritage and we are very excited to launch into the marketplace with a number of intriguing activations.”

Asahi UK Ltd. (formerly Miller Brands UK) is the UK subsidiary of Asahi Europe Ltd. Asahi UK Ltd. has responsibility for the development of the following Super Premium brands across the UK and Ireland: Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Asahi Super Dry, Pilsner Urquell, St Stefanus and Kozel.

The post Asahi Super Dry uses partnerships, immersive experiences in summer campaign appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Carlsberg UK will be giving away a prize bundle including Live Nation and O2 Academy tickets to one lucky winner each week for 12 weeks, as part of its partnership with music event organisers Live Nation and to celebrate the Danish beer brand’s up-weighted focus on live music for 2018.

The promotion launches as Carlsberg announces plans to bring back its highly-successful ‘The Danish Way’ campaign, fronted by Danish film star Mads Mikkelsen, in May 2018. Last year, the brand spent an estimated £15m on ‘The Danish Way’, which marked its move away from an 20+ year sponsorship of the England football team and a new, more up-market positioning targeting Millennial drinkers.

Carlsberg will be running on-pack promotions across six million packs of Carlsberg and Carlsberg Expørt on sale in 21,000 off-trade stores – including grocers, impulse, convenience and wholesalers – across the UK from April to June 2018.

The prize packages will each include six tickets to a Live Nation festival and six tickets to three O2 Academy gigs throughout the year, with artists scheduled to play the venues this year including Kylie Minogue and Justin Timberlake.

To enter, consumers need to use the Shazam app to scan the ‘Shazamable’ limited edition promotional packs of Carlsberg and Carlsberg Expørt. They will then be directed to the competition page, where winners will be instantly notified and will be able to redeem their prize.

Carlsberg UK will be supporting the activity in-store with increased presence such as gondola ends and free-standing display units bolstered by online activations including website banners and targeted advertisements.

Carlsberg UK announced an extended five year sponsorship deal with Live Nation in April 2017. Live Nation is the world’s leading live entertainment company, behind some of the largest festivals in the UK.

That agreement gave Carlsberg UK unprecedented partner, sponsorship and official supplier rights for Live Nation’s festivals, venues and Academy Music Group venues throughout the UK. In addition, Carlsberg became the Official Beer and Somersby Cider the Official Cider of Live Nation. Carlsberg announced at the time the deal was signed that it wanted to connect with and engage Millennial drinkers.

Carlsberg and Somersby will be served at Live Nation festival events including Reading and Leeds, Download, Creamfields, Virgin V Festival, Wireless, TRNSMT and Latitude festivals.

The post Carlsberg launches Live Nation ticket competition appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Independent PR, content and integrated marketing agency PrettyGreen has launched a new stand-alone event and experiential production house, called The Producers.

Run by PrettyGreen’s Managing Director of Content and Production, Sian Baker, PrettyGreen says The Producers has been launched to service a growing need among clients for “in-sourcing” and co-creation. Production teams will be set-up to be an extension of a client’s team in terms of skill-set, mindset and location.

Sian Baker, Managing Director, The Producers, says: “The agency model for event and experiences is ripe for a different approach and more efficient ROI, with clients crying out for “producers” who can just get stuck in and deliver projects collaboratively with them. PrettyGreen has a reputation for delivering experiential and content-driven PR, and we felt that there was an opportunity to create a sand-alone event production house to deliver real business impact.”

Using its experience working with sister PR agency PrettyGreen, Baker says that The Producers will “bring to life content-focussed, shareable brand experiences through a hybrid ‘Live, Shared & Content’ model known as the 1,9,90.” The numbers refer to the 1% of people who actively create content, the 9% who actively engage with it (by liking and forwarding, for example) and the 90% who are passively involved.

Events and experiential activations which the PrettyGreen team have worked on include the John Lewis partnership with OnBlackHeath (pictured), the Betsafe partnership with Floyd Mayweather, the IAAF awards, and various Lego activities.

The post PrettyGreen adds stand-alone experiential production house, The Producers appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Naked Juice invited visitors to Festival No.6 in Portmeirion, Wales, to step into the brand’s Colourtopia experience, an experiential activation which the brand has been taking round a number of festivals this summer.

Naked says that with a communal family-friendly atmosphere and creative vibe, the boutique Welsh festival was selected as a natural fit for the third instalment of its live engagement campaign, as it prioritises creativity, while the audience of 25-40-year-old ‘dynamic doers’ mirrors Naked’s. Naked Juice Colourtopia also delighted visitors at the Latitude (July 12th to 15th) and Wilderness (August 3rd to 6th) festivals this summer.

Starting as a stark white wilderness full of interesting sculptures, Naked puts the power of colour and creativity into the hands of festival-goers, prompting them to create a vibrant, dynamic environment filled with positive, feel-good energy. Armed with a Naked smoothie and colourful, fruity stickers that reflect the ingredients of the smoothies, people are encouraged to go wild with colour, putting the stickers wherever they want within the space.

The Colourtopia activation, created by integrated agency Initials, builds on the brand’s highly successful experiential activity in 2016. The objective is to drive trial and awareness of its smoothies and convey the “weird and wonderful spirit of its brand”, Naked says.

Under the banner of Naked Juice’s “Power. Full. Smoothie” positioning, attendees of Festival No.6, which took place from September 7th to 10th, were encouraged to try Naked’s different smoothies before being welcomed into Colourtopia,

Danielle Mendham, Brand Manager at Naked Juice, said: “At Naked, we are dedicated to creating the best-tasting smoothies made from the most delicious ingredients and nutritional boosts. There’s no better place for people to get to know our brand and experience ‘the Power. Full. Smoothie’ than at a festival. Initials’ work on Colourtopia embodies the imaginative, adventurous spirit of the brand, providing festival-goers with an engaging environment in which to get creative and colourful, while driving brand awareness and purchase.”

Naked Juice is an American company that produces juices and smoothies. A subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc., Naked Juice products are now distributed in international markets including Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France, as well as across the US.

Initials is one of the UK’s fastest-growing independent agencies, with expertise in brand planning and brand activation, spanning Promotional Marketing, Shopper Marketing and Live Engagement. Initials delivers innovative marketing for clients on a local and global scale including Arla, Fiat Group, Heineken, McLaren Automotive, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Philips and Samsung.

Festival N°6 is an annual family-friendly art and music festival, held in and around Portmeirion, Wales. The name comes from the cult 1960s TV series, the prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan, which was filmed in and around Portmeirion.

The post Naked Juice adds Colourtopia to Festival No.6 appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Strongbow rounded off a summer of festival action with a huge live activation at Victorious Festival in Portsmouth over the weekend of August 26^th/27^th.

The iconic cider brand created a massive arena with a 10m high Strongbow Archer as the centrepiece. Surrounded by a DJ booth made from speakers, a bar made from a shipping container and up-cycled furniture made from crates and barrels, The Strongbow Yard was designed for fans to chill out in the day and dance by night.

Emma Sherwood-Smith, brand director for cider at Strongbow owner Heineken, says: “From years of festival experience, we know people want to create amazing memories with their mates. As the most eye-catching landmark on site, The Strongbow Yard is the best place to meet friends and relax with a refreshing pint, making the most of their time between bands. Curated by credible British DJs, the music sets the atmosphere, changing the tempo throughout the day. As the sun sets we step things up with an impressive music-synchronised fire display until the end of the night.”

In a new collaboration with Strongbow for Victorious Festival, Radio X also broadcast live from The Strongbow Yard with DJs including Johnny Vaughan and Gordon Smart, extending the reach of the festival beyond those attending.

The Victorious Festival activation concluded months of Strongbow campaign activity aimed at helping people get the most out of their festival experiences. In April, special promotional packs of Strongbow Original, Cloudy Apple and Dark Fruit ciders started rolling out in stores across the UK, directing people to enter the Strongbow Epic Entrance competition. Nine competition winners and their friends were then parachuted, paraded and power-boated into their chosen festival in style.

At Victorious Festival, the third and final festival in Strongbow’s integrated campaign, three Epic Entrances took place with competition winners be dressed in mermaid, Queen of Hearts and 1990s rave attire, with entourages ranging from sumo wrestlers to gold Strongbow men. All parties were chaperoned through the festival site ending at The Strongbow Yard to sample the brand.

Strongbow worked with Initials, a leading independent integrated agency, across both The Strongbow Yard and the Epic Entrance campaign.

The post Strongbow rounds off epic summer with Victorious Festival activation appeared first on IPM Bitesize.