Organisers of music festivals are facing some of the biggest challenges they have ever faced in planning a successful event. Extra attention to detail for every detail of organising a festival is required along with a creative approach to planning and logistics to overcome the current challenges. Every music festival organisation is currently faced with rising costs, increased competition for tickets sales and sponsor revenue plus increased pressure on fulfilling their sustainability credentials. The days of operating a festival to the same format year after year are gone, organisers now need to be much smarter to operate a successful event. But what should festival organisers be focussing on now to improve the chances of survival this year? Below are the key areas should be looking at.
The delivery, pricing and timing of ticket releases is becoming a science and festival organisers are investing time and thought into how tickets are priced and launched for sale. A comprehensive understanding of the competition and festival-goer behaviour is essential and needs to be continuously monitored. The introduction of easy to purchase ticket sales, such as The Little Box Office, as well as reliable payment schemes and multiple limited offer releases over time can help boost sales. Any ticket release needs to be accompanied by a multi-channel marketing and PR push. Launching at the wrong time with the wrong price can severely impact on sales. Organisers who perfect this science are selling out quickly so it's worth investing time and effort on this aspect and choosing the right platform to use when selling your tickets.
The cost of everything is rising and the easy answer for organisers is to pass these costs onto increased ticket prices. However, with some creative negotiation it may be possible to find alternative ways to keep costs under control. This starts with selecting the most cost effective ticketing platform in the first place. Obtaining flexible payment terms from suppliers may also be possible or organisers can try forming a deal or barter by offering festival passes to suppliers in exchange for lower prices. Providing great customer service to potential vendors and sponsors can help secure a deal but try negotiating early payment in exchange for additional guest tickets too.
Fulfilling sustainability policies for any music festival can be expensive with increased costs for waste management and the provision of cleaner power generation. Using effective communication through marketing campaigns can put the onus on all festival site visitors to attend the event with sustainability in mind. This can be applied to vendors, volunteers and festival-goers who need to take on more responsibility for their own carbon footprint.
A professional marketing team that has expertise in digital marketing, PR and social media means that key messages are coordinated for maximum impact. Any artist line-up announcements or tickets releases should have effective campaigns across all channels. Drip feeding regular content on social media will also help to keep the music festival in the minds of potential ticket buyers.
Careful attention to detail and a creative mindset for operational management can make the difference between a ‘sold out’ event and one that has to be cancelled because of ‘rising costs’ or ‘low ticket sales’.
We would advise starting with your ticketing platform. For festival organisers planning their events using an online ticketing system like The Little Box Office gives them all the functionality they need to deliver cost effective, insight driven data to plan, sell and organise ticketing for festivals. We have been at the forefront of festival organisation for many years and the features within the platform are built from that experience.
The Little Box Office platform is easy to use, cheaper than many other providers and includes many other benefits such as ticket design, multiple ticket types, discounts, ticket scanning and our well-known service where a ticketing expert will partner with you to get you ready for sale with a minimum amount of work required on your part.
Working with The Little Box Office is so simple. Reach out to the team and book a call to get a better understanding of the system and the team will be only to happy to set up your first event for you!