Our first freelance gig was working with the marketing team at Hull UK City of Culture 2017, it was a big deal and we felt mega proud. Since then we’ve attracted a host of wonderful cultural clients who we’ve been privileged to work with. From Freedom Festival, Frequency Festival, Absolutely Cultured, IETM to The BIg Malarkey Children’s Literature Festival.   

Earlier this summer we once again worked with the team at The Big Malarkey Festival and Hull Libraries to promote this year’s festival. In an uncertain time we had no idea what the appetite for a festival would be. But do you know what? The festival sold out. 

If you want to know the learnings from our marketing approach that led to a sell out festival, head on over to our blog to read our 5 tips that may help you and your marketing.   

Nurture your email list

Nurture and engage your existing audience already signed up to your newsletter, they’re ready and waiting to hear what you’ve got to say. Regular emails, including a sequence the week before the festival engaged users with content and news that drove ticket sales.  

The power of perfect partnerships

Don’t underestimate the power of partnerships. We utlised partnerships with local schools and created content that they could easily share with parents (our target audience). Give people what they need in an easy to use format. We sent suggested social media content and cut and pastable paragraphs for their newsletters.    

Dream PR 

PR is a great free advertising tool. Don’t be afraid of using it. We reached out to the  channels that would be most beneficial for targeting our audience, BBC Radio Humberside, BBC Look North and ITV Calendar. Always make your emails personal and relevant, giving them unmissable opportunities. Need more tips here download our DIY your PR freebie.   

Ideal audience always in mind

Always keep in mind your audience. Think about where they hang out, and get yourself seen there. We reached out to local family bloggers with personal invites to attend the event and invested in Facebook advertising to boost posts so they were actually seen. We created an intensive social media content plan, that reiterated the call to action.  Don’t presume that everyone has seen your content, just because you posted once.  

Don’t dis paid for advertising

We spent a small budget working with targeted publications like the Primary Times, often when you take out an advert it will result in some editorial too. While this is not guaranteed, it's a good bargaining tool. 

Be honest and upfront 

Always be honest and upfront, preempting the information and questions that may be asked. We knew that people would be curious about how the festival would work in a post Covid world, so prepared a comprehensive FAQs so that questions could be answered and addressed quickly.    

Want to have a chat about how we can support you, book a free discovery call here.

Laura + Becca 

Image: The Big Malarkey Festival, credit Tom Arran.