With events starting up again and the summer fast approaching, many events managers are thinking about the 2021 festival season. With the past year leaving many festivals having to cancel or postpone, we know that you want to do everything you can to ensure a successful event. We have put together some things to keep in mind when it comes to organising a festival in 2021.
With a bit of ingenuity and creativity, it’s possible to put on a great event this year. Here are five areas to think about when organising your festival:
- Keep up to date with Covid Regulations
- Budget
- Entertainment
- Marketing
- Venue
Keep up to date with covid regulations
With things being very changeable at the moment it’s a good idea to stay informed on what local health officials are recommending. When you make the extra effort to do more than is required, it can help put your customers and staff’s minds at ease. This will encourage those who may be unsure about attending a larger gathering after precautions are lifted, so making sure you have all of the necessary precautions covered will ensure a successful event.
Budget
It’s a good idea to think of clear goals when it comes to the festival this year. Do you want to increase your ticket sales? Do you want to encourage returning customers? Increase your food and beverage sales? Communicate these goals with your team so that everyone is on the same page. When you know what your goals are, then you can focus on what to budget on. Remember to factor in health and safety measures such as barriers, cleaning and any extra measures required by health officials. We can help to give you the best price when it comes to setting up temporary structures, see the venue subheading for more information.
Entertainment
One of the most important decisions you will make is your vendors and line-up. This is what your customers are going to be attracted to. Making sure all stages of the process are documented will help you keep it organised. Keep records of your wish list, who you have contacted and also any happy performers. Many food and merchandise vendors will be happy to get things up and running this year, so try and think about small local businesses to support. They will appreciate it massively and you will also be able to tap into their client base when it comes to marketing.
Marketing
Social media campaigns
Social media is a great way to get information out about your event. Make sure you make good use of hashtags and you could offer competitions and ticket giveaways to followers that share your advertising. This is a very cost-effective way to get the word out.
Local media
Having a list of local media contacts works really well and will help you to target the customers that will be interested in the local area. This is a perfect customer base to start with as they will be much more inclined to come to an event that requires less travel. And as many people are not traveling abroad this year they will be looking for fun events in their vicinity to keep them entertained.
Email campaigns
While many view this medium as a bit old-fashioned, do not underestimate email as a form of marketing. With an email campaign, you can not only promote your event but also keep customers informed of the safety measures you have in place. It’s a great way to re-target customers from previous years, offer them exclusive deals and benefits to get them excited and talking about the festival this year.
Venue
There are some things to think about when it comes to your venue. Parking and ensuring you have enough toilet facilities should be taken into consideration. With the English weather, you don’t want to get caught out in a downpour that could dampen your event, so make sure there are plenty of covered areas and you have adequate shelter.
There has been a lot of talk recently about how festivals impact the environment, so you want to do what you can to try and reduce that impact. Trying to avoid the use of plastic water bottles can be a great start. For example, Glastonbury have stopped all the sales of bottled water, instead they recommend all festival-goers use a reusable water bottle and they provide free water kiosks throughout the festival site.
It’s also important when setting up a festival/event is to try and return the land back to its original state without damage. One great way to do this is by using Stop Digging ground screws. Ground screws provide a strong and sturdy foundation solution for many different types of structures. For example:
Harris Fencing – you will want to secure your site and there is nothing more frustrating than your Harris fencing blowing over. Our ground screws can hold the weight of a 2 storey-house so you can only imagine how sturdy your fencing will be.
Temporary accommodation and portable cabins – Whether you are providing accommodation on site for your staff, hiring portable cabins for the office or your performers to get ready, or adding temporary toilet facilities, you can place them securely on our ground screws.
Whether you plan on adding benches, bins, walkways, decking, stages, signage or playground equipment our screws will provide the best sturdy foundation.
Each screw takes just minutes to install, ready for your structure/item to be placed on top. What’s even better is they do not cause damage to the ground or surrounding areas and the screws are reusable and recyclable. Ready to be used again at your next event.
We know that getting a festival set up this year will have its challenges but we can help you with the venue set up. If you would like any more information please feel free to get in touch with us and we would be happy to help.
While festivals may end up looking a bit different this year, being organised and planning as soon as possible will mean an incredible, well-organised event with happy customers and staff.
Documented will help you keep it organised. Keep records of your wish list, who you have contacted and also any happy performers. Many food and merchandise vendors will be happy to get things up and running this year, so try and think about small local businesses tosupport. They will appreciate it massively and you will also be able to tap into their client base when it comes to marketing. Marketing Social media campaigns Social media is a great way to get information out about your event. Make sure you make good use of hashtags and you could offer competitions and ticket giveaways to followers thatshare your advertising. This is a very cost-effective way to get the word out. Local media Having a list of local media contacts works really well and will help you to target the customers that will be interested in the local area. This is a perfect customer base to start with as they will be much more inclined to come to an event that requires less travel. And as many people are not traveling abroad this year they will be looking for fun events in their vicinity to keep them entertained. Email campaigns While many view this medium as a bit old-fashioned, do not underestimate email as a form of marketing. With an email campaign, you can not only promote your event but also keep customers informed of the safety measures you have in place. It’s a great way to re-target customers from previous years, offer them exclusive deals and benefits to get them excited and talking about the festival this year. Venue There are some things to think about when it comes to your venue. Parking and ensuring you have enough toilet facilities should be taken into consideration. With the English weather, you don’t want to get caught out in a downpour that could dampen your event, so make sure there are plenty of covered areas and you have adequate shelter.There has been a lot of talk recently about how festivals impact the environment, so you want to do what you can to try and reduce that impact. Trying to avoid the use of plastic water bottles can be a great start. For example, Glastonbury have stopped all the sales of bottled water, instead they recommend all festival-goers use a reusable water bottle and they provide free water kiosks throughout the festival site. It’s also important when setting up a festival/event is to try and return the land back to its original state without damage. One great way to do this is by using Stop Digging ground screws. Ground screws provide a strong and sturdy foundation solution for many different types of structures. For example: Harris Fencing – you will want to secure your site and there is nothing more frustrating than your Harris fencing blowing over. Our ground screws can hold the weight of a 2 storey-houseso you can only imagine how sturdy your fencing will be.
