Any fan of chef Guy Fieri’s show, “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” knows the foodie calls it “Triple D.” Well, it is now “Triple F” season – Festivals, Fundraisers and Fairs.
Let’s just take festivals as an example of an opportunity for promotional products: According to a June 13, 2018, article on Deployed Resources, there are approximately 800 music festivals in the US, spanning all genres. The largest music festival in 2017 was the 11-day Summerfest (Milwaukee) – which attracted up to one million people and featured nearly 1,000 performances.
Billboard magazine noted that 32 million Americans attend at least one music festival every year. And, according to Deployed Resources, 14.7 million of them are Millennials, “demonstrating the growing trend and “rite of passage” among today’s youth.”
Getting there seems to be half the fun -- on average, attendees sojourn approximately 900 miles to attend their festival of choice. Festivals both large and small nourish the local economy. According to Forbes, in 2016, Coachella generated approximately $704 million in consumer and business spending, which contributed $106 million to the local economy.
Festivals that tend to attract socially aware and active millennials may take a little more homework on behalf of the client who wants to exhibit and sell there. Araceli Salinas of PWS observes that “festival culture is often one that favors experiences and a cause over material consumerism. It is important to learn a bit about the ethos of the festivals your client is targeting before suggesting an array of potential promotional products to ensure that the promotional product aligns with the festival-goer's sentiments about topics such as: proper use of resources, waste, sustainability and sometimes even around big corporate biases,” she states. “Presenting a product that has a minimal ecological footprint, that is locally produced, and that highlights a lifestyle, has some background story, or a cause, rather than just promoting the client’s brand, will be a well-received and effective promotion.”
Of course, he adds, this is not true for all festivals, and as festivals become more and more mainstream the opportunities for a wider range of promotional products to find a place within this changing culture will increase.
Fairs are also a seasonal favorite for people to show their town, county and state pride and indulge in all that scrumptious food truck fare. And then, there are local health fairs, history fairs and other special interest fairs like antiques and collectibles that bring together people with the same interests to meet vendors.
Fundraisers, like festivals, run from the large (such as the American Heart Association’s chapter annual balls to fundraising events for local families in need of assistance.)
In all cases, people gather to enjoy a commonality and to make happy memories – all worries and stress are purposefully cast out of the mind. With this positive essence infusing the atmosphere, vendors that distribute promotional products to attendees, or as prizes or thank-yous for signing up at the booth will be a part of that memorable experience.
“Promotional product opportunities for fairs and festivals really run the gamut,” emphasizes Tom Farrell of EMT. Everything from event access to commemorative merchandise to event giveaways and sponsored swag, he notes, all have relevance here. Depending on the event, you can tie promotional products to tiered level ticketing and even provide sponsors with opportunities to market their companies in a VIP swag bag.
“Events and festivals built around music, food, wine, art, spirituality, etc. offer attendees exposure to new products and experiences with just one ticket purchase,” explains Carrie Lewis, marketing and communications manager for BIC Graphic. Vendors benefit from using promotional products because they have a captive audience for several days, not just a brief moment. “The opportunities to create buzz with creative promos such as our Jamoji® Too Cool Bluetooth® speaker that enhance the experience are endless,” she says.
Festival attendees tend to camp out on site and therefore, items of convenience and comfort such as camping and tailgating gear would be highly appreciated. Easily transported cooler bags and KOOZIE® can koolers are popular essentials for festival-goers, while promos to help chill out during downtime like a hammock fit the festival vibe perfectly,” Lewis offers.
Research shows that activity-driven fundraising such as golf outings, walks, and runs can attract significant support, she adds. Promotional items that are useful during the event, like the Tervis® Classic 24-oz. Sport Bottle, can also raise awareness long after the fundraiser ends, and often serves as a motivator for the recipient to continue to exercise.
Your clients that want to be vendors at one of these events need a logoed table cover for the booth and a logoed banner as well, points out Gwen Brey of Beacon Promotions. Full-color dye-sublimated table covers will grab the attendees’ attention and pull them in,” she suggests. Fun and exciting handouts are also a must, she says. “You can tie the handout item into a theme that is being used or that fits with the type of business your company is. One great handout item is a tote bag. The attendees can enjoy filling it up and your client’s ad is seen all over the event. Also, many vendors at these events will have a drawing for one large product. This is where a corporate gift name brand product fits the bill.”
Event organizers can benefit from a host of promotional products as well.
Eric Johnson of ID Line advises thinking about event tags for staff, vendors and volunteers, along with a lanyard. And both Johnson and Lewis note that lanyards can be color-coded to denote access level.
For festivals, Johnson adds, “Magnets with some of the festival artwork, Static Cling for reminders of events or even parking permits, and also Re-Stick-Its are great for calendar and schedules to send out prior to the event reminding festival attendees when to come and where to go – or tips for parking when they do get there.”
B-Band Bracelets from EMT are suitable for festival event admission or VIP access, according to Farrell. “They’re full color, comfortable and low cost,” he describes. “The one-way sliding clip locks into place, so the attendee never has to worry about losing his/her event badge,” he says.
Fundraising/charity organizers may get some mileage out of giving mouse pads to the donors, says Johnson, “to remind them of what they did all year long. They want to know where their donation went and what it did. Also appreciated is a lapel pin to recognize the donors for their level of contribution – a different pin for different levels.”
People are always looking for social media-worthy picture opportunities, and festivals/fundraisers/fairs are popular experiences for people to share with their connections online, Lewis observes. “Selfie remotes and other tech accessories may be a great fit, even though the technology category may not be top-of-mind when thinking of these events,” she adds.
Farrell agrees, noting, “Everyone is looking for ways to tie social media, our mobile experiences and real-world branding together, and our phone loops are a great way to do that. Attendees can attach full-color loops to their phones and never have to worry about dropping them when taking photos and video at the event. And that is branding that will live on a user’s phone, that they will check countless times per day.”
Festivals, fundraisers and fairs are a large event footprint, and every area has the potential for promotion, Lewis emphasizes. From attendee identification to souvenir drinkware to swag bags, she notes, “think outside the box to identify promo opportunities on every level because there are so many!"
CASE STUDIES
Gwen Brey of Beacon Promotions: “The hot summer months are the time of year for county and state fairs and ice cream! The Ice Cream Scoop (# HW19IC) was the perfect item for a farm dairy cooperative to give out at the fair. It’s a useful, durable plastic item made with FDA-safe materials. The ad featured their logo and the catchy slogan ‘Get the Scoop.’
“A State Cattlemen’s Association was doing presentations at a local county fair. The presentation was to educate the consumer about beef products, how to prepare the different cuts of beef and some recipes. At the end of each presentation, they had the participants complete a survey. The Cattlemen’s Association wanted to give a thank-you gift to those who took the time to attend the presentation and complete the survey and chose the Digital Kitchen/Grilling Thermometer (#HW23TH).
“A Midwestern city with a large German population holds an annual German festival each year. The first 100 attendees through the festival gates received the Stanley Classic 24-oz. Vacuum Stein (#1002114) imprinted with the festival logo and city name. Those who did not receive one wanted one of their own. The stein was also sold at the souvenir shop. This was the perfect item, as it keeps beverages cold for nine hours and was easy to carry and make toasts with the stainless-steel handle. It was a great commemorative and useful piece for the attendees to take home with them. Ein Prosit!
“A school booster club was working on a fundraiser for its athletic department and wanted something that would get a lot of exposure for the school, while also being environmentally friendly. They chose the large Non-Woven Carry All Bag (#BGNW4300) because it provided a large imprint area that would get a lot of recognition, promote the school pride and it is made with recycled material. Part of the fundraising effort was to educate the students about the perils of plastic shopping bags and how they adversely affect the environment. That was to be part of their sales pitch when they were taking orders. The booster club was pleased with the number of bags that were ordered and how involved the students got with educating their relatives, friends, and neighbors as they were selling the bags.”
Carrie Lewis, marketing and communications manager, BIC Graphic: “An event promoter was compiling a gift box for top-tier ticket holders for a large-scale national summer concert tour. The KOOZIE® Adventure Dry Sack (#15787) was a natural fit for the outdoor lifestyle/laid back summer style of the headlining artist and was good-quality to appeal to concert-goers who paid top dollar for their tickets. The event organizer ordered 20,000, imprinted them with special tour artwork reserved for top-tier ticket holders, and included them in the gift box mailed with the VIP concert tickets.”
Eric Johnson of ID Line: “A distributor did some event tags for a client that had multiple copy and color changes – these included some personalized for the individual and some more generic tags. They also had a colored bar at the bottom that distinguished between multiple participants. Some variables were VIP, STAFF, GENERAL, MEDIA, VENDOR. On the tag they also included a map of the event and some of the sponsors of the event – an added opportunity for sponsor exposure. The distributor’s client loved them and felt it made them appear more professional than using the badge holder with the slide in card stock.”