The Power of Brand Presence at Festivals & Events By Marc Goulet

South by Southwest and Coachella at- in social media with built-in tendees likely noticed an uptick in brand audiences to which they can presence this year, as event sponsorships, broadcast their experiences. branded experiences, and the usage of Festival and event attendees guerrilla marketing tactics appeared to are significantly more likely be everywhere. to be on Instagram (61% vs. Examples that had people talking include: 44% of non-attendees) and • GE’s BBQ Research Center that enabled Twitter (61% vs. 51%), have the brand to demonstrate its scientific significantly larger followings prowess via Austin’s all-compassing on both sites, and on top of love of barbecue. it — more Facebook friends: • HBO and A&E both bringing hit shows to life with the Game of Thrones & Average Number of Bates Motel experiences. Followers & Friends • Heineken becoming the center of • Twitter Followers: 230 the Coachella experience by hosting among attendees vs. 122 some of the festival’s hottest acts at the for non-attendees Heineken House. • Instagram Followers: 268 among attendees vs. 169 With the 2015 festival circuit now in for non-attendees full swing, Russell Research conducted a • Facebook Friends: 397 survey among a sample of 578, 18-39 year among attendees vs. 293 olds and focused on the nearly one-third for non-attendees. of adults between the ages of 18 and 39 (31%) who have attended at least one Further, event attendees cultural event or festival in the past three are more than twice as likely years. This was accomplished by measuring to have substantial follower past three-year attendance of 25 events that counts — 12% have 500+ spanned across three major categories: followers on Twitter (vs. 5% • Arts Festivals: Influential events such of non-attendees) and 17% as Sundance Film Festival, Art Basel, have 500+ followers on South by Southwest, and Comic-Con Instagram (vs. 7% of non- The study was conducted online by Russell International attendees). Research from April 3 – 12, 2015, among • Sports: Major events such as the Super In other words, they have a large, 578 adults between the ages of 18 and 39. Bowl, Kentucky Derby, and X Games engaged audience. Figures for gender, age, and geography were • Music Festivals: Popular U.S. music weighted where necessary to match their festivals including Coachella, Lollapa- 3. They Serve as actual proportions in the population. In looza, Jazz Fest, and Austin City Limits. Brand Ambassadors theory, with probability samples of this size, The final piece of the puzzle is wheth- one could say with 95-percent certainty that So who attends cultural events and er attendees are willing to talk about the results have a statistical precision of plus festivals, and why are they so important what they see and hear at major events. or minus 4.1 percentage points of what they for brands? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding would be if the entire adult population had YES, as results are staggeringly attractive been polled with complete accuracy. 1. They are Early Adopters for brands: Festival and event goers are in search of • 66% have posted a picture or update the next big thing. More than one-quarter from an event Marc Goulet is a native of New of recent event/festival attendees (27%) • 43% have posted a picture or update York’s Hudson Valley. Marc attended are usually one of the first to know about about a brand at an event college in Buffalo and joined Russell and purchase new products — nearly • 55% have purchased a product or ser- Research in 1997. His Account Ser- double the percentage of non-attendees vice that was featured at the event or by vices Director role involves developing (14%) who consider themselves early an event sponsor client relationships and the design/ adopters. This is a natural fit for brands analysis of both qualitative and quanti- launching a new product or service. Key Implication: If consumer-facing tative research for clients. When not in brands can find smart and creative ways the office, Marc tries to find the right 2. They Have Large Social to be a positive part of the event experi- balance between his love of endur- Circles & Followings ence, it becomes an opportunity to make a ance sports, music, and craft beer. Not only are attendees the first to try lasting impression, among both attendees new products, they are more involved and their extensive social media circles.

34 IFEA’s ie: the business of international events Summer 2015