FESTIVALS WITHOUT BORDERS

WITH ROBERT BAIRD

RE-ATTRACTING YOUR AUDIENCE

While the pandemic is still with us, we need to be aware of the many changes in lifestyles and attitudes which have been a direct result of what we have all experienced over the past two years. The pandemic forced many of these changes on us and some of them caused a re-evaluation of our lives, of our relationships, of our work habits and much, much more.

We stayed home and developed new ways of working, of interacting, and of dealing with the restrictions on us in new and creative ways. And now that the pandemic is easing, some of these new realities continue to appeal to us and many of us want to retain them and not simply go back to the way things were.

Festivals certainly need to be aware of audience preferences and motivations moving forward if they want to win back their patrons. Here are several things to consider:

1. People are staying home more. That commute to the office has now become that walk from the kitchen to the computer – no getting dressed up, no suit or tie, no long traffic crawl. Our time is now our own to organize. People at home tend to use the internet more and can conveniently choose how to spend their leisure time from a vast number and variety of options. Marketing strategies need to be more personalized and targeted in order to compete against fierce competition. We need to have specific and convincing reasons to get out of the house and anyone hoping to attract an audience for anything needs, perhaps, to re-think its appeal and work assiduously to provide enough benefits to make that trip absolutely essential.

2. People are spending a lot more time online and if we want to connect with them, we need to reach out online to them and provide an online experience comparable to their every other online experience. If your page doesn’t load in seconds, if it is difficult to navigate your website, if there is not enough engagement on your site, then people tend to impatiently move on.

3. Digital engagement needs to be a priority. Your site should be user-friendly and include as many bells and whistles as you can possibly conjure up – information,

games, contests, and special reasons to attend your events in person. The ease of use of technology needs to ensure that ticket or merchandise purchases are completed seamlessly and customer service protocols need to ensure that any and all enquiries are answered promptly and completely.

4. Digital content needs to include a Facebook page that is continually updated and all of your digital content needs refreshing constantly. The internet can be used to make people aware of your mission, to present interesting background information on what you do, to feature staff bios with personal anecdotes, to stream performances and/or other notable events and to engage in more educational (in the “funnest” sense) activities.

Any organization can capitalize on its audience appeal by offering online and in-person opportunities to experience what it has to offer. When faced with the hassle of getting to an event (travel, parking, perhaps accommodation, baby-sitters, time spent, etc.) and feeling that there is nothing new about the event, then the choice might be to stay home. If your organization offers an “at-home” alternative, it will continue to attract modern audiences. In either case, you need to be welcoming, interesting, and fun, and present a “special occasion” in all that you do. We have to focus our strategic marketing and provide relevant programming and experiences that our audiences will be inspired by our commitment, compelled to put on their “going out clothes” and opt for attending our event.

Robert Baird is President of BAM! Baird Artists Management Consulting in Toronto, Canada and an acknowledged expert in international touring including visas, withholding and taxation. He offers free advice to artists, agents, managers and venues and has an international clientele. He served for many years on the Executive Board of Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) and is a former Vice-President of that organization. He can be reached at: P: 1-800-867-3281 E: robert@bairdartists.com or for more information go to: www.bairdartists.com

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