Using Social Media to Sell Out Your Next Event by Deven Nongbri, VP of Marketing
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Overview of how a struggling 22-year old blues music festival bounced back with some creative marketing and PR that leveraged the latest in social media engagement as well as mobile technology. Shared at the International Music Festival Conference in 2012. Information on the speaker, Deven Nongbri. Deven has spent the last 17 years as a marketing professional with everyone from AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Dell and the NBA. He's currently taking the lead in finding innovative ways to engage fans and sell tickets to the Sarasota Blues and Music Fest. He's a big fan of live music of all stripes and has sponsored, marketed or photographed dozens of major music, food and wine festivals across North America. He can be found taking photos from the pit and tweeting crowd shots from events all over the place at @dnongbri.
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Using Social Media to Sell Out Your Next Event by Deven Nongbri, VP of Marketing
- 1. Turn On, Tune In and Sell Tickets: How to Sell Out Your Next Music Festival By Deven Nongbri (@dnongbri) Event Marketing Professional For The International Music Festival Conference, Austin, TX
- 2. AGENDA • 22nd Annual Sarasota Blues and Music Festival • How marketing helps • How social media helps • What about PR? • What we saw when we looked at the data • After looking at data, how we recalibrated • Day of festival – still collecting data @dnongbri
- 3. Sarasota Blues and Music Festival @dnongbri
- 4. Sarasota Blues and Music Festival @dnongbri
- 5. Where Does Marketing Fit? @dnongbri
- 6. What Was Different About Marketing? BIG DAT A Think Globally, Act Locally @dnongbri
- 7. Where Does PR Fit? A V IR L @dnongbri
- 12. • Thank you and feel free to connect with Deven: • Twitter: @dnongbri • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dnongbri • CMO Thinking (Blog): deven.quora.com • CMO Daily: paper.li/dnongbri/1317147906 • Email: deven@nongbri.com • Happy to talk marketing, branding, tech, design and entertainment - reach out if you’re ever down in Texas!
Editor's Notes
- [image: Sarasota Blues and Music Festival logo by Deven Nongbri] Presentation Title: Turn On, Tune In and Sell Tickets: How to Sell Out Your Next Music Festival By Deven Nongbri (@dnongbri), Event Marketing Professional For The International Music Festival Conference, Austin, TX – December 2012
- [image: 2013 Sarasota Blues and Music Fest T Shirt] AGENDA 22 nd Annual Sarasota Blues and Music Festival How marketing helps How social media helps What about PR? What we saw when we looked at the data After looking at data, how we recalibrated Day of festival – still collecting data
- [images: past Sarasota Blues Fest posters and images] Past performers have included: 1991 Little Milton, Raful Neal and the Neal Brothers with Special Guest Kenny Neal, Derek Trucks (child guitar prodigy), Kenny Drew Jr. Quartet, Dr. Hector and the Groove Injectors, Anderson/Poulos Band, Dan Electro and the Silvertones, Tom Cat Blake and the Swingin’ Gates, Mercy Road, Queenie and the King Bs, Schascle (Twinkle) 1992 Solomon Burke, Otis Rush, Katie Webster, Sonny Rhodes, Lil’ Ray and the Slim Harpo Review, Doc Bryan and Larry Schaeffer, Jerry Portnoy and the Streamliners, Diamond Teeth Mary McLain with the Willie Lomax Blues Revue 1993 Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton, Derek Trucks, Chris Anderson 1994 Gregg Allman & Friends, Junior Wells, Michael Farris, Twinkle, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Emperials 1995 Buddy Guy, Chris Duarte, Sandra Hall, Josh Smith 1996 Dr. John, Tab Benoit, Lady Bianca, Lucky Peterson, Floyd Miles, Sean Chambers 1997 The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Tinsley Ellis, Bill Wharton “The Sauce Boss” 1998 Jimmy Vaughan, Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Bernard Allison, Mary Cutrofello 1999 Booker T & the MGs, Deborah Coleman, Henry “Son” Seals, Bryan Lee, Steven Seagal w/Dickie Betts & Lee Sklyr 2000 Gregg Allman & Friends, Lonnie Brooks, E.C. Scott, Walter Trout & The Free Radicals 2001 Delbert McClinton, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Hubert Sumlin, Liz Manville Greeson, Walter Smith 2002 Jeff Healey Band, Little Milton, Eric Sardinas, Kelly Richie Band, Gibbs Brothers 2003 Solomon Burke, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Coco Montoya, Eric Steckel Band, Delta Moon 2004 Ike Turner & Kings of Rhythm, Radiators, Larry McCray, Nick Curran & The Nitelifes, Robin Thrush 2005 Delbert McClinton, Shemekia Copeland, Sonny Landreth, The Lee Boys, Reggie Sears 2006 Gregg Allman, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, Maria Muldaur, Devon Allman, Jamie Eubanks 2007 Buddy Guy, Oteil & the Peacemakers, Zac Harmon, Mighty Lester, Conrad Oberg 2008 Bobby Rush, Bob Margolin & Diunna Greenleaf, JJ Grey & MOFRO, Jason Ricci, Wyatt Garey 2009 Little Feat, Duke Robillard, Larry McCray, Bruce Katz with Special Guest Floyd Miles Allstars, Mojo Myles Band 2010 Elvin Bishop Band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Tommy Castro, Moreland & Arbuckle, Jake Haldenwang 2011 Los Lobos, Ryan Shaw, Shaun Murphy, Lightnin’ Malcolm, The Selwyn Birchwood Band (winner of the Ticket To Blues Fest Competition), Mike Imbasciani with Special Guest Alex Shaw 2012 Pett Crow, Paul Thorn, Curtis Salgado, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Ana Popovic, Delbert McClinton
- [image: Sarasota Blues Fest crowds] Festival Situation 22 Year Old Festival (now losing money) Strong Local Appeal Some Regional Appeal, Little National Appeal Used to Attract 15K Attendees in Hey Day Old Location Could Hold 15K+ people Current Property Holds 5-7K People Depending on Configuration (Almost) No Marketing or PR Budget (even LESS than most festivals this size)
- [image: Marketing a festival by Deven Nongbri – “Keep Calm and Hustle Hard” courtesy of keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk] Where does marketing fit? Sponsorship Separate but Had Decent Media Trade in Local Market Minor Media Trade in Regional Markets Had to Stretch Minor Marketing Budget Traditionally Marketed as a Mass Media Play 90%+ of Media Spend in Radio, TV, Print, Billboard in Month Leading Up to Festival Different This Year Election Noise in an Undecided State (Florida) Went Direct and Social
- [image: Leveraging Big Data to Market Your Festival by Deven Nongbri – US Map visualization courtesy of smashingmagazine.com] Marketing Differently Plan of Attack Looked at Scatterplot Map of Past Buyers and eNews Subscribers Mapped Out Markets We Wanted to Reach Determined What Markets Got What Kind of Marketing Think Global, Act Local Home Market Got Mass Media Leveraged Trade Out Media (To The Hilt) Also Got Customized Messaging in Direct Emails Outlying Markets Got Direct Campaigns Specific Email Messages Tied To Their Specific Markets Specific Facebook and Google Ad Words Campaigns Tied to Their Specific Markets
- [image: PR to Kick Start Ticket Sales by Deven Nongbri] Where Does PR Fit? Still Did Traditional PR Releases, Pitches and Artists Appearances PR Part and Parcel of Marketing Plan Editorial Calendar Mapped Out Angles, Stories Ideas Once Sponsors Secured and Artists Booked, More Local Angles Came Up New: Got Artists to “Welcome” Fans to Festival Via Pre-Recorded Video Messages Leveraged Across ALL MEDIA and Went Viral New: Pitch Local Community As Weekend Destination With Festival As Focal Point Worked With CSVB – Got No Money But Did Get Lots of Social Media Attention
- [image: Social Media Marketing for a Festival by Deven Nongbri] Social Media for a Festival Marketing and PR Would Not Have Worked Without Social Media Social Was the Icing On The Cake Properties included the big 3: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube Also dabbled in Pinterest, Spotify and UNATION Told Our Story Across Different Platforms AND SOLD TICKETS Social WITH mobile was key - LBS played HUGE role in collecting REAL STATS Social Media Accounted for ~2% of All Sales Last Year
- [image: Using big data to effectively market events by Deven Nongbri] Check Data, Respond, React – Midstream Changes Tracked Sales YOY – 90 Days, 60 Days, 30 Days Brought Up Scatterplot Map of Buyers and Determined Marketing Needed Closer To Home Went On Offensive With Local Push Via Sponsors Turned Up Volume With Local Radio Remotes, On Camera Interviews Had to Tune Out Political Advertising
- [image: Levering social media to bring more people to your events by Deven Nongbri] RESULTS YOY Sales Were Positive – Overwhelmingly Ahead 90 Days = 833% Ahead 60 Days = 645% Ahead; VIP Tickets SOLD OUT 30 Days = 412% Ahead Day of Festival = 126% Ahead; SELL OUT Crowd Social Sales = 12% of Total Ticket Sales – 400% Increase – All At No Incremental Cost LBS Check-Ins at Day of Event Spread Word of Festival to Additional 20K People in Local Area
- [image: It pays to go digital (online, social and mobile) for your marketing by Deven Nongbri] What’d we learn? Keep Track of YOY Sales – AND Adjust If They’re Not Where You Want Them Online, Online, Online and Mobile, Mobile, Mobile Point all promos, all comps, every kind of ticket purchase online so you can track them Find a Ticketing Company That Promotes Social Sales, Promotes Your Event and Gives You the Data to Communicate With YOUR Attendees Leverage Your Sponsors AND Charities to Promote Your Festival Leverage Artists to Promote Your Festival
- [image: Where to find Deven Nongbri on the web] Thank you and feel free to connect with Deven Nongbri, marketing and branding authority for the entertainment industry: Twitter: @dnongbri LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dnongbri CMO Thinking (Blog): deven.quora.com CMO Daily: paper.li/dnongbri/1317147906 Email: deven@nongbri.com Happy to talk marketing, branding, tech, design and entertainment - reach out if you’re ever down in Texas!