Icon event development example

Positioning

After consultation with the industry, it is clear there is desire for a new icon event for Esperance. Stakeholders are excited by the prospect of external support in the events space and what’s possible with this support, so industry buy-in is likely, given the positioning is right.

When choosing how to position this event, consideration must be given to ensuring the festival is an authentic representation of the regional identity, to provide maximum benefit back to the host location.

Research by Jiang and Chen (Event attendance motives, host city evaluation, and behavioural intentions: an empirical study of Rio 2016”, 2019) found tourism events based on local culture, traditions and resources have an additional appeal and value because of their authenticity, as they can provide attendees with a unique and memorable experience, so positioning of a new icon event must align with regional identity to have maximum appeal.

The region speaks highly of the Festival of the Wind and was sad to see its discontinuation. And industry and local buy-in is critical in the development of the new event, so with that in mind, AHOY recommends Esperance reimagines this festival and brings it back in the next 5 years, once the short-term recommendations of this strategy have been considered and/ or implemented, and the seed funding and resources are set up and in place to ensure the event’s continuation.

A stronger name and brand proposition of Festival of the Wind should be created to effectively engage the target audience (i.e. overnight visitors). The tightly packaged theme and brand allows for broad industry engagement and involvement, all while playing into an element of Esperance’s offering (wind) which can be repositioned into a positive. The theming of the festival is broad enough to engage all members of the community, from music and arts groups to food vendors and local businesses, while if the brand and positioning is done correctly, can have a strong enough united proposition to cut-through and engage both locals and overnight visitors. (Note: we will still refer to this reimagination of the event as Festival of the Wind throughout this document, however still recommend a renaming and rebranding of this event).

Survey participants all spoke highly of the kite flying elements of Festival of the Wind for example, and the potential to attract kinetic wind or sound sculptors to display their works as part of the festival will add a level of interest and prestige that is likely to attract additional funding from Tourism WA. Pieces like Theo Jansen’s strandbeests along Esperance’s beaches, or Luke Jerram’s Aeolus wind sound sculpture would be world-class pieces of art that would attract visitation from far and wide to experience, while offering incredible content that would reach much further than event attendees. Events that fit into an umbrella theme such as Festival of the Wind need not necessarily be solely wind-specific, but simply an expression of regional identity that ties strongly to the event brand. This could include:

• Key wind-related experiences such as:

- kite flying

- kite making

- World class art installations/exhibitions in iconic locations (such as kinetic sculptures)

- Wind Music (either and both a woodwind instruments orchestra, or music produced using the wind)

- Indigenous storytelling with relevant thread

- Wind-based water sports such as kite boarding and kite surfing

- School/community group participatory art pieces

- Children’s hands on activities and experiments with wind, like collaborations with Scitech

• Supported by other experiences that bring vibrancy to the town, like:

- Live music events

- Movie nights or projections

- Pop-up food hubs

Collectively, and when curated properly with the guest in mind, these events provide an enticing selection of events for both locals and visitors over the festival period.

Funding opportunities

It is recommended that a pool of seed funding be sourced as a first step in the development and rollout of a new icon event. To effectively set up any event which can drive visitation, significant investment needs to be made into branding, website, photography, videography and marketing from the outset, as well as the human resources needed for stakeholder engagement and capacity building around events.

After evaluating the achievements of successful umbrella events around Western Australia, it is clear seed funding is crucial to these events’ immediate success. It allows for investment in quality assets to effectively market the event, as well as a dedicated event management team. The marketing approach can be sophisticated from the outset, giving the event great cut through into key markets and offering an enticing proposition to the target audience, meaning reach of the festival can stretch beyond just the in-person attendance figures. A festival budget will likely be made up from various income streams, for example:

• Event marketing fees – businesses paying a participation fee

• Local government investment

• Tourism organisation support Corporate Sponsorship and event partners

• Grant Funding

• Other festival income opportunities like accommodation partners, program advertising, merchandise etc.

“Survey participants all spoke highly of the kite flying elements of Festival of the Wind for example, and the potential to attract kinetic wind or sound sculptors to display their works as part of the festival will add a level of interest and prestige that is likely to attract additional funding from Tourism WA.”

A list of potential partners is outlined in the next section, and below is an introductory list of agencies that regularly offer grant rounds for events and arts projects.

Agency Grant Eligibility

Tourism WA RES

Supports community events that bring vibrancy to the regions, bring additional tourism income to regional communities, attract media coverage and extend the length of the traditional tourist season.

Tourism WA REP

DLGSC Arts 15-plus and Arts Under 15k

Supports events that drive overnight visitation, attract media coverage and extend the length of the traditional tourist season.

Amount

Up to $40k

$50k to $200k

Collaborations to produce/ present new work, community workshops 15K & UNDER 15K & $60K

DLGSC Various arts grants Grants like the Regional and Remote Festivals Fund and Playing WA are regularly offered and support arts and cultural activities in regional WA. Check back with DLGSC regularly for grant opportunities.

Lottery West Community Grants Supports community groups and NFPs with funding that supports their framework pillars of inclusive thriving communities, connected cultural experiences, protected sustainable ecosystems and smart innovative society.

The Australia Council Contemporary Music Touring Program and Playing Australia: Regional Performing Arts Touring Fund

Healthway Healthy Partnership Program, Healthy Communities Program, Healthy Spaces Program

Regional Arts Fund Various, Quick Response, Cultural Tourism Accelerator, Youth Grants

The Contemporary Music Touring Program (CMTP) supports national touring activity undertaken by Australian musicians performing original contemporary music. The Regional Performing Arts Touring program (Playing Australia) supports performing arts to reach regional and remote communities across Australia.

Healthway offers a number of different grants for health promotion projects in Western Australia. Health Promotion Project Grants support a range of activities and campaigns designed to promote and encourage healthy lifestyles.

Regional Arts WA is the leading peak arts body entrusted with the governance and delivery of arts and cultural funding throughout regional and remote Western Australia, and has managed devolved funding on behalf of the State and Federal Governments since 1996. There are a range of funds and grants available throughout the year for projects of varying size and scope.

Up to $50k

$3k to $15k

Various limits

Up to and over $5k for Partnerships, Up to $5k for Spaces, Up to and over $5k for Communities

$3-5k for individuals, up to $30k for projects, $75k over three years for events.

A top line minimum budget breakdown for Year 1 of a new event is outlined below, including the proposed seed funding amounts required from regional stakeholders. This budget would scale-up based on desired outcomes (target audience, number of unique overnight visitors, number of days of event etc.).

Businesses paying a marketing fee for involvement in the program and associated marketing benefits

Planning, budgeting, stakeholder engagement, concept creation, program curation, ticket sales and registrations, overseeing marketing rollout, on-the-day management, ensuring that on the day logistics are running smoothly (catering, venue, equipment), post-event communication, reporting & analysis, managing postevent marketing/communications.

$20,000 Planning of marketing schedule, procurement of contractors and advertising, influencer relations, sales evaluation, channel management, manage online listings, event ticketing, email database management, newsletters, organic social media marketing activations, media releases, talent management and interviews branding, programs, posters, printed postcards, banner advertising, advertising, newspapers, radio, leverage small spend to secure partnerships with media outlets

Admin staff time, additional contractors, accounting, printing, postage, meetings, application fees, incidentals.

Partnerships

A collaborative approach to a new icon tourism event is key. In regional areas where funding is generally limited, partnerships and collaborative activities amplify outcomes. AHOY Management believe partnerships and strong stakeholder relationships are crucial to the success of a new icon event for the region. Any new event should encourage participation and collaboration from a wide group of businesses and industry bodies.

Feedback from industry surveys confirmed that businesses want to see a collaborative approach. They know their own businesses well, but need help with marketing, ticketing and positioning, and support a coordinated approach. A collaborative effort means pooling of resources that will maximise exposure of the event and enhance the prospect for all businesses in the region to benefit, whether they be directly involved in the event or not. It also relieves pressure on those members of the community who consistently volunteer their time.

A list of potential partners (both monetary and in-kind) is outlined below. Cash contributions from sponsorship directly benefit the bottom line of the event budget, whereas in-kind partnerships are important for spreading event messaging, offsetting work for festival management and ensure strong stakeholder engagement from different community and industry sectors.

Partnership Type

Community, Government and Industry Partners

Business/Organisations to Target

• Shire of Esperance

• Shire assets, such as sporting fields, Civic Centre etc

• South Regional TAFE

• Esperance Chamber of Commerce and Industry

• FORM

• Regional Development Australia

• Goldfields Esperance Development Commission

• Development WA

Tourism Partners

• Esperance tourism industry

• Shire of Esperance’s tourism staff

• Australia’s Golden Outback

• Tourism Western Australia’s digital and PR teams

• RAC

Media Partners

• Southern Cross Austereo

• GWN7

• Local newspapers

Social websites such as Urban List Perth and Broadsheet

• Digital influencers

Examples of Sponsorship Opportunities

• Local Machinery & Equipment Providers

• Southern Ports Horizon Power

• Elders Insurance

• Real Estate Agencies

• Local Business CBH

• Industry Funding (e.g. IGO, Aurizon, Mt Burdett, Esperance Ag Fund)

• Telstra

• Banking Institutions

Marketing activities

Tourism Research Australia points out that positive word of mouth is the most important form of promotion about an event and should be encouraged and facilitated as part of the marketing schedule. Their report, Events: Drivers of Regional Tourism, states ‘Social advocacy and recommendations are vital in generating awareness and knowledge about events. Social media or interest groups/sites should be used to promote events, while also using local promotion to capture impulse or unplanned attendance.’

A complete marketing activity schedule will depend completely on the budget of an event, however there are several low-cost or free activities that aid in organic sharing about an event, which are integral in the marketing strategy. These include:

• Strong promotion through owned media channels, such as websites, email databases, social media channels and printed collateral.

• Utilise free marketing opportunities through partner channels for both stakeholder and consumer communication

• Leverage Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) campaigns

• Media outreach and media visits

• Direct marketing to special interest groups, such as outreach to sporting fan pages on social media, or talking directly with arts groups

• Cross promote or collaborate with other events and conferences in region

• Encourage participating businesses to promote the festival brand (and make it easy for them to do so by providing key information and imagery)

• Source (or invest in) good imagery for pre-promotion

• Create advocates of the event through local representatives

• Use cost effective town signage opportunities, such as entrance banners, LED screens and notice boards

More information on these suggested marketing activities can be found in Appendix 1.

Timeline of activities

To deliver a new icon event comfortably in the first year, it is suggested to work off an eight to 12-month timeline. Below is a proposed event timeline for the rollout of a new icon tourism event.

Month Activity

Eight to twelve months out Engagement of an Event Management Company

• Write event business plan, budget, and marketing plan

• Start initial talks with local businesses and Local Government

• Start branding exercise

Seven months out

Six months out

Five months out

Four months out

Three months out

• Open up expressions of interest for involvement

• Stakeholder outreach

• Face to face meetings with businesses to curate events

• Cut off for event applications

• Collect all necessary information for events

• Curate and lock down program

• PR push to magazines and international media

• Set up ticketing

• Commence teaser marketing

• Tickets on sale

• Advertising commences

Two months out Event program distribution

Month prior to event

Month of event

• Checkups with event partners and logistics lockdown

• Esperance Icon Event

• Post-event evaluation

Metrics and measurables

To create a sustainable regional event, it’s necessary to ensure satisfaction from not only the visitors attending, but also the local industry and the venues/businesses themselves. Therefore, a range of both consumer and business metrics should be tested, outlined below:

Number of businesses involved

A regional icon event will rely heavily on local industry. Therefore, the number of businesses involved will highlight how well the event management team were able to convey the event concept to stakeholders. The growth of participation will show the satisfaction of businesses and the capability of those businesses to effectively run events.

How to measure:

This is measured by compiling a list of participating businesses and tallying the total number involved. It is worth making a note of artists involved, as well as volunteers, as these are often measurables needed in grant funding applications.

Satisfaction level of businesses

Buy-in and collaboration from businesses is crucial to the success of an event structure like this. These businesses share the risk by investing in the event and their ongoing satisfaction will contribute to the success or failure of the event. Businesses should be asked about their overall satisfaction, whether they would recommend the festival to other businesses, are they likely to participate in the future, and any benefits they received from their participation, such as profits, new leads etc.

How to measure:

Business satisfaction can be measured through a post event survey, which can be created via the free tool, Survey Monkey, and sent to the emails of participating businesses.

Visitation

The number of consumers who attend is a gauge of how well the event was marketed, and how that converted into sales. Measuring visitation allows for year-on-year comparisons to show growth of the festival.

How to measure:

This can be measured by ticket sales and participation estimates from free-entry events. Door clickers should be used for free events.

Satisfaction of attendees

Positive word of mouth is one of the best ways to spread a message. Ensuring previous guests are working as ambassadors for the brand is important to its success (and to expand the reach of the event). Event managers should ask how likely attendees are to recommend the festival to friends and family. This Net Promotor Score gives an indication of whether word-of-mouth messaging about the event is positive. In addition, questions should include where guests travelled from, how long they stayed, their experience at individual elements of the festival, how they heard about the festival and whether they intend to come again next year.

How to measure:

Business satisfaction can be measured through a post event survey, which can be created via the free tool, Survey Monkey, and sent to the emails of participating businesses. The survey can be promoted via ticket holders, social media, a post-event e-newsletter and via the website.

Social media reach

The available metrics that an event manager can acquire through social media are incredibly valuable. It can show the reach of an event, the engagement in marketing and the festival brand, and then the conversion (that is, how many people purchased tickets). It shows how the event is received by the target audience. It also sets a benchmark for marketing spend and how best to reach the target audience in future years.

How to measure:

Details on reach and engagement can be found via the Facebook Business Manager. A report will also be compiled by any third party who assist with paid social media advertising (as recommended by AHOY). A pixel should also be installed on the festival website to measure click throughs and ticket sales.

Media Coverage

Media coverage is considered more valuable than paid advertising because it’s seen as authentic in the eyes of the reader. Measuring the Estimated Advertising Value of media coverage gives an indication of leveraged funds and can assist with displaying return on investment (ROI).

How to measure:

Measuring EAV is done by working out the cost of publicity, if it was paid for. For example, how much does an advertisement cost in the local newspaper at approximately the same size as the free publicity received. Depending on who is compiling this information, the value is often multiplied (by double or triple) as it’s a widely held belief that free publicity is worth more than paid advertising as it’s more trusted in the eyes of the consumer.