Open Air Business August/September 2017

EVENTS
GEM REDFORD PHOTOGRAPHY
medical staff and a fully equipped
ambulance on site. We have two
stages but use only one at a time,
therefore we do not sell tickets
to more people than we can
comfortably accommodate in any
one arena. This avoids a crush in
the audience and long queues at
the bar and food stalls - and more
importantly, the toilets!
What ground protection do you
use for cars and footfall?
We haven’t used any yet but are
looking into it this year in case of
bad weather.
How do you publicise the event?
We advertise in local newspapers,
music magazines and various other
publications, and last year we
used a licensed poster campaign.
Our main promotion is done via
Facebook and e-flyers. We are also
looking at radio advertising this
year.
What challenges have you faced?
Just the obvious ones associated
with launching a brand new festival
in an already crowded market. We
needed to convince enough people,
with a limited budget to spend on
such things, that our unknown and
untried festival would be worth a
visit. Fortunately we were able to
put together an impressive and
ambitious line-up and we achieved
enough sales to break even, which
is remarkable for a new festival.
We also found that, despite the
best laid plans, you can’t always
depend on outside contractors
to deliver services as promised.
We had problems due to half our
“OUR
AIM IS TO
DELIVER AN
ENJOYABLE
EVENT AT
REASONABLE
COST, BOTH
IN TERMS
OF TICKET
PRICES AND
ON-SITE
CATERING
AND BARS”
expected stewards not turning
up and, more catastrophically,
it quickly became clear that we
had hired the worst possible toilet
suppliers who let us down very,
very badly. They delivered the
wrong toilets, to the wrong areas,
and flatly refused to service them
properly throughout the weekend.
Numerous calls to their ‘emergency’
hotline went unanswered. Toilets
were actually our #1 priority
because we have all seen first hand
terrible examples at festivals and
we were determined to have a
very high standard at ours, so we
were extremely disappointed to be
let down so badly. I would love to
name the company but we don’t
have the time or money for a legal
argument!
Then there are the problems of
spiralling costs as you proceed,
and having to pay upfront in full
for almost everything. Established
festivals can operate in the
expectation that ongoing ticket
sales will provide sufficient cash
flow, but as a new venture we
needed to invest our own money
at the outset to cover many of the
upfront costs. We have no sponsors
so it was a case of raiding our own
savings and having faith in what we
were trying to do.
What are your plans for next
year?
We have a license for 5,000 and
our aim is to reach that figure
within the next couple of years.
As we continue on our learning
curve we should be able to identify
what advertising works and what
doesn’t. We seek opinions from
our customers as to what we can
do better and we act accordingly.
Of course, different toilet suppliers
have been booked!
Looking further afield, we would
like to run another festival in a
different area. We think we are
doing a pretty good job with a good
team and it would be interesting to
try something slightly different, but
along the same lines.
What other outdoor hospitality
sectors does the landowner
operate in?
Their main business is weddings
but they have plans to host a major
(non-musical) event each month in
the summer.
What advice could you give to
someone coming into the outdoor
event industry?
Don’t do it expecting to make
money!
ADDRESS BOOK
MARQUEES
Best-in-Tents
www.bestintentsmarquees.co.uk
LIGHTING
Barry Cogger
SOUND & STAGE
Barry Cogger / Banana Audio
TICKETING
Skiddle - www.skiddle.com
DETAILS
Mount Ephraim Gardens, Staple
Street, Hernhill, Faversham,
ME13 9TX
www.anewdayfestival.com
WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 49