Definition:
MEGA - adjective - very large; huge.
Definition:
CRAFT - adjective - relating to objects made using traditional methods by small companies.
As we have seen with such Mega Beers as Budweiser, Coors or Miller Lite, many consumers’ taste buds have turned to more unique and curated options through a Craft Beer explosion over the last 10 years. People like to experiment, support more local alternatives to quench their thirst and are open to new experiences. More and more consumers want to find their new favorite beers through a relationship and learn the stories about the places that make them. Local craft breweries are finding great success developing regionally targeted beer styles and flavors, activating their spaces for tours and including taproom samplings where consumers can go beyond just tasting their beer. They can now experience everything that went into making it, concept to completion. The customer has become more than a consumer, they are now woven into the story of the brewery. This isn’t to say that Mega Beers aren’t still consumed, because they are, but it will be a long time before a new Mega Beer will ever break into those ranks, if ever again. This is evidenced further by the trend of Mega Breweries diversifying with several Craft options to recapture that market share. People want more intimate and personal relationships with the products they consume and the events industry is no different.
In the events industry, even before this global pandemic, a trend was rising of consumers looking for smaller, curated local or regional experiences that don’t take up 5+ days of their busy lives and sometimes costs thousands of dollars like attending a Mega Festival can. People are looking to have amazing experiences that are tailored to their specific tastes and where they can attend numerous Craft Festivals to see their favorite artists for the price of one Mega Festival.
Our solution...the Craft Festival Experience! A hyper-targeted festival experience packed with entertainment that happens in a single day.
These more intimate experiences could be targeted to a Millennial soccer mom who wants to get a babysitter and go out with her girlfriends; or a Gen X who grew up watching Saturday Night Live; or an old-school rock & roll Baby Boomer who wants to rock out to the music that helped shape them! Often these experiences bring about a multi generational appeal and cross different demographics and musical genres.
As with the Mega Beers and assuming post-COVID continuation, there will likely continue to be those mainstay Mega Festivals like Coachella, EDC, Stage Coach, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, Tomorrowland and several others, but it will be some time before a new one comes around with the longevity or influence of that powerful group. Quality of personal and group experience over sheer size and the complications that come with it!
Some key benefits of Craft Festival Experiences:
- Loyal & engaged fanbase
- Increase on-site spend because of easier access to amenities
- Smaller gathering sizes (from 1000 to 7500 depending on venue size)
- Cheaper overhead & startup costs (three separate Craft Experiences in one weekend)
- Flexible site requirements to account for physical distancing
- More direct and targeted sponsorship engagement
- More intimate and personal experiences
- Increased services to attendee ratio
As Craft Festival Experiences start to pop up more frequently in the festival landscape, it’s not too late to curate your own experience for 2021! Events in this space will be much easier (and more realistic amidst everything with COVID-19) to get started than any large festivals will be for the foreseeable future.
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