Have you heard of Next? They are pretty big! There is a good chance you have at some point been in one of their stores or purchased something from them online. They are one of the largest companies in the UK.
One of the things that Next are big on is increasing customer awareness and furthering their brand. One of the ways they do this is by having a presence at various festivals throughout the UK. It works for them because more people get to see who they are and what they do.
This Summer they decided to exhibit at several festivals throughout the UK. All these festivals had one thing in common; They were all family friendly festivals. As such they wanted a way to get more families over to their area and more importantly stay there. They had a giant chill out area with massive deck chairs and they wanted as many families to use it as possible.
So, they contacted us to see how we can help bring in kids and families to their area and create a buzz along the way. We worked with Next at several festivals over the summer and they all were hugely successful. They are already talking with us about doing something similar over Christmas. However, in this blog we are going to focus specifically on Car Fest. We are going to look at what Next were hoping to achieve, what we did for them and ultimately analyse the results to see if it worked.
What Was The Client Requesting?
Next’s end goal was very simple: they wanted to create a buzz around their area. They wanted it to be very family friendly and ultimately be the go to venue for people to chill out while at the festival. They also wanted to increase their brand awareness and make sure every visitor at Car Fest knew who they are and what they do.
What Did We Suggest?
We went through several options with the team at Next HQ. Literally thirty or forty options, depending on budget and how big they wanted to scale. Ultimately we decided to the following activities:
Face Painting
We supplied two face painters for each day of the festival. Kids love having their face painted and if parents knew there was a place they could take their kids to where they could have their faces painted for free, it would be super popular. It proved to be very popular and as the festival went on, word of mouth kicked in, more and more people were visiting the Next location to have their child’s faces painted. We supplied two face painter because we knew it would be popular. We didn’t want parents waiting for too long, as this would be counter productive and do the opposite of what we were trying to achieve.
Walk Around Magic
We had a walk around magician stationed in the Next area, performing close up magic for adults and kids and teenagers. Having mix and mingle magic meant that the performer would approach people walking around the festival and encourage them to visit the Next stand. It also meant while people were chilling out, the magician could go up to them, show them some magic and ultimately keep them at the event longer.
Walk Around Balloon Modelling
We had a balloon modeller stationed at the Next Stand making balloon models for all the kids and even the adults. This combines the advantages of face painting and magic. People at the festival will walk round with balloons and word of mouth will lead to more people throughout the weekend coming over to get a free balloon. Furthermore, the balloon modelling will allow the performer go up to people walking past the Next stand and attract their attention by making a balloon.
Magic Shows
We arranged our magician to appear on one of the main stages and do two 30 minutes magic shows each day of the festival, all in front of a massive crowd each day. Hundreds of kids and parents in the crowd all being entertained by a magician representing Next. The cool thing is that we arranged for our magician to perform in a Next T Shirt and promote Next at the beginning and end of the show. We told the audience if they wanted to see more magic then they should come over to the Next Stand as we will be performing close up magic all day. If you think this sounds like it would work well - you are absolutely right!
How Did It Go?
In one word - Brilliantly! In two words - Absolutely Amazing!
It achieved everything that NEXT wanted to achieve and more. Over the four days, traffic to their area went up and up. There was a noticeable spike of traffic after each magic show and the Face Painting and Balloon Modelling kept visitors in the area a lot longer. More importantly, the buzz that Next wanted to achieve was definitely there.
It was a great move having all the artistes wear a Next branded T Shirt. It made it easier to promote the brand while interacting with customers.
Next were very happy. We were able to hit every single target that they wanted to achieve. As a result of this, we are already planning festival entertainment for 2020.
Conclusion
If you are a brand spending money on exhibiting at a fun day or a festival, you need to make sure you get a return on your investment. You don’t want to just turn up and hope for the best. If you are marketing to kids and families, it really is in your best interest to book a kids and family entertainment specialist.
We are the largest children’s entertainment company in the UK and perform at over 7000 parties a year. We specialise in large scale events and would love to help.
You can get a no obligation consultation by calling us and telling us your requirements. We can go through lots of options for your event based on what you want to achieve. Just call us on 0333 301 3002 or click the banner below and fill in the form.
