Welly boots. Check. Wet wipes. Check. Cereal bars. Check. The festival season is in full swing and it’s getting longer each year. Figures from 2015 show that 154 of them took place between June and August alone. From June’s Isle of Wight, Gottwood and Download, to September’s Bestival, Boundary and Hospitality, festivals are a regular feature in many people’s calendars and a great way to spend time with friends. It’s not uncommon to visit several in a year, and travel to locations such as Croatia, or further afield in America to get the festival fix.
Despite the increasing popularity and rising ticket prices, it’s hard to make a profit from running a festival. Almost a quarter of the ticket sale income is immediately consumed by tax and performers’ fees. Then, organisers need to add in the cost of utilities: if a festival is in a field, that means power supply, adequate sanitation, and the building of stages and communal spaces, to start with.
Ticket sales make up around 60% of festival revenue; the rest comes from pitch fees from traders and caterers, sponsorship money and bar profits. It’s via these channels that there may be a lucrative opportunity for savvy small businesses to build brand awareness and expand your repertoire. Forget the bigger festivals that are already saturated and think about smaller, niche festivals. What could your business offer?
Food
If you sell street food from a van or stall, a small festival could give you guaranteed footfall and help you spread the word to a new audience. Festival organisers look for a good mix of food, and may ask for photos and a precise description of the stall. Make sure you have this information ready, along with a clear line about what makes you different. If you secure a pitch, make the most of social media, sharing the experience to alert revellers that you’re there and keeping existing customers in the loop. Use the festival hashtag on Twitter if there is one. Alternatively, if you are close to a festival site or at a major stop-off point and own a small shop, restaurant or cafe, think about how you could provide food for people passing by.
Accommodation
People like to get close to a site before a festival starts. If you own a B&B or campsite close to a festival, plan to make your business more visible online so it’s easy to find. Is your search engine optimisation (SEO) working as hard as it could? Do you have keywords that users might search for on your website? Perhaps you could set up a page dedicated to festival goers. You want to be at the top of search results for people who don’t know what’s on offer in the area. In addition, a large number of people with more disposable income chose to go glamping at festivals – bell tents, yurts, tipis, Airstream RVs and Winnebagos are all available for those wanting a more boutique experience. If you have camping vehicles to hire, or luxury tents, consider how you could work together with organisers to be the supplier of a higher grade of on-site accommodation.
Stalls
If you own a small business that specialises in clothes, fancy dress, or accessories, you are a great festival fit. Flower crowns, glitter face paint and cowboy hats are not always at the forefront of people’s minds when they are packing, but once there eye-catching accessories become crucial for those all-important selfies. Just make sure you do your homework: calculate out how much footfall there is and always take more stock than you think you’ll need.
Furnishings
Even small festivals have to provide a backstage area for performers, so if you own a furniture business – whether it’s second hand or specialist, bespoke or not – there could be an opportunity here. Approach organisers and offer to sponsor the space, or give them a better rate if they display your logo, for example. Some festivals, like Bestival, rely heavily on set design. If you run a theatre or have prop departments, why not consider hiring them out?
Staff and transport
Festivals can only run smoothly if the behind-the-scenes nuts and bolts are in place. Stewards, operators and rubbish collectors have to be booked, briefed and organised. If you own an employee agency, you could be an essential port of call for festival organisers. Transport services cover a wide range of activities too. Providing road coverings, transporting scaffolding and building materials, or coordinating fleet services for performers, could all be possibilities if your small business operates within the transport sector.
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