What is the Secret of a Successful Festival?
In summer, Finland is full of interesting festivals, concerts and events that are of high quality even in international standards.
Flow is one of the Finnish festivals.
People go to the festivals actively and all age and interest groups are presented among the different festival audiences.
According to Project Researcher Mervi Luonila, who studies festival management in the Pori unit of Turku School of Economics, there is a wide choice of festivals in different culture genres. Most of the Finnish festivals are music events, and there are something for every taste; opera, jazz, folk music and rock etc. There are also other events and celebrations for those, who hunger for culture.
- Even the older consumers of culture have easily found their place in festival audiences, Luonila says.
But what makes the festival bloom and the people to attend in strength?
A good brand and networking are keystones of success
Clearly, festivals need to have an appealing and qualitative programme and arrangements that function well, but that´s not all.
- Keys to success are skillful management of networks and strong partnerships, since festivals are always realized in cooperation with multiple organisations. A good cooperation with municipality is essential, for example, and the significance of festivals to the regional development is understood well in Finland, Luonila explains.
There are festivals all around Finland and some established festivals are located in remote districts. More important than the location is the brand. The older and more known the festival is, the more likely it will succeed.
- Festivals, that have been running long, have had time to establish a strong brand. This can be seen as a promise of quality, Luonila says.
Poor weather can be a kiss of death
In Finland, June, July and August are usually full of warm and sunny days although the temperature varies in the northern and southern parts of the country. But sometimes it rains cats and dogs.
Even the most skillful organizers can´t control all the factors and there is no guaranteed recipe for a successful festival.
- Especially, the younger festivals are influenced by poor weather. The established festivals sell more tickets in advance and they don´t go down so easily. In new events, the advance booking is rarer and the rain can drive away both attendees and profits, Luonila tells.
- It is interesting to study, which is the point, where the festival achieves a trusted brand and becomes established, Luonila says, referring to her current festival management research.
HB & LR
Photographs: Fow, Jussi Hellsten and Ruisrock, Mikael Wänskä