Mainstream now means family-friendly
July 30th, 2009
It occurred to me that mainstream events should now be catering more to families as their clientele ages and starts a family. Recently I attended the Calgary Folk Festival, and it was surprising to see so many little ones at the festival this year. From my observation, there were double the amount of babies and kids and way more strollers about.
The festival has always had a Family play area (sponsored by Tim Hortons), but this year the crowd was sporting way more babies yet the festival had not changed it’s amenities. Another festival coming soon to our area is Drench Fest, a music and water sport festival that has strategically tried to market to families with older children to generate additional festival go-ers. Drench Fest is even selling family passes and running adds directed at parents and teens that pokes fun at “family time” and how the festival is an excellent excuse to spend “quality ” time together. Well done.
On the other hand, the Calgary Stampede had an excellent indoor family area sponsored by Southland Transportation that was exceptional. There were tons of free activities, crafts and entertainment, yet the area was not marketed, leaving many families unaware of it.The Capital Ex in Edmonton on the other hand ran ads directed specifically at families and likely succeeded in attracting families.
Providing small children with places to play and do fun activities is imperative if you want the whole family to come and stay for a while. The more there is to keep them happy, the longer they will stay and more money they will likely spend.
What I would recommend to any large mainstream event are to:
a) design family-friendly amenities (i.e. diaper changing areas, access to water and hand-washing, priority parking, stroller parking and/or wagon rentals, access to shade, places to rest, kids’ sunscreen, activity areas), entertainment (live entertainment, activities, roaming entertainers, visually rich environment) as part of the larger event.
b) market specifically to families, if you don’t, they won’t know about the event or will assume it wasn’t the right event for the whole family.
Hosting a family-friendly event is not just about increasing your attendance. As your attendees get older and have children, it is mandatory that you accomdate their new requirements in order to keep them coming back for more.
Entry Filed under: About Glow, Glow: The Making Of, Idea Sharing, Marketing to Moms
