There are many studies to suggest that festival audiences are not all made equal. Even a music festival can have several distinct groups of people with similar behaviours or characteristics. These groups – or market segments- have different expectations and needs. They may access information differently and may seek event information in different ways. As an event organsier its important to identify these segments and devise different strategies for each segment. Sometimes you may want to focus on high yielding segments – those who are going to provide the most money. Other segments may provide you with excellent distribution networks. Either way segmenting your audience can be done either through intuition – or consumer surveys (although the latter may be more useful!) .
Our recent research at the Blue Water Country Music Festival discovered distinct segments of ‘music enthusiasts’ who were willing to travel to regional areas to see anything ‘country’ – as well as finding ‘local families’ who were looking for a nice day out. These were two very different segments with distinctly different needs in terms of comfort (seating and toilets), food and entertainment. The hard part for the organiser now is to satisfy both !!
Our findings at this event seemed to reflect the research undertaken in 2005 by Bowen and Daniels in their article DOES THE MUSIC MATTER? MOTIVATIONS FOR ATTENDING A MUSIC FESTIVAL
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/em/2005/00000009/00000003/art00005
DESTINATION RESEARCH 