The Rise of the Boutique Festival: How Indie Event Organisers Create Lasting Magic

Boutique Festivals are on the rise across the nation. While it’s sad to see many old favourites – Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo, the latest casualties – shut shop due to low ticket sales, smaller, more niche-specific festivals are rising from their ashes. Young Aussies are seemingly seeking out smaller festivals to attend for their more intimate ambience and smaller crowds. They can also be much easier to set up and more accessible for smaller labels to develop. 

If you’re an event organiser looking to start your very own boutique festival, we’ll explore some ways you can organise a successful indie event and create lasting magic below.

Make Aesthetics That Appeal to This Audience

Visuals matter when running a festival. This is especially true if you’re hosting an indie event: you won’t have the same level of brand recognition as the bigger festivals out there, at least initially, so it’s crucial to stand out. Boutique festivals across Australia have some of the most creative angles for their marketing graphics and videos. This is because they’re competing against the most globalised and tech-advanced stage of society than ever, and the young audiences going to festivals are in the midst of it. 

First, high-quality visuals are a must. Use a graphic designer to create visuals that will make an impact. Then as well as digital files, find a reliable printing service that has experience creating collateral like banners, posters and brochures for festival organisers, and make sure to perform quality control on your end. 

When it comes to visuals for your festivals, treat it like branding. If you haven’t done this already, we suggest building a brand book for your event. This should include essential elements like your brand colours, logo, slogan and font types.

If there’s anything well-known events like the Wildlands Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Moomba Festival have in common, it’s that they have a strong identity and express this identity effectively through visual means. Make sure to use top-notch printed materials to set your festival apart from the rest. 

Choose Performers Wisely

At most festivals, the performers are the stars of the show. Even if you’re running an indie event, it’s essential to have an impressive lineup of performers – this will be what pulls people in. You don’t need big international headliners. Much of the crowd at boutique festivals likes local and intimate vibes, so just selecting a good mix of local musicians will be effective.

Or, if you’re in the business of comedy, think strategically about how you can pull a variety of audiences in. You might want to aim for a mix of established talent and less well-known performers. You can even run an open mic event where attendees looking to kickstart a career in comedy can perform in front of a crowd. 

Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to a single type of performer. A comedy festival can have a few musical acts, and vice versa. To add variety, you should also consider inviting other kinds of performers such as public speakers, magicians and circus artists. Your performers are the heart and soul of your event, so make sure to choose the right ones and have a good variety of them so you can pull attendees from different demographics.

Promote Your Festival 

If you’re running an indie event, and especially if this is the flagship event, it’s natural that not many people know about you. This means you’ll need to do plenty of promotion beforehand. There are countless ways to go about this, so it’s important to figure out what works for your specific event. Again, visuals and branding are key here – make them appealing to your audience and you’ll earn their curiosity. This means getting to know your audience and choosing the most effective channels to reach them. 

In almost all cases, marketing an event through social media is a good idea. Figure out the platforms your target audience primarily uses and set up accounts there. Then, post relevant content like announcements, giveaways and fun facts to drive engagement. You can also use social media to communicate with potential festival-goers and receive feedback you can implement to improve the event and request your performers post about their performance at your festival.

Besides social media marketing, you should also consider strategies like SEO, paid ads, print marketing and email marketing. Some of these are a long-term trek, but each of these has its unique strengths, so make sure to do your research before finalising your promotional strategy and budget. 

Find On-Brand Sponsors

Even if your festival is on the smaller side, you’ll still need some upfront cash to run it. Usually, this means finding sponsors. Sponsors are companies that give you the money you need for your event in exchange for visibility. 

The first step is to identify potential sponsors. You can do this with a quick Google search of the businesses in your area. However, utilising your professional network is always a good way to go for support. You might even learn about companies that might be open to sponsoring your event through the people on your contact list. 

Next, you need to narrow down your potential sponsors to a list of viable targets. While it might be nice to have a massive multinational company as a sponsor, this might not be realistic if you’re running a small boutique event. The type of sponsors you choose should also depend on the sort of event you’re running. If you’re organising a live music festival, for example, businesses that sell headphones or music streaming services might be a good fit. 

As we’ve seen through headlines in the last few years, many Aussies are turning to smaller, boutique festivals as an alternative to the bigger events everyone knows about. Organising any event is a challenge at best. But with the rise of boutique festivals, there is ample opportunity for more grassroots organisers to start their dream festival and make use of the crowd wanting a more ambient, warm and intimate atmosphere. 

To turn our event from an idea into a bellowed community favourite, there are some critical steps to get right. Start with effective visuals for your audience and a way to distribute them. Alongside this, consider how you’ll fill in the rest of your promotional campaign. Select performers carefully, opting for a variety of local, established or up-and-coming talent. Finally, look for sponsors who can help you front the costs.