What the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Can Teach Us About Marketing

For three weeks in August, thousands of people descend on Scotland's capital to enjoy one of the greatest cultural festivals in the world as over 200 venues play host to over 2,000 performances as part of the Edinburgh Fringe.

While the Fringe has helped to establish the careers of many writers and performers, the best the majority can hope for is to minimise financial losses from putting on the show. No wonder then that some performers go to extreme lengths to get 'bums on seats'.

So, what marketing tips can we learn from the Edinburgh Fringe?

WORK WITH PROFESSIONALS – Sales for performances at the four main venues account for over half of the ticket sales. Performers based at the Assembly, Gilded Balloon, The Pleasance or Underbelly benefitted from the additional PR that an experienced arts entertainment venue can offer. Whether your field is acting or agronomy, you're unlikely to reach the right people unless the people in charge of marketing your organisation know your sector.

EXPERIENCE IS PRICELESS – Not all events are about profit. The festival is also a networking opportunity, training ground, and, crucially, can give exposure to your brand. Do you know which events you should be attending in order to make valuable new contacts?

MAKE YOUR WORDS COUNT – Prospective show-goers will scan, rather than read, listings so you will need to make an impact. What is unique about your product? What is your Call To Action?

BRANDING – whether you're a ballerina or a blacksmith, you want your offering to be instantly recognisable across all your publicity material, online and offline.

CHASE REVIEWS – Ask for, and share reviews. Respond to and share the most favourable across all your marketing material.

STICK WITH EXISTING SOCIAL MEDIA – It takes time to build up a following on social media so rather than start a new account for your performance or product, make use of your existing account but update the account name and bio. Remember to put your social media handles and relevant hashtags on your publicity material.

BE ORGANISED - The official printed Fringe programme contains details of almost every show at the Fringe. The reason why it doesn't contain all the shows is that some people didn't register in time for the print deadline. Whether you're registering for an exhibition, nominating your business for an award or supplying the information requested by the media, pay attention to deadlines!


EVERYTHING IS A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY - When only one person turned up for Georgie Grier's show, she didn't cry - well, actually she did, but she put her sad face on Twitter and received heaps of support from seasons pros and encouragement.  The resultant publicity was way in excess of what she would've otherwise received!