FaveQuest Social Media Platform Contributes to Ottawa Bluesfest Success
Sometimes a chance meeting makes all the difference. Mark Monahan, Executive Director of the Ottawa Bluesfest, and Allan Isfan, CEO of FaveQuest, met by chance at the launch of a new radio station in Ottawa in early 2009. A few short weeks later, the two companies inked a deal that would increase the festival’s web presence.This new web presence would lead to a substantial increase in engagement, word of mouth virality and more fans sharing their schedules. It would ultimately help the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest achieve a banner year in terms of on-line attention.
“FaveQuest’s Bluesfest ViewTube has made a dramatic difference for us in terms of increasing fan engagement.”
Mark Monahan, Ottawa Bluesfest Executive Director
FaveQuest had been working on a next generation Social Media Platform to help media companies connect with people in social networks. Working in partnership with Ottawa Bluesfest staff, the platform was quickly adapted to the events market and ViewTube was launched April 22, 2009.
The result was an extension to the website filled with performer videos, sharable personal calendars, ability to invite friends through email or Facebook, a jukebox to listen to music for hours, daily news and updates, user posted videos and pictures.
In addition to the website extensions, the engaging tools were also available through the Bluesfest ViewTube Facebook application which included some special features. For example, the Facebook application allowed fans to review the entire Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest schedule and see which of their friends were going to particular shows so they could add it to their own schedule and invite other friends. All such actions showed up in the fans’ newsfeed, ultimately reaching thousands of people.
The results were truly impressive. Several hundred thousand videos were watched and over 100,000 events were added to personal calendars that people shared with one another extensively. This led to more tickets sales and many fans discovering new acts which motivated them to show up earlier to take in the festivities. Everybody wins!
FaveQuest and the Ottawa Bluesfest team are hard at work on enhancements and new features for the 2010 festival season. Many surprises are in store.
OBJ Mayor’s Breakfast with Mark Monahan
A few Ottawa Festivals staff attended the OBJ Mayor’s Breakfast series this morning which featured Mark Monahan, Executive and Artistic Director of Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest.
Mark gave the crowd an inside view of some of the milestones that have shaped Bluesfest and the reasoning behind some of the decisions and changes that have been made over the years that have seen Bluesfest grow from a four day festival where 5000 fans watched Bruce Springsteen’s saxophonist, Clarence Clemons, play on a stage at Major Hills Park to an eleven day festival that attracts 350,000 spectators and some of the world’s top performers. This year, Bluesfest has added a second location featuring free concerts in Ottawa’s Byward Market.
Interesting points made during the talk:
- the pivotal moment that set the course for the tremendous growth Bluesfest has seen is when they booked Ray Charles in 1998. The positive reaction from ticket buyers validated the idea that people would be attracted to the bigger artists, and they would be willing to pay more to support the festival for the opportunity to see higher calibre artists;
- the participation of upwards of 4000 volunteers each year is both an indication and reason for the festival’s success;
- 20% of Bluesfest attendance is comprised of out-of-town guests, contributing $30-million dollars to Ottawa’s economy; and
- people are looking for a complete “festival experience” rather than just attending a festival to see the artists. Such factors as food, wait times, demeanor of staff and volunteers, availability of transportation, among others are critical to creating and shaping an overall experience. A person can see their favourite artist, yet still have a bad overall experience.
Ottawa Festivals marketing shifts away from brochures
Ottawa Business Journal – Ontario, Canada
The association representing Ottawa’s festivals and fairs is redirecting some of its marketing resources away from traditional brochures to a new campaign directing residents to its website. The 26-week public awareness campaign includes television and radio advertisements encouraging viewers and listeners to visit Ottawa Festivals online so they can see a chronological list of the city’s festivals and plan their weekends in advance, says Joe Pavia, the chair of Ottawa Festivals’ marketing committee.
