Monday 12 May 2014

10 Reasons for a Music Festival to have a Mobile App




We think that smartphones and Music Festivals owe a lot to each other.

In less than 10 years mobile has transformed the music industry. CD sales are plummeting and downloads are soaring. Corners of living rooms and walls of bedrooms have been reclaimed again with these tiny devices holding all of your music. The likes of Spotify and YouTube have turned us into streamers rather than owners of music. Boxes of CD’s are joining the boxes of vinyl up in the attic.

The demise of 7” single sales has had further knock-on effects: The Charts have vanished, music has all-but disappeared from mainstream TV and so bands now need to perform live to get by and promote their music. This is expensive and risky to do on your own and this has led in part to the huge rise in the Music Festival industry as bands ‘tour’ festivals.

So you could say that in many ways the music festival and the mobile phone are good mates. The music demographic, the festival demographic and the mobile demographic must be a ridiculously good match.


So mobile is booming. Music festivals are booming. But a quick check on the app stores and very few music festivals appear to have a mobile app. Why is that? Here's two thoughts. Apps for this kind of purpose are still a fairly new idea as mobile overtakes the PC and the cost to produce and App has been traditionally in the ten of thousands.

Here Pockit World we think the now is absolutely the right time for festivals to produce their own app, the with our costs to produce an app being much lower than you think its time to close that gap in the market!

So here are 10 reasons why your music festival needs a mobile app.
 

1.      Sell Tickets!


This is the #1 priority of any festival. There is so much fixed cost involved in putting on a festival that unless you are called Michael or Emily then you have probably got some selling to do. A quick browse around some big festival names - Latitude, Reading, Leeds, V, Download, Isle of Wight, T in the Park – and they all have some or all of their ticket availability for sale. So how will a mobile app help?

Stand out from the crowd. The world’s gone mobile. Not everyone is sat at a PC anymore clicking around your lavish website. People are out and about. Anyone interested in your festival will have the chance to download the app and experience some of your buzz before they dive in and book.
Also, loads of people going to your festival will download the app. People going to festivals love to talk about that and share it.

“I’m going to T in The Park!”
“Cool. Who’s on?”
“Let me show you….”

With your app on their phone you will have 100’s and 1000’s of mini sales agents running around showing your line up and sharing your ticket sales page.

2.      Promote Your Acts


We can put on your app YouTube clips, Twitter, Vines and a full music download section for iTunes on Apple or 7 Digital on Android. This means that your people can sample and listen to your bands and you can keep your headliners very happy by having sections of your app featuring them and boosting their music sales.

3.      Festival Buddy


For a lot of people this will be their first time and many others will be out of practise. So you can feature shopping lists, what to take, helpful hints, links to other peoples Blogs to help everyone get the most out of their wild weekend. We can fill your app up with content pages, PDF material, web links and all sorts to make it totally useful for everyone who goes.


4.      Line-ups


How much money is spent on printing and once it is printed what if there is a change? Oops. But this is the big question on site. Who is on? Where? And are they any good? Your app can display the line up in all sorts of ways.

5.      Site Information


As above. Think printing costs and what can be transferred onto digital. Map, Directions, Site information, Stage Maps, Campground information, Lock ups, Mobile charging….. plenty to get out to the masses on here. Oh, and a weather link might be good.

 

6.      Generate Revenue


Of course a festival is not just about the music. There are shops, services, bars, food, merchandise and all sorts of concession stands who have paid good money to be there and would like to join in on the app. Through the app you could advertise availability, discounts, Happy Hours, promote causes, charities, shows, talks, presentations and good things happening over the weekend.

It’s up to you. Use the app as powerful a leverage and attract commercial partners. With our QR code feature you could have deals within the app such as “Go to the AA Tent / Vodafone Orange Mobile / Oxfam tent, scan their QR Code and get Free Ear Plugs / Mobile Charge / Coffee…..”. With all the money that these partners invest in getting to site your app can guarantee them the footfall. How happy would that make them? And how much would it be worth?

Sponsorship. If you are looking to secure a festival sponsor then the app is just the most amazing platform to bundle into the deal.

Finally though, be cool. Don't have rubbish Ads on the app. Your typical festival go-er (well done us for getting this far before calling someone a "festival go-er") will reject that stuff immediately.

7.      Digital Tannoy


Push Notifications are an extremely important part of the functionality. You can send promotional messages, Line-Up changes alerts, remind about site rules and safety, lost children, traffic coming to and going home from the Festival. This gives you an instant news channel – a digital tannoy. You can even send a message to a selected area!



8.      Your brand


An app will make have you seen as a dynamic, forward-thinking and welcoming Festival. We can 100% brand an app as yours. If you are a niche or charitable festival with a purpose this is vitally important.

Also, Unofficial App’s spring up from time to time which takes your brand out of your control. Tackling that legally is costly and unseemly. The fact that they appear suggests that there is a major gap in the market and demand for them.

 

9.      See you next year then? 


Repeat customers are just the best. People who have had a great time will come back and you will create a massive fan base that you can build on. A mobile app will add value to the experience of not just the festival-goer but also the bands, concession community, suppliers and your partners. Adding images, video, and all sorts of Post-Festival coverage and content will help you grow your fans.

10.  Finally, have a bit of fun. 


Have a giggle with it and involve the app into the festival programme. Not only will the app bring all of your social media into one area – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram – you can add interactive features and sharing features in all sorts of ways. How about a Crowd Cam, Chat Wall, Feedback tabs as well as a Best Wellies, Best Tent, Best Fancy Dress competitions. 

For more information Follow Us on Twitter @PockitWorld, email us at theteam@pockitworld.com, visit www.pockitworld.com and we are also on FestivalNet.

We’d love to hear from you!