OCTOBER | COVER FEATURE
Hay Festival: doing it right?
With budget allocation often being
a dark art in the festival industry,
recent research carried out on Hay
Festival might point the way for
organisers looking to act on troubling
metrics
Published in the festival’s annual
report, the survey by QRS Research
shows a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of
77% for the festival. Attendees also
gave an average satisfaction score of
8.6/10. Sponsors and festival partners
enjoyed positive brand perception as a
result of the affiliation.
57% of those surveyed felt more
positive to companies that sponsored
Hay Festival, while 1 in 4 said they
learnt more about the sponsors as a
result of their participation. Partners
enjoyed up to 90% brand awareness
and 15% direct engagement in cases.
More online accessaa.co.uk
The complaints column
“I went to Slam Dunk festival recently,
and there wasn’t enough toilets for
girls, which led to queues of up to an
hour and a half,” Lana
“On the day of Silverstone Classic,
public transport ceased to exist
before the event had finished and
getting a taxi was impossible. We
waited over an hour. If we’d known
that before we would have hired a
car,” Graham
“The Isle of Wight Festival’s
production felt below par this year,
and it was difficult to get good views
of the Main Stage. However, it did
feel very safe and well equipped for
families,” Kimberley
36
“We have seen more budget go into traffic management
planning, security planning and Health and Safety planning,”
– Abi Philp, Loos For Dos
falling out of the market because of higher
standards of expectations,” he says. “We
have, however, this year seen new suppliers
in the market - if we can continue to see
more quality suppliers across the board this
would greatly help our industry.
“Within our shows we genuinely haven’t
seen any cost cutting from promoters and
it’s been the other way round where we
have on occasion been let down by suppliers
who simply could not provide what was
procured and PO’d, although some suppliers
have been amazing and supported us
throughout.”
Indeed, suppliers across the industry have
also noticed the swift evolution of festivals,
and the complaints that go with it. The
all-important factor of toilet standards at
festivals is still a frustration to consumers.
Abi Philp, business development manager,
Loos For Dos, says the company was in the
fortunate position in the sanitation industry
where historically, loo standards were so
low.
“A clean eco toilet is huge relief for most.
There has also been a greater concern for
the quality of accessible facility supplied
to festivals, with many sites ensuring that
these loos are isolated and watched by
security. This ensures that standards across
the whole festival site are high.
Philp also touches on budget reallocation.
“We have seen more budget go into traffic
management planning, security planning
and Health and Safety planning for elements
such egress planning and major incident
planning – these are elements that we have
seen tested with greater interest at SAG’s
and table tops.”
Speaking more broadly, she says the
need to offer something ‘different’ is more
prevalent than ever, with festival organisers
having to think outside the box to stand
out from competitors. “Having said that
consumers know what they like and there
is a high percentage of repeat year on year
return attendance. Events such as Wings
and Wheels and CarFest see huge number of
repeat business.
“The consumer expectations are higher
than ever, people want to ensure that they
are getting their money’s-worth. With the
vast array of festivals and events on offer
there is the need to ensure that the best
line- ups and bar prices are on offer. This has
meant that Festivals are having to invest
in pre- event advertising and marketing as
well as an increased spend in ensuring that
they are offering a complete experience to
consumers.
“With what we offer at Loos For Dos
standards can be driven up by quantities
of units on sites as well as considering
maintenance throughout the duration of
events. Many people are initially drawn to
offering a luxury facility to the consumers,
however once this is plotted with a budget
it may be that the servicing is sacrificed. A
clean loo with ample loo roll is a much more
consumer friendly option which ultimately
drives up the standard of facility on site.”
With consumers being more varied and
more vocal than ever, it’s not surprising that
complaints are rife. However, in the long run,
with the right action, we all benefit.