On March 14 at the Ramada North Hotel in Bucharest, representatives of the most famous festivals in Romania – UNTOLD, Electric Castle, Nostalgia Retro/Disco/Future, Beach, Please!, Open Air – Blues Festival, Brezoi – met at the Music Festivals – Innovative Engagement Opportunities by Festivibe event organized by the market research agency iSense Solutions.
Market research agency iSense Solutions assesses the impact of the activities that brands carry out at festivals using a dedicated research tool: iSense Festivibe. It profiles attendees, measuring their whole experience during the festival, what were the most memorable activities, which brands they noticed and which were the most interactive moments.
The full report contains data and information on the level of satisfaction among festival attendees, participation intentions, amounts allocated for such events, as well as their expectations, both from the organizers and the brands present.
The survey data shows that Romanians are big consumers of festivals, know about them and attend them. Asked which Romanian festivals they know, they mentioned: UNTOLD (97%), Neversea (90%), Electric Castle (83%), SAGA Festival (52%), Summer Well (52%), Sunwaves (23%), Nostalgia Retro-Disco-Future (22%), Beach, Please! (12%), Open Air Blue Air Blues Festival (12%), Massif (10%).
“Compared to last year, the intention to attend festivals has doubled, which confirms that Romanians appreciate music festivals. At the same time, there is a very good long-term memorability of the activities they see at festivals, and this should be the key to the strategy of the sponsoring companies at such events“says Andrei Canda, Managing Partner, iSense Solutions.
Most festivals take place over several days and attendees can choose from several types of tickets, depending on their preferences or line-up. 43% of Romanians say they will buy a day ticket, 38% a season ticket and 13% say they will go by invitation.
In terms of the budget they plan to allocate to each festival in 2023, excluding the cost of the ticket, transportation and accommodation, Romanians say they will spend on average 542 lei, mentioning a maximum of 816 lei and a minimum of 391 lei, depending on the festival, which they will use for food and drink or other activities within the festival.
During the panel discussion at the event, representatives of the biggest music festivals in Romania discussed how the Romanian event industry has evolved in direct proportion to the interest of Romanians for such events and the business opportunities that are growing for companies that choose to partner with festival organizers.
We started from a simple premise: quality is not an act, it is a habit of our organization. Since the very first edition of the events we organize, we have managed to create a pattern, we have combined a quality standard of organization with unique festival experiences.
“In recent years we have actively taken a leadership role in entertainment, but we also have a strong impact on education and innovation in the industry. We have strategic partners with whom we develop these new ideas, concepts and projects. As an organization, we position ourselves as trend-setters and continue to expand nationally and internationally. By the end of 2024 we will launch other unique projects in the UNTOLD Universe“said Flavia Gherman, Head of Partnerships, UNTOLD.
Festival-goers want memorable moments and experiences during events, they appreciate and participate in creative brand activations, and organizers are tasked with devising a successful strategy to create notoriety.
“I firmly believe that festivals are increasingly important in the marketing mix of brands. Because festivals are often the best context for people (relaxed and in a good mood) to perceive brand messages“, says Cristian China-Birta, Founder and Associate Kooperativa 2.0 and Marketing Director of the Open Air – Blues Festival, Brezoi.
As shown by the data presented in the iSense Festivibe study, Romanians have regained their energy and desire for fun and want to have as many options as possible, and organizers are coming to meet their wishes.After 2 years of pandemonium and staying at home, my generation, more than ever, needs quality entertainment, needs unique experiences, and this year’s festival line-up is a very solid one, which meets this need, very clearly visible in the market. As for us, we have greatly expanded the festival since the first edition we had last year, we have an investment of 4 million euro and we are bringing artists who have never been to Romania, such as CENTRAL CEE, 6IX9INE, NLE CHOPPA, DABABY and many others, which we will announce soon. We estimate a traffic of around 160 thousand people at this year’s festival, which will take place over 4 days from April 27-30, and we believe we will give them the best possible experience. We’re working hard in the last hundred meters to make the festival not only the safest, but also the most fun and full of cool activities that young people will enjoy“, said Andrei Șelaru, CoFounder & Head of Marketing Beach, Please!.
So a summer full of festivals and fun for all ages and music genres is in store, and that means an unmissable business opportunity for companies. Romanians pay attention, evaluate and appreciate the moments and attractions of these events.
The data is part of the iSense Festivibe study. It involves a complex methodology pre-in-post, before, during and after the festival. The pre-festivals survey was conducted in February 2023 on a sample of 2500 respondents: 1500 respondents, online representative for urban, population 18-65, +1000 festival attendees, maximum margin of error +/- 2.53% at 95% confidence level. Data during the festival is collected qualitatively, through online community and ethnographic observations, and data after the festival is collected through face-to-face interviews after the festival and online.