The line-up for the Capital Radio
Summer Time Ball has just been announced, to considerable
excitement amongst some people I know. Wireless is in the diary,
and we've got tickets too for Feis this year. (Formerly known as
Fleadh I have no idea how you pronounce either, but it's in
Finsbury Park, handy for the 29 bus). I might see you there, or at
something anyway. Attendance at live music events is on the up and
up (by over a third between 2005 and 2009 according to our research
team).
At Hop Farm last year the demographic
of attendees was apparently very broad. We picnicked at one point
near to a family who'd brought a baby and a grandma with them.
Whilst this festival in particular is broad in appeal for a number
of reasons, live music is by no means as demographically limited as
it used to be. Like the growth in watching event TV live there is a
basic human drive to participate in emotional or at least
sentimental feelings together which was given an enormous outing on
April 29th (which must have seen a spike in sales of Kleenex as
well as sales of champagne.)
Being associated with a live event is
full of difficulty for brands. A live event gets you in front of
only thousands rather than millions. It can be much more time
consuming to organise properly. Can you cut through the clutter of
other sponsors? Can you be of practical use on the day? If you try
too hard it's easy to come across as the classic disco dancing dad
- thinking that you're down with the kids when in fact you're being
mocked or being ignored.
If you can be part of the event in the
right way however you can be unforgettable. Watching an arena full
of teenagers playing along with the Cadbury eyebrow advert in a
Guinness World Record at the Capital Jingle Bell Ball was a moment
I won't easily forget. Or hearing them chanting Windows 7 over and
over again.
The effect on the thousands that
you've reached live could be the tipping point that's worth all the
effort it takes to get it right.
First published here on Sue Unerman's blog.