Come rain or shine, food festivals remain popular throughout any time of the year.
Whether it’s sunshine and BBQ food, or a winter wonderland filled with warm, tasty treats, food festivals are a great way to promote business and bring the community together if done right.
Food festivals are more than just their food however, to make it a success organisers need to consider aspects such as type of food, stall space/style, decoration and who they will expect to be attending.
This is where branding comes in, building a successful brand image with assets such as logos, posters and brand colours can be the difference between a memorable festival and not- so memorable one.
How Is Food Festival branding unique?
When branding your festival it is important to consider how you want your audience to feel when in attendance.
What is the vibe of your festival, is it a vegan food festival?
A street food festival?
Deserts?
Wherever it is, it is important that the branding reflects the type of people you are targeting the festival towards.
The purpose of branding is to reflect your brand image, identity and loyalty, so whatever you decide your branding to be, it has to fit the festival that you’re holding.
Brand Consistency
You have probably heard this a million times, and it’s true!
Consistency is key when it comes to great branding.
Luckily however, festivals allow for time and thought to be put into the branding and organisation as they’re usually planned in advance.
Tips on Branding your festival
- Logos! Logos are going to be utilised across all branding/ marketing materials. Think posters, leaflets, signage, merchandise etc. It is important that your logo looks good whether it is big or small, and that it fits the festival you’re wanting to have. For example, vegan festivals might choose to have green brand colours to reflect a sustainable lifestyle of those attending or those organising the festival.
- As previously mentioned, consistency is key! Brand cohesiveness creates loyalty and trust, ensuring repeat customers at your next festival.
- Plan in advance! The more time you have to prepare, the more prepared you will be. Not only this, but having a good amount of time beforehand to build hype around your festival will ensure a better turn out. For example, this could be done by teasing what companies will be in attendance, or what activities will be available throughout.
What forms can your branding take?
- Website
- Logo
- Social Posts
- Festival Flags
- Stage Branding
- Tents
- Signage
- Banners
- Backdrops
- Posters and Print
- Merchandise
Steps for Branding your Food Festival
- Identify your core values. This will depend on what type of food festival you are holding. For example, an Oktoberfest Festival is going to revolve heavily around German culture and beer. So figuring out your niche is going to be key to your brand identity.
- Understand your audience, this links into the first point, however knowing who is going to attend your festival will be of use to your branding and marketing materials. Is it family friendly? Is it for meat lovers? Is it for those with a sweet tooth?
- Create a Brand Manual- A brand booklet helps set clear guidelines your brand identity. This means your colours, fonts and visuals across all marketing materials. It will in turn clearly portray your core beliefs. The brand colours, font, logo, keywords and assets should be applied consistently from the ticketing page to your giveaway bags.
Again, Consistency!
Being consistent year after year is a good thing and will keep people coming back to your festival.
Changing your festival in too many ways could stop those that enjoy yout festival from identifying with it anymore, and that is not what you want.
Alike to festivals, branding is focused on creating a unique experience for it’s attendees, allowing customers to enjoy your festival year after year.
Festivals are an immersive cultural experience that is highly valued by individuals over products.
So creating a unique brand concept that has strong core values is one of the most important aspects when promoting your festival.
