Riot Fest: marketing AuditIndependent Marketing Project

5/7/15

Renee LaSalle

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Company Description…………………………………………………………………… 3

S.W.O.T. Analysis………………………………………………………………….4

Toronto, Chicago, Denver………………………………………………………………4

Collective…………………………………………………………………………….5

Toronto……………………………………………………………………………….6

Chicago………………………………………………………………………………..7

Denver…………………………………………………………………………………9

International……………………………………………………………………………….10

Current Practice…………………………………………………………………………..10

Recommendations……………………………………………………………………….14

Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………….17

Resources……………………………………………………………………….…………..20

*Sponsorship deck not included due to confidentiality

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COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Riot Fest was born out of nothing but the love of punk rock and likely a bit

of an existential crisis. Founder Mike Petryshyn was just a college graduate;

unhappy with where he was at in his life, with his biggest worries being along the

lines of whether he would make it to his office job on time. (Chicagoist) Growing

up and listening to bands like The Jam, Clash, Ramones and The Damned, it

was what made him feel good inside, as many others. (Chicagoist) In 2005, Riot

Fest started as booking a multi-venue weekend of punk and rock in Chicago with

bands such as Dead Kennedys, The Misfits, and The Bouncing Souls.

(Riotfest.org) They did cool ticket giveaways (still do them today) and since then

have been working hard every year to bring the best fest they can. Sean

McKeough (co-founder) had persuaded, even with Petryshyn’s strong wishes

against it, taking Riot Fest outdoors. (Chicagoist)

In 2012, they realized the amount of things they wanted to bring could no

longer be contained inside a few venues, and decided to expand to the sunny

and spacious Humboldt Park in hometown Chicago. Petryshyn was terrified of

failure by taking it outside. (Chicagoist) If it failed in an outdoor venue, what

would that say for the future of the fest? Would that be the end? They take pride

in making Riot different from all festivals, and they were able to expand to other

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cities. They added carnival rides, Lucha Libre, porta-potties, and much more.

2014 marked their 10th anniversary, and celebrating in Toronto, Chicago, and

Denver seemed like the perfect fit! Riot Fest carries great pride with being fans

first and their goal has always been simply to throw some unforgettable shows.

My S.W.O.T. Analysis for Riot Fest

Strengths

- Connections in the music industry- Sponsorships- Ticket Sales

Weaknesses

- Day of festival has appeared not as organized as could be- Limited tour dates- Liability/crowd control

Opportunities

- Social media- Growing popularity of music festivals- Growing demand for brand, brining in new fans and keeping the usual

Threats

- Increase in amount of festival growth- Outdoor venue damage due to high traffic- Market cannibalism: not being able to top acts from previous years, customers not enjoying lineups because they expect even better than before

TORONTO, CHICAGO, DENVER

Riot Fest has booked the festival in many different cities over the years

apart from Chicago; like Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Dallas. The consistent dates

for the past few years have been at Toronto, Chicago, and Denver. These three

areas across the continent are placed where most attendees in North America

can escape to any that they so choose for the weekend.

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Collective:

*Information in this section has been taken out due to confidentiality.

In my own research, I have found many parallels and many differences in

the same categories of gender and age. Working directly with Kyla for this project

was tremendously helpful. I created an online survey through SurveyMonkey to

get some questions out to attendees, and got a total of 315 responses, all thanks

for the link being put out into the Internet world via Twitter. I took Kyla’s advice

and posted on the Riot Fest Reddit page and seemed to gather a good chunk of

responses there as well.

As a side note, one personal thing I learned from doing this is to always

double check the questions posed before sending out to an audience, and to

make sure the questions all require answering on the SurveyMonkey format. I

was left with too many skipped answers in the first 50 responses because I

allowed it to be skipped. Having extremely open-ended responses made it hard

to filter the specifics that I wanted when making graphical representations.

SurveyMonkey allows filters and provides graphs, but for example, where as not

everyone who attends the Toronto date is from Toronto, it doesn’t work out with

those who have gone but live elsewhere and did not put Toronto in their

attending answer. The very meticulous parts about getting thorough answers are

something I can look at better, next time.

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(Appendix A: Survey Questions)(Appendix B: Graphs showing overall data from survey)

Toronto Market:

Although while getting some interview questions to Kyla over the phone,

and we discussed that Canada is not as deep into their technology (as in social

media and Internet use) as what you may find in the states, where most people

have their faces glued to their screens – I was able to get plenty of information

for this market. Where as many of my respondents currently reside in Toronto,

some were also those from Ontario cities such as Belleville, Cambridge,

Georgetown, London and Peterborough. There are also attendees from

Saskatchewan and Quebec.

The age majority in this market falls under the 18-24 year old brackets

following with the 25-34 year old brackets. This area provided a 56% response

from females and 44% from males. The overall answer (not just from Toronto,

but most areas) for attendees’ favorite part about Riot Fest, not shockingly, is the

band selection. Riot Fest Chicago is talked about as having better band selection

than other dates, and this can be speculated correct as many responses include

attending Riot Fest more than once, and the times apart from Toronto being

Chicago. Toronto market also came out with an overwhelming amount of 75%

concluding that as little as 1 or 2 bands have been a deciding factor for attending

the fest. With further research, it should be distinguished whether that was a

“yes” to coming or if this means they have decided NOT to go certain years

because it was not what they wanted. 91% decided social media is the best way

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to reach the music community when it comes to informing, and is great for the

Riot Fest brand.

Chicago Market:

This market is a lot easier to analyze, because it is the biggest. It’s also

right in my backyard so getting answers from Chicago fest goers was extremely

easy. 313 out of 315 respondents have attended the Chicago date at one point or

another. These include attendees from all over states that include: obvious

Illinois residents, Ohio, Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan, Florida, Alabama,

Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,

Connecticut and Virginia residents. I can imagine that there is many other states

represented but it’s pretty astonishing that only 2 respondents in this sample

never have been to the fest in Chicago. With this information, may we dare say

that Chicago is the powerhouse (aside from the fest being born here) for the

entire country to choose to attend? We can definitely take into consideration the

accessibility here compared other locations. (Airports and trains that run directly

into the city.)

While filtering current residents who responded with Chicago or Illinois in

their answers, 116 of 315 responded accordingly. The 25-34 year old age

brackets came in a close second to the 18-24 year old brackets with a 40% and

41% split. There were 8 responses of those in the 45-54 year old brackets and 5

responses from 55-64 year old brackets. Five responses were under the age of

18. Once again, the gender revelation from Chicago area is higher than male at a

comparison of 54% female to 42% male. The survey online received great praise

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from several respondents who enjoyed the fact that an “other” section was

included, for those who identify with queer, nonbinary/genderqueer, and/or

genderqueer.

In true punk rock Chicago fashion, the most favorite part about Riot Fest is

the day drinking and obviously, the music. The responses for this question in this

market varied more than Toronto with the line up, but include in the majority the

atmosphere and regular people that attend the fest. The amount you pay for 3

days in Chicago is highly valued by those who attend regularly. In many ways,

could it have become a tradition for some? Less people revealed that a minimum

of 1 or 2 bands were a deciding factor. This could be because of the variety of

carnival and food that Chicago gets, that they come regardless. In regards to

social media, it’s something to point out that my question doesn’t point at Twitter

– but most answers include a comment about the Riot Fest Twitter Guy. This

may be because they received the survey from Twitter, but we have to consider

Riot Fest does have Facebook and Instagram. Therefore it is interesting to see

that Twitter is reaching most people. Oh, and Riot Fest Twitter guy needs a raise.

It’s what the people want!

Denver Market:

I was unsure at first how many responses I would get from those around

the Denver area and although I did not get as many as I would have liked, it was

enough. Aside from those directly in Denver, this market pertains to those in

Boulder, Fountain, Frederick, and Colorado Springs, of Colorado. Here the 25-34

year old age brackets overpowers the 18-24 year old brackets with a whopping

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46% vs. 16%. 35-44 year old brackets and 45-54 year old brackets tie at 16%.

One person under the age of 18 responded.

In the gender category, females beat the males again with 54% to 46%.

The findings on gender response is interesting because Riot Fest official

representation has a heavier number with males, where as I found more females

– but that is also to consider what genders are more active on social media to

have found the survey where as I was not able to get detail specific information

of those who ALL show up at Riot Fest dates. This market, like Toronto’s, has

77% saying that 1-2 bands have been a deciding factor on attending the fest.

Once again, social media is a big thumb up for branding and a way to

communicate with the music community.

INTERNATIONAL FANS

There is an audience for those across the pond! It was extremely hard to

collect surveys from out of country attendees, one because it’s not current time

for the festival where I could ask them in person. Two, because Riot Fest

marketing director, Kyla Lombardo, stated specifically in our interview that they

do not do anything outside of North America to market the fest.

I was able to get answers from someone in Vitoria, Brazil and from

Liverpool, UK. Where as this does not give enough information to speculate

about the international fan base, it is, if anything, proof that it reaches a great

distance. Personally, I have only been to Riot Fest two consecutive years, but

can say that volunteering at the information tent – the number of British and

German attendees was remarkable. It did not in any way come close to American

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attendance but it was enough to notice they had a presence. This can also go to

say that Chicago may be the most accessible date for those to fly into the states

for.

CURRENT PRACTICE

As speaking with Kyla, I was reassured again that Riot Fest takes a lot of

pride in working directly with artists. No smoke and mirrors. In many ways,

because of this relationship, artists are more willing to play Riot Fest. Punk rock

has a certain way of living and working with those in it’s community, so when a

festival offers this, how is an artist supposed to deny such a cool offer? Riot Fest

prides itself in not being like other corporate run festivals. A part of this DIY ethic

comes from Petryshyn. Even as the festival grows, he still finds himself chiming

in, helping with the little stuff. (Chicagoist) This type of involvement appeals to

the audience in such different ways that something such as Lollapalooza or

Pitchfork can.

* Information taken out of this section due to confidentiality

(Attached in the appendix will be the sponsorship deck to display more information.)

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Riot Fest is reaching millions through all media outlets. Where as social

media is the biggest element, Riot Fest does reach out to newspapers such as

Chicago Reader. (Interview) Radio station plugs are also prevalent in all areas

Toronto, Chicago, and Denver. There are the random social media contests that

keep the audience involved through out the year, such as the Riot Fest Twitter

Guy announcing, if he sees someone in a particular place he is at, wearing a Riot

Fest t-shirt, he will give them free tickets. There are also the silly ones like “If you

get John Stamos to Riot Fest, or Bill Murray…” that’s just getting in free for life,

right? It’s a great way to keep the audience engaged on the downtime of the year

when the festival is too far away for most to have to think about. The twitter

account is arguably the most valuable asset Riot Fest has in media. With the 315

responses I received, everyone filled out the comment section under social

media saying that it’s hilarious to follow. It’s not all business and corporate like

other company social media platforms. When someone from an organization

actually interacts with their audience, no matter how big the organization is,

people appreciate it.

Riot Fest has been affiliated with Chi Homeless and other charitable

organizations before, so their announcement of Karma Cash was not surprising.

Karma Cash essentially is an exchange of Riot Fest letting you in for a 3-day

pass as long as you do community service.

The release gave guidelines as follows:

“A person completes 25 hours of volunteer work at a registered 501c3 and will receive 1 GA 3-Day pass In order to qualify you need to provide documentation and send to karmacash@riotfest.org Documentation needs to include:

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—Signed letter from manager/superior from a Registered 501c3—work and hours performed,— contact info of manager/superior (website, e-mail, position and phone number).Karma Cash tickets are limited supply and all documentation will need to be submitted by January 25, 2015 @ 4 p.m. CST.” (Karma Cash Chicagoist)

This is the easiest way to get a general admission 3-day pass to

Riot Fest. This upholds Riot Fest’s reputation as doing great for the

community, too. Of course affiliating with any and all good causes will

boost a brands name and reputation. To touch briefly on sponsorships and

featured food trucks and other featured companies that set up on actual

festival day – it’s a given that Riot gets the best of the best. With the proof

of impressions, and the hundreds of thousands of people who walk

through the Chicago date alone – these businesses want to be where the

people are. It would be a loss not to be.

It’s very hard to find anything that Riot Fest currently practices,

analyze it to the smallest pieces and find anything wrong with it. In the

marketing department, Riot Fest is extremely successful. I would also like

to note that the name does a lot of work for itself. The fact that there aren’t

any marketing efforts out of the country speaks volumes. The fact that

over a dozen different states are represented at the Chicago date speaks

volumes on reach and likeability. Riot Fest has it’s own community, which

extends to any community willing to join: punk rock lovers, ex punk

rockers forced to grow up, LGBQT community, flat out music lovers, and

the list could go on and on – anyone (except Justin Bieber) is welcome

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(given they are nice.) As a Riot Fest goer myself, all walks of life can be

found at this festival. It’s opening, it’s welcoming, and it’s punk rock.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Let’s tackle the international audience, first. Riot Fest, as marketing

director, Kyla Lombardo has said, does nothing to promote the fest across the

pond. One can only imagine, with the popularity of festivals in Europe like

Reading and Leeds Fest, that with a little bit of marketing, even more would be

flying into Chicago just to see Riot Fest. Social media is obvious way to reach

this market, but establishing any relationships with radio stations in England

could work wonders. Getting print ads in a popular music magazine or online

music blog would increase reach. Doing research on what music festival goers in

other countries are doing, watching, and listening to would be a great step in

progressing that step forward. This effort, in my beliefs, should only be put forth if

expansion of the festival is something the organization wants, though. It seems to

be growing in the states rapidly already, so that is something to consider. If more

people are not what are wanted at certain dates, the option of holding a “Riot

Fest World Tour” or something along the lines could be an interesting approach.

Within the states and in Canada, it would be interesting to see if attendees

would be willing to give even more information about their lives. By that,

collecting information on what their backgrounds are specifically about would

provide an insight about the audience we may have never thought about before.

Getting very meticulous and particular about knowing the motives behind the

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audience, and asking questions like (especially to the older crowd) “Well, were

you a punk rock kid 20-30 years ago, but live a ‘normal’ life now with a wife and

kids?” or “Were you a punk rock kid and because this band reunited you came to

Riot Fest and for this reason only?” I believe getting to know the 45+ crowd,

getting them to tell stories from the past, especially if they ran with a punk crowd

back in the day and have awesome stories to tell, would provide a different type

of insight. This is what could keep the older adults coming back, until they hit who

knows what age. It truly diversifies the festival.

Piggy backing off the idea of getting more insight on the 45+ crowd –

another aspect to look at are the under 18 year old kids who are claiming to know

everything about punk rock history. How did they even hear of The Cure? NoFX?

Decendents? Samhain? Where are the younger kids getting influenced? Who

introduced them to this genre and community? The possibility of putting an

“audience spotlight” in the Riot Fest newsletter each release and giving a short

bio or fun fact would increase engagement in the craziest way. Clearly it could be

difficult to sift through hundreds of thousands of people – but a system could be

applied and make it a really fun option. I pointed out these two age groups

because from what collected data we can see, the 18-35 year old age group

doesn’t seem to need to be reached or targeted too heavily. If they want to come

to Riot Fest, they will, and if they do not, they will not.

I don’t have any recommendations with social media, because it’s being

used at its highest capacity in the greatest way. Facebook is clearly becoming

the second hand option of promoting a brand because of post reach being so low

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unless you pay. Instagram may not be the greatest outlet for Riot Fest with all of

the discussion that happens – so being with Twitter is very fitting. Print ads, radio

ads and events seem to work in the areas they are already put forth in the states

– although doing any type of research for most audience attuned stations would

not hurt. It only seems that if hundreds of people saw one twitter link on one night

and were willing to take a survey for absolutely nothing – why not find ways to do

it more often and truly know your audience as if you were friends? Bring it all in

cohesively and buckle down on specifics and Riot Fest could soar higher, if it

couldn’t already with winning Best Music Festival of 2015. Riot Fest is so

different from other festivals, and I believe this could be taken more advantage of

by getting to know the audience to its core. Not that Riot Fest doesn’t understand

its audience, I just believe that it could be taken a step further to make it an even

better process, for organization and audience.

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APPENDIX

A: Survey Questions1. What is your age?2. What is your gender?3. What city do you currently live in?4. What is your favorite part about Riot Fest?5. Have you attended Riot Fest more than once? If yes, which city?6. Do you attend other music festivals during the season? If yes, which

ones?7. Have 1-2 bands on the lineup ever been a deciding factor on attending

Riot or not?8. Would designated public transportation during Riot be more of an

incentive to go?9. Does Riot Fest’s social media presence affect your opinion on it as a

brand? Why or why not?10. Do you believe that at this period in time, social media is the best way to

reach out to the music community?

B: Collective Responses: Graphs

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Appendix C: Attached copy of Sponsorship Deck (for educational use only,

viewed only by student and instructor)

RESOURCES

"Riot Fest's Mike Petryshyn Talks The History Of the Fest And This Year's Line-up." Chicagoist. 14 May 2014. Web. 7 May 2015.

Lombardo, Kyla. "Current Practice: Marketing Riot Fest." Telephone interview. 6 Mar. 2015.

Fragrassi, Selena. "Who’s the Guy Behind the Awesome Riot Fest Twitter Feed?" Chicago Magazine Arts Culture. 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 7 May 2015.

"Riot Fest | Music Festival • Toronto • Chicago • Denver." Riot Fest. Web. 7 May 2015.

"Riot Fest Announces Holiday Presale, Introduces 'Karma Cash' Exchange For Tickets." Chicagoist. 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 7 May 2015.

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