So now that we’ve talked about the difference between marketing and PR, let’s dig into:

What PR actually looks like for a festival

Hint: It’s not all hashtags and sponsorship decks. Sometimes, it’s about knowing the president of the Rotary Club and getting on the chamber board so the guy who owns the hardware store will put your poster in his window.

Let’s talk real-deal, relationship-based PR strategies

The kind that don’t just fill seats, but build goodwill that lasts.

There are many ways to build relationships.

🏢 One great way is to be part of the Chamber of Commerce for the township where your festival is located. You should even have office team members take time to serve in board positions for the Chamber. That way, you’re networking with the same business people who have to deal with your traffic problems—or who benefit from that influx of visitors.

Your associates within the Chamber of Commerce are far more likely to hang up your posters inside their places of business if they already have some sort of relationship with you, rather than being cold-called by someone with a stack of posters and a roll of tape.

The Chamber is tasked with informing visitors about the fabulous businesses in town. They do this through old-school networking as well as advertising.

🧑‍🧑‍🧒Service organizations are networking organizations. 4H kids are great workers, and now you’re seen as helping the local youth. Elks Club, Kiwanis, Rotary, Scouts, VFW, American Legion, Volunteer Fire Departments—these groups are always looking for funding and may be willing to arrange to deliver a set number of volunteers in exchange for a donation to their organization.

You’ll expose folks who don’t yet know about Renfaires to your event, and many of them will return as guests and bring their friends. Plus, you get a tax write-off for the donation.

🎭If there’s a local college, network with the drama or music department for Shakespeare shorts or madrigal singers on one of your stages. Consider offering presentations to these departments—or to local high schools—about historical costuming or armor in the off-season. This keeps your venue front-of-mind in the community.

🗺️If your area is a tourism-driven region, there may be a hotel and tourism tax—and a group that is spending those tax dollars to drive traffic to your area.
Talk to your tourism board. Find out whether tri-folds, card stock, or magazine ads get more attention at the welcome centers. Offer a video clip tour for welcome center staff if you’re unable to host one of the statewide tours that those organizations do for their advisors.

If your venue is helping fill local hotels, there’s no reason those hotels shouldn’t be thrilled to have your posters or brochures in their lobbies.

👉🏼And while we’re on posters… send out a poster crew in a 50-mile radius one month prior to your event. Circuses still do this because it works.
Thinking about the demographics of who attends outdoor venues—it’s smart to have a presence at other events. Comic cons, regional art shows, local parades, charity drives like blood banks or school supply efforts—these endear you to the community, which in turn helps spread the good word about your venue.

✉️These venues are also great places to build your email list. Offer a giveaway (like a chance to win free tickets) to build that list. Email marketing is still the strongest, most direct way to control your outreach. Social media platforms come and go, and algorithms change drastically in terms of how much you get seen.
Exit surveys are a powerful way to let your audience know you’re listening—without having them air their (sometimes nitpicky) complaints in a more public forum.

PR isn’t flashy. It’s not always fun. But it works.

These kinds of community-first strategies build your festival’s reputation in ways social media just can’t reach.
The kind of ways that help you sell out Saturdays and get your festival poster behind the hotel check-in desk before you even ask.
If this post made your wheels turn, there’s more where that came from.

👉🏼 Want help building your own community-focused festival PR plan? That’s what Bespoke Consulting is for. Book a 10-minute discovery call and let’s talk about your show.