With recent announcements of ticket sellers taking at least part of their inventories to Facebook, and festivals making social media platforms part of their selling strategy, this discussion is especially timely.  Connecting throughout the year with your audience, and all the friends of your audience, can have a real impact on the success and growth of your festival.  Learn how to take advantage of not only a new platform for selling festival inventory, but finding fans where they live part time- online.

Incorporating cause-related groups into your festival is a time-honored tradition. However, did you ever realize it could also benefit your bottom line? Learn from leading non-profits about how greening your festival and incorporating valuable causes enhances the festival experience.

Some would argue (probably your development director) that sponsorship is as much an art and science now as programming.  While sponsors want tangible and measurable ROI, decreased sponsorship budgets demand doing more with less.  This requires the festival team to walk a fine line while balancing the needs of sponsors with the artistic integrity of their programs.  Hear from industry vets during this interactive session about how they have managed to deliver great programs for their sponsors, audiences and artists.

In a world of sue first, ask questions later and increasingly severe weather events, it is paramount to maintain the safety (and loyalty) of your audience.  This panel will address issues relating to safety, risk management, and strategies to avert potential problems before they arise.

Festival go-ers will come to your festival based on the line-up, but they will come back year after year if you provide them with a user friendly and fun experience.  This session will address operations strategies – from customer facing technology to basic customer service – that will create a memorable and fun experience for your audience and have them wanting more for years to come!

Come join your peers at the annual IMFCON showcase immediately following Day 2. The showcase will be held in the scenic Foothills Ballroom on the 17th floor.

More and more music festivals are incorporating film and vice versa.  Everyone agrees it is successful but how does one get the right film and band to create a memorable multi-media experience that doesn’t break the bank or create havoc in your traditional festival atmosphere.  Hear some great success stories that will inspire you to get started on your own multi-media festival experience!

Technology, the internet and your event: It’s not just a connection.  Are you fluent in the latest tech gadgets that will make your event run more efficiently AND hit a home run with your attendees?  How do you use technology to engage fans in the natural organic way they interact with social media and their devices?  Festival fans are demanding cool stuff, and sponsors, artists and promoters are realizing that they need to give (prizes, content, exclusive offers, etc) in order to get contact information and survey responses. Many fans are willing to become brand evangelists for the right price...and the right price is usually something that these stakeholders can easily and quickly give.