The City of Orlando hosted its fourth annual Blues B-Q festival on Saturday in City Hall Plaza, where nearly 15,000 people attended. Organizers with the city and event partner Cox Events Group increased its online marketing efforts to provide more exposure for sponsors for the the blues and barbecue fest, as well as attract attendees.
“The sponsorship and the moving dollars that help produce the event have become harder to get, so we had to create well rounded marketing campaigns, where not all the results rely on the success of the event,” said Cox director JC Campese.
The sponsorship packages included on-air representation on Cox's and Brighthouse Networks radio and TV stations, as well as logo presences on the event’s Web site and on festival banners and billboards around town for the past month. While the same number of sponsors as last year—nine in total—were secured, Budweiser, Church Street Entertainment, and presenting sponsor MetroPCS returned this year at a higher level. The city also partnered with eight downtown bars and restaurants to offer food and drink specials during and after the event.
Organizers also utilized Facebook and Twitter to attract attendees and promote the sponsors. Though Cox used its Facebook page last year, the City of Orlando only recently got approval to use the social networking site, and posted event flyers and information on its public page and on Mayor Buddy Dyer’s profile. Additionally, city staffers tweeted throughout the eight-hour event to increase exposure.
Local TV station WFTV also increased its on-air promotions for the festival throughout the day on Saturday.
