This is a guest blog by Tomasz Dyl, Managing Director of GottaBe! Ethnic, an award winning multicultural marketing agency specialising in ethnic marketing.
With Brexit officially triggered, there are a number of companies and brands that are looking at ways of optimising their marketing spend, to ensure they stay ahead of the competition and be part of something unique.
As discussed in Eventbrite’s post on “The Event Trends That Will Shape Your 2017”, ethnic events and brands’ presence at them are certainly a way to tap into to a new market.
More than 2000 ethnic events take place in the UK alone – from stand-up comedy to fitness workouts, gigs to outdoor, family events or even job fairs. These are some of the events run by, and set up for, ethnic minorities that you could utilise to build brand awareness among highly targeted and engaged demographics.
Some communities have more events than others. For instance, the Polish Community in the UK has at least 3 – 4 events per week. What’s more, their events are getting bigger and better. Back in 2004, when Poland first joined the EU, Polish events were taking place in small, local venues for no more than 400 people.
13 years on and Polish events are now filling venues such as o2 Indigo, SSE Wembley Arena and Troxy Theatre – both with a capacity of over 2,500 people. Some outdoor events organised by ethnic minorities can attract between 20,000 – 30,000 attendees, including the Goniec Polski Festival or Bierro Fiesta (organised by the Filipino community).
Just as Justin Bieber or The Rolling Stones plan their worldwide tours and never forget about the UK, foreign artists from India, Romania, Poland or Spain always have the UK on their radar.
For instance, Polish rock artists Agnieszka Chylinska, as part of her “Forever Child” tour, performed nearly as many gigs in the UK as in Poland. She sold out 5 venues: 4 in the UK including The Ritz in Manchester and o2 The Forum in London as well as The Academy in Dublin.
“There is a need for these events, Polish people are hungry to see their own artists” says Tomasz Wrobel of Polmus, one of the event organisers. At times, there is more happening in London in a single weekend than in Polish’ capital – Warsaw.
Grzegorz Markowski of Perfect, a legendary Polish band, once said “whenever we’re planning a tour, the UK comes in the top priority. We’re performing there every year, not once, or twice but four to six times a year”.
With an average price of £20 per ticket, it’s estimated that ethnic events are generating more than £1 million revenue for organisers. As well as generating a nice stream of revenue for the organisers and venues themselves, a number of brands have been taking advantage of becoming headline sponsors or partners of these events.
These are not just ethnic-based companies either, but the likes of o2 Telefonica, Sky, EE who have associated themselves with these events. According to a recent study, only 1 in 5 of UK based companies have identified opportunities within the ethnic market. Yet, it’s estimated that the market is worth more than £300 billion.
As well as number of opportunities for brands, there are also a number of opportunities for those within the events industry to capitalise on this trend – with each event requiring a ticketing platform, AV, marketing, security, merchandising and so on.
Looking at the numbers – gigs are by far are the most popular form of events, however there is a growing demand for theatre shows and family-friendly outdoor events.
These outdoor events allow a number of companies and organisations including those from the public sector to directly engage with the representatives of the communities. From brand awareness, sampling to lead generation, these are just some of the things companies are doing during the events.
What’s more, sponsorship and having a presence at ethnic events is becoming a priority for a number of brands. The question is whether your event is one of them?
With so many events to choose from – firstly think of the desired target audience (for example; Afro-Caribbean, Polish, Romanian, Indian, Chinese etc.) then research the opportunities.
It’s recommended to have some (if not all) promotional materials in the language of the target audience on the day of the event. It not only shows that you care but have also shaped the offer or product portfolio directly to your audience.
It’s also a good idea to have a native speaker to be present at the event – if you don’t have access to anyone within your company or organisations, you can always outsource it to a staffing agency.
Whatever industry you’re representing, there is an ethnic event happening around you that you could get involved in and be one of five companies that have embraced ethnic experiential marketing.
After the event, analyse the results, discuss key takeaways and think of the next event. Also, rather than trying to reach all ethnic communities, start off with one and then expand your offerings by adding more and more.
In conclusion
Events focused on specific ethnic groups are a rapidly growing trend, and a great opportunity for entrepreneurial event-organisers and brands alike.