This week, we focus in on two vital pillars of any successful event: marketing & audiences. We discuss how to package your festival’s unique selling points, find your people, and turn one-off ticket sales into a dedicated community. Harri Rose from Found Festival joins us to share how leaning into being a micro festival can help you cut through a crowded market on a budget. Plus, freelance marketing and audience research consultant Ellie White breaks down data-driven strategies and the often untapped potential of User Generated Content (UGC). Whether launching a new show, or resetting an established brand, this episode is packed with tools to professionalise your festival’s future.

Harri Rose - Communications Professional specialising in story-led content and brand identity that builds community. With over a decade of public engagement experience in the third sector, and running her own CIC, she served as Communications Manager for the Association of Independent Festivals before becoming Marketing Manager at Found Festival.

Ellie White - Freelance Marketer & Audience Researcher. After five years marketing We Out Here Festival, Ellie now drives strategy for independent events like Love Trails Festival. As the founder of Tune In Research, she helps organisers use audience insights to build stronger communities.

Find out more about Found Festival here - www.foundfestival.uk

Find out more about the Association of Independent Festivals here - www.aiforg.com

Are you part of the Micro & Very Small Festival Development Programme 2026? Keep the conversation going and share your questions and talking points in our dedicated WhatsApp Group.

Brought to you by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), edited by Trevor Deeble (bex.pop), produced by Sophie Evans

MUSIC

(1) Artist: Tai Hâf Heb Drigolyn, Track: Siwgr (2) Artist: Soft Hearted Scientists, Track: At Night The Quarry Glows Like A Mothership