First Night Pittsburgh and the Three Rivers Arts Festival are experiencing a problem similar to that of other festivals around the world: both organizations lack effective but inexpensive systems to collect reliable data about their respective audiences; in particular, the answers to the following questions:

• Who is coming?
• Why are they coming?
• Why aren’t others attending?

Incomplete information impedes First Night Pittsburgh and the Three Rivers Arts Festival in achieving certain marketing and fundraising goals.

The Strategic Marketing Research in Festival Settings Systems Synthesis Team (SST) was created to establish a feasible methodology for collecting audience information at outdoor, un-gated arts festivals. With First Night Pittsburgh 2003 (FNP) and Three Rivers Arts Festival (TRAF) as clients, the SST produced a data collection system that is inexpensive, replicable, and reliable.

The SST created a methodology for which festivals organize a register-to-win contest, gather basic demographic information through the register-to-win contest entry form, and follow up after the festival with a phone survey to obtain more detailed, psychographic information. This methodology was created keeping the following characteristics in mind: easy to implement, relatively inexpensive, works within clients’ resources and limitations, effective, accurate and replicable. The SST dissected the project into three distinct phases:

• Methodology Formation: Explored data collection techniques, researched other festivals’ market research strategies, analyzed secondary data, and decided upon a methodology;
• Methodology Implementation: Designed the process for the execution at FNP through register-to-win entry and creation, volunteer training, and other logistical factors, and prepared and executed the telephone survey; and
• Methodology Analysis and Refinement: Analyzed data collected during FNP, prepared a plan to analyze data collected in telephone survey, and refined the methodology for TRAF.

The Methodology Implementation phase was the most extensive of the project. To cater to the specific needs of FNP and TRAF, the SST designed and tailored collection materials to match the clients’ needs.

2,139 unique individuals filled out register-to-win contest entry forms, disclosing basic demographic information in the hopes of winning a grand prize of gift certificates to various downtown Pittsburgh establishments and cultural attractions. Approximately 1,000 households provided the SST with permission to contact them by phone and 376 households provided psychographic information during a brief telephone survey.

After assessing the accuracy with which the SST was able to collect and analyze FNP audience data, the methodology was then refined to be adapted for other outdoor festivals, such as TRAF.

The SST was able to collect enough demographic and psychographic information from its sample to draw some general conclusions about FNP attendees.

TRAF lacked the ability to have staff or volunteers conduct a telephone survey; therefore, the psychographic questions asked during the FNP telephone survey were instead included on the TRAF register-to-win contest entry form. This affirms the methodology’s adaptability.

The results of this project support the claim that many organizations, large and small, limit themselves without an accurate understanding of their audience. It is the recommendation of the SST that festivals use the How-To Manuals to implement the methodology on a regular basis. It is hoped that the data obtained will reaffirm the SST’s motivating belief: knowing who and why people attend a festival or event helps an organization understand its impact.