Growing an In-Person Events Business Amid the Pandemic with Eventbrite

On top of that, the team also wanted to expand its business, bringing more people out to see Sever’s Holiday Lights, the drive-thru light show the Festival had started the year before. Figuring out how to manage growth and drive increased ticket sales, Peterson realized, would require a new way of thinking about ticketing.

The festival had only started using online ticketing in 2016, and the experience had been “fine” but nothing special. Editing events and developing reports — two functionalities that have been critical for businesses looking to adapt to Covid-19 — was often difficult. Switching to Eventbrite helped.

As Peterson explains, “it was very easy to integrate from Eventbrite to our website and social media pages across the board,” which helped to increase communication while expanding outreach at the same time.

Covid-19 also forced the Sever’s Fall Festival team to rethink the onsite side of its events so employees could control capacities and keep the experience contactless and safe. Taking advantage of Eventbrite’s timed entry with repeating events capability helped the team do just that.

The feature, which enables Eventbrite users to quickly set up recurring events and sell set numbers of tickets for particular time slots, helped Sever’s Fall Festival stagger entry for its in-person attractions.

Eventbrite’s marketing and event promotion tools also helped the team spread the word about the safety measures it was putting in place. Against the odds, Sever’s Fall Festival managed to pull off one of its best seasons ever: Since going live in September, the team has sold more than 80,000 tickets for its seasonal events.

“We've experienced unanticipated exponential growth this season due to being a drive-thru experience during a pandemic when many businesses have been ordered to close or significantly reduce capacity,” Peterson explains. But growing the business wasn’t just about ensuring attendance levels went up.

Sever’s Fall Festival also wanted to expand its offerings and continue building its brand. To accomplish this goal, the team added two new events in 2020 — a kid’s festival and a fall light show to complement the traditional holiday show.

Moving forward, the Festival is looking for new ways to maintain its growth rate next year, a process that will be enhanced by the data Eventbrite helped the team gather this year. “We plan to maximize this year's growth with further expansion next season and marketing abilities with a larger database and social media following,” Peterson says.

In addition to helpful functionalities like timed entry and data collection, Peterson found several other aspects of Eventbrite’s tools helpful, including:

Ease of use. “It’s very easy to use, and it’s great to be able to do most of the management myself,” Peterson explains. As owners of a small family farm making its way into agritainment, the Petersons are constantly on the ground. “We're the ones answering the phone calls and emails, and ensuring every last detail is managed to the best of our ability,” Peterson says. “Customer service is a priority for us and I think it shows.”

Customer service. “I worked with a sales representative directly and she walked me through everything, and while I'm not overly techy, it was incredibly user-friendly,” Peterson explains. For a family-run business, rapid feedback and support are indispensable. “The representative also was always available — something that we prioritize when going into business with someone new, especially operating seasonal businesses.”

Sever’s Fall Festival knows how to provide holiday cheer. What it needed was an all-purpose platform that would help it drive attendance safely, communicate with its growing audience, and create buzz while launching exciting new events. Eventbrite’s timed entries with recurring events and marketing tools helped the Festival team do just that.

If you’re interested in designing safe in-person events and growing your business during the pandemic, learn more about how Eventbrite’s marketing tools and recurring events can help you.

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