Winter Bites Festival
February 2021 - September 2022
Social media strategy and management | Email strategy and execution | Website copywriting support | Post-event reporting
Winter Bites Festival was a series of three single-day events that showcased and celebrated local produce, beverages, and music in the Snowy Valleys.
Attendees were encouraged to follow the event trail and enjoy each of the unique festival days. Kicking off in Tumbarumba, the festival then moved to Adelong and finally to the township of Batlow for a final day of fun.
Winter Bites Festival in Adelong, July 2022. Photographer: Matt Beaver.
Let’s talk numbers
Socials
In less than two years, we grew the social media audience from almost nothing to more than 3,000.
We made 1.6 million impressions and garnered 72,000 engagements – quite impressive for such a small audience.
Emails
Our open rate averaged 47.6% and was always well above the industry average of 20.51%.
The average click rate (6.7%) was equally impressive, also outperforming the industry average (2.36%).
About
Made possible by funding through the Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery (RTBR) Grants in 2020, Winter Bites Festival was held across three townships that were significantly impacted by the Dunn’s Road Bushfire of 2019-2020.
Winter Bites event coordinator Belinda, from King Events, needed help with building an engaged email list and social media presence in the lead-up to the event. As a new event, the festival didn’t have an existing database, subscribers, followers or content to draw upon, so we started from scratch.
The pandemic caused additional challenges. The three events were originally scheduled for winter 2021. Two were postponed until winter 2022 due to restrictions and lockdowns.
From developing the tone of voice to key messaging, content, and paid advertising, Assembld unleashed a strategy that built excitement, understanding and engagement with the event.
Cleverly crafted messaging piqued the curiosity of locals and visitors and supported strong ticket sales. A little less glamorous, but ever important, Assembld leaned into their love of data (who doesn’t love a spreadsheet?) to provide in-depth insights and reporting. This helped guide the marketing for each subsequent event in the series, and can now support the possibility of future funding for the event.
Emails for Winter Bites Festival
Social media content for Winter Bites Festival
Social media content for Winter Bites Festival
What our client said
“In true Rach fashion, she took everything in her stride and exceeded our targets with all facets of her brief. She was able to build a loyal and engaged following on our social platforms and via email, using a voice and tone that really resonated with our audience. Most importantly, she was able to continue to build and grow engagement with each festival. We put much of the success of Winter Bites down to the involvement of Assembld from the early stages of the event.”
Belinda King, King Events — Winter Bites Festival event coordinator
Winter Bites Festival in Adelong, July 2022. Photographer: Matt Beaver.
Keen on having an events marketing expert on your team? Let’s get the convo started.
