Creating Gimlet’s first festival

So here’s a fun story: in the midst of our self-realization that Makeout is more of an entertainment company than a marketing agency at this point (we make films and live experiences, how else do you describe that?!), someone on our team (me) said these words into the ether: “I think it’s time we put on a festival.”

About a month later, our friends at Gimlet — the media company behind so many of our favorite podcasts (StartUp, Reply All, The Nod, Heavyweight, etc.) — reached out to us, wanting to throw their first festival.

And so we pitched it. And then we got it.
It was exciting. It still is.

We’ve spent the last four months getting to know Gimlet’s team and values as we’ve helped them envision GimletFest. It’s going to take place on June 16–17 at BRIC in Downtown Brooklyn. In total it’s 11 shows over 2 days, with tickets available for individual shows or as an all-inclusive 2-day pass. (You can sign up on GimletFest’s site to be notified when tickets go on sale.)

And while GimletFest will primarily be a chance for people to see and connect with their favorite shows in a new way, it’s also an opportunity for these people to hang out in a venue full of hundreds of fellow Gimlet fans, who all have this intimate connection with the same shows, and who have come together in the real world for just two days to collectively take the earbuds out and have a live, shared experience with Gimlet for the first time. That’s kind of a beautiful idea, right?

So instead of creating a performance-only festival where you want to come in right before your showtime, see your show and leave immediately after, we picked a venue with a fair amount of space outside the theater, which we’re going to make look all fun and Gimlet-y. And we’ll have food and drinks for sale, as well as some ways to explore Gimlet’s shows and stories, a merch store, and obviously a killer photo booth (oh hey Photoland).

In other words, we’re trying to give people an excuse to keep hanging out at GimletFest instead of going somewhere else before/after their performance. But we’re not luring people in with super-fancy attractions or shiny, crazy technology (both of which we love in general), because that’s just not Gimlet’s style. Instead we’re focusing on what makes Gimlet special: its sense of curiosity, approachability, community and joy. And as festival design, we think that looks like a comfy space that’s good for talking, with food and drinks available, surrounded by the physical manifestation of Gimlet.

And on top of that, even if you buy a ticket to just one of the eleven shows, you still get come-and-go access to the non-theater parts of the venue for both full days. And if you don’t have a ticket at all, you’re still welcome to come in and see what it’s all about (albeit on a first come, first served basis — we do unfortunately have a max occupancy to uphold). Because, and we mean this sincerely, why not?

If you have your own thoughts on what makes for good festival design, or have been thinking about throwing your own festival and don’t know where to start, feel free to hit us up at xoxo@makeout.nyc and let’s have a chat!

Check out GimletFest here, or learn more about Gimlet itself here.