What Fyre festival teaches you about events management
Netflix has aired its next documentary and this time it has hit the #eventprofs community worldwide.
The FYRE festival - the greatest party that never happened.
As event professionals, who were responsible for organisation of countless events, festivals, and incentives; we felt very uncomfortable while watching it.
We sympathize with the team and the workers, many of whom never got paid.
As event professionals, it is crucial we watch this documentary and learn from it. The Fyre festival provides a valuable insight into the current event industry trends, the role of social media influencers in the event’s promotion. Building a brand that people trust until the very last minute, and how the attendee feedback on social media can destroy your event in only 1 tweet.
Most importantly, however, it teaches us what happens when an inexperienced team starts to plan a huge scale event.
- Wrong or no budget calculations
Clearly, the organizers had no idea how much the whole infrastructure would cost them. This clearly shows lack of experience which can only result in one thing….
2. Professional events planning team brought in too late
If only they had chosen to entrust this task to the professional event planners from the start, we might have had a very different outcome. Meaning no festival until at least 2018. When it comes to working with professional event planners it is all about the experience. It scares me looking at event planning agencies set up by people with no or very little experience. By working with me and my team you get my international experience, knowledge of dealing with stress situations, experience with emergencies, medical, safety, my international contacts, my suppliers and the list goes on…
3. Too little of a lead time
To plan an event of this extends, you would have to start AT LEAST 12 months in advance. They started the planning process with 4.
4. Too ambitious goals and numbers
5000 people on an island in your first year of the event ? 500 people should have been more like it. A smaller group of people is easier to manage. Even if you are an experienced events organizer… If you are throwing a very demanding, international event for the first time, you should treat the edition 1 almost as a test. Make mistakes on a smaller scale, learn from it, upgrade for year two.
5. Not changing your event when logistics changed
The owner of the private island had just one wish from the Fyre festival founder. Provide new marketing and image for the island and do not mention anything about Pablo Escobar’s links with the island. Unfortunately, the first thing that the organisers have done, is to announce that they have bought an island from Pablo Escobar. Once the owner saw it — they were out. After they lost the first island — they found another. However, this time much bigger island but also much busier and much more populated. That version was far from the first private island paradise. The location was now completely different, the logistics were different and they should have updated everything (the page, the itinerary, the offers, the prices )accordingly. This often happens at events- change of location or venue but we need to react to it.
6. Nor preparing for weather conditions
Soaked tents and mattresses a night before… Classic amateur. Just because you are organising an event in a warm location, do not expect it will be free from the weather conditions. Nowadays, more than ever, you cannot trust the weather predictions. Snow in Athens, crazy heat in London.
Source: Dilisted.com
7. Social media promotion and influencers
Setting unrealistic expectations by sharing images from the first island throughout the entire promotional campaign (even when they lost the first island, where the video and model pictures were taken). Also, the HUGE promotion that the influencers can create for your events. But it will cost you- Kendall Jenner was apparently paid 250.000 US dollars, just for posting the Fyre promo video on her Instagram account.
8. Damaging or promoting the destination
Many locals from the island saw the event as a fab opportunity to promote their region. Rightly so. The prize was high; winning an ongoing contract for 5 years and the international promotion of their businesses. Major international events can make or break the reputation of a destination. Depending on the experience, the attendees will choose to go back there (or not) for years to come. With the user-generated content and social media- their feedback goes online INSTANTLY for many to see.
9. Only one tweet feedback post can defy and destroy you
It has taken Fyre a dozens world top models with millions of combined following, to promote the Fyre festival. It has taken one guy with 400 twitter followers, to post one picture which became a global symbol of the failed Fyre festival. It is the now famous “Cheese sandwich” photo.
10. No customer service team assigned
During the promo period and right until the festival’s start day, the team was deleting customer comments, complains and genuine questions. There was nobody responsible for handling complains or answering questions for concerned and ALREADY paid customers.
11. No safety
Water, toilets, signage, info points, ambulance, safety report…
NO COMMENT HERE. We all know how many mistakes were made.
12. No hosts
Upon arrival, many attendees waited at the airport, while many boarded buses “provided by the festival”. There were no hosts welcoming the attendees at the airport. No hosts in the bus with further instructions.
13. No plan and itinerary
On the day of the event, it was decided to divert the attendees to the ocean side restaurant, instead of the accommodation tents or “villas”. The attendees have spent a few hours at the restaurant and nobody knew what were they supposed to do afterward … That shows that no itinerary was made.
Source: mirror.co.uk
14. Luggage
Luggage was not properly tagged. Upon the delivery, hundreds of people had to search for their luggage in the sea of other black bags.
15. People abroad feel more hopeless and stressed
People behave slightly differently in another city or country in stress situations. It causes them much bigger anxiety and panic, as they cannot get home. They do not know what will happen to them on foreign land. As an event organiser flying people to another country, it is your duty to provide safety and security to attendees.
16. Lawsuits from “dissatisfied” clients
We are both thankful and amused that nothing bad has happened to anybody.
If you are not concerned with attendee safety, you as the organiser of the event will be liable for damages.
Some clients were awarded 5 million US dollars in damages.
