100 beers. 40 artists. 1 weekend.
A departure from our usual way of working, Arch worked in partnership with two other local companies to bring Leicester’s first Craft Beer & Music Festival to the city. The sun shone as thousands of people attended the inaugural Brew Beat Festival at Green Dragon Square in Leicester city centre. This family friendly event was initiated and organised by Arch Creative, HQ Recording and Steamin’ Billy Brewing Co. and funded by BID Leicester with sponsorship from PPL PRS.
Arch were the lead agency, project managing the event and developing the full range of marketing and promotional activities, HQ Recording booked all of the artists – bands, and DJ’s and managed the sound and lighting production, and Steamin’ Billy hosted the bars and provided the wide range of beers. Pooling our expertise and resources allowed us to create a festival to be remembered over the August Bank Holiday weekend. With a specially curated line-up of local live musical talent over three days, and a wide selection of craft beers to choose from, Brew Beat had something for everyone to enjoy. 34 venues in the city centre also participated in a craft beer trail, hosting speciality drinks in celebration of the festival, and were given a selection of promotional items, including branded red oil drums, to help create awareness and promote their involvement.
Arch originated the name Brew Beat. We wanted something which would balance both the craft beer and the music elements of the festival equally, and appeal to both the discerning beer drinks, as well as giving an accessible, family-friendly feel. The alliteration of the B’s, and the four letters of each word did this perfectly, and allowed us to create an original and memorable name which felt like an established festival. Arch developed the brand identity with a bold two colour design, using the red and black to give a strong look and feel which was applied to a wide range of supporting marketing assets including:
A combination of out of home, PR, paid for media and organic advertising was used to promote the festival. We managed to capitalise on audiences already created by the artists featured within the line up, as well as utilising each business’s platforms to reach existing audiences. To complement this activity, we used a paid-for social media campaign targeting both generic and festival/beer related specific audiences across Facebook and Instagram.
A mix of lifestyle and event themed creative assets were used to ensure the right balance and tone when attracting our desired audience. This was carefully managed to promote a welcoming and family friendly event. The use of Clear Channel digital screens, posters, banners, branded oil drums and Toblerone out of home advertising campaigns help us to paint the town red and black, further promoting festival details and creating event awareness. We also engaged local PR agency FU Media and Cool as Leicester, and also hosted an invite only press launch evening to kick start the festival.
Described by BID Leicester as one of their most successful projects to date, the festival attracted an eclectic mix of audiences into the city, contributing to the bank holiday footfall.
• PR 6 million viewers
• Social Media 170K reach +
• 5000+ website visitors during campaign
• 34 trail venues with enhanced visitor numbers
• Increased restaurant spend
Brew Beat won a Highly Commended award at the Tourism Awards, and its success has given the ambition to make it an annual event, giving a platform for local artists, and a free event the community can enjoy.
The next Brew Beat festival is happening on Friday 2nd, Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th of September 2023. We’ll be offering separate prosecco and gin bars this year, as well as a range of individual food outlets to choose from on site. Keep an eye on our website as we update it with the artists and beers on offer this year.
We’ll look forward to seeing you there!
