Regional economy
Festival marketing strategies for regional festivals and events: a campaign planned back from the gates opening, from launch to wrap-up.
Partnership plans from $4,500 + GST a month
Festival marketing
Rock Solid Marketing builds festival marketing strategies for regional festivals and events across Australia, planned backwards from the day the gates open. The program goes up three weeks out, the press release goes out the same day, and ticket sales arrive in a rush at the gate, when it’s too late to plan staffing or catering.
We plan the launch, the announcements, the media coverage and the paid campaigns to visitors from out of town as one timeline. Our creative, PR and social media work on the Walking Hockey Festival Sunraysia shows how a regional festival can be promoted as one story.
Partnership plans start from $4,500 + GST a month, and press releases from $1,000 + GST. If a single release and a social campaign will do the job, we’ll tell you before we quote.
9+
Years serving Sunraysia and the Mallee
10+
Years’ minimum experience for every specialist
10
Marketing specialists on your team
6
Core digital channels, one joined-up strategy
Common problems
We build early reasons to buy: an early-bird window, staged announcements and reminders, so sales spread across the campaign.
Paid social and search aimed at the cities and regions your visitors come from, timed to when they plan trips.
Wrap-up content, photo galleries and a save-the-date campaign keep people engaged and sell next year’s early-birds.
Services
How we plan it
Each stage gives people a new reason to talk about the festival, so attention builds instead of peaking once.
Save the date, early-bird, program launch, headline announcements, last chance and wrap-up, each with its own content and ads.
Line-up reveals, food vendors, activities and behind-the-scenes posts planned so each one gives fans something new to share.
Press releases for the launch and big announcements, sent to local and regional media through our own contacts.
Meta and Google ads aimed at the towns and cities your visitors travel from, with ad spend paid to the platforms.
A festival look used across posters, social tiles, signage and the website, so every touchpoint feels like the same event.
Ticket prices shown with fees where you can, as the ACCC warns against drip pricing, and alcohol promotion kept to adults under the ABAC code.
Who it’s for
Marketing plan for a festival
We start with the date, last year’s numbers if you have them, your audience and your budget. Then we write a marketing plan for your festival: the stages, the announcements, the media moments, the paid campaigns and who approves what.
During the campaign we meet regularly to review ticket sales and adjust. After the event, we report what each channel brought in and set up next year’s save-the-date while the photos are fresh.
Sell steadily, not just at the gate.
Work in this industry
SunraysiaRock Solid Marketing helped launch the first Walking Hockey Festival in Sunraysia, a voluntary community project, using social media and design to drive team registrations and reach people new to hockey.
Launched a brand-new community sporting event
Mildura VICRock Solid Marketing ran social media and creative for Sunraysia Farmers Market in Mildura, with reels, photo stories and seasonal campaigns that helped increase event attendance and early-morning foot traffic.
Increased event attendance and early-morning foot traffic
The MalleeRock Solid Marketing gave Mallee’s Living Histories, a community cultural initiative in the Mallee, clearer messaging, a visual identity and pitch support to prepare it for major funding applications.
Elevated storytelling with clear messaging for partners and funders
Rock Solid Marketing have been an absolute pleasure to work with from the moment of our first meeting. We were fully supported through our whole experience, with Janine wanting to be immersed in our market to fully understand the campaign required. The attention to detail and care has made our whole experience a breeze. We are very much looking forward to working again soon with Ami and Janine
Your specialists
Ami HeathMarketing LeadWollongong NSW
Emma SutcliffePR & Communications ExpertYarra Valley VIC
Rachel EhratCreator Of All Things Amazing!TasmaniaHow it works
Every partnership starts with a strategy, then runs month by month with one plan and one point of contact.
A free 30-minute call about your business, your goals and whether a partnership is the right fit.
We get to know your goals, customers, challenges and opportunities, then give you a practical marketing roadmap.
Your account manager runs the plan each month across the channels it needs, from social media and SEO to email and press releases.
A monthly meeting by phone or visit, with a HubSpot dashboard that shows what the work is achieving.
In every plan
Ad spend, printing and photography are paid on top of the plan fee. Plans have no lock-in, so you can run them for your festival season only.
Plans
Every plan includes strategy, design, social media, ads management, PR and a dedicated account manager.
Starter
$4,500+ GST a month
For small to medium size business with a need to start with marketing planning and to develop key objectives.
Designed to drive website traffic and understand key learnings for inbound marketing.
Enquire NowStandard
$5,500+ GST a month
Designed for businesses with aggressive growth goals and product and services campaigns with high level content production.
Ideal for medium size businesses looking to increase their marketing ROI.
Enquire NowAdvanced
$7,500+ GST a month
Tailored to businesses pursuing significant growth objectives, with a custom plan focused on the most profitable opportunities.
Includes a one-off 15-second online video or ebook of your goods and services.
Enquire NowBespoke
POA
A choice of customised plans, including a digital subscription for optimisation, automated lead nurturing and other clever marketing “force multipliers”.
Talk to us about your goals.
Enquire TodayKey facts
Updated
Resources
In 2025, social media remains one of the most powerful tools small business owners can use to build their brand, connect with customers, and drive sales. But let’s be honest: between running your business, managing day-to-day tasks, and keeping customers happy, finding the time and energy to stay consistent on social media can feel overwhelming.
In an ideal world, your Facebook page would collect likes organically – that is, by people enjoying your content enough to proactively ‘like’ your page. Maybe they come across your Facebook page via your website, or perhaps they saw a friend like or share something of yours on Facebook. Regardless, they found you naturally, liked
In the age of TikTok trends and Instagram reels, it’s easy to assume that social media is the best way to reach customers. While social media can be great for brand awareness, when it comes to actually driving sales, email marketing consistently delivers better results. In fact, email marketing has an average ROI of $36
FAQ
Can’t find what you’re after? Call us on 1800 842 022 or browse every answer on our FAQ page.
All FAQsOur festival campaigns run through partnership plans from $4,500 + GST a month for 28 hours, with Standard at $5,500 + GST and Advanced at $7,500 + GST a month, for as many months as your campaign needs. Press releases start from $1,000 + GST, and ad spend is paid to the platforms on top.
Build the campaign in stages: save the date, early-bird tickets, line-up announcements in waves, then last-chance reminders. Use the artists’ own fans, target ads at the cities your crowd travels from and get local media on board early. Marketing a music festival also means showing what the day feels like, not just who’s playing.
As early as you can confirm the date, with a save-the-date for past attendees. The bulk of the campaign usually runs over the months before the event, with announcements spaced out to keep interest building. Starting late pushes sales into the final week, which makes planning harder.
The date and goals, your audiences, a staged timeline of announcements, the media plan, paid campaigns and budget, who approves content, and how you’ll measure ticket sales or attendance. A good festival marketing plan also covers the wrap-up and next year’s save-the-date.
Target paid social and search at the cities and regions they come from, time ads to when people plan weekends away, and partner with local accommodation and tourism operators. Regional media in those areas can help too. Make travel and accommodation information easy to find on your website.
Yes. Our work on the Walking Hockey Festival Sunraysia covered creative, PR and social media, and we’ve worked with Sunraysia Farmers Market and on Mallee’s Living Histories. We also sponsor regional events in Mildura, so we see festivals from the community side too.
No, our partnership plans have no lock-in contracts, so you can run them just for your festival season. Your social accounts, designs, photos and email list belong to your festival.
Let’s start by scheduling a free discovery call so we can get to know each other and see if we’re a good fit for your marketing needs.
