By Louise Winters
Does spending 6 weeks of your life underground in tunnels in the heart of Waterloo appeal to you? Perhaps it doesn’t sound like the height of event management glamour. But if you’ve ever wanted to do something different with your career then consider it a moment. The most exciting opportunities aren’t always the most obvious and London’s Vault festival has defined itself in a city full of tough competition by being held
completely underground.
The production and styling of Vault has not only created an amazing line up of different performances over 6 weeks to entice audiences in through the doors, but it has established itself as original, inventive and “far from the mainstream” in a city as vibrant and diverse as London.
If ever there were a true event planning challenge and a correspondingly impressive event planning success, this fits the bill. If you are considering event management as a career then take note and consider how much insight you can gain from
volunteering at events or festivals like this. So, from an event planner’s perspective, what have they got so right?
The aim of the festival is to give a platform for smaller creative and performance companies
This is carried through in the diversity of performances available, the price point on tickets, the marketing for the entire festival and the festival policies on entry and tickets. They festival organisers have communicated this really well as a point of differentiation and as an attraction to their target audience. The message, loud and clear: it is an event that lovers of alternative arts won’t want to miss.
Vault gets the pricing right for its target audience
It manages to lure people to attend despite the huge array of things to do in London by offering performances to suit different budgets with tickets starting from
£5 and running up to £15. They’re definitely getting it right because the festival has grown from its tiny first outing in 2012 through to a 6 week spectacular showcasing at least 10 performances per day in 2015.
A fabulously distinctive venue has shaped the creative side of the festival
Not everyone would be inspired by planning an arts event in a series of underground, industrial tunnels. But it has been used as a major distinctive feature to evoke darkness and horror and is also a strong marketing point. The venue and the marketing build up all go toward creating an immersive environment for festival goers, meaning they have a fantastic experience. Definitely a key requirement for staging any event and something that will get people talking and bring them back for more.
They’ve sought partnership and sponsorship to pull off the event with style
Vault’s organisers have partnered with a number of companies who can provide really useful services (e.g. WhiteLight Theatre lighting specialist) and the backing of well known brands (e.g. Adnams Breweries). This way they have the practical and financial support they need as well as providing fantastic PR for their partners during the festival.
I’m interested. What do I do now?
Interested? Why not find out more about the kind of
volunteering opportunities you get as part of your training in events management at Event Academy? Or have a look at some of the more
obscure festivals our team have worked in or been a part of.
Also have a look at our courses. Whether you want to be catapulted into the heart of London on our
PG course or study in a way that is flexible and fits around your commitments with our
online diploma, we have a course that will get you on your way to becoming involved in the most exciting events in the UK.
