Event Capital and BookMyShow Launch Virtual Live Event IPs Collective ‘Festival of Festivals’

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Entertainment | August 1, 2020 | News

Festival of Festivals Event Capital BookMyShow

Event Capital and BookMyShow have announced the launch of ‘Festival of Festivals’. The curated collection of India’s event IPs (intellectual properties) across genres such as music, food, literature, languages, fashion, and more, has been conceived to boost India’s live entertainment sector that has been heavily impacted through the Covid19 crisis. 

A first-of-its-kind initiative, the three-day virtual gala starts 14th August 2020. It is slated to feature 15 festivals, adding up to over 23 hours of content. The ticketed event will raise funds for artistes across the live entertainment community impacted by the pandemic.

The platform will host various successful events from India’s annual live events calendar, including Bollywood Music Project, Pet Fed, Bolly Land, Grubfest, Hi-Life Rendezvous, Hungama Artist Aloud Independent Together, IIFA Stomp Online, INCA Goes Desi, International Kids Film Festival, India Beach Fashion Week, Mehfil - A Kommune Evening, Taalbelia and The Fitness Arts Festival.

The stated aim is to elevate the IP space while curating entertainment content for consumers, thereby building communities for brands.

To know more about ‘Festival of Festivals’, EVENTFAQS Media reached out to Deepak Choudhary, Founder and Director, Event Capital, and curator of the fest.

How was the idea of the Festival Of Festivals conceived? What prompted it?

Festival of Festivals was conceived with the idea of enabling different event IPs onto the virtual platform. We observed that each festival owner was trying to do something unique by utilizing technology and marketing. They wanted to keep their IPs alive but were facing difficulties as they did not have all the necessary skill sets to make the virtual shift. We realized this and went on to collaborate with BookMyShow. 

Through this association, we merge their marketing muscle with curation expertise that the IP owners already have and utilize our IP experience and the believability that the people have in us as Event Capital. 

When was it conceptualized? Was it originally intended to be an online affair?

This event was conceptualized on 1st June, when the pandemic was rapidly growing, with no sight of getting over anytime soon. This originally started with an online idea as there are a lot of barriers involved in curating such an event offline, in terms of logistics, cities, and the different audiences. Taking it online becomes easier and we can reach out to a much wider audience all over India.
 
A part of the proceeds will go to charity. Tell us more about that and the beneficiary.

With the Festival of Festivals, we got an opportunity to be a part of BookMyShow’s charity initiative ‘BookASmile’. Through this initiative, we are providing charity to NGO Anahad, to aid (live performance)  workers who are hit by the health crisis. Consumers are indirectly also contributing to a social cause while they entertain themselves.
 
What is your view on the growth of (live on-ground event) IPs, and how will the Covid19 pandemic affect the growth trajectory?

In context to the IP business, there are two ways of looking at it. We are at a good standing by being an event agency that largely depends on its client and where the consumer’s need for entertainment has only been growing. Talking about the IPs at large which have original communities and have the core objective to keep the audiences engaged: the digital medium is good to engage the audience, but sizable work won't happen and the IPs won't die. Virtual events will keep the audience engaged and there will be brands that will want to collaborate with IPs since it caters to a wider audience.

How will the Festival of Festivals spur growth in the IP space?

Overall, the Festival of Festivals is allowing newer audiences towards these IPs. For instance, today due to the lockdown, there is a restriction in mobility and hence people have more time. Also, the value of tickets compared to pre-lockdown is more cost-effective, hence allowing to reach out to these newer audiences faster. Also, there are audiences that are more active on digital platforms and hence the IPs can go beyond one or two cities and target as per the geographical location. This also enables the growth of the IPs.

There are many big IPs that are part of the Festival Of Festivals. How do they benefit?

Festival Of Festivals brings in a variety of events for the consumers to be entertained There are three aspects in which these IPs will benefit. First is the marketing strategy that Event Capital and BookMyShow apply. Since we are a larger company, we understand IP marketing and enable the IPs on board to leverage from the same. 

The second point is all these IPs when they have consolidated together, they create a larger noise within their own IP ecosystem, hence also gaining good consumer interest. And the last being, the consumer who also benefits from an array of events provided, all together under one event IP. Viewers can enjoy this with their family and friends and select the IPs as per their preference.

What is the business model Festival of Festivals works on? Do you foresee sponsorships in addition to ticket sales? 

Our business model was to create an IP that is not specific to one genre but has events that are touching on various fronts. Sponsors are definitely benefiting from the events since the larger contribution comes from the ticketing. The costs have been kept minimal looking into the current scenario where it has to be affordable for all. The ticket cost for the Festival of Festivals is Rs 99, Rs 169, and Rs 499, making it cost-effective for consumers to attend. The overall revenues generated will be shared between the IP promoters and the promoters of Festival of Festivals.
 
How do you see the fest as an integral and important model in the evolution of entertainment IPs of India? Will it remain relevant post the pandemic?

Covid19 has revolutionized not only the entertainment sector but various fields where people have come up with alternative strategies. The new normal of the digital world gave rise to newer audiences which have been of a huge benefit to brands. The only challenge for IP creators will be to keep innovating in order to keep the audience engaged. The digital world for IPs will continue for future events since the reach is much wider as compared to on-ground.

(EVENTFAQS Media is a partner to the Festival of Festivals.)