The Preston Weekender music festival saw a ticket sales surge after the mysterious appearance of a Banksy-style mural featuring headliner DJ Pete Tong and Gromit the dog, which it now transpires was installed by a local marketing agency.
Fifty2M, ‘the agency with balls’, landed the contract to help promote Preston’s annual two-day inner-city music festival back in February.
It’s efforts consisted mainly of brand and performance marketing across Facebook and Instagram, but in the final week of ticket sales, it opted to do something different and unexpected.
Overnight, in the early hours between Sunday 27th and Monday 28th of April, the agency installed a mural on the side of a popular bar and restaurant in the heart of Preston and close to the Flag Market where the music festival was set to be held.
Created in the monochromatic stencil style associated with guerilla artist Banksy, the artwork featured DJ Pete Tong, Saturday’s headline act, flanked by Gromit the dog in a nod to the character’s. And creator Nick Park’s, links to the city.
Only now, several weeks after the festival, has the agency finally owned-up to creating the artwork.
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“There was only so much we could achieve with our digital campaigns, we needed something tangible in the city centre, but there are all sorts of restrictions on advertising in the public realm so we decided a guerrilla marketing approach was needed,” explained Lee Petts, founder at Fifty2M.
“We settled on the idea of a Banksy style mural because it was the kind of stunt most likely to get people talking. If we could make it look enough like the real thing to be plausible, and ensure it featured a prominent act from the line up, there was a chance we’d see people debating its authenticity and linking it to The Preston Weekender.
“Superstar DJ Pete Tong was the biggest name on the billing, and so we decided to base the artwork on him.
“It took more than five hours to get it on the wall using specially manufactured self-adhesive stencils, with work even being briefly interrupted by police after a member of the public made a report of vandalism taking place.
“It was worth the effort. As soon as people began passing by on their way to work, it started to draw their gazes. We made it impossible to ignore by sending a small team of people to take photos and selfies with the artwork, which prompted even more passersby to notice the mural and get their phones out. It did exactly what we’d hoped, and before long mentions and discussions were cropping up organically on social media alongside local media coverage.”
The Preston Weekender is jointly organised by Preston City Council and Preston Business Improvement District (Preston BID).
Mark Whittle, Preston BID Manager, said that the ‘Banksy’ added to the overall buzz and chatter about the event during a crucial period for ticket sales.
“There’s a growing trend that sees people leave it later and later before buying tickets to events like this, especially if they’re outdoors where the weather is a factor.
“As a consequence, anything that can get people thinking and talking about an upcoming event in the final week can make a big impact on ticket sales.
“Fifty2M timed it perfectly with its guerrilla marketing stunt, creating another reason for people to be aware of The Preston Weekender on the last pay day before it was due to take place.
“We definitely saw a spike in ticket sales on the day the artwork appeared.”
Petts added that he hopes the artwork will now remain as a lasting reminder of the time Pete Tong played an exclusive two hour set in Preston: “Although it started out as a promotional stunt, I’d like to think it could now become part of Preston’s cultural history,” he said.
