Tomorrowland Marketing Analysis
Marketing Management Group Project
ENGM 181 – Marketing (FA14)
Submitted to:
Asst. Professor Eesha Sharma
Dartmouth College
October 19th, 2014
Submitted by:
Raghav Mathur
Shashank Rao
Kesav Vasudevan
Introduction
Ben Turner, Coordinator at the Association of Electronic Music, while in discussion
about the exponential rise of Electronic Dance Music industry states that “ Electronic
Music is probably at the strongest point it’s ever been, but that’s also the best time to be
creating more structure and infrastructure to make sure we remain as strong as
possible”[1]. Electronic Dance Music (EDM), formerly called as club music, was earlier
only reserved for dance clubs and discos, but recently has grown to gain immense
popularity with the growth of DJs, live performances and the EDM culture. According to
the International Music Summit 2014 Business Report, the Electronic Music Industry is
valued to be at $6.2 billion in which live performances account for a cardinal $4.2
billion[2]. This enormous share of live music in the electronic music industry has grown
by approximately 15% from 53% in 2013 to 68% in 2014[3]. Tomorrowland is one such
portal of live music that has persistently stood out to be the grandest live electronic music
event, having won the International Dance Music Awards for “Best Music Event” and
Red Bull Elektropedia Awards for the “Best Festival” award for three consecutive years
in a row 2012-14 and 2011-13 respectively it has also grown to become the most sought
after music festival on the globe. The first edition of this legendary outdoor dance festival
was organized by ID&T Belgium, a Dutch entertainment and medium enterprise started
in the early 1990s. By 2014, ID&T had expanded to become the largest content providers
and EDM event organizers in the world hosting popular events like Mysteryland,
Sensation and Energy apart from Tomorrowland. SFX Entertainment, an American media
conglomerate, acquired ID&T in 2013, thereby becoming pioneers in the EDM event
management and organization scene[4].
What’s the buzz about? What is Tomorrowland?
Tomorrowland started out in 2005 as a one of a kind fantasy themed outdoor dance
festival, with an audience of only 10,000 with 6 DJs playing on one stage over the
evening. A few climatic variations in 2008 and the surprise act by artist Moby lead to
increase in customers during those years. Then, major advancements in the next few
years in terms of activity on social media and artist line-ups also lead to increase in
popularity. In over a decade it has grown to accommodate over 360,000 people with 400
A-list artists playing over two weekends on 16 stages [5].
The main reason why Tomorrowland has such a massive appeal is the experience. Since
2005, Tomorrowland is organized every year during the end of July, at Boom, a town
located 32 kilometers north of Brussels, the capital of Belgium [6]. Unlike most music
festivals that are all about sound, Tomorrowland focuses its attention on the visuals. Each
year, mystery and fantasy themes are brought to life in the 185 acres of flora filled-candy
stripped grounds [7]. Their motto “Yesterday is History, Today is a Gift and Tomorrow is
Mystery” complements their mysterious, futuristic themes that attract customers.
They recently started the concept of “Dreamville”, which is a VIP campground that offers
customers to experience after show parties and live in the dreamy vibe of Tomorrowland
throughout their time at the festival. 400 crew-members a day work for over a month to
organize the theme, and the main stage assembly itself takes several months.[8]
The festival has an undisputed reputation of being the most anticipated and rewarding
music experience. Tomorrowland got international attention with its 2011 After-Movie, a
first-of-its-kind concept that recaptured the best moments of the festival. The 13 minute
video got one million views in 2 weeks and increased the social media fan following by 5
times, from 200,000 to over a million followers in under 6 months![9] This video has
amassed a total of 69 million views on YouTube[10]. The popularity of these visual
snippets has given Tomorrowland a huge outreach, pushing it to the top of the class.
Winning the International Dance Music Awards for Best Music Festival in 2012
Tomorrowland became the most notable about festival in the world[11]. (Refer Exhibit 2)
Further, not being able to accommodate the large potential of interested customers, they
started a YouTube channel, which spread like wildfire, broadcasting DJ sets and
interviews for fans that couldn’t get to the festival. Thereon their demand skyrocketed. In
2012, their tickets were sold out in 9 minutes and in 2013, it was as ridiculously quick as
1 second[12]!
By 2013, Tomorrowland added a Global Package Tour to its portfolio where customers
could board Tomorrowland flights from various destinations and enjoy their favorite
music and get into the Tomorrowland vibe mid-air.
Tomorrowland started contributing for over seventy million to the Belgian economy in
terms of promoting and “Branding Belgium” through incoming tourists from all over the
world [13]. During our SWOT Analysis we also found their effect on the Belgian economy
to be a major strength as well as a great opportunity. (Refer: Exhibit 1)
A brief overview of the competition
Tomorrowland is advertised to be bigger, louder, harder and most definitely crazier than
any other festival in its genre. It’s surprising that the biggest EDM fest has come this far
with such minimal promotion. Its peers spend millions of dollars in getting the right
visibility. Electric Daisy Carnival, held each year in Las Vegas, has tie-ups with
Motorola, Bud Light, Snapchat and 7UP to help improve visibility and strengthen brand
relationships.[14]. Ultra Music Dance Festival has a very strong and strategic allegiance
that provides opportunities for collaboration with Ultra Artistes and Sony Music[15]. Also,
Ultra Music Festival doesn’t just stop with DJs but also invite mainstream acts like
Madonna and Snoop Dogg[16].
Tomorrowland’s massive success came over the years. Till 2011, Tomorrowland had a
fan base of party animals and music lovers. But with the release of the viral hit 2011
‘Tomorrowland after-movie’, the visibility of Tomorrowland reached new heights. The
13 minute video increased the social media fan following by 5 times, from 200,000 to
over a million followers in under 6 months! This has resulted in the snowballing effect,
with friends of friends coming to know of the festival.
As of 10/18/2014, its Facebook fan following stand at 7,198,888[17]. Its Instagram
followers stand at 689,000 followers[18]. We found their social media activity to be
another strength while considering their strengths and weaknesses.(Refer Exhibit 1) The
Interest in Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival and Electric Daisy Carnival, over time is
shown using Google Trends. (Refer Exhibit 3)
Ticket prices include entry fee and shipping charges. From the moment of the shipment
of the ticket, they try to make their customers feel special as these tickets are enclosed in
a Treasure Case along with a booklet and a personalized bracelet
[19]
. The bracelet is
important as it allows easy access to a host of Tomorrowland areas. One person can buy
tickets for a maximum of 4 people [20]. Ticket pre-sales usually start about 5 months
before the actual festival. In 2014, the pre-sale began on February 15th
[21]
.
A major competitor, Ultra Music Dance Festival has two categories of tickets - General
Admission and VIP passes. The General Admission ticket of UMD 2015 is priced
according to the time at which they are bought. Tier 1 and 2 are early bird prices and are
priced at $299.95 and $379.95, while Tier 3 is $449.95
[22]
. In 2014, the average price
was $500[23]. VIP tickets are priced at $1,149.95 and receive express entry through the
VIP entrance. They also get an exclusive viewing and seating area with a scenic view of
the different stages as well as access to private bars and restroom facilities [24].(Refer
Exhibit 5 & 6)
Electric Daisy Carnival, held every year in Las Vegas, USA prides itself on being
America’s largest music dance festival. The 3 day pass is priced at an average of $376.89
in 2014, down 20.41% from last year’s 3-day pass average of $473.54 and down 28.24%
from 2012’s $525.25 average[25].
The psychology of the consumers
The key consumers of Tomorrowland are the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) fans, who
are majorly under 28 years of age [26]. Tomorrowland competes majorly on the grounds of
diverse artist lineup that caters to followers of all genres within electronic music from
techno, dubstep, and trance to progressive house and commercial EDM. Another key
element of their exclusiveness is that it has unique creative elements with a high
production value. It is considered the most sought after EDM festival as shown in the
rankings from EDMTunes.com.
The consumer is mostly affected by the trends in social media with the artists constantly
posting about their upcoming performances. A survey by a group of students, from
JonKoping University, performing the market analysis on Tomorrowland revealed that a
majority of 48% of the people are influenced by Tomorrowland’s social media activity to
buy a ticket[27]. Since Tomorrowland is an experiential good, it occupies a specific
temporal and spatial location. In such a case, the effect of brand awareness, brand
engagement, word of mouth and attracting and communication via social media is huge.
This is the reason why the concept of an after-movie has become such a huge success. It
communicates to the world about the Tomorrowland Experience via YouTube, keeping
the memories alive, and at the same time gathers more social media followers [28].
The pre-purchase and post-purchase stages of the buying cycle are very critical in this
case. With the rising popularity of EDM culture, multitudes of music festivals have
sprung around the globe. For an EDM fan, the basic requirement is a good artist line-up
and the ease of access to it. Say, for an American, there are three festivals that sit atop
their bucket list: Electric Daisy Carnival, Ultra Music Festival and Tomorrowland. Since,
the first two are organized in Las Vegas and Miami respectively, it’s readily accessible to
the EDM fans in the USA. This can be attributed to other countries and the respective
festivals. With its base in isolated Boom, Belgium, Tomorrowland doesn’t have that
privilege. But, Tomorrowland has earned its image as the Mecca for all EDM followers
where people from all over the world come and make a visit to Boom. Tomorrowland has
implemented this strategy of exclusivity for making their customers feel special by
branding them as “People of Tomorrow” and using other such terminology that distinctly
distinguishes a customer who attended the festival from someone who hasn’t attended the
festival, thereby increasing the value of the Tomorrowland experience.
By looking at the evolution and growth of Tomorrowland, it is evident that essentially
their product is the provision of an ‘out-of-the-world’ experience to the customer in the
name of a music festival, which doesn’t force it to organize it in a major city. The major
attraction that Tomorrowland provides its customers is not only their favorite artists from
all over the world at one place, but also to experience these performances with an
international audience in a highly magnetic and visually enticing environment. They have
created an emotional significance in the psyches of their customers.
Unfortunately, only a fraction of people who wish to attend the festival end up with a
ticket. Unlike cars, which are available as per consumers’ convenience and time, the
tickets for these music festivals are a onetime buy. They are made available once and
since the demand is so high, the consumers, who narrowed down Tomorrowland from a
wide range of alternatives, have to compete against about 2 million similar people trying
to get the ticket [29].
They have already extended the festival to over two weekends to accommodate the
increasing demand but they cannot keep on extending the festival neither should they
have numerous large scale events as both will lead to a gradual decline in their well
established exclusivity. This strategy directly increased its capacity to double, i.e.
360,000 in 2014 but still the tickets were sold out within an hour of releasing [30].
Classifying the consumers
Looking at the development and changes in their key strategies over the years in regards
to their various internal aspects we found that their customer base can be categorized on
the basis of two broad parameters viz., geographical location of the customer and their
music interests. Circumspecting specifically on the geographical location of their
customers, we found that Tomorrowland has fans from over 45 countries [31]. They can be
segmented into two categories- local Belgian customers and international customers from
all over the world. Not that all these fans are actually visiting the festival but this gives us
an idea of their potential customers. By introducing a separate presale of tickets for the
potential Belgian customers in particular, Tomorrowland is targeting the local customer
segment first and then the international customer base.
Another parameter for classification of customers is their music interests. Though
Tomorrowland is one of the best music festivals, music is not the only attraction. As
discussed earlier, it’s the experience and ambiance that has played a larger role in their
success. So, their customers can be segmented into concert-goers and EDM fans against
the non concert goers and customers who might not be EDM fans, but would go just for
the experience. Tomorrowland seems to have targeted both these segments with superior
efficiency. For those who come to Tomorrowland for the EDM music, they have the best
line-up of about 400 DJs including every popular A-list DJ in the world. On the other
hand, those who come for the experience, the organizers create a fantasy themed
ambiance that represents some sort of mysterious future which never fails to ignite their
audience’s imagination. The Aftermovie show how continuously improve their ambiance
as it gets better every year innovating their special visual effects and rapturing fireworks
to enhance their theme.
The key issue and a tactic to battle it
After an objective analysis, we found that the key issue with their strategy is their
inability to meet the demand. As discussed above, Viagogo, their online ticketing
platform reported a population of 2 million customers visiting their website on the day of
the ticket sale [32]. They have a limited capacity of 60,000 per day i.e., 360,000 over two
weekends. We believe that their demand is enormously larger than what they can supply,
which if addressed, can lead to significant brand development considering the potential of
their product, which as stated above is an experiential good and more of a “bucket-list”
thing for people. Since they are limited by capacity, which cannot be increased, they fall
behind on their supply demand ratio. We recommend that hosting a few more similar
themed, small-scale events leading up to Tomorrowland, spread throughout the year,
would help them address their demand and also add on to their promotion significantly.
These events could implement similar themes to give consumers a taste of what’s in store
for them, while simultaneously maintaining visibility throughout the year.
A similar strategy has been previously implemented on a smaller scale, but has turned out
to be a success. In India, Sunburn Music Festival is a 3-day music festival like
Tomorrowland, taking place every year in Goa. They implemented experimental
marketing by not focusing entirely on their main event in Goa by organizing many
similar but smaller scaled events like Sunburn Campus tours, Sunburn Arena, Sunburn
Superstar and Sunburn Club formats, thereby addressing their millions of Indian fans[33].
They analyzed their market and demand, and catered to what customers wanted i.e., not
all the customers had could afford travelling to Goa for a 3 day festival. So they selected
a few potential cities, thereby making it relatively more affordable for the prospective
customers and still maintain their exclusivity. Since there isn’t an abundance of resources
available to analyze the marketing aspects of Tomorrowland, our data and
recommendation is based on various news reports, online portals and social media portals
like Facebook, Twitter and Wordpress that are the mediums through which their
customers communicate and share their reviews. Thus we conducted a survey that
included around 90 people from over 4 continents, through which we found that 87% of
the people would love to go to Tomorrowland. However, 58.5% state that they wouldn’t
consider going there because it is not financially feasible for them and 30% felt that
travelling and attending the festival required too much time thereby choosing not to
attend it. 86.67% of the people stated that they would attend a similar small-scale festival
hosted by a brand name like Tomorrowland, if it were to take place in their city. 82% of
the people in the survey were students and young professionals.
Recommendation
Considering they have a viral demand that they are not able to meet, keeping in mind the
above studied factors and the fact that during these events the activity on social media
increases exponentially to the tune of over 17 million posts per year, we strongly
recommend that they focus on hosting small-scaled inexpensive events building up to
their main event. These events will be spread throughout the year at different locations
across the globe, which would indirectly address their demand meanwhile sustaining the
overall exclusivity of their main event and ultimately lead to significant promotion as
during these events concert-goers tend to be more active on social media, their prime
promotion platform.
REFERENCES
[1] – The Rise and Rise of EDM(July 2013). IQ Magazine. Issue 48.
Retrieved from http://issuu.com/gregiq/docs/iq48_issuu/44
[2], [3]–Watson, Kevin(2014), International Music Summit Business Report, An Annual
Study of the Electronic Music Industry.
Retrieved from
http://www.internationalmusicsummit.com/img/stand_alone_files/file/original/imsbusiness-report-2014-vfinal-12.pdf
[4] –Annual Report(2013), SFX Entertainment
[5], [6], [8], [11], [13] – Once Upon A Time, In A Tomorrowland Far Far Away(2014),
Bass Feeds The Soul.
Retrieved From http://www.bassfeedsthesoul.com/the-history-of-tomorrowland/
[6] http://www.tomorrowland.com/en/how-get-there
[7] Velosa, Eddie ( 2012, July 26). Dance goes Boom: Belgium’s massive Tomorrowland
Festival opens. Los Angeles Time.
Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/26/entertainment/la-et-ms-dancegoes-boom-belgium-tomorrowland-festival-opens-20120726
[9], [10], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7CdTAiaLes
12.Sachs, Elliot (2013, February 16). Tomorrowland sells out in one second. YourEDM.
Retrieved from http://www.youredm.com/2013/02/16/tomorrowland-sells-out-in-1second/
[14] Johnson, Lauren. (2014, 19 June). 4 Brands building buzz at EDC Music Festival
has significant millennial power. AdWeek.
Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/4-brands-buildingbuzz-edc-music-festival-158450
[15] Sony Corporation of America (2013, January 23). Ultra Music and Sony form
Strategic Alliance.
Retrieved from http://www.sony.com/SCA/company-news/press-releases/sonycorporation-of-america/2013/ultra-music-and-sony-music-form-strategic-alliance.shtml
[16] Delorme, Quentin (2014, July 28). Ultra vs. Tomorrowland.
Retrieved from http://www.elegantmess.co/ultra-vs-tomorrowland/
[17] https://www.facebook.com/tomorrowland
[18] http://instagram.com/tomorrowland
[19] http://www.wikifestivals.com/content/tomorrowland-tickets-0
[20] http://www.tomorrowland.com/en/ticket-prices
[21] http://www.tomorrowland.com/en/faq/frequently-asked-questions-0
[22], [24] http://www.ultramusicfestival.com/tickets
[23] Bein, Kat (2014, September 30). Ultra Music Festival 2015 Tickets on sale now.
Miami New Times.
Retrieved from http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2014/09/ultra-musicfestival_2015_tickets_sale.php
[25]Lawrence, Jesse (2014, July 18).Electric Daisy Carnival Tickets down 20% from Last
Year. Forbes Magazine Online.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jesselawrence/2014/06/18/electric-daisycarnival-tickets-down-20-from-last-year/
[26], [27], [28] – Yulia Kazakulova, Erik Kuhn (2012, May). Communication strategies
via social media, a case study of tomorrowland
[29], [30], [32] – Elliot Sachs (2013, Feb 16). Tomorrowland sells out in 1 second.
http://www.youredm.com/2013/02/16/tomorrowland-sells-out-in-1-second/
[31] – Retrieved from: http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-pages/82627199176tomorrowland
[33] – Retrieved from: http://www.perceptindia.in/sunburn.html
APPENDIX
Exhibit
1
SWOT
analysis
of Tomorrowland
Weakness 1.Isolated location with minimal access to utilities 2.Price for entry/travel/accomodation is relatively high Strengths 1.Good brand reputation 2.Excellent logistics team 3.Isolated location, giving room for experimentation 4.Unique Theme 5.Promotes unity and culture 6.Very strong online presence 3.Supply-­‐Demand ratio is high. ie. limited capacity 4.Vsibility only during the 3 months leading to the festival. 5.Problems with Visa SWOT Opportunities 1.Branding Belgium 2.Ticket pricing (Early-­‐bird tickets) 3.Promote underground artists from across the globe Threats 1.Music festivals in the same or different genre 2.Alchohol and drug related issues 3.Consumers might not visit more than once Exhibit 2
Number of people attending Tomorrowland over the years
Tomorrowland attendees over the years 400000 350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2013 2014 Exhibit 3
Google Trends comparing Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival
and Sensation
Exhibit 4
Ticket Pricing Details of Tomorrowland
Regular Pass Full Madness € 237.50. Magical Friday Pass€88.00 Incredible Saturday € 88.00 Glorious Sunday € 88.00 VIP Pass Full Madness € 437.50. Magical Friday Pass €165 Incredible Saturday € 165 Glorious Sunday € 165 In addition to the above, if the consumer wants access to the Tomorrowland Camping
Site (Dreamville), then an extra payment of 325 pounds is required.
Exhibit 5
Various steps to purchase a Tomorrowland Ticket
Pre-­‐Registration with personal details Ticket Purchase Veri[ication of personal details Pay for the ticket using a preferred payment method Personalization of ticket Exhibit 6
Primary Research: Survey
Refer to the link for survey questions: http://svy.mk/1tDRM27s
Tomorrowland attendees over the years 400000 350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 Popularity of Various EDM Festivals 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2013 2014 Age wise distribution 60 40 20 0 18-­‐22 22-­‐25 25-­‐30 30-­‐40 40+ WILLINGNESS O F P EOPLE T O A TTEND TOMORROWLAND Yes No 18% 82% WILLINGNESS T O A TTEND B UILD U P E VENTS B Y TOMORROWLAND Yes No 13% 87% Reasons for not attending Tomorrowland 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Not an EDM fan 2. Lack of knowledge 3. Expensive affair (Tickets + Travel) 4. Time Constraint 5. Prefer other EDM festivals 6. Previous bad experiences at a live gig 7. Price