More than marketing: the impact of 'Fill Yer Boots!'

The 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe drew to a close earlier this week, having brought together artists, the arts industry, media and audiences from nearly 170 countries. We're incredibly proud to be part of it and share some insights on how we created this year's campaign - 'Fill Yer Boots!'

The campaign, which contributed to 2.4 million tickets being issued (+10% on 2022), has been shortlisted for a Creative Moment Award for Creative Culture & Entertainment Campaign of the Year. While we await the results, let's delve into the journey that brought our brief to life...

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Celebrating The Fringe In Its Entirety

Following its 75th anniversary and post-pandemic return in 2022, the 'Fill Yer Boots!' campaign represents a re-framing of Edinburgh Festival Fringeapproach to marketing.

Embracing excitement and inclusivity, it harnessed live data to enhance ticket sales and secure the festival's future, expanding its tribe of enthusiasts.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society treats all participants and shows equally. We needed to represent a diverse range of performances.

Beyond this, we aimed to activate the Fringe community through a toolkit of assets and hashtags, encouraging artists, venues, and audiences to share their stories and passion.

The concept also needed to work across a range of outputs. From tiny digital displays to large-scale outdoor. All easily adaptable across street events, outdoor, staff uniforms and merch.

In addition, we were tasked with meeting the following objectives:

• Flexibility at its core: Everything had to be optimised for a flexible media strategy – with particular sensitivity and awareness of the current economic climate.
• Explore new formats: Review media and creative spending. Plus, explore new formats, channels and activities.
• Sustainability: Support the Fringe's aim to be Net Zero by 2023.
• Be inclusive and diverse: Reflect the fact that the Fringe is for everyone in language and imagery.
  

Target Audience & Strategy

We were briefed to deepen engagement with core Edinburgh and UK audiences.

And to grow audiences by attracting more 18–34-year-olds. Younger audiences couldn't be left behind – aligning with the client's vision to 'Give anyone a stage and everyone a seat'.

EssenceMediacom UK undertook the media strategy. Everyone working together with The Fringe client team.

Encouraging Participation

This campaign needed more than just engagement.

Our audiences had to be more curious, braver and bolder in their choices, not simply resort to the familiar. Packing more unforgettable experiences into the three precious weeks The Fringe is on.

Choosing from 3,000 shows and over 50,000 performances, and countless genres: Comedy, Dance, Theatre, Music, Cabaret, Children’s Shows, Circus etc.

Our creative platform, therefore, became Fill yer boots!

• It addressed the desire everyone has for exciting entertainment and unrivalled choice
• Its tone was grounded in Scottish warmth and energy
• It conveyed a solid call to action
• The boot itself became a walking motif encouraging exploration of Edinburgh
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Creative Implementation

The programme hero image shows the sheer variety of shows available to 'Fill Yer Boots' with. Endlessly layered fragments of show posters on venue brick walls.

This was a deliberately practical choice.

We could quickly create faux genre posters for large-scale digital production – 100s of flexible assets turned into infinite combinations across all social and display advertising.

We reviewed live media results regularly to see which creative drove the most engagement. We then weighed spend and delivery to these versions.

We identified new opportunities to retarget users and drive additional engagement.

Fresh assets helped push additional ticket sales further during key times - when interest in The Fringe peaked, and further shows went on sale.  

Reasons To Be Proud

Our journey was a symphony of strategic thought and creative execution. Crucially, the campaign was digitally rooted, coming to life from a static brochure cover that maximised impact. This approach facilitated adaptation and optimisation by in-house teams, amplifying our creative ownership.

The campaign's tone and imagery reverberated with universal participation, showcasing the spectrum of shows and genres for all to enjoy. The true magic emerged from the fusion of creative dexterity and real-time ticket sales data.

As we reflect on this incredible journey, we look forward to the Creative Moment Awards and more innovative horizons for future Fringe campaigns.