Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival

Subject: Market Research
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 26 Feb 04 - 07:51 AM

Just wanted to know how many of you people know about Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival?
Were spending a lot on advertising this year so if any of you read:

Unicorn
Mardles
EFN
Living Tradtion
London Folk Diary

Then it may be worth it.

So own up, who actually reads the adverts?

Subject: RE: Market Research
From: breezy
Date: 26 Feb 04 - 09:01 AM

I do but I dont know bahtit.
I adverise in it too, so wot u no baht St nobens then?

Blame Strolling Johnnies I do

Subject: RE: Market Research
From: Leadfingers
Date: 26 Feb 04 - 10:47 AM

Shire Folk (Oxford based) might be better for your catchment area.

Subject: RE: Market Research
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 26 Feb 04 - 12:30 PM

Don't read any of those. Try starting a Mudcat Thread to publicise it - everyone else does!
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Market Research
From: breezy
Date: 26 Feb 04 - 12:46 PM

mot many folks know bout the mudcat I fear.

Magazines have a wider coverage and Folk london, Unicorn and Shire are probably the most comprehensive in the home counties north area, especially as the Unicorn is distributed for free.

Subject: RE: Market Research
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 26 Feb 04 - 12:54 PM

I only read local freemag - what used to be "What's On Folk" and is now called something else.

So tell us more about Moreton then...

Subject: RE: Market Research
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Feb 04 - 02:47 PM

Thankyou for replying guys, I think its important to know whether advertising in those mags are actually worth it as they charge a bomb.

Anyway, Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival runs from the 11th-13th of June, its set in a little picturesque village in Essex called Moreton.
Its a quirky little festival, hosting the Steve Monk Memorial Competition, North West Clog Competition, and the mini melodeon competition.
Theres a friday ceilidh with 'The Gloworms'
A Saturday Ceilidh with 'The Old Swan Band'

Concerts with :

Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer
The Gloworms
Tamlin
Katie Howson
Mawkin
Ruth Notman & Allan Grainger
and Many more TBA.

Theres Workshops, including Smallpipes,guitar,melodeon,dance,yoga.
Folk Club with Ken Lees
Dance Displays with Chiltern Hundreds, Flamenco Ole, 25 morris teams and much more,
Crafts and music shops...the list goes on.

Anyway, its all individually priced or you can have a season ticket for £22.50 including camping. or £16 without camping.

more details email
[e-mail]

So is anyone coming???

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Feb 04 - 01:53 PM

ill take that as a no then!

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Leadfingers
Date: 27 Feb 04 - 02:04 PM

The problems with insufficient information ! I thought it was Moreton
in the Cotswolds, so Shire Folk is not for you - I know there is an Essex Folk Mag which would be more use to you, and much though I hate to agree with Breezy - Unicorn is more or less your corner.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 27 Feb 04 - 02:35 PM

I might come and I'll bring Ross. Ps The Unicorn is best.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festiva
From: treewind
Date: 28 Feb 04 - 05:26 AM

Hi Dave - I just spotted the Moreton ad this morning on the back of Mardles.

Yes I do looks at mags like that, including efn (when I can get a copy, not so frequently here in E Cambs) and Unicorn. Occasionally we run into Shire Folk. We subscribe to Living Tradition too.

The Mardles ad doesn't say where the festival is. You may know where Moreton is, but apart from guessing that it's in or near the area covered by those mags, for all I know it might be in Lancashire!

It pays to advertise! How else does anyone get to know about these things? Also it's good to support those local and National folk mags. I've had direct and indirect contact with the people who run them and it isn't an easy job. We've taken out an advert (that's Mary and I as performers) in the National Festival programme and are seriously considering putting one in Living Trad and elsewhere too.

Hmmm... we've got a gig at the Essex Singers Club in the middle of that weekend. Conflict of interest! Jonny D said he might come along to the ESC gig, but not if he and Vicki are performing at the same time. How far is Moreton from Bocking [he idly wondered...]

Anahata

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: GUEST,Dave of Mawkin
Date: 28 Feb 04 - 03:27 PM

Good point guys, never thought that we should say where Moreton is!
Moreton is in Essex, not lancashire or the cotswolds. Its about 12 miles from chelmsford, down the A414 and turn off at northweald/ongar and should be signed from there.

Anahata, glad you noticed the advert, Moreton is about 20 miles from Bocking, I havent really sorted out with the commitee when everyone is playing so once I get that sorted Jonny can work out whether he can make it. Hope you can make it too, at least for the step dancing competition on the sunday!

Hope you can all make it, should be a real cracker!

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festiva
From: treewind
Date: 28 Feb 04 - 05:30 PM

I don't do step dancing, though I recently played for a step dancer at the White Horse in Edwardston (Suffolk) and really thought I'd arrived ... but it would be good to watch.

What's a mini melodeon competition?
I've got a Schilling 1-row which certainly fits the description of a "mini melodeon" !!!

Anahata

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festiva
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 28 Feb 04 - 06:40 PM

Hi Dave,

I'm coming. A weekend in Essex? Phwwwooooooaaaaar!!!

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Jeanie
Date: 29 Feb 04 - 03:46 PM

I'll be there, too. My nearest festival. I'm in Brentwood, just down the road, but planning on camping so as not to miss anything.

Cheers !
- jeanie

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Blowzabella
Date: 01 Mar 04 - 03:38 AM

I would ask, why only advertise in the magazines near to the Festival? Don't you want to entice people from a wider area to come to it as well? Some mags may cost quite a bit, but others are really quite cheap. People will travel to folk festivals, if there are the sorts of sessions/sinarounds they are after or the line-up attracts them. Don't underestimate. Also, people from other parts of the country may well be on holiday in your area and decide to visit the Festival while there, if they know about it.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festiva
From: treewind
Date: 01 Mar 04 - 06:23 AM

Good point. I would expect folk clubs and other weekly/monthly events to be listed only locally in regional mags, but you can afford to splash out for an annual festival and if it involves camping you're obviously expecting people to come from more than an hour's drive away.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 08:02 AM

The thing is guys, we cant afford it. The festival is not for profit and all the money is donated to charities in the county, so the next year, my band 'Mawkin' has to do a series of fundraising events to pay for everything.The majority of the money is spent of marquee,lighting,staging,p.a and toilets. So very little money is left for bands and advertising, we can only afford The Old Swan band due to a rather large donation from a villager.


So we prefer to advertise in areas closest to us, because
we dont have a big enough name that competes nationally, we can only afford 6 artists!

I understand your point, 'why have camping?' because we also have over 25 morris teams, so they need to sleep somewhere.Of course we want people to come from all over the place but it is a simple matter of placing the small amount of money we have in the right places, the chances of people coming from essex,hertfordshire and london is greater than people from wiltshire,berkshire.
So we decide to spend the money on local advertising.

Glad to hear some people are coming,those who have been before, do you know you can now get season tickets that include camping?

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 08:05 AM

Mini Melodeon Competition

- A competition where competitors get the chance to play a mini meleodeon ( those plastic cheap nasty one row things for kids)
on main stage, the winner is chosen by the performance, artistic interpretation, entertainment a skill.
This is a very serious competition and people take it very seriously, the winner wins the best prize of all:

A mini Melodeon

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 08:19 AM

It's a great little festival, and part of its charm is that it is little and local, and that it's not excusively or primarily a folk festival, it's a village festival, with lots of folk music, but alongside other stuff.

I've never noticed the adverts for it, word of mlouth works fine.

I think leaflets at clubs and sessions, and folk festivals are the best way of getting the word out. And of course the Mudcat.

Here's a map showing where Moreton is.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festiva
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 08:36 AM

So how do you get there from London? Are there buses from Harlow? That seems to be the nearest station...

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 08:36 AM

Cheers McGrath. Your a Harlowite I see?! I went to St Marks RC School there.
The advertising campaign is atempting to step up a gear this year.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 08:41 AM

Countess,

M11, northbound, turn off at A414 Harlow, then A414 it to Northweald, then left, down a long windy road, right, down another long windy road, keep going and your there.

I once saw Laurel Swift bike it.

shes crazy that one.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festiva
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 08:55 AM

Ah. those intrepid Gloworms...but is there a bus?

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 09:04 AM

You'll be lucky, the bus goes from Moreton to Harlow every Tuesday.

Thats it.

Theres buses from Harlow to Ongar (ongar is nearest town, about 3 miles)
That runs every 20 minutes.

Just get Laurel to give you a lift on her tandem!

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festiv
From: greg stephens
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 09:07 AM

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Doktor Doktor
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 09:12 AM

Ohh wow ! a mini melodeon competition! - the current record for the most melodeonists plying in a moving mini is held by the Pillsillochs clog, welly & competition trouserferret side (retired). They used to perform with the BBTWTA years ago.

PS - I note that Suggers put an ad on http://beerfordbury.com - could be they'll send a delegation.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 09:16 AM

That sounds good, how many melodeons you can fit in a mini! great idea, we used to do a welly throwing competition, but that got a bit boring, so we would like to do a banjo throwing contest, as this is the only thing you can really do with a banjo!

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festiva
From: treewind
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 09:18 AM

The mini melodeon comp is EXACTLY what I thought it was, and I thought I was joking....

Anahata

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festiva
From: GUEST,The Cott
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 09:25 AM

Dave,

   Why doesn't the Moreton FF have a blinkin' website? That's cheap PR that is.

-cjc

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 09:34 AM

Well, my brother (the one who designed the Mawkin site) said he would do one about 5 years ago, however, he inherited the lazy bastard gene that is common among my family and alas there is no website.

I suppose I should get on to him about it!

And as for the Mini Melodeon competition Anahata, we've already got 5 entrants, including Simon Ritchie, Alex Goldsmith and myself!
So are you dunna sign yourself up?

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Doktor Doktor
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 09:45 AM

I'll go for the bajo hurling - but only if still attached to the instrumentalist.

PS: If you get stuck for a space Dave we've got spare room for a page on the Beerfordbury site.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 09:47 AM

Really?
Might take you up on that.Thanks for the offer, ill talk to the commitee.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: My guru always said
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 01:45 PM

Sounds pretty good, but 'fraid I won't be able to get along as your dates clash with Bishop's Castle & Wimbourne Festivals.

I didn't notice any mention of any 'fringe' events for singers such as singarounds in pubs or village halls..... Lots of folks can be attracted by a good fringe & most folks I know are singers. Are singers accomodated??

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 01:57 PM

If you only have a very small budget for advertising, I think I would be tempted to skip the one in Living Tradition (which would probably cost as much as all the others put together) and go with putting ads in the regional 'self-produced' mags.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: GUEST,SteveM
Date: 02 Mar 04 - 03:15 PM

There will be sessions, singarounds, storytelling et al at the festival, great fun last time I went.

Subject: RE: Market Research-Moreton Midsummer Folk Festival
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 05 Mar 04 - 08:06 AM

Thanks Steve M.
Your not Steve Morris by any chance are you?