The 150 participating festival organisers from 21 countries went home with a treasure-trove of new impressions, experiences and new or renewed friendships. Decision-makers of small and large festivals exchanged experiences during the conference on matters relating to the organisation of events. The theme was discussed by a number of professionals in the relevant fields. Conference delegates during the plenary session in Calypso Theatre. She emphasised the importance of timely joining the board wagon of a trend movement, in order to benefit optimally from it.
Trends have a clear product life cycle.
You have to remain alert at all times, is Salzman's credo, the days of long-term planning are behind us. New communication and information technology enable us to make the behaviour of individuals visible and to monitor these in the course of time. Postma reduced the jumble of the new marketing techniques to three clear measuring methods. It is necessary to substantiate assumptions with the help of behavioural research. Paul Jamieson of Sunfest of Palm Beach County, USA, an expert on target groups, told the delegates the who, what, where, when and why of new audiences.