Worldtown Soundsystem and Indie-Life were 10-months into an artist development arrangement, and the band was quickly evolving to a brand that today encompasses a seven-piece house music band, label, apparel line, and community service network with global influence. Worldtown bass player Julian Hinson had the brilliant idea to throw a free, public festival during the 2014 FIFA World Cup that would fully reflect their motto “celebrating global culture through music and art.” They asked us to put on our event planning hats to create an event befitting of their lofty brand goals.
Leave It To Us
When we say full-service event production, we mean it. As the liaison between Worldtown, the venue, artists, vendors, and prospective sponsors, Indie-Life was responsible for everything from drafting and negotiating contracts to managing the event budget. With an eye on every aspect of the festival experience, we coordinated, scheduled, and managed all entertainment and activities.
Location, Location, Location
The Piazza at Schmidt’s 40-foot outdoor Jumbotrons gave festival goers the opportunity to follow the games live throughout the day and allowed us to control the screen during broadcast commercials, which we hijacked to present commercials from our top sponsors.
Secure The Bag
To help Worldtown put on their festival, Indie-Life created tiered sponsorship packages and secured backing from top brands such as Puma, Verizon, and KIND Bar, plus ten supporting corporate sponsors including Sly Fox Brewing Company and Neuro Drinks. Global Philadelphia and Visit Philly were among the major local organizations supporting the event.
Get The Word Out
With only a few weeks to promote, we developed and implemented a wide-ranging PR strategy that attracted upwards of 5,000 attendees. Designed by Worldtown’s DJ and resident creative director Oluwafemi, print and digital marketing materials went to print, hit the street, and blasted the internet. We also partnered with City Fitness on a promotional video and launched an aggressive press outreach campaign.
Something For Everyone
From two-on-two soccer tournaments hosted by SoccerShots to drumming, live art with Gabe Tiberino, a hula hoop station, salsa with Estilo Dance Studio, breakdance lessons, and yoga, we curated an inclusive program of all-ages activities. The Worldtown Bazaar featured 30+ vendors showcasing their original fashions and crafts as well as food trucks, a BBQ, and pop-up beer garden hosted by SlyFox Brewing and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
The musical performers captured that genuine spirit of diversity and inclusion with five youth performances, a folk/hip-hop band from Guatemala, the West Philadelphia Orchestra, La Luna Dance Studio, a host of DJs, and more. Headlining performances featured Worldtown Soundsystem, Grammy Award-winning percussionist Pablo Batista, and the Mambo Syndicate.
There are a number of ways to gauge the success of the Worldtown Festival, from the impressive attendance, the happy sponsors, vendors, and partners to not having any fires to put out from set-up to breakdown.
For us, the Northern Liberties resident, who sought us out to share how much she appreciated the safe and open atmosphere, truly summed it up: “My [two-year old] daughter never wants to stay outside this long; we’ve been here for over six hours, and she’s still not ready to leave! She must have played with over a dozen strangers! The Piazza events are always geared toward a ‘nightlife crowd’–even during the day–and they often get rowdy. This was a welcome change of pace. We definitely need more events like this.”
