The Business of Summerfest

Missed it? Watch it here!

Speakers:

• Sarah Smith Pancheri: Chief Operating Officer & VP of Sales and Marketing (UW Alum)
• Bob Babisch: Vice President of Entertainment 

Takeaways:

• Establish in 1968 with an average annual attendance of 900,000 people 
• A 75-acre world-class permanent festival site
• Recognized as "The World's Largest Music Festival" by the Guinness Book of World Records
• Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit corporation. It truly is a festival for the people
• 2,162 seasonal employees and 2,000+ additional seasonal staff hired various Summerfest vendors
• Delivered almost $1 billion in economic impact is the last 5 years
• 93% of authorities and 85% of non-attendees agree of strongly agree that Summerfest is part of the fabric of Milwaukee's culture/community 
• Summerfest is marketed to absolutely everyone
• 199K+ email database and millions of website visitors
• Regional advertising in excess of $2.2 million
• A 12 month, around-the-clock job
• Different artists are marketed differently. Ex. A pop concert you market through social, but a country concert you market through radio