Strategy ideas for marketing a music festival to potential investors

I assume the investors are not necessarily the advertisers. However, there may be an opportunity for offering exposure/advertising to investors such as local businesses.

The key is showing what the the expected return on investment will be. Put together a realistic plan setting out revenue and expenses scenarios.

I would approach local investors first because they may also be interested in advertising and getting exposure at the festival.

Look up other similar festivals, contact the producers and ask how they went about getting financing.

Include online marketing and advertising opportunities. If there's a website where people can buy tickets, then it may attract a lot of local traffic, which means advertising opportunities. If you plan to run the festival each year, the site can be permanent for long-term advertising ... which investors may like.

Start promoting it early so there's a lot of noise going on locally. Investors may likely be more inclined to jump on board.

Do you or anyone involved have experience putting on a successful festival? If so, highlight this to investors showing past successes. If you don't see if you can get someone to consult or be an advisor to gain trust with prospective investors.

I suspect your best approach is in person or on the telephone. Try to land a big, high-profile investor early (even if it's a very small investment) so you can tell other investors who is on board and they'll be more inclined to invest as well. This is the mall "anchor store" approach.

Have a strong festival marketing plan in place - radio, online, social media - create a stir. Investors want your festival to have strong chance of selling all the tickets.

If you have booths available, work out booth discount deals in return for an investment. I'm thinking about restaurants and other services that are popular at festivals.

Disclaimer: I've never promoted a festival or sought festival financing. These are ideas I'd consider if I were in your shoes. Good luck. Should be fun.