This year, we witnessed the 15th edition of Grub Fest.
Taking place over the weekend on the 28th and 29th of September, this event was the most awaited so far in the year.
But, was it truly worth it?
Did it live up to its hype?
In this article, we will draw all the lessons from this year’s Grub Fest.
We’ll pick apart all the things that stood out, that were great, or were disappointing.
While trying to do so, we will pick out lessons that other event planners can learn from.
A. Faheem Abdullah’s first performance
Have you heard of the Instagram reel audio that went viral?
His song Ishq got millions of views. It went on to become a trending Instagram audio too.
This song crossed borders and pierced everybody’s heart.
This slow soulful melody is a beautiful way to portray love.
Since Instagram’s users and the target audience of Grub Fest overlapped, picking this artist became an instant hit.
Almost everybody who knew the artist came to witness the magic of this song in person.
Interestingly, this was Faheem Abdullah’s first stage show.
He was a natural, from what we can say from our observation.
The crowd, especially couples, had their moment amidst his performance.
To please the crowd, he took the “once more” chants seriously.
He went on to perform the song thrice.
Later when the audience found out it was also his birthday today, the concert suddenly became more personal.
He connected with the audience like no other.
The audience too showered love by singing along and creating memories of a lifetime.
B. A popular emcee was a good idea
Grub Fest organizers strategically got Harneet Kaur Gugnani on board as an emcee.
She has an Instagram following of 11 lakh engaged followers.
Being a mini-celebrity of her own, she managed to woo the crowd with her people skills.
It’s good to have a notable personality as the emcee as it keeps the crowd engaged.
People tend to take emcees seriously if they happen to be a big deal.
She kept the crowd guessing what to expect in the next show.
We also observed her attempts to unite the audience by helping them find common ground. To give you an example, she asked who was from Gurgaon and South Delhi and so on.
C. POPxo stole every girl’s heart
POPxo knew what they were doing when they decided to give free makeovers.
Instead of handing out freebies that people collect and forget, they chose to give attendees something they can flaunt.
POPxo team could be seen giving free nail art and eye makeup to anybody who walked in.
There was definitely a long line you had to wait out, but this strategy definitely worked.
This move guaranteed that people clicked photos and talked about it on their social media.
Indirect forms of marketing such as these can take your pop-up stall at any event to the next level.
Other than this experience, they left no space untouched in their stall. They picked up every opportunity for a corner where people could get clicked.
Their stall theme was vanity room. Mirrors lined with LED lights made for perfect photo opportunities for everybody who attended.
And of course, the stall also had POPxo products one could buy.
They could maximize sales due to the give-to-take sales strategy. They gave people wonderful experiences and memories which made people want to buy their products.
D. Were people satisfied with the alcohol?
As one can see from the feedback, alcohol was definitely not the USP for this event.
In the sponsorship chase, Grub Fest organizers didn’t realize what their audience actually wanted for beverages.
They secured emerging brands such as Adira, Wild Drum, Not Out, and more as their partners for alcohol.
However, the audience missed their go-to brands for alcohol.
It’s not clear as to why Grub Fest chose to have such few options for alcoholic drinks.
However, fans were clearly upset.
Incidents of pre-boozing are common amongst the youth who want to save money at such events.
However, with this poor variety and limited selection of drinks, it seemed like a good idea to pre-booze too.
E. How was the decor at Grub Fest 2024?
Grub Fest 2024 was a good example of a good theme, but poor execution.
With autumn/fall as the theme, the only thing the decor offered was lackluster.
The decor was definitely sparse.
It also seemed inadequate for the night as many decor elements were not even visible.
So from this, we learn, that an event held in autumn does not equate to the autumn theme.
You need elements from the season to reflect in the decoration.
Where were the pumpkins? Yellow leaves? Candle lights?
F. A sky full of balloons
Where the decor fell flat, the audience didn’t disappoint.
Random people were given heart-shaped balloons.
People carried them at the event and even let go during the concert.
This simple idea was beautiful to the eye.
Imagine seeing a heart balloon floating in the sky as the singers sang soulful songs such as Ishq.
Pro Tip: Hand out a few balloons or lanterns to event attendees. Let them feel united as they let go of these in the sky. You can also coordinate this act of letting go together to create amazing video opportunities.
G. Which food stalls did the best at Grub Fest 2024?
You can’t go wrong with momos in Delhi.
Messy Momos emerged as the best-selling stall at Grub Fest.
Many other Asian and Korean food brands were also crowd favorites.
Grub Fest also had dedicated spaces for food stalls that looked like cafes.
Hard Rock Cafe, Ryba, Kunafa, and Nukkad Cafe were pop-up cafes instead of stalls.
This solved a major issue such events have. No place to sit!
By giving attendees the option to sit and relax throughout the venue, they ensured that attendees stayed for long.
This also made attendees purchase more than they would’ve if they stood all day and left early.
We loved how Nukkad Cafe even had a cot or ‘charpai’ in their cafe set up in addition to chairs.
H. Stall ideas from Grub Fest 2024
POPxo and these amazing cafes were not the only stalls.
Grub Fest also had other engaging stalls.
From tarot card reading, and canvas painting, to hair braiding. People could also pay in return for these services and not just products.
Just having product stalls can come off as too sales-y.
This trend in the upcoming fairs is worth noting. People would rather pay for services at such events, especially if they’re not looking to buy new products.
Our personal favorite from Grub Fest this year was a spray tattoo stall.
Many other events have also had tattoo stalls at events. However, people rarely want to get permanent tattoos at such events.
This stall solved the problem by spray painting cool tattoos at very minimal costs.
I. Kr$na at Grub Fest
Kr$na is a well-known Hindi rap artist in the country.
He was the headliner at Grub Fest and a big reason behind the turnout.
However, it seemed like it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
He’s a very niche artist and attracted a very specific type of target audience.
However, the lack of mass appeal wasn’t too big of a problem.
The crowd that showed up packed a lot of energy.
Maybe too much of energy. Let’s discuss this in the next section, shall we?
J. How was the event management at Grub Fest?
There were no major incidents or accidents reported at the event.
However, an unruly segment of the crowd could be seen trespassing the console area.
The console area is a restricted space in a concert where light, sound, and cameras are controlled.
To get a better view of KRSNA, drunk audience members jumped intoto the console area.
Security personnel delayed their efforts to escort these audience members outside.
Due to the delay, many other audience members were also inspired to break rules. This caused a lot of disturbance for the crew members that were handling the console.
K. Key Takeaways
Here are all the event planning lessons from Grub Fest 2024:
- Faheem Abdullah’s debut performance at Grub Fest was a resounding success. This could be largely due to his viral Instagram song “Ishq.” It’s a good idea to look out for trends on Instagram and select your artist lineup
- Harneet Kaur Gugnani, a popular influencer, effectively engaged the crowd. Having influencers as an emcee is a great idea for upcoming fests and events
- The event featured diverse food options, including pop-up cafes and engaging stalls. Having a place to sit down makes the attendees stay at the event longer
- POPxo had great marketing. Free makeovers and other promotional activities attracted attendees
- Limited alcohol options and pre-boozing incidents were noted. Having more partners for alcoholic beverages and giving attendees more options could’ve solved this problem
- The autumn theme was not fully reflected in the decor, leading to a less immersive experience. If you’re going to pick a theme, it’s best to execute it properly
- There were incidents of unruly behavior, particularly during Kr$na’s performance. This could’ve been avoided with speedy security members keeping an eye out
So, did you find anything worth executing in your public event?
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