How To Organize A College Fest? A Guide For Successful Execution

There is something truly zestful about college fests and we all know it is at these events that most us have or will create some of the fondest memories of our college life. The idea of setting the books down, to unwind and explore a world beyond classes is why college fests are the most awaited events of the calendar year for all students. Hence, organizing a college or cultural fest that leaves a mark, is a momentous task which requires both street smarts and immaculate planning.

Are you wondering how to organise a college fest of your own? Or are you looking to explore fests you can attend for an unforgettable expreince? Either way you have landed at the right place. In this article, we will break down in proper detail the steps involved in organising the perfect college fest. We'll also share with you a way to stay updated with news on all the hot and happening college festivals in the nation.

Steps To Organize A College Festival

Every bit from planning the event to tracking registrations to clever marketing/ branding is of paramount importance. Because on the contrary, the festival will only find an audience in ignored pamphlets, unopened emails, silent Telegram groups, and unloved social media posts. Hence, an extensive and well-thought-out strategy needs to be chalked out right at the start, before you hit the streets.

Here are steps that will help you in proper planning of the event just like you imagined:

Find Your Purpose or Idea

The first step of organising a college fest is to decide on the purpose you want to fulfill. Ask yourself questions like- why you are organising it, what is the value proposition, what is the target audience, etc. Also consider the diversity of college students, the demographics, and different genres like sports, theater, art, academics, etc.

After that move on to finalize an idea, i.e. the way in which you want to present it, the college fest theme, a broad list of co-curricular activities you want to conduct, etc. These are the things that make the college fest purposeful.

Build an Organising Committee

The next step is to select members for the organising committee to carry on the planning process, implement and see the college event to fruition. Remember that college fests are ‘of the students, for the students, and by the students!’ It is hence essential to seek help from the college administration as well as the student organizations/ committees. While making committee selections, pick a member from all these important entities and cover all aspects of college fests. Also, issue notifications to recruit for volunteer roles from the student body, which are essential for the planning process. 

Spornorships & Budgeting

With the team and idea in place, you now need to set a budget you need to organize an amazing college fest. It is natural if you are working with a limited budget and hence it is essential that you explore all avenues. Since you are conducting an event in college, first approach the college management to seek financial help as they might have reserved funds for annual festivals. You can also conduct fundraisers for students and look for sponsors. 

With a budget set in place, prepare a detailed expense sheet that you must adhere to. Also account for ticket sales on basis of estimated college participants, in the budget.

Planning

With the budget, a team, and a basic idea in place, it's time to prepare detailed festival plans. At this point, you will need to make some important decisions regarding the following-

Prepare a checklist of activities that will make up the college fest, during brainstorming committee meetings. Also, divide all organising committee members and volunteers into teams and assign responsibilities/ duties to them.  You will also want to set up the ticketing facilities and process. Carefully consider all the logistic requirements when planning to create an amazing experience for all involved in the event.

At the end of the planning process, you must have a solid game plan in place, that enables you to identify your goals and a clear pathway to achieve them. In this, it is a great idea to set smaller goals and work on achieving them. It gives you multiple reasons to celebrate, and who doesn't like a team celebration!

Marketing the Event

A college festival is a coming together of mavericks to push the limits. Be it ensuring maximum event attendance, making the loudest noise, or casting a net wider than the ocean itself! And this brings us to the next step in organising a successful college fest. yes, we are talking about putting a great marketing strategy in place. 

Here are a few things to consider when setting up the marketing plan:

• Write clever, interesting, and catchy copy for the event posts and advertisements.
• Exploit all marketing and publicity avenues including college website, partner and PR partners, student community portals, fest publicity and listing sites, email marketing, and social groups (like WhatsApp, telegram, etc). 
• Create a hashtag and post content related to the festival on all social media platforms. The content formats should include all popular modes like reels, memes, stories, posts, articles, etc.
• Advertise and offer targeted discounts for colleges and also discounts to college students across social media channels. 
• You can also host giveaways, quizzes, competitions, and raffles in advance to increase attendance and promote the festival.
• Circulate the event registration link to your college fest throughout the social channels and encourage the student community to do the same.
• Create engagement for student ambassadors and leverage that to attract participants. 
• Post sneak peek videos and posts to create excitement within your target audience. You can also share teasers with details.
• Leverage special guests and induce that into your marketing plan.
• If you are distributing swag, encourage your followers on social media and the college crowd to participate to have a shot at grabbing the swag.

Pro Tips: Marketing is not a one-day game. The marketing strategy needs to be woven into the college fest strategy from the very start. You may start slow and gradually up your game as the event draws closer.

Entertainment is the cornerstone of any college event and people are attending it to be entertained and witness something new. Ingenuity and creativity are hence the magic potions to increase the entertainment quotient of any college fest. So be creative, and think out of the box!

We are sure that by now must have a clear idea of how to organize a college fest that students will about in revered terms for a long time. Now let's have a look at how we at Unstop can help you in your endeavor to organize an amazing campus event.

How Unstop Comes in Handy to Pull Off a Great College Fest?

Are you a student organizer for a college fest and have too much on your plate already? Is your phone ringing off the hook while you worry about your studies? Do you feel like the walls are closing in? Dont worry! Allow Unstop to share your load. How?

Well, we have everything you need to tick tasks off that checklist. That too for FREE! Check it out-

1. Community: Unstop has the largest student community that you can leverage for your upcoming and reap its benefits. With over ~5 million users from colleges across the country, your college fest is sure to go viral.

2. Your Own Microsite: Here you can make a dedicated microsite for your college fest (for free!) which will be a one-stop platform to keep your audience engaged and informed. From banners (with preset options) to image galleries (where you can upload past event images) to fully customizable content, and other tools (like the resizer tool), you can truly let your artist come to life on the microsite.

Having a branded microsite will surely leave the audience awestruck and it's easy to share the URL too!

3. Management: Want to delegate work? It's super easy to assign roles to the team members who can carry them out on the platform itself. For example, a manager with full access to the opportunity can edit details, access registration, send emails & certificates, and declare results, all right here!

In short, you can engage and address your audience effectively on a single platform, that too without spending a single penny.

4. Easy Updates: Use the live dashboard on the platform to track registrations and other stats. Based on this you will be able to better focus on areas that need work.

5. Referral Programs: Word of mouth is the oldest trick in the bag! Find those 'friends to all' people on campus and give them their own referral links. Track competition-wise registrations and maybe even incentivize their rich network that landed you decent registrations.

6. Single-click Seamless Communication: You can send hundreds of round-specific emails (completely customizable) in one go. Yes, it's that easy!

7. Certificates: Who doesn't like to make memories and carry them home to flaunt? At Unstop you can send out certificates to participating and winning teams with ease. And it not only adds value for the audience but also helps in cementing the clout of your college and fest name.

How to List a College Fest at Unstop?

Are you ready to create the college fest on Unstop, then visit the create opportunity page and select the kind of opportunity (cultural fests) you want to host. Fill in the required information and once the microsite is ready, start editing by clicking on the edit icon next to the tab you want to edit. Visit this link for further help in regards to the process. 

Popular College Festivals In India

A lot of popular college festivals in the nation are listed on our platform including (but not limited to the)

• The Red Brick Summit by IIM Ahmedabad
• Advaita by Indian School of Business
• Vista by IIM Bangalore 
• Rendezvous by IIT Delhi
• Shaastra by IIT Madras

Visit the compeitions page or download the Unstop app view the list of college fests currently running live across segments throughout the nation.

You might also be interested in reading the following:

1. How To Stay Focused When You Have Too Many Ideas!
2. Challenge Yourself With These B-school Competitions
3. Boosting Career Opportunities For Engineers Through E-School Competitions
4. 100 Years Of Fests, Elections, Societies And A Culture That Sets Apart DU From Others!
5. How To Wake Up Early And Work On Your Dreams With The 50/30/10/10 Rule