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l next July 12, a new edition of the Cruïlla Barcelona Festival, the ninth already, arrives at the Parc del Fòrum venue. As in all festivals, the musical lineup will be an important part of the offer —you can enjoy performances by artists such as Jack White, Prophets of Rage, N.E.R.D, Kygo, Justice, The Roots, David Byrne or Bunbury—, but it will be far from the only one. This is precisely what the DNA of this 100% Barcelona festival promotes, offering its more than 60,000 visitors an experience that goes far beyond just music. As Gorka Niubó, head of institutional relations and sponsorship, explains, the festival is committed to conceiving the event as an experience as a whole, not only that which comes from the performances on stage, but also everything that surrounds the space where the Cruïlla is held. Aspects as basic and forgotten in most festivals as clean bathrooms and people not having to wait in long queues to access them "are important to us, because in the end it affects the experience that person takes away from their time at Cruïlla," explains Niubó. But, obviously, the approach goes much further than clean bathrooms and no queues.
In fact, the basis of this commitment to experience emanates from concepts seemingly as far removed from the world of festivals as big data and business intelligence. But to explain how all this is concretized, first we need to talk a little about innovation. This is what best defines having been the first music festival in Spain to apply full cashless, that is, the first in which it is not necessary to carry money, neither loose nor by card, to cover expenses incurred within the venue. Instead, Cruïlla provides its audience with a smart wristband that can be loaded and that returns any money not spent during the festival. This system not only provides security and comfort to visitors, but, as Niubó explains, "it also provides us with a lot of information about the people who come and about their preferences, while allowing us to interact a lot with the public."
One of the most valuable pieces of information provided by the wristbands is the ability to segment the Cruïlla audience, not only by age or consumption profile, but also based on their relationship with the festival: "We can think of special promotions, for example, for people who have come more than one year, or think of unique actions for people celebrating their birthday during the festival...", he explains. The possibilities are endless, and not only for generating experiences for visitors, but also for offering brands an option to segment their marketing actions. For example, last year, Codorníu offered a glass and a piece of cake in its space to older audience members, "with which you not only generate a different experience for these attendees, but you also allow the brand to have a much more selective action."
Smart wristbands also allow access to a lot of data, such as the flow of people entering and leaving, which helps organizers adjust devices to avoid queues and crowds at the entrance, because, as the head of institutional relations and sponsorships at Cruïlla explains, "all these details are what help generate a good experience and build audience loyalty." And this is, in fact, one of the secrets of this festival: its ability to make people come back, "and for that reason, we must be very attentive to what they ask us; we depend a lot on our audience." This direct relationship with the public has served them, for example, to set the artist lineup, based on people's preferences, and through the Cruïlla Fan Club, the organizers maintain a permanent communication channel with their audience.
Listening to people, its organizers also made it clear that sustainability is one of the aspects that most concerned them. For this reason, Cruïlla is also a pioneering festival in not using the usual plastic cups for these events, and instead, and thanks to the collaboration with Estrella Damm, serves drinks in biodegradable cups. It is not the only point where the festival sets trends. It also does so by adding a cafeteria and bookstore area to its service offerings. Yes, yes, cafeteria and bookstore. A bet as unusual in music festivals as the fact of thinking about an entire area dedicated to rest and well-being, the lifestyle zone, "where people can enjoy a moment of pause, have a coffee, enjoy the technological offer or related to fashion and trends...", explains Niubó. Because not everything is music: "Our commitment is to serve experiences, as a whole, and therefore we do not only focus on the musical lineup, which we obviously also take great care of." It is the model that its organizers refer to as "third way", a hybrid between mass events where the festival experience takes a back seat to the musical offer, and those very selective and limited capacity events with a very specific musical bet. "Here everything is taken care of and the aim is to generate an experience in its entirety," highlights the head of Cruïlla.