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This weekend the fourth AFP festival took place. The most peripheral of the large ones, the largest of the Russian ones, the loudest in Europe (according to the results of several international awards). Every year it attracts tens of thousands of people, millions of photos and videos fly online in two days, so even those who have never been to AFP have an idea about it. Therefore, this time the editors of the portal site, which regularly attends the fest, decided to dispel the most common myths about Alfa Future People. Perhaps it is malicious prejudice that is preventing someone from going to AFP next year?

There's only electronic music

Overall, yes, this is a festival of the world's best DJs. This year's headliners included Hardwell, Oliver Heldens, Don Diablo, Dyro, NERVO and more. But if we compare it with the first years, there is now a tendency to diversify the musical menu. It’s not for nothing that there were five stages at the festival this year; at the Casa Musica venue one could hear a more “live” sound. The organizers even admitted that they would not mind seeing both Coldplay and Adele at the festival (however, they made a reservation that the ticket price may change).

In general, now AFP is not even entirely about music. If other initially music festivals introduce additional activities into the program, it is only so that there is something to do before the main event begins. Here the technology platform begins to attract attention; this time TED lectures from especially valuable speakers attracted up to 400 listeners.

The sports side of the festival is represented by not the most banal activities; here you can try SUP surfing, ems simulators, power acrobatics on the pole and aerial platforms, as well as play streetball, baseball, and football. The last sport at the festival was commentated by Viktor Gusev, which caused considerable excitement. The festival strives to become attractive to those who do not like loud music. The organizers are confident that next year people will come who will find the daytime program more interesting than the nighttime program. AFP is gradually turning into a lifestyle festival.

AFP is a wild field

Where there is no civilization, everyone lives in tents, in general, they enjoy all the paraphernalia of a bard festival in the outback of Russia. If you think so, then you are not thinking about AFP.

The festival takes place on the site of a former airfield, the territory of which borders on the village of Bolshoye Kozino, so for access there is an asphalt road leading to the campsite itself.

The AFP infrastructure would be amazing if anyone noticed it, but we get used to good things so quickly that we consider this state of affairs to be proper. Everywhere, absolutely everywhere, you can pay with a card or an entrance bracelet (in fact, this is the only way to pay; cash is not used on the field). Two main technology partners, Alfa-Bank and Beeline, took care of this, setting up a contactless payment system at the first festival, when it seemed like a curiosity.

Communication in this “wild field” is also excellent. 4G internet and wi-fi on all 400 square meters festival - Beeline once again broke the record and created the largest open-air coverage area.

The infrastructure is well thought out, the organizers understand that even the biggest festival consists of little things. Therefore, there are enough food trucks so that there are no queues, you don’t have to look for a long time for a toilet, a shower is a lifesaver not only in the heat, but also in a dirty summer is not superfluous, as practice has shown.

This is a festival for young people

No, this is a festival of progressive people leading an active lifestyle. For a minute, the beginning of the heyday of electronic music was found by those who are now out of frenzied age, but do not mind plunging into the atmosphere of a rave. True, if at the last festival there were enough people of the conventional age “40+/-”, then this year there were noticeably fewer, apparently they preferred home acoustic systems to mud baths.

There will be a lot of people there who are drunk or high on other substances.

This is what parents will say, arguing for a ban on a teenage child going to the festival. We won’t say “no, no, everyone is purely positive,” because we will be lying. There will always be isolated cases at a festival of 50,000 people. But these are really just a few; dancing under doping is not a mass phenomenon, as it was at the raves of the 90s or in the glamorous clubs of the 2000s. Still a concept modern holiday has changed. Millennials are the people who are the majority at the festival and are interested in their health (this can be seen from the demand for innovative medicine stands in the technology zone) and sports (the number of sports activities is growing every year). So next year, you can send your adventurous electronic music lover to this festival with a pure heart.

Text, photo: A. Fedorova
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Fresh air and bright sun. Secret airfield on the banks of the Volga. Music that changes your mood. Technologies that change the world. What does it take to hear and see the future? It's simple. Be at the Alfa Future People festival!

Participants of the AFP Festival 2018

This year’s line-up makes you breathe more often: we are coming to: Tiеsto, Afrojack, Aly & Fila, DVBBS, Krewella, Steve Aoki, Vini Vici, Yellow Claw, Flux Pavilion, Fonarev, Rudimental, Slander, Slushii, Ben Klock, Jan Blomqvist , Atom™, Boys Noize, Alesso, KSHMR, Aphrodite, Dolphin, Modestep, Noisecontrollers, John B, Gareth Emery, Sub Focus, Headhunterz, VITALIC, Louisahhh. And this is just the beginning!

AFP festival program 2018

The festival area is divided into thematic zones. The technology zone is an interactive platform related to healthy eating, ecology, gadgets and education. In the lecture hall, the best speakers will talk about the latest technologies and online farming. Demonstrations await you in the Sports Zone Olympic champions. In addition, the festival will feature an art area for the first time! What does it take to hear and see the future? It's simple. Be at the Alfa Future People festival!

ALFA FUTURE PEOPLE is a festival of electronic music and technology, which will be held for the 6th time with the support of Alfa-Bank.

From August 10 to 12, one of the most anticipated summer festivals - the anniversary Alfa Future People - will take place at the airfield on the Volga near Nizhny Novgorod. This annual event is a must visit for everyone who loves summer, quality dance music, a healthy lifestyle and technology. Everyone who lives in step with the times and modern technologies should urgently get ready for the road.

1. The main stage of Alfa Future People is the largest in Eastern Europe. Last year its height was equal to a nine-story building. Each year it reflects the main theme of the festival, and at the grand opening of the festival it turns into a giant audiovisual stage. So, in 2017, on a giant screen of 1100 sq.m. For the first time in the history of the festival, direct communication with the ISS was achieved
   
2. The best festival infrastructure in Russia. Traditionally, AFP is not only hundreds of world DJs, but also maximum comfort for visitors. Thus, the festival campsites are equipped with hot showers, lockers for storing things, and there is also a special accommodation option in the Caravan VIP camping, equipped additional security and tents that are completely ready for use;
3. Convenient to get to. Nizhny Novgorod is one of the most accessible cities in Russia. Dozens of trains depart from St. Petersburg and Moscow every day, and travel time is no more than 4-6 hours. The hotel stock of Nizhny Novgorod is also the third largest after Moscow and St. Petersburg, so travel lovers do not have to worry about the comfort of travel and accommodation;
4. A large-scale technology zone that amazes the imagination. Every year, a large technology zone consisting of several tents is spread out on the festival grounds. In 2018, it will feature more than 100 technological innovations, including a mobile vertical agricultural farm created by artist Ivan Karpov, a futuristic scooter-suitcase ATTO, augmented reality glasses for cyclists Raptor, a personal trainer of the future VI, a high-tech Data Dollar Store from the Laboratory Kaspersky”, where you can purchase goods for information and much more.
5. More than 20 sports. In 2018, for the first time at AFP it will be possible to pass the GTO standards and play golf. Also, festival guests will be able to attend master classes from the most flexible person in Russia, take part in EMS training, volleyball tournaments and play popular games based on football;
6. More than 100 artists on four stages. Over the 4 years of the festival’s existence, more than 400 artists performed at it, most of whom are included in the international TOP-100 Djmag rating. In 2018, the headliners of the festival will be: Tiesto, Steve Aoki, Alesso and Afrojack. Also performing at the festival: KSHMR, Gareth Emery, Yellow Claw, Swanky Tunes, Dolphin, Krewella, Flux Pavilion and others.
7. Varied food court. Every year, more than 60 food outlets are presented at AFP, including 10 world cuisines and 25 various food trucks with street food. Connoisseurs healthy image life will also find something to please itself with: traditionally, the food court area features vegetarian and healthy food outlets;
   
8. No need to take your wallet with you. Thanks to Mastercard, the territory of the most technologically advanced music festival will once again become comfortable space no cash. Guests can easily and conveniently pay for souvenirs, food and drinks bank cards and devices with contactless payment (smartphones and smart gadgets), and if necessary, they will be able to issue a card in a bracelet right on the site by contacting one of Alfa-Bank’s field offices.
9. A separate stage for techno lovers. The festival's lineup expands every year in musical format. Thus, in 2018, a separate techno scene, Miller Future Music, will be presented at AFP, among the participants of which are representatives of the French and Berlin techno scene: Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann, Loisahhh, Boys Noize, Vitalic, etc.
   
10. Meeting like-minded people. Every year the festival is visited by 50,000 people from 20 countries. No matter what music you listen to or what lineup you come to the festival with, you can always find like-minded people with similar tastes and views on life. Carefully study the schedule for all three days, build your route and head to selected areas at a certain time.

Tickets for the festival are available on the website

The creator of Alfa Future People, Viktor Shkipin, spoke to Sostav about how to make the festival an ideal event in terms of marketing and why when positioning a brand, it is not the budget that decides, but the idea.

ABOUT life cycle major festivals and the possibility of self-sufficiency

The payback period for any major world festival is very long. The problem is always getting started - as a rule, they give money to some agency that does turnkey events. The next year, for some reason, the budget is cut and the event disappears. There are many such examples, for example, “Red Rocks” of Sberbank.

We initially took a different route and made a long-term bet - organizing everything ourselves, we attracted agencies only for certain areas. According to the business plan, the festival should reach self-sufficiency within 5 years and start making a profit. If we succeed in this, we will become the first example in Russia when marketing activity brings money.

How ticket prices make AFP a shared experience

There is nothing worse than free city concerts - as a rule, people go to them because they have nothing to do. This is another reason why we are making the festival so far away.

The high cost of traveling to the festival, which includes tickets to the event itself, by train or plane, accommodation in a hotel or campsite, and parking, helped us form a certain layer - these people will collect money all year long, but will come to us. Therefore, only those who really want to attend AFP end up. When planning a trip all year, you won’t get drunk in the first hour, but rather mark on your calendar which artists to listen to and which events to go to.

People approach the festival consciously and practically. They ask: “Who else will you bring? What scene? They behave formally like buyers, realizing that they will spend the whole weekend on the festival. This makes AFP a shared experience.

About the governor of Nizhny Novgorod and the quality of the audience

This year there was a meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, it was opened by Governor Valery Shantsev - modern man With good feeling humor. He began by inviting everyone not to interfere with us, but to help us, because the AFP team has been making an excellent festival for 4 years.

When he arrived at the festival, after an hour of somewhat strenuous walking, his first question was: “Where are the drug addicts and prostitutes?” I asked: “What do you need?” - “They promised me that they would.” Seriously, he was amazed at the quality of the people who come to us.

For example, our visitors are concerned about how they will look in the morning. But this year we will have hair styling and barbershops - we are creating a whole infrastructure, aiming specifically at middle class youth.

We understand very well that these guys are entering the time of entry into banking products. And therefore, you need to form a long-term connection with them: the couple met at the first festival, by the second they already had a child, and now he is in his third year. And all this time we are with them.

About organizing festival marketing

For me, a festival is a brand that needs to be built, so we have a lot of disputes with the shareholders. In particular, that you can take the shortest route to income: sell cheap tickets, save on musicians, don’t warm water in souls.

But then, firstly, we will get a different quality of audience. Secondly, Tatler will not write about us or film on Channel One. AFP is a unique event in terms of comfort. Therefore, the right people come to us, give assessments and advice to other right people. So we will slowly grow.

Otherwise, it could turn out to be a completely different festival. For example, after the first year we received feedback: “We could use a shower.” The water was found at a depth of as much as 150 meters and a temperature of 3-4 degrees. As a result, we installed 100 showers, heating this water in flow mode.

When organizers of other festivals hear about this, they are generally perplexed: “Are you really worried about the temperature of the water in the showers? The main thing for us here is that the sharpenings are not stolen.” To provide only one heating of water, a separate group of diesel generators is needed, and they consume so much fuel that a fuel truck drives between them and Nizhny non-stop. Just to add comfort.

There are no such psychopaths on the market anymore. Therefore, for a long time, there will be no showers or free broadband Wi-Fi anywhere in the world at other festivals.

We traveled with the team to all the festivals when we started. From Electric Daisy and Burning Man to Tomorrowland and Coachella. Everyone relies only on music. We decided to focus on two more things - sports and technology. In fact, it could even be three different target audiences.

We have 25 sports: sites for climbing walls, laser tag, football, volleyball, etc. - this is the first point of attraction.

The second point is technology, because Alfa is initially the most technologically advanced bank. It is clear that now he is being stepped on his toes, but any marketing effort must be consistent with the values ​​of the brand. We are setting up huge lecture tents on quadcopters, 3D printers (where human organs will be printed this year), and glasses virtual reality and presentations of virtual games.

A lot of things aimed at geeks and techno-freaks. When AFP has visitors who come to us only for the technology, it means that we have worked on two whole audiences.

This positioning is unique - I responsibly declare that there are no other festivals in the world that are so concerned about their daytime program.

Why the festival is so interesting to investors

Of course, Alfa-Bank is our main investor. But others are actively joining us. Master Card immediately supported us to introduce Pay Pass technology. This whole story with bracelets works great (there is no cash at the festival, only contactless payment through an individual bracelet. Editor's note).

Beeline turned out to be interested in us, because for them this is a way to show off their Wi-Fi capabilities - the Internet flies on AFP. They also have a point of sale of phones and SIM cards, they provide everyone with chargers. This is how Beeline positions itself as a company that provides communications in every sense.

Interesting cases inside the festival and how they come up

Some brands have marketing or an agency. But mostly ideas are born when we sit down with a brand manager and start making a storm. There are 50 hectares - do whatever you want, even if you bring it by plane. The main thing is that it is fun.

Borjomi has a creative approach this year. Together we came up with an idea: handsome guys in rescue uniforms walk around the festival and offer a bottle of water. If they see that a person is feeling unwell after a fun night, they will give him a bottle of mineral water.

An interesting integration with Miller, a beer brand that actively supports music. They put the AFP logo on all Miller cans this year. The company felt that we had already become such an attractive brand for young people that we would have a positive impact on sales. “Borjomi”, by the way, also put our logo on their aluminum cans, which the brand first used and presented at our festival.

BeepCar is making a point this year, offering to pick up travel companions on the way to the festival.

Nizhny Novgorod energy company, for example, made charging points for mobile phones. In this way they want to create a certain image for their clients.

The story with marketing is very simple: it is not the one who makes the maximum sponsorship contribution who wins, but the one who does the most interesting activity.

Interest in our festival is high because content generators are coming to us. The more interesting the activity you organize, the more people will take pictures and post your idea on social networks. Relatively speaking, there were 50 thousand people at the festival, everyone reposted, everyone had at least 100 people as friends. We reach the figure of five million people who saw some interesting activity.

Hence the conclusion - it is not the budget that decides, but the idea and its creative execution.

You can invest a lot of money and get your place on posters, but absolutely not bother with activity on the site, which would be a big mistake. When you participate in a big event, it is not the budget that matters, but the idea.

That's why Miller and Bacardi are making their own scenes this year. They want to associate themselves with a specific musical direction. Bacardi, for example, has rappers with a Caribbean flavor - this is how they build their positioning - The Sound of Rum.

There is no need to be greedy, you need to go to the most frostbitten creative agencies so that they come up with something that will hook people.

About brands that AFP does not work with

This year we abandoned Kalashnikov. From a marketer's perspective, I like how they are rebuilding the brand. They do everything conceptually and modernly, truly instilling pride in the country. But still, I thought that it was impossible to advertise Kalashnikov here, because, whatever one may say, the purpose of this product is to kill people.

About yet unimplemented ideas

We want to make a gas station in the parking lot and are looking for a partner among oil companies. We also want to make charters for the festival from different cities, branding the planes. For this we are looking for airlines.

About the marketing effect that is difficult to calculate

How can Coca-Cola calculate the direct effect of the “The holiday is coming to us” video? This is an image story that people just grow up with. For many New Year is no longer possible without Coca-Cola on the table. They accustomed the audience to this, we are now trying to do the same - if you want to spend your youth in a bright and modern way, then go to AFP once a year.

How much does it cost to repost on a social network and how much does it cost to get people to print our logo? They become so attached to the event. How can this be calculated or measured when a person deliberately writes the AFP hashtag? When does a person take a photo in front of a stage or participate in competitions? Elementary: 50 thousand people who took a few photos or videos immediately cover five million of the corresponding territory.

You invest in a number of very deep contacts. For example, when a person sincerely writes that he had a good time with us. This is very difficult to calculate in money, but you can try: divide the number of likes and shares by the budget, understand how much one contact costs you, entering a person’s social network. But we have another trick: we are making it all self-sustaining.

About bad weather

We were afraid of such situations, so from the very beginning we took into account technical aspects— from the depth of cable laying to the organization of parking and bypass routes.

As soon as we realized that the weather was going to be bad, we started writing about it wherever we could. Social networks reported: “Guys, it looks like the weather will be bad, let’s buy boots and charge good mood and we’re coming!”

We also prepared a telegram bot with which we communicated with guests. At the meeting with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, we reported on the measures being taken to provide early and emergency notification to guests and talked about telegrams. The officials listened attentively and nodded. And exactly 24 hours later the Ministry of Emergency Situations bot appeared. I was amazed how good idea may be perceived by such regulatory authorities as well.

About additional sites

Franchise for sure, we are now communicating with a number of CIS countries. Figures from the show business industry come to us. We are currently in negotiations with some of them because we need to make sure they are serious.

On the principle of selecting performers for the festival

When we started doing the first AFP and were trying to figure out when to call, all the artists said they were “number one”, with “20 years of experience” or “rising stars”. Therefore, we decided to make our Alfa Future Awards, which would determine the most sought-after this moment electronic musicians. We approached the choice with purely pragmatic marketing standards and did research according to the canons of the genre. We took a representative sample of electronic music clubs from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, several from each city. And they asked the directors and art directors one question: which artist is the easiest to sell tickets for on a scale of 10 points to 1 point? Having made a very clear statistically correct sample, we diluted it with the opinions of program directors of radio stations. In total, we received the opinions of 110 people.

This is how we got a clear ranking of the demand for DJs in the country from 1 to 100 places.

We used this to our advantage at first. But then we thought that everyone was interested in this, and now there is no such market scale. And we held a ceremony where we awarded the first 10. We plan to develop this into a larger story.

About the final goal

We want everyone to know about us. And those who wanted to come could come. We don’t want to grow much in breadth, because we don’t need a big crowd. We probably want to become the main event of our kind. So that a festival culture can appear among people in Russia. When we form such a trend, then we can definitely consider that we have done our job.

Worked on the material:

Alexey Pavlov

Mikhail Kovynev

Denis Sidorov