If you want to know how vital marketing communications have been to the success of the Decatur Book Festival just ask Executive Director Daren Wang.
“Without Lenz, the Decatur Book Festival as we know it wouldn’t exist,” he said. “From the festival’s inception, Lenz has been the driving force behind one of the most comprehensive and influential marketing efforts I have ever seen.”
The annual book bash on the Decatur Square has become the nation’s largest independent literary festival and fourth largest overall. Every Labor Day Weekend, more than 300 authors and tens of thousands of attendees from across the Southeast converge on downtown Decatur for book signings, author readings, panel discussions, an interactive children’s area, live music, parades, cooking demonstrations, poetry slams, writing workshops, and more.
All this without a dollar spent on paid media.
Lenz develops and manages every aspect of the festival’s communications effort, from marketing strategy and brand development to implementation in key areas such as design, PR, web development, e-marketing, social media, and signage.
In 2009, after three wildly successful festivals, Lenz created “Bookzilla,” a book-headed, fountain-pen-tailed monstrosity who introduced himself by destroying Decatur’s downtown square in a scene captured on the year’s festival poster.
In 2010, Lenz developed a new monster, this one a three-headed literary mutant, and partnered with the Atlanta-Journal Constitution to organize a naming contest among its readers. Lenz promoted the contest via social media and viral videos, resulting in more than 1,500 submissions and the winning name, “Bookie Monster.”
Lenz was the first festival sponsor and has been a gold-level sponsor for every festival to-date. Lenz also hosts the author hospitality suite each year.
Lenz president and festival board member Richard Lenz said that promoting the book festival is at the heart of Lenz’s mission. “We are proud of our contributions to the festival,” he said. “But we are even prouder of our partnership with the team that puts on the event and our association with the Decatur community. Celebrating and promoting reading and literacy is the epitome of cause marketing.”
Opportunity: Help launch, brand, and grow a community festival.
Lenz plan: Unconventional marketing strategy, bold graphic design, and an aggressive PR campaign to position a start-up festival as an industry leader.
Results: The largest independent book festival in the country after just three years, with 300 authors and tens of thousands of attendees every Labor Day Weekend.