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From glasswork to sculptures and paintings, from keychains to stickers and bracelets, creative (and corporate) designs found their fair share of canvases at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, held April 12-14.
The Atlanta Dogwood Festival is the city’s largest and oldest fine arts festival, drawing crowds to Piedmont Park each year.
Hundreds of thousands of art appreciators descended on Atlanta’s Piedmont Park for the city’s largest and oldest fine-arts festival, and with them came promotional products that fit the occasion.
Whereas artists’ advertising was relegated to nondescript corner signatures, corporate branding loomed large at the festival. Corporate sponsors like Corona Light, Dollywood and Volkswagen welcomed festivalgoers with drawstring bags, can coolers and more.
A Volkswagen representative said the automotive company targeted the festival as a “high-traffic event” where it could draw customers for local sales. Volkswagen’s setup included its new electric vehicle and a booth offering branded drawstring bags.
To receive a bag, attendees were asked to complete a survey. More than 500 responses had been received by Sunday afternoon, according to the representative.
“The goal is to get as much generation as possible to get people to the local dealerships,” he said. “We’re getting a lot of registrants. Obviously, they’re into the bag.”
Looking to also get attendees in their doors, Atlanta’s High Museum gave away branded pens, clips and flyers (with word searches on the back) for their latest exhibit, “Dutch Art in the Global Age.” A representative from the museum said it hosts a booth at the festival annually, given the event’s fine-art focus and high attendance.
Atlanta’s High Museum was giving away flyers with word searches on the back, among other promotional products.
Alongside promo, the High’s booth featured an interactive art piece. Festivalgoers were asked to color in chalk art, which featured “HIGH” and “DUTCH” amongst flowers.
“A lot of people have been taking pictures of it – group pictures,” the High rep said. “It’s been great brand engagement.”
The High Museum incorporated an interactive art piece into their booth at the Dogwood Festival.
The Dogwood Festival itself has seen its fair share of brand interaction with the event’s official swag, according to merchandising representative Yvonne Oliver. She shared that this year’s festival’s merch, a T-shirt and poster, went quickly.
“We sold out of almost all of our T-shirts with the newest design on Saturday, our busiest day,” Oliver said. “So, we’ve added our vintage T-shirts, and those are selling as well. People just love the festival.”
The Dogwood Festival’s official merch has been a hot seller this year.
The appeal of the festival, Oliver said, stretches from the renowned artisans to the high school arts showcase (a partnership with the local school district) and a feeling of community.
“What you see and who you meet and who you see around – anybody and everybody is at the Dogwood Festival,” Oliver said.
And that popularity stretches to the commemorative aspect of festival merchandise, according to Oliver. She said she frequently sees people around town wearing Atlanta Dogwood Festival merchandise, from any of the 88 years the festival has taken place.
“We’ve got people that come back year after year, and they’re looking for the merchandise,” Oliver added.
However, people don’t just come to Dogwood for official merchandise, according to the representative from the High Museum. This year, especially, she said it would be hard to draw attendees without promo.
“I’ve seen people with big bags come to the festival and just grab stuff,” she shared. “It seems like some only came to get free swag.”
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