Rewired PR | Case Studies | Bass Festival 2009

BASS Festival 2009

BASS (British Arts and Street Sounds) Festival is the UK’s only month-long celebration of urban music and art. This year’s theme was ‘Inspired by Africa and Africans’, celebrating the global impact of African cultural expression.
Produced by Punch Records, in association with Baby J and 2Funky Arts, the festival’s 2009 BASS Festival (British Arts and Street Sounds) will take place for the fourth consecutive year and saw over 25 events taking place in Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and London.
BASS also secured the exclusive rights to ‘Art’s Own Kind’, an exhibition of the work of Nigerian album sleeve designer Lemi Ghariokwu.
Rewired PR was appointed by Punch Records to deliver a PR campaign for the fourth consecutive BASS. The key objective was generating press coverage over a variety of regional, national and online titles to reflect the diverse nature of the festival schedule and to further drive awareness and ticket sales.

The Rewired team worked closely with Punch throughout the project, a process which ensured smooth running of the campaign on a day-to-day basis. Weekly updates were sent to keep Punch informed of developments and confirmed coverage.
As BASS covers such a wide range of arts, press releases focusing on particular events and aspects of the festival were sent to targeted press and journalists. Due to the multi-regional nature of the festival, press releases were also tailored to region.
The ‘Arts Own Kind’ exhibition was held at Rich Mix in London, with a special launch night organised by Punch Record featuring special guest appearances by Lemi and Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen. Rewired PR supported the launch by securing national press attendance.
An extensive press list was compiled for the duration of the festival, made up largely of national newspapers/supplements, music/arts specialist magazines and regional press. Broadcast (TV/radio) and online websites were also targeted to ensure all promotional material on the festival was reaching the widest possible audience.

Rewired’s PR campaign for BASS Festival resulted in comprehensive and diverse coverage, ranging from features and listings in national print titles, local radio interviews, and a mass of online material.
BASS was the only Birmingham-based festival to be featured in The Sunday Times Culture Magazine’s Top 100 Festivals guide, and Design Week dedicated a page to the ‘Arts Own Kind’ exhibition and Lemi’s artwork.
Regional coverage included Metro, Birmingham Post and BBC Radio Derby.
Promoting the festival’s African theme encouraged interest from press including New Style Radio and ARISE.
The total advertising value equivalent of the BASS Festival campaign was over £320,000.