I’ve been in the event marketing world long enough to know that no two years are ever the same — and yet, this one feels especially different.
Right now, my team and I are deep into the marketing campaign for Toronto’s Festival of Beer (TFOB) — a legacy summer event that’s been a staple in this city for decades. But like many large-scale festivals navigating the aftermath of the pandemic, we’re at a crossroads.
The realities we’re facing are not unique:
- Audiences have changed since COVID.
- Our venue has changed.
- The programming is evolving.
- And ticket-buying habits are just… different.
So what do you do when your audience isn’t where you left them? You meet them where they are now.
Letting Go of “How It’s Always Been Done”
Back in 2013, we helped TFOB launch and grow its social media presence. At the time, that meant street-style photos, daily posts, and building organic reach through Facebook contests and email. Today? That strategy is outdated.
We realized early on in this year’s campaign that we weren’t going to be able to rely on past playbooks. The audience wants more context, more transparency, and more relevance. So we changed our approach.
Leading With Testimonial Talkers
This year, we launched the campaign with something we call Testimonial Talkers — not influencers in the traditional sense, but a curated group of performers, insiders, and brand voices who are helping us explain the why behind the festival’s evolution.
We’re creating short-form video content that’s honest, fun, and informative. These videos introduce everything from the new venue (Toronto Event Centre) to activation areas inside the festival — each with their own story and purpose.
We’re also designing large-format posters for each area, which we’re using both on-site and across social media to create consistency and recognition. These visuals aren’t just marketing — they’re part of the guest journey.
Boosting Content With Intention
Behind the scenes, our paid strategy is doing the heavy lifting. We’re using the Meta network (Instagram, Facebook) to:
- Build awareness with new audiences
- Retarget past attendees
- Drive conversion-focused ads for ticket sales
Each testimonial video, each static asset, each poster is being amplified with a clear objective — to reconnect with a loyal audience while attracting a new one. And it’s working.
Rebuilding Something Familiar — But New
This year feels like a reintroduction. Same name, new identity. And for those of us in the event planning and marketing world, that can be both daunting and exciting. We’ve had to remind ourselves (and our partners) that evolution doesn’t mean abandoning the past — it means building on it with purpose.
And like any great event, that doesn’t happen alone.
Want to See It in Action?
As someone who lives and breathes this industry, I’d love to invite you to come see the transformation firsthand.
Use promo code EVENTS2025 to get special access to Toronto’s Festival of Beer, happening July 25–26 at the Toronto Event Centre. Come experience what we’ve built and how we’re reshaping the story.
And while I’m talking about evolution, I’d be remiss not to shout out one of our key collaborators this year — Potluck, a rising star in the food space that’s bringing new energy and flavour to the event. Partnerships like this are what help move events forward and reach audiences in meaningful ways.
I’ll be sharing more lessons from the field in future articles — but for now, this is the story I wanted to tell: one of reinvention, of strategy, and of what it takes to market a legacy event in a brand-new landscape.
Hope to see you there.
Sean Beckingham is partner of Branding & Buzzing, a branding, digital and social media agency. Sean is a food marketing expert with over a decade of experience in the industry. His keen insights and innovative strategies have made him a respected figure in the culinary marketing world. Sean’s engaging articles and deep understanding of food trends and consumer behaviour position him as a trusted authority in food service marketing.
