Becoming a Partner or renewing your partnership in 2010? Here's details on new fee structure

London Design Festival 2010
18-26 September
Everything you need to know about getting involved…

The following information is intended to help you make the most of being part of the Festival in 2010. Please get in touch if you’d like more information or to discuss plans and ideas.

Background

The London Design Festival, now in its eighth year, was first held in 2003. Its overall aim is to:

‘Celebrate and promote London as the creative capital of the world, and as the gateway to the UK’s world-class creative community’.

The Festival has grown quickly and is now recognised as a key part of London’s creative calendar, and as an important event on the global design agenda. The nine-day Festival programme is made up of over 200 events and exhibitions staged by around 160 contributing – or ‘partner’ - organisations across the city.

The Festival acts as a platform for individuals and organisation across the design spectrum and around the world to showcase design excellence. The diversity of world-class design talent in, and attracted to, London is one of the key strengths of the city over other global design centres; the London Design Festival brings this talent to the fore every year to connect with others, explore issues, do business, exchange ideas, and have fun.

The Festival is both a cultural and a commercial event. Projects staged as part of the program range from major international exhibitions to trade events, from installations to talks and seminars, and from product launches to receptions, private views and parties. The majority of events are free of charge - enabling visitors to participate, listen, learn, commission and make purchases.

The Festival model is simple, allowing partner organisations to pursue their own objectives through Festival activity. Events can be big or small, fun or serious, public or by invitation, free or fee-paying. They simply have to be relevant (design-related) and delivered to a high quality.

The Festival is funded through a combination of public and private sources. The London Development Agency has provided grant funding for the Festival since it was first staged. The Festival is also an Arts Council ‘regularly funded organisation’. Private funding (approx 60%) is raised through sponsorship of Festival projects alongside a small range of London Design Festival products and services delivered throughout the year.
 
The London Design Festival 2010
18-26 September

Each London Design Festival is made up of a different mix of contributions, events and visitor experiences. As the Festival develops, the Festival team works to refine and enhance the programme - ensuring its relevance to the broadest possible audiences. The Festival has strategic partnerships with a number of organisations to deliver key elements of the marketing campaign, including Pentagram (graphic design and production), Raw Nerve (website and online presence) and the Festival Press and PR company.
 
For the first time, in 2009, the Festival took up residence within the Victoria and Albert Museum. This year, The V&A will again dedicate the Sackler Centre as a ‘central hub’ alongside other areas of the museum for Festival events, shows, talks and installations. The hub also provides a dedicated information centre for Festival visitors and the location for the London Design Embassy – a meeting point for international delegates and the home of the Press Office during the Festival.

The Festival encourages collaboration in particular parts of London with concentrated design activity in order to maximise impact and profile in each ‘design district’. For example, in 2009 partners in Shoreditch created the ‘Shoreditch Triangle’, which succeeded in attracting visitors to the area on one specific night of the Festival. Similarly, Brompton Design District organised promotional activity and co-ordinated a late-night opening during the Festival.

Every year the Festival programme is varied and diverse. There are a number of high-profile shows staged annually, including 100% Design London, Tent London and Designersblock. Alongside this large number of retailers, businesses and cultural organisations host dedicated activity for the Festival. Recently the Design Museum, Royal College of Art, British Library, D&AD, Liberty, Crafts Council, University of the Arts London, the Design Council have all participated in the Festival.

The Festival in numbers

The London Design Festival has a comprehensive programme reaching large audiences and attracting significant media coverage.

2009 Festival Programme

•    215 public projects and events alongside 150 launch events, private views etc.
•    Contributions from over 160 organisations
•    22 events, seminars and other activities staged at the Festival hub alongside 6 exhibitions

Audiences

•    An estimated 300,000 visits to events listed as part of the 2009 Festival
•    Festival visitors made up from four broad groups: consumers / public (40%), design professionals (35%), design students (13%) and overseas visitors (12%)
•    Visitors from 22 countries were recorded in 2009
•    The website received 70,000 unique visitors during the nine days of the Festival

Media coverage

•    918 separate pieces in the UK press alone, valued at over £2.7m
•    Extensive coverage across online and broadcast media, in the UK and overseas

•    Google sources over 300,000 separate articles and web pages about the Festival

Why get involved?

The range of organisations contributing to the London Design Festival programme reflects the host of reasons to get involved. Common motivations include:

•    Marketing services, ideas and products
•    Gaining access to new audiences / customers
•    Developing profile for individuals and / or organisations
•    Showcasing talent
•    Connecting with the creative community across London and the world
•    Exchanging ideas and developing business contacts
•    Launching new products
•    Entertaining clients, having fun and being part of London’s creative buzz

What it costs

Organisations are charged a fee for participating in the London Design Festival. Income generated through the partner fee is invested in enhancing the Festival for partner organisations; For example, developing printed and branding materials, online resources, and PR support. There are three tiers, depending on the type of organisation participating and the type of listing required (excluding VAT):

Standard: Universities / Colleges, Retailers, Museums, Galleries, Companies trading for more than one year, Government Organisations and Embassies

Concessions 1: Schools, Membership Organisations, Individuals trading for over one year, Companies trading for less than one year

Concessions 2: Students, Design Collectives, Charitable projects, Individuals trading for less than one year

Benefits
Partners can expect the following according to the fee paid:

Full listing: Half page listing in the Official Guide with image, web event listing with image, year-round partner profile with logo on www.londondesignfestival.com, bulletin listing in Festival e-newsletter, branded signage at venue for duration of the Festival,
Guides and display box

One day listing: Third page listing in the Official Guide, web event listing with image, year-round partner profile with logo on www.londondesignfestival.com, bulletin listing in Festival e-newsletter, Guides and display box

Web listing: Web event listing with image, year-round partner profile with logo on www.londondesignfestival.com, bulletin listing in Festival e-newsletter

In addition, all Festival participants are able to take advantage of a series of marketing and promotional activities and resources delivered by the Festival team:

•    Inclusion in regular email updates sent to the Festival’s database of over 25,000
contacts, including the daily e-newsletter sent out during the Festival

•    Comprehensive press and promotional campaign delivered in partnership with the Festival PR company. The campaign targets a broad range of media, including trade, international, national, general and consumer titles, listings, news and online outlets with information about the Festival as a whole

•    Distribution of your marketing materials at the Festival’s Press & Information points, including the central hub at the Sackler Centre, V&A.

•    Invitations to London Design Festival events before, during and after the Festival, including two tickets to the Opening Reception

•    Discounted rates advertising in the Festival’s Official Guide and on the website

•    The opportunity to attend Festival events through the year

The Official Guide to the London Design Festival contains details on each Festival event. The guide is free and distributed through over 250 venues across London and beyond. We print 100,000 copies.

How we can help

The Festival team works to help you deliver activity. For example, we can assist with:

•    Developing content, ideas and the creative process behind your activity
•    Venue and partner matching, helping you find space or content as required
•    Programming, scheduling and audience development activity
•    Advice on communications, including press and PR
•    Facilitating links to other partners and the broader design and creative community

What partners think

‘Being part of the Festival is really important for us as a company because it enables us to be part of something bigger… When you are under a brand like the London Design Festival, you are able to obtain more of an international recognition.’
Rebecca Molina, Deptford Project

‘The Festival is a magnet for business, from around the world, a time when anyone who's anyone in design makes it to London’
Peter Massey, 100% Design London

“The style and glamour of the V&A party event made me proud of the London Design scene in this grim year”
Robert Hasty, Ligne Roset Westend

‘In my opinion [2009] was the best Festival yet. Lots of really good promotion and PR around the events, exhibitions were generally of a good quality and there was a positive feeling of collaboration’
Anna Stewart, South Kensington Estate

Timetable

The Festival programme develops throughout the spring and summer, in line with the following simplified timetable:

March            Partner briefing event, bringing organisations together to discuss
                      plans and ideas for the Festival. Detailed briefing packs provided

May               Press event staged to ‘launch’ Festival programme to media

June              Deadline for submitting details of events for the Guide

August          Guide published and available through 250 venues in London

September    London Design Festival 18-26 September

October-December    Wrap-up and feedback event for partner organisations.