The subculture of electronic dance music: Developing a strategy for ZeeZout: from underground to event brand

ZeeZout is a young Dutch company focused at events in the (underground) house music. A strong believe in music as common ground between people leads ZeeZout as a growing brand in the Dutch electronic music scene. With different events throughout the Netherlands, ZeeZout is striving to build a strong brand in house music, both through earning the trust and love of new clubbers as through further creating its own musical path. Current day, The Netherlands is literally overloaded with (music) festivals. The first outdoor festival starts at the end of March already and the parade continues to half way September. So, how does a young event agency with an organic operation mode make a difference in a full festival market locked by major players? The unique selling points (USP) of ZeeZout can be found in the atmosphere at the events created by the visitors. Their vast group of followers made ZeeZout as what it is today. The ‘known faces culture’ at the events is unique and creates a ZeeZout specific atmosphere. Programming for a broader audience by bringing disco, house and techno together creates greater support that enables future growth. The number of festivals in the Netherlands has increased fivefold over thirty years time. 2012 is the first year that shows decline in the number of festivals. Looking at Electronic Dance Music shows that 10 the growth of dance music festivals has a bigger impact on the total festival market than it appears, and shows no sign of decline yet. Because of the availability of ‘festival-ready’ locations the growing popularity of dance music, more small event agencies arise organizing small festivals. However, to become a household name in the festival scene is far more difficult. Differentiation within this industry is very hard; solutions can be found in marketing, story telling and niche approach. The business model is used to visualized the company and to select most valuable assets. The designed strategy proposes to build on existing values and to expend the portfolio with festival experiences in cities were ZeeZout is currently active. Key business units of the niche market approach are: Brand, Club and Festival with overall goal to become a label of quality that has earned the trust of a segment of the dancing Dutchman. The proposed action plan is translated into practice with the design of Rotterdam’s (ex)change festival. The new designed festival brings multiple parties together, Rotterdam Festivals, ZeeZout and Ducos Productions. The collaboration with Rotterdam Unlimited resulted in a crossover festival that is an extend of the multicultural city and addresses the needs and wishes of the involved parties, the city of Rotterdam and its inhabitants. With (ex)change and the proposed strategy, ZeeZout can grow from underground towards becoming an event brand.