Dillo Day Music Festival
Planning and executing Dillo Day, the nation’s largest student-run music festival.
Co-chair (2023-24)
Co-director of Promotions (2022-23)
Designer (2020-22)
2023-24 The road to Dillo Day
Role
As a co-chair of Mayfest Productions, the organization that puts on Dillo Day, I manage 10 committees to ensure that the festival runs smoothly for attendees as well as our members.
I also lead a committee of new members called the General Board.
Lay of the land
Below are key focus areas the organization’s 10 committees are responsible for on the day of the festival. From 6:30am to 1:00am, we’re glued to our radios, communicating and responding to various needs such as artist hospitality requests, vendor load-in logistics, and medical emergencies.
Infrastructure
Security
Student Intervention Service (SIS)
Beer Garden
Entrance
Med Tent + Ambulances
Water stations (x2)
Lakefill Programming
Student art
Sponsor + vendor tents
General board project / activity
Food trucks
Production
Stage Production
Artist trailers + hospitality
Cars + golf carts
Vendors
Media
Photography
Live mobile alerts
Social media
Screens messaging
Dillo Day by the numbers
11,355
wristbands distributed
All wristbands were distributed in person by members who verified purchases and ran test scans
45+
contracts executed
Engaged with third party contractors such as corporate sponsors, artist talent, and vendors
$40k+
in sponsorships
Including merchandise and mobile app sponsor Gearhead Outfitters, booth, social media, and email sponsor Nyx, wristband sponsor Off Campus Social, Battle of the Bands sponsor RedBull, and custom entranceway sponsor Coca-Cola
On festival grounds
2
brand activations
Nyx and Sprite Chill
6
food trucks
Including 4 local restaurants and 2 ice cream trucks
4
programming spaces
Magnolia screen printing, archery, glitter tattoo booth, photo booth
Our first-ever custom festival entrance created by Exciting Events, Inc. and sponsored by Coca-Cola.
The head of our corporate committee handling vendor load-in with sponsor Coca-Cola.
Dillo Day sponsor Nyx’s photo op, part of their brand activation that was staffed and included product handouts.
Communications and Promotions
5k+
iOS downloads
50% of attendees downloaded the 2024 app, which included a feature that allowed attendees to find their “Cabin Mate” with a matching algorithm based on music taste
48
Instagram posts
And plenty more on other platforms. We increased the recruitment cap of our promotions team this year, because they do a whole lot
@dillo_day
9k+
gross sales on merch
In our first year running our own merchandise independently, hosted on Fourthwall
The new 2024 website also included a Know Before You Go (previously contained wristband info) directly linked on the home page.
New this year: We sent an email blast through Mailchimp to everyone who purchased a wristband and increased collaboration with the university to find new channels to communicate essential information for attendees.
Wrapping up
Closing out the year, there are still a few tasks ahead.
Collecting and reviewing audience feedback
Two debriefs → creating documents outlining improvements to be made to the festival in future years)
Selection of new co-chairs and transitions
2022-23 Leading the creative team
I co-managed deadlines for deliverables & delegated projects to designers, strategists, and copywriters within our team of 12, leading the creation of all festival promo materials, including:
a theme-specific brand identity
campaigns such as artist announcements
social media strategy across three platforms
festival credentials and signage
I also reviewed and provided feedback on all visual design work.
Co-director of promotions
Brand Book: Planet Dillo
2022-23 Brand Book co-designed with Defne Deda.
Co-created a brand standards guidebook with designer Defne Deda for consistency across promotional materials in line with the chosen theme.
Requirements
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We had just newly recruited half of our committee, and many new members had minimal experience in the Adobe Suite. To take full advantage of their skill, we aimed for an illustrative theme that allowed for asset creation in software such as Procreate. I created and curated tutorials to assist the onboarding process.
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We changed our approach from previous years to make the brand book more instructive, and received positive feedback from vendors and Northwestern staff regarding ease of use.
Brand book in action
Northwestern’s Student Affairs Marketing (SAM) Smart Dillo campaign won regional awards with their creative use of our branding and assets
Merchandising
Public-facing merchandise
Negotiated profit share with apparel provider Inktank
Listed 7 clothing items, launching Ink Tank’s most profitable project of the year
Directed social media marketing
Crew merch for Mayfest
Ensured that students working the festival would be identifiable at all times by managing the sourcing and creation of:
Crew necks funded by sponsor Coca-Cola (R)
T-shirts sponsored by Bumble (L)
