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Chicago Pride Fest

Overview

Chicago Pride Fest is one of the country's largest LGBTQ+ street festivals, welcoming thousands of attendees over a two-day celebration featuring national entertainment, community organizations, local businesses, sponsors, and multiple entertainment stages. Produced by the Northalsted Business Alliance, the festival serves as both a cultural celebration and a major economic driver for Chicago's historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood.
 

As Marketing Manager, I led the strategic marketing execution for the festival from planning through on-site activation. Acting as the central point of communication between the festival committee, PR agency, creative partners, artist management, vendors, and internal stakeholders, I ensured every marketing initiative aligned with ticket revenue goals while delivering a cohesive brand experience across every audience touchpoint.

01

Challenge

CHICAGO PRIDE FEST

Drive attendance and maximize festival donations while increasing awareness across Chicago and national audiences.

The campaign required coordinating multiple stakeholders, managing creative production, launching integrated marketing campaigns, securing artist approvals, and executing real-time event coverage—all within a fixed event timeline.

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Scope of Work

  • I owned the marketing strategy and execution across digital, creative, and event marketing, including:

  • Festival marketing strategy

  • Weekly planning meetings with the Festival Committee

  • Creative direction with the contract graphic designer

  • Brand consistency across all marketing assets

  • Website UX/UI management and content updates

  • Email marketing strategy and execution

  • Organic and paid social media campaigns

  • Paid media planning and optimization

  • Outdoor advertising placement throughout Chicago

  • On-site promotional signage and advertising

  • Artist interviews and promotional content

  • Artist management coordination for approvals and marketing assets

  • Public relations coordination between the PR agency and the Chamber

  • Vendor communication and marketing deliverables

  • Photographer and videographer creative direction

  • Management of the contract social media specialist

  • Live social media coverage throughout the festival

02

Strategy

The campaign focused on creating a seamless customer journey—from awareness to attendance.

 

Awareness

  • Integrated paid and organic social campaigns

  • Street advertising throughout Chicago

  • PR partnerships

  • Artist announcements

  • Community partnerships
     

Consideration

  • Website updates and optimized event information

  • Email marketing campaigns

  • Artist spotlights

  • Festival programming highlights

  • Countdown campaigns
     

Conversion

  • Ticket and donation-focused campaigns

  • Clear CTAs across all marketing channels

  • Paid media optimization

  • Retargeting audiences

  • Event reminders leading into festival weekend
     

Event Experience

  • Live content production

  • Real-time social media coverage

  • Photographer and videographer shot lists

  • Artist interviews

  • Community engagement

  • Post-event content distribution

CHICAGO PRIDE FEST

03

Creative Leadership

  • Working alongside a contract designer, I helped develop and maintain the festival's visual identity across every platform, ensuring a consistent experience from the website to social media, email campaigns, outdoor advertising, digital screens, signage, and on-site activations.

  • I also managed creative approvals with artists, agencies, sponsors, and vendors to ensure every asset met branding and promotional requirements.

04

Collaboration

  • This project required extensive cross-functional leadership.

  • I partnered with:

  • Festival Committee

  • Executive leadership

  • Public Relations agency

  • Artist management teams

  • National performers

  • Contract designers

  • Social media contractors

  • Photographers

  • Videographers

  • Production vendors

  • Sponsors

  • Community organizations

05

Results

  • Successfully executed an integrated marketing campaign that supported festival attendance and donation goals.

  • Successfully launched and marketed the festival's new VIP ticket experience, achieving targeted sales goals and delivering a strong return on marketing investment (ROI).

  • Delivered a cohesive brand experience across digital, print, and on-site channels.

  • Coordinated marketing efforts across multiple agencies, artists, vendors, and stakeholders.

  • Managed end-to-end campaign execution from concept through live event coverage.

  • Produced a scalable marketing framework that supported one of Chicago's premier LGBTQ+ community events.

  • Directed real-time content production and on-site social media coverage, extending audience engagement throughout the festival weekend.

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