Managing Cultural Festivals

Tradition and Innovation in Europe

Edited by
Elisa Salvador and
Jesper Strandgaard Pedersen

ISBN: 978-0-367-64962-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-64960-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-12718-5 (ebk)

First published 2022

Chapter 9
(The Economics of) Cultural
Festivals in the Digital Age
An Analysis of the Comics
Publishing Industry
Elisa Salvador, Elena Castro-Martínez and
Pierre-Jean Benghozi
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

The chapter DOI: 10.4324/9781003127185-13

LONDON AND NEW YORK

9 (The Economics of) Cultural
Festivals in the Digital Age
An Analysis of the Comics
Publishing Industry
Elisa Salvador, Elena Castro-Martínez and
Pierre-Jean Benghozi

Introduction
Festivals are one of the most diffused examples of living production in the
cultural and creative industries (CCIs) (Frey, 1994; Caves, 2000; Luonila,
Johansson, 2016). However, up to the 1990s “the study of temporary
events such as Festivals, markets, fairs and other ephemeral events” was
relatively limited1 (Benghozi, Nénert, 1995: 66). In recent years, festivals
have attracted increased attention and increased in number (del Barrio
et al., 2012; Baez-Montenegro, Devesa-Fernandez, 2017). Moeran and
Strandgaard Pedersen (2011) highlight that fairs, festivals, and competitive
events are field-configuring events and enable ritualized industry practices.
Several studies investigate various aspects related to the organization, man-
agement, and success of these events (cf. among others, del Barrio et al.,
2012; Snowball, 2013; Vestrum, 2014; Wong et al., 2015; Dantas, Colbert,
2016; Baez-Montenegro, Devesa-Fernandez, 2017).
Since the earliest cultural economic and management studies, there have
been several works that have focused on music and film festivals (cf. Section
1) which are the longest established festivals. They represent popular activ-
ities and are well-suited to public performances, events and shows to which
these temporary events can be linked. However, few works look at festivals
related to less popular sectors such as publishing. The aim of this contri-
bution is to investigate these smaller events by conducting a case study of
comics festivals to identify the nature of the dynamics and strategies at
work. We consider their location, how the offers are structured and their
strategic positioning in the publishing industry by examining the impact of
two selected festivals organized in two small cities in France and Spain: the
comics festivals in Angers2 (France) and Avilés3 (Spain). Detailed analysis
of the characteristics of these selected festivals along their various editions,
shows in which extent they clear up the structuration of a multi-faced eco-
nomic model, and how they are linked specifically to the characteristics of
the CCI sector.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003127185-13
172 Elisa Salvador et al.
On the one hand, festivals constitute specific forms of territorial eco-
nomic energization. Whatever their size, they contribute to the attractive-
ness and identity of the place hosting them through the local anchoring of
cultural activities. On the other hand, the organization of festivals around
a variety of activities – in our case about comics – highlights the possibility
of conceiving innovative formats linked to local cultural or craft traditions.
From a methodological point of view, we rely on an analysis of pub-
lic documentation on the festivals (i.e. promotional material, festival pro-
grams, media, and press articles available on the Internet) which allows
identification of their main characteristics. We systematically explored this
content. We also conducted face-to-face interviews between July 2016 and
April 2019 with the festival organizers to complement the framework by
identifying perceptions, comments, and precise development strategies ful-
filled in the event organization.
The chapter is structured as follows: Section 1 provides an overview of
festivals as events presented in the management literature; Section 2 offers
a brief description of the selected festivals in France and Spain and Section
3 provides a discussion and some concluding remarks.

The literature on festivals: a brief overview

There are several reasons for the economic revival and local/regional inter-
est in festivals. First, they support tourism developments and contribute to
the economic revival of towns and territories. Since the 1960s, hundreds of
festivals take place in Provence (France) during the summer and there is a
large stream of research in cultural economics which focuses on the impact
of these events (see below). They are seen as providing opportunities for
small cities to establish an identity and acquire a visibility that otherwise
might be difficult. The recent explosion in festivals could be related also
to their experiential nature which distinguishes them from the increasing
digital diffusion of culture. According to Luonila and Johansson (2016:
53), Festivals “promote celebration and a sense of community and produce
experiences for a wide range of audiences”. The presence of multiple fes-
tivals around the world with different cultural and creative focuses is well
known. In 1994, Frey highlighted the rapid growth in the number of classi-
cal music and opera festivals. Frey (1986, 1994) was one of the first authors
to investigate the festival phenomenon in depth. He focused on music festi-
vals analyzing the economics and main characteristics of the Salzburg Festi-
val. Also, several studies of cultural practices highlight a revival of amateur
participation, a vibrant but often ignored aspect (Rajaobelina et al., 2019).
The motivations for cultural event and festival attendance have been the
subject of several studies. For instance, Wong et al. (2015) focus on food
festivals and highlighted the effects of quality, emotion, image, and sat-
isfaction on loyalty to the event. Similarly, Baez-Montenegro and Deve-
sa-Fernandez (2017) identify the factors that attract new festival visitors
 Cultural Festivals in the Digital Age 173
while retaining previous audiences. They focus on the case of a film festival
and highlight the role of and relations among motivation, satisfaction, and
loyalty.
Most research focuses on music, television, and film festivals. For ex-
ample, Vestrum (2014) looks at music festivals and the embeddedness of
community ventures within the local community. Luonila and Johansson
(2016) examine the reasons for networking through the case study of an
opera house and a music festival. Dantas and Colbert (2016) investigate the
differentiating factors and longevity of the Festival de Lanaudière (Quebec),
Canada’s largest classical music festival. Vecco and Srakar (2017) estimated
the effects of two Slovenian jazz music festivals on tourism inflows and the
economic resilience of the host cities. Benghozi and Nénert (1995) analyze
the Cannes film festival through a commercial and artistic logic: they were
the first scholars to conduct a systematic analysis of the economics and the
management of this international film event.
Food festivals also are important in rural and marginal areas and con-
tribute to development, branding and local identity building. Local food is
used to create a kind of “place branding” to enable the survival of rural lo-
calities (Blichfeldt and Halkier, 2014). Del Barrio et al.’s (2012) case study
evaluates Spanish cultural festivals as examples of intangible cultural her-
itage. There are also several book festivals. Publishing is the oldest media
and content industry subsector. The specific field of comic books (bandes
dessinées, BDs, in French) attracts significant interest (Benghozi, Salvador,
2015, 2016) and has great potential in the overall book publishing industry
(Salvador, Benghozi, 2021). Comic books are a sector that is recognized
worldwide but systematic investigations of its business practices are scarce
(Mayfield et al., 2001).
The contribution of festivals to local or regional development in terms of
attracting tourists, their marketing impact and image building has been in-
vestigated by several scholars4 (Frey, 1986, 1994) but few studies focus on
the organization, structuring, and management of festivals and their nature
and dynamics (Benghozi and Nénert, 1995).
The main characteristics of festivals include what Abfalter et al. (2012:
4) identify as “temporality, virtuality and a project focus”. In general,
“Festival organizations benefit from a highly committed and intrinsically
motivated workforce, but they face the challenge of intensive short-term
collaboration and the dominance of one or a few individuals” (Abfalter
et al., 2012: 5). Events such as festivals tend to be the subject of intense
seasonal organization involving both permanent staff and short-term em-
ployees recruited for a cyclical event taking place in a fixed time period –
generally the summer, and in a particular location (Abfalter et al., 2012:
6). Regular face-to-face meetings are complemented by e-mail exchanges to
communicate among and share knowledge among event organizers (Abfal-
ter et al., 2012). Reputation, image, brand (cf. the Cannes film festival in
France, Benghozi, Nénert, 1995, or the Porispere music festival in Finland,
174 Elisa Salvador et al.
Suomi et al., 2020), seasonality and level of institutionalization (Luonila,
Johansson, 2016) are key to the perception of the festival.
The institution of festivals in the context of CCIs such as the publishing
industry is somewhat paradoxical. The attractiveness and raison d’être of
festivals are underpinned by their eventful, spectacular, and unique charac-
ter. This raises questions about why festivals should survive around produc-
tions that are easily available from bookshops or libraries.
The case of the music industry shows that their survival is based on the
development of new economic models precisely based on the articulation
between dematerialization on the one hand, strengthening of living events
like Festivals and concerts on the other hand. Therefore, it is important to
understand the dynamics of industries such as book publishing, and re-
quires a better understanding of festival success factors, economic models,
type of offer, services, and experience they provide and their links with
various types of local actors. From a research perspective, it would seem
interesting to analyze more specifically festivals where neither their size
nor exclusivity is sufficient to explain the programming and the notoriety.
This focus allows more precise identification of the structuring dynamics at
work beyond the most obvious event spectacle dimensions.
The context is shaped strongly by the geographical and territorial anchor-
ing of development models and the development of information and com-
munication technologies (ICTs) has likely had an impact on festivals. They
enable dematerialization of production and availability and consumption
of cultural content and have had a disruptive effect on CCIs, value chains,
sector organization, traditional business models, and role and importance
of the various economic players. The digital revolution has had a disruptive
effect on the traditional CCI model with the book publishing and the music
and cinema industries the most affected (Benghozi et al., 2018; Salvador
et al., 2019). The music sector was the first to experience disruption in
the 1990s and shows that these technologies stimulate unprecedented hy-
bridization dynamics based on the coupling of global and dematerialized
online (e.g. offshore) markets with stronger local and physically anchored
activities such as concerts. These hybridizations can be found also in other
cultural industries including those always considered digital such as vid-
eogames. The videogame sectors in recent years has extended to include
e-sports and performing arts alongside massive multiplayer gaming.
Whether and to what extent these digital technologies have also influ-
enced the nature and ecosystem of festivals, and whether festivals have ex-
ploited these new resources to develop new business models and consolidate
and expand their format, notoriety, and audiences are issues that need in-
vestigation. With the exception of the unprecedented period of the covid-19
pandemic which forced festivals to reinvent themselves to compensate for
the containment and banning of public events, first observations of festivals
show relatively limited appropriation of digital technologies. The technol-
ogies adopted seem to be focused mainly on improving preparation and
 Cultural Festivals in the Digital Age 175
support functions (remote relations, administration, ticketing) and com-
munication (promotion, program information). Smaller festivals seem not
to have been affected by digital innovations due, perhaps, to the local links
and the unique experiences they promise which are not easily substituted by
digital experiences. These festivals achieve customer loyalty and increased
attendance via word-of-mouth (Rajaobelina et al., 2019). However, digital
strategies have a place: they support various services for festivals which
are often under-staffed and depend on large numbers of volunteers, and
increase visibility, and thus festival success through use of social networks
such as Facebook and Twitter.
However, during the period of the covid-19 pandemic, which severely
affected all cultural events, both small and large festivals and cultural insti-
tutions have had to innovate. Many were obliged to cancel events, but some
tried to provide the festival experience using digital means.5

The case of the two festivals in France and Spain

In this section, we provide a description of the characteristics of the cases
including their focus and objectives and their organization and manage-
ment. Table 9.1 summarizes some key elements of the selected festivals.

The comics festival in Angers, France

Main focus and objectives

The Angers comics festival is run by a non-profit organization (see Table
9.2) and has been held annually since 1999 during the first weekend of

Table 9.1 A
 snapshot of the two festivals

Festival Year of Period Number Number Ticket Budget Communication

creation of days of visitors price (on channels
(latest average)
editions)

Comics 1999 December 2 >3,000 5 euros 1 60,000 Radio, local

Festival day, 6 euros press, comics’
in euros specialized
Angers, 2 days websites,
France Facebook
Comics 1996 September 5 30,000– 0 euros 27,500 Radio, local
Festival 35,000 euros press, comics’
in Avilés, specialized
Spain websites,
Facebook,
Twitter

Source: Authors, based on websites and interviews.

176 Elisa Salvador et al.
December. It was aimed initially at promoting the comic culture in the
local Maine-et-Loire area but received visibility at the national level as
one of the first festivals dedicated to comics. This particular publishing
sector has experienced phenomenal growth and success in recent years
particularly among younger audiences. One of the novelties of this festi-
val is that it provides an evidential and exclusive dimension which is not
provided by comic book publications. The organizers focused on build-
ing a link between a traditional aspect of the culture of Angers – wine
­g rowing – and comic book authors. The first edition of the festival – “Vini
BD 1re Cuvée”6 – was held at the beginning of December 1999 in the
Angers Congress Centre. Since then the festival has been advertised as the
“Angers BD” (Angers Comics) but wine growers have always been present
although in small numbers.
The location was chosen because Angers is a big town with good in-
frastructure and good tourist facilities, and the capabilities to organize a
national event. It also has the most comics’ shops in France and is home to
comics artists. The aim was to promote local comics authors and the city of
Angers. The municipality of Angers, the Pays de la Loire region and local
sponsors (i.e. companies and mass media) support this annual event which
has an overall budget of around €60,000. The number of visitors has in-
creased from around 1,500 in 1999 to more than 3,000 for the most recent
festivals, with ticket prices of around €5–6.
The comics festival is one of the most prominent events in Angers cul-
tural programming. It has grown rapidly and is the most important comic
event in the Pays de la Loire region in terms of number of visitors, is ranked
first in the Pays de la Loire region for number of paid entries and is well
known in the comic world.
The originality of this event is to link the universal passion for comics to
the local viticulture tradition of Anjou. As mentioned above, its novelty is
based on the link between comic authors and local wine producers.7 The
meeting between Angers’ wine growers and comics’ designers give birth
to wine stickers during every edition of the Festival since its very first one.
The festival founders wanted to create something different and an event
that was anchored in the local culture of Angers. Therefore, the associa-
tion between wine and comics is one of the main differentiation factors of
the Angers Festival in the overall market of comics’ Festivals.8 “Wine and
comics are synonymous with good taste and joy of life: it makes sense that
they unite”9 (Le Courrier de l’ouest, 1999). It also increases the visibility of
the festival beyond the city’s borders based on sales of bottles of wine with
customized labels.
The festival offers opportunities for dedication sessions that are used to
be crowded with a long queue of “passionate comics’ hunters” to obtain
signed copies of certain comics, dedicated to themselves and seen as an
artwork. Since the first edition of the festival, these dedication opportu-
nities and auctions of comics have taken place during the two days of the
 Cultural Festivals in the Digital Age 177
festival. This festival also hosts several bookshops which specialize in new
and used comics, as well as collection books, exhibitions, and sponsors
village. Dedications are a phenomenon of the comics sector and consist of
a personalized drawing usually on the first page of the book. These can
be more or less accurate representations and be more or less original but
are valued by their buyers. Some visitors collect dedications from certain
authors and visit the festival every year to collect additional dedications.
However, the festival organizers’ main aim is for visitors to discover the
comics world.
Over the years, the comics festival has included additional attractions.
For example, the third edition in 2001 included a comics’ competition for
young people aged between 14 and 24 years. The competition consisted of
submitting a comic cartoon that carried a road safety message. This proved
so successful that the competition has been repeated in all succeeding fes-
tivals including displays of the previous year’s cartoons. Another charac-
teristic of the Angers comics festival is the involvement of volunteer college
students. The tenth edition (2010) of the festival for the first time included
manga which are Japanese comics or graphic novels.
These annual festivals are organized around a specific topic10 that is in-
vestigated by an artistic, playful, didactic, and pedagogical approach. The
festival provides entertainment for comics buffs and people interested to
experience and discover the world of comics through attending exhibitions,
conferences, and animations. Each edition of the festival is in partner-
ship with another local actor such as Angers castle,11 the Angers media-
theque, or local libraries which host exhibitions before, during, and after
the festival. Other partners in addition to the local wine growers include
institutions such as the town council, companies (Librairie Richer, An-
jou Cola, Game cash, Hotel Mercure, Angers congress center), media
(Ouest-France, radio NRJ). The festivals include quizzes and games with
comics as prizes. The 18th edition (2016) for the first time partnered
with a sports club, and 5,000 flyers advertising the festival were distrib-
uted at a football match between Angers and Nantes on the day before
the festival opened. Match attendees were offered a €1 reduction on the
entry ticket price. It is advertised also on the radio and in the local press,
and on comics’ websites.

Organization and management

Festivals are temporary and cyclical events, and their organization evolves
throughout the year. The preparation phase relies on a core group of per-
manent staff (around 20 persons) who are all volunteers. In the peak festi-
val period, additional volunteers are recruited to manage the event and the
partnerships and public relations. Between these two periods, the organiza-
tion gradually increases and then declines after the end of the festival. The
festival organization involves around 30–40 volunteers.
178 Elisa Salvador et al.
The festival founders were seven comic shop customers living in An-
gers of various ages and socio-professional origins. They meet once a
month throughout the year and exchange e-mails and telephone calls
between meetings. The Angers festival is a non-profit organization char-
acterized by a small number of permanent staff who plan these annual
events on a voluntary basis. As the time of the festival approaches, the
meetings become more frequent. Abfalter et al. (2012: 13) argue in the
case of the Colorado music Festival that “information technology infra-
structure would enhance the sharing of knowledge outside the season,
when the staff are dispersed” but this is not required for the Angers
comics’ festival.
The interviews with some of the festival organizers showed that the main
motivation for joining the organization was to “create the event that he
wanted to see when he was a child”. The fact of “creating something and
meet at a regular basis other persons sharing the same interests” is a strong
motivation for the organizers. A surprising finding was that not all the
organizers are passionate or comics readers: some contribute specific com-
petences such as accounting. All share an interest in organizing a friendly,
safe, and welcoming event (Abfalter et al., 2012). One interviewee empha-
sized the “conviviality” of the event and referred to seeing the same visitors
every year and sharing a sort of “human warmth”. This conviviality has
had a snowball effect on attracting more visitors. Also, “the other strong
point is the way the organizers “cocoon” the authors. No red carpet, but
a relaxed atmosphere where everyone takes pleasure to exchange on the
projects of one and the other”.12 Table 9.2 summarizes the relevant charac-
teristics of the Angers festival.

Table 9.2 T he Comics festival in Angers

Focus Promoting the comics’ culture of Maine-et-Loire and around

Maine-et-Loire. The aim was to promote local comics’ authors
and the city of Angers

Organization A non-profit organization called “Angers-BD”. 20–40 people of

different ages and socio-professional origins. The organization
is standardized but at a level of conviviality: the organizers are
all volunteers
Activities Each festival focuses on a specific topic that is investigated by an
artistic, playful, didactic, and pedagogical approach
Dedication sessions
Partnerships with local actors for exhibitions
Originalities Link between a traditional aspect of the culture of Angers – wine
growers – and comics’ authors: original wine stickers
Location Angers has the most comics’ shops in France and several comics’
advantage designers live in Angers

Source: Authors.
 Cultural Festivals in the Digital Age 179
Avilés international comics journeys, Spain

Main focus and objectives

The Jornadas Internacionales del Cómic Villa de Avilés (Avilés Interna-
tional Comics Journeys) has been held in mid-September each year since
1996. The festival events take place in various locations in this small Span-
ish city which is located on the Northern coast of Asturias.
Avilés is medium sized city, is very open and includes several cultural as-
pects and provides an excellent location for the festival. It is home to several
different types of artists. From the beginning, the city bet on the comics’
festival and now comics fill the city. The success of the comics festival is
due to its size and high quality. Writing and drawing comics tends to be a
solitary activity and the Avilés festival enables interactions with readers, a
development of a comics network. It attracts comics authors from various
countries.
The festival started in 1996 as an initiative of the festival’s current di-
rector, Jorge Iván Argiz, in collaboration with others interested in the
comics world, who, in 1995, presented the project to the City Council of
Avilés. The project was approved and the festival has been held annually in
mid-September over a period of five days (Journeys). The organizers want
to increase awareness of comics all year round, not just during the festival.
The aim of this festival is to offer a panoramic view of the comics world
and its evolution; each edition emphasizes a specific topic (e.g. historical
comics, Japanese manga, etc.). One of its most interesting aspects is the in-
teraction that takes place between comics authors and the public – in bars,
parks, and other public places in this small city. These face to face contacts
are valued by the participating authors.
The organizers do not have an explicit strategy to link the festival with
other local activities. In some years, there has been a carnival related to
the comics’ festival, and in the latest editions, the festival’s promoters or-
ganized an initiative called “comics at school” which involved twice-yearly
visits to schools by some Spanish comics authors to interact with students.
In August 2018, it was decided to make a permanent space for the comics’
festival in an old, converted ceramics factory.
The popularity of comics is undeniable, and the comics sector is one of
the most dynamic publishing industry sectors in terms of sales and volume
of work produced (Salvador, Benghozi, 2021). This has resulted in multiple
events organized around comics around the world, often aimed at promot-
ing sales. However, the Aviles festival is not part of this commercial festival
network; the organizers are keen to maintain it as an “interaction space”
based on the idea of culture as a public good that is available to everyone.
The distinctive character of this festival is linked to the strength of the
relationships between comics authors and their audiences, and the festival
attendees are all fans of comics and this form of artistic expression. The
180 Elisa Salvador et al.
festival attendees are part of the festival; there are few restrictions imposed
on interactions between the public and the comics authors. The Avilés com-
ics festival is conceived as comprising “journeys” taking in different places
in this small city.

Organization and management

The Avilés International Comics Journeys are organized by the non-profit
cultural association “Friends of the Comic Strip of Asturias”. The asso-
ciation benefits from support from the Asturias city council. Up to 2014,
the city council provided all the funding needed, since then it has received
sponsorship from Asturiana de Zinc of up to 30% of the funding required
to run the festival.
The festival’s activities and exhibitions take place in various locations in
the city including the cultural center, the Atrium Shopping Center, the mu-
nicipal art center, the Palace of Valdecarzana, the Aviles City Council and a
marquee. Each year, four or five exhibitions are held in the city’s exhibition
center. At the end of 2018, a permanent space for comics exhibitions was
made available in a converted ceramics factory.
The organizers hold twice monthly meetings, exchange some 200 e-mails
a month and engage in frequent telephone calls. Also, since the three pro-
moters are friends, they meet frequently which provides additional occa-
sions to discuss the festival. In the days immediately preceding the festival
and throughout the festival, the promoters work full time for the event. The
festival also recruits volunteers to help during the event but there is no or-
ganized form of recruitment; interested persons use face-to-face meetings,
e-mails, and social networks to signal their availability and willingness.
The festival does not have a website (because the organizers do not have
enough time to maintain or improve it) but its Facebook page13 has more
than 2,900 followers and is the main mechanism for disseminating festi-
val news. The organizers advertise activities on this Facebook page and
via Twitter, and on programs on the municipality’s website (culture sec-
tion), local radio, TV and press, comics magazines, and comics shops in the
city. ICTs are used regularly by both comics authors and potential festival
participants. The festival organizers offer opportunities for interaction via
e-mail, blogs, forums, social networks, and SMS.
The organizers are motivated by the love of comics and their keenness to
cultivate interactions between comics authors and the public. This is why this
festival described in terms of “journeys”. This is interesting and emblematic
of the local dynamics at work. The term “Salon” refers to a static situation
where the festival is confined to an autonomous space to which visitors go.
The term journey implies that festival visitors follow a path around the entire
area of the festival. The organizers are keen also to keep the festival focused
on its mission – avoiding a huge commercial approach – and involving “jour-
neys” to enable meetings between comics creators and comics lovers.
 Cultural Festivals in the Digital Age 181
Table 9.3 T
 he Avilés international comics journeys

Focus The aim of this festival is to offer a panoramic view of the

comics’ world and its evolution, and to focus on a different topic
every year

Organization The non-profit cultural association “Friends of the Comic Strip of

Asturias” organizes the Avilés International Comics Journeys
Activities Several activities take place in various places throughout this
small Spanish city
Originalities Interactions take place between the authors and the public in
bars, parks, and other public places around the small city
Location Avilés is home to several different kinds of artists
advantage Comics authors are usually solitary people and Avilés provides
them with a natural space for interaction with their readers

Source: Authors.

The three festival promoters are decisive to the success, growth, and sur-
vival of the festival. All have a deep knowledge of the world of comics
which are their passion, and their enthusiasm is inexhaustible. The festi-
val is distinguished by the possibilities it provides for interactions between
comics authors and the public which is an attraction for comics authors to
participate without any financial reward. Some of the world’s best-known
comics authors attend the annual Avilés festival. Among the 100 best-sell-
ing comics in the world, 23 are from Spanish authors who attend the Avilés’
Festival. Finally, the continued support of the city council is important: its
leaders and political parties with responsibility for culture have changed
over the years but the festival has never lost municipal support. On the first
day of the festival, there is a reception which all parties attend, and the final
report of the festival is sent to city council members. Although there is no
strategic cultural plan due to time constraints, the comics festival is aligned
to the general view of the council that culture is for everyone. This strength-
ens the links between the festival and the city. So far, political changes have
not had an effect; however, should this change, since the festival depends on
the city council for most of its funding, this is a potential weakness. Table
9.3 summarizes the main characteristics of this festival.

Discussion and concluding remarks

The focus on the creation and organization of festivals in the development
strategies of many cities offers a new vision of the creative city. Organiza-
tion of festivals can be considered a regional development policy (Crossick,
2006; UNCTAD, 2010) which provides brand identity for the city hosting
the event. Specific events such as festivals enable visibility which might oth-
erwise be difficult. They can be seen as complementing the city’s identity
constructed over time through architecture (Jones and Svejenova, 2017).
182 Elisa Salvador et al.
The annual designation of European Capital of Culture which was intro-
duced by the European Union in 1985 gives prominence to the organiza-
tion of cultural events to increase the city’s visibility and attractiveness and
achievement of a unique image. It provides an attractiveness linked to the
temporary, unique, and media-related dimension of the events rather than
a distinction based on cultural heritage. Cultural, social, and economic
spillovers from these events increase the cities’ reputation.
The peculiarities of individual festivals provide value for the city. This
identity and place branding help to ensure the survival and economic success
of small cities perhaps not rich in architecture, culture, tourist attractions
or digital technologies. The organizers believed the Angouleme festival was
the international reference for the comics sectors similar to Cannes, Berlin,
and Venice for movies, and Salzburg for classic music. The Angers festival
aims at fostering the comics’ sector in Angers through attracting authors in
this sector that otherwise would not come to this small city. As suggested
in the introduction, we were interested in the dynamics at work in ‘small’
festivals such as the two we have studied, different from the strengths and
success of big international festivals, in terms of conception, programming,
and economic model.
Benghozi and Nénert (1995: 66) conducted a detailed analysis of the
Cannes Film Festival and showed that a major success factor was the ability
to simultaneously pursue economic/commercial and cultural/artistic objec-
tives that might at first sight be seen as antagonistic. It is famed for the qual-
ity of the works shown and also has a central position among the professional
film community and has become the decisive platform for film distribution.
Concern over providing public access to various artifacts combined with
serving the interests of the community of professionals and economic part-
ners is not specific only to the Cannes festival or other major festivals. It
relates also to various exhibitions, festivals, fairs, and biennales, and influ-
ences the programming of their activities.
Many festivals are accompanied by parallel events which cater for differ-
ent audiences, are based on specific development strategies and extend the
festival environment. In the case of the two festivals analyzed, the focus is
on the location – similar to the Cannes Film Festival – which is enriched by
the festival which in turn is enhanced by the various exhibitions and con-
ferences organized alongside them. The aim of both festivals is to promote
a specific culture. Visitors include both local audiences and international
participants. The authors’ participation is usually not revealed until im-
mediately before the festival in order to keep potential visitors in suspense.
Our analysis highlights the specificity of the small cities that host the
events. They have adopted a culture valorization strategy and have become
culture clusters which attract various types of artists. The period of the fes-
tival reaffirms the cities’ cultural identity and enables conviviality and acts
as a tourist attraction. The unique characteristics of the festivals studied
(e.g. the link between wine and comics in the case of the Angers festival) are
 Cultural Festivals in the Digital Age 183
enhanced by the attention given by their organizing teams to the ambience
and locations of the events. A welcoming environment is the goal of all lo-
cal festivals, demonstrated by good customer service. Dantas and Colbert
(2016: 81) suggest that this makes a difference for customers: “attention to
the level of service is particularly important in the cultural events sector,
where supply exceeds demand”. The festival and the city hosting become
a single entity: they identify with one another, and they share the same
attractive influence. The link with schools and students is further evidence
of this. The quality of the hospitality and the exchanges between partici-
pants, authors, and exhibitors in the cultural ecosystem are important. The
absence of a commercial approach is also important. The persons involved
in the event organization, including volunteers, are passionate about comics
and keen to support this local event. The cities are involved in the festivals
and host complementary activities such as exhibitions and concerts. This
point is particularly important because it is through it that the paradox
that we pointed out at the beginning of this chapter regarding the crea-
tion of event dynamics in the book publishing sector is finally resolved. In
this case, the organization of the festival involves the whole city, including
various volunteers and partnerships with other economic actors including
those not involved in comics such as wine producers. This suggests some
substitution or complementarity between the novelty of the event and its
embeddedness in a traditional territory.
These festivals have been supported by the emergence of new ICTs which
have increased their attractiveness and diffusion. These ICTs represent new
resources and new development opportunities. The digital revolution and
diffusion of ICTs have affected the whole business world and are leading
to a new business landscape. Their impact is particularly noticeable in the
cultural sector, which to an extent foreshadowed the transformations and
disruptions currently affecting economies in terms of business models, con-
figuration of offers, and consumer practices. Digital technologies are hav-
ing a disruptive effect on traditional CCIs’ models: the book publishing and
music and cinema industries are among the most representative examples
(Moreau, 2013; Salvador et al., 2019). Innovation processes and outcomes
are being impacted by pervasive digitization, which is questioning tradi-
tional theories and innovation management processes, and leading to the
idea of “digital entrepreneurship” which emphasizes the profound effects of
digital technologies (Nambisan et al., 2017).
However, their effects on activities such as festivals are less well docu-
mented and appear more equivocal. It cannot be assumed that digital tech-
nologies have had a disruptive effect on small festivals linked to the local
territory and the unique experience they assure visitors. Neither of these
aspects can be substituted by digital tools. The festival setting, and their
organization are characterized by temporality and a focus which involves
well motivated workforce and intensive short-term collaborations and lead-
ership by one or a few persons (Abfalter et al., 2012).
184 Elisa Salvador et al.
So, how is the digital revolution influencing the organization and man-
agement of small festivals? According to our case studies and the data de-
rived from the interviews, it seems that the new dynamics are adding to
the success of these festivals and consolidating the image of the cities host-
ing these events. ICTs are complementing the physical proximity necessary
for the organization and management of these events. We would like to
highlight the following dimensions. The analysis shows first that the busi-
ness models of these events (Rajaobelina et al., 2019) are supported by
the experience economy (Pine, Gilmore, 1998). In the case of the Angers
festival personal dedications from comics’ authors ensure a memorable ex-
perience. The link to the experience economy allows the economic model of
these small festivals to be part of a form of permanence and reinforcement,
avoiding the Red Queen effect (Kauffman, 1995; Voelpel et al., 2005; Bar-
nett, 2008; Benghozi, 2015) of continuous search for alternative models.
These small-scale festivals have no need to try “to run faster”. They need
only to ensure a memorable experience. Commoditization of goods and
services demands a business differentiation strategy (Pine, Gilmore, 1998).
Consumers desire memorable experiences: “no two people can have the
same experience, because each experience derives from the interaction be-
tween the staged event (like a theatrical play) and the individual’s state of
mind” (Pine, Gilmore, 1998: 99). Visitors who recall the festival as special
will become regular participants: the interviews confirmed fidelity among
visitors over the years. However, the Internet and ICTs could enable new
genres of interactive experiences (Pine, Gilmore, 1998).
While digital technology has profoundly changed all CCIs, we currently
do not observe disruption on the scale of their effect on the economy, and
no huge reconfiguration of their offers. We found no evidence of attempts
to switch to online or remote festivals. Some music and film festivals have
tried to offer an online experience sometimes with limited availability as in
the case of live screenings. Others are using digital technologies to duplicate
performances originally conceived in festival venues to provide access for a
wider audience. However, most digital innovations related to festivals have
been incremental and focused on improving the administrative functions
(administration, ticketing, etc.) and interactions among existing audiences,
rather than on exploring alternative forms. Innovation and ICTs have a spe-
cific place in festival organizations. Visitors want the memorable and “spe-
cific” experience offered by these small festivals and this enables to argue
about the empowerment of a proper economic model related to the festivals
themselves. Innovation and ICTs are essential to social networks which are
used to diffuse information about the festivals along with traditional chan-
nels like radio and local press which are still important in small cities. Stand-
ardization combined with creativity results in an original and personalized
experience and interactions rather than innovative products or services.
Research on some major festivals – Avignon for theatre, Cannes and Ven-
ice for cinema, Salzburg for music (Frey, 1994) – shows that to ensure growth
 Cultural Festivals in the Digital Age 185
and sustainable development, attractiveness and reputation, these events also
require a professional marketing structure where producers and diffusers
meet for commercial purposes. On the contrary, even if on a smaller scale,
the case studies analyzed have maintained their original mission.
The lack of changes to the festivals studied is interesting and could be
explained by lack of means to ensure their growth and development and
expand and include an online presence. However, it could be argued also
that it is their successful event dynamics and territorial anchoring that en-
sure their sustainability and identity. These aspects are part of a particular
dynamic that is different from the forces at work in big festivals where
sustainability and success depend on programming and professional mar-
keting activity (cf. Benghozi, Nénert, 1995).
In all the editions of the comics festivals in Angers and Avilés, the aim
has been to ensure a cultural focus. This is accomplished through the par-
ticipation of both local and international authors, parallel exhibitions, vis-
its to schools, and partnerships with institutional and business actors. The
survival, affirmation, and originality of these small events may be linked
mostly to respect for and maintenance of their nature and mission. The
stability of these events is ensured by coherence and a friendly atmosphere.

Acknowledgments
The authors thank the organizers of the Angers Comics Festival (France)
and the Avilés Comics Festival (Spain) for agreeing to interviews. A prelim-
inary version of this article was presented at the 15th International Con-
ference on Arts and Cultural Management (AIMAC), held in Ca’ Foscari
University of Venice, Italy, June 23–26, 2019. The authors thank two anon-
ymous reviewers for constructive comments.

Notes
1 Author translation: “l’étude des manifestations temporaires telles que Festi-
vals, marchés, foires et autres événements éphémères reste finalement relative-
ment limitée”.
2 http://angersbd.fr/
3 https://www.avilescomarca.info/agenda/jornadas-del-comic-aviles/
4 For a review of the literature, see Vecco and Srakar (2017).
5 Due to the pandemic and the health directives in force, the board of directors
of the Angers BD association decided to cancel the 2020 edition of the comics
festival initially scheduled for December 5 and 6. The next edition is scheduled
for December 4 and 5, 2021.
6 Vini Bandes Dessinées premiere cuvée: Vini Comics first vintage.
7 “12ème Angers BD : un Festival grand cru”, by Yannick Sourisseau, Angers,
06/12/2010.
8 Nonetheless, the association between wine and comics attracted contra-
dictory reactions from the public: some liked it, others judged the link be-
tween alcoholic drinks and books often enjoyed by very young readers,
inappropriate.
186 Elisa Salvador et al.
9 Author translation: “Vin et bande dessinée sont synonymes de bon gout et de
joie de vivre : il est bien logique qu’ils s’unissent”.
10 Medieval times in 2004; nature and environment in 2006; comics and cinema
in 2007; comics and rock in 2016; and so on.
11 “Le Château sort de sa bulle, dernier week-end pour profiter de l'expo”, An-
gers Mag Info - Angers, 03/01/2014.
12 Author translation: “L’autre point fort c’est la façon dont les organisateurs «
cocoonent » les auteurs. Pas de tapis rouge, mais une ambiance détendue où
chacun prend plaisir, à échanger sur les projets de uns et des autres”, “Festi-
val BD d’Angers : toujours très convivial”, by Yannick Sourisseau, Angers,
07/12/2009.
13 ht t p s: // w w w.fac eb o ok .com / Jor n ad a s - del- C%C 3%B 3m ic- de -Av i l%
C3%A9s-195832180457638/

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