Creators Carry the Cargo: Midwest Pirate Festival Increases Attendance Year-Over-Year!

The Challenge

The Midwest Pirate Festival takes place for just one weekend each August, giving organizers a short window to build awareness, generate excitement and ultimately get people through the gates. The two-day festival brings a high-seas adventure to dry land with live entertainment, artisan shopping, food and spirited fun for all ages. Heading into 2026, the goal was straightforward: to increase attendance over 2025.

With a limited promotional window, our media needed to do more than generate impressions. We needed to quickly show potential attendees what the festival experience was actually like and give them a reason to make it part of their weekend plans.

The Approach

For 2026, we charted a new course.

Compared to the more traditional media mix used in previous years, the campaign shifted heavily toward social media and creator content. While out-of-home remained part of the plan with a billboard presence, creators became an important part of introducing the festival to new audiences throughout the Omaha area.

We partnered with several local creators whose content could bring the personality of the festival to life in a way traditional advertising couldn’t. Rather than simply telling people there was a pirate festival coming to town, audiences could see the costumes, characters, entertainment and atmosphere for themselves.

Together, creator content generated more than 70,000 views leading up to festival weekend, expanding awareness while giving potential attendees an authentic preview of the experience.

Creator content didn’t stop with organic reach. For paid placements across Facebook and Instagram, we utilized content from a YouTube creator who had attended the festival in 2025. Using real footage from the event gave the campaign approachable, experience-driven creative that felt native to the platforms. 

Beyond paid media and creator partnerships, we deployed focused public relations outreach leading up to festival weekend. The campaign earned local television coverage from WOWT and KETV, adding another layer of awareness as the event approached. Combined with social, creator content and out-of-home, the earned coverage helped surround the market during the festival’s short promotional window.