You have probably heard the term “pivot” in connection with start-ups and new businesses. What does a “pivot” mean? Basically, if your first business model is not working, then your company makes some changes and tries plan B. As Inc. magazine notes, “businesses can grow beyond their initial dreams by re-imaging their assets and talents, thinking more broadly about the customer problems they solve, and accessing growth capital to seize the new high ground.”
I’m sure you can apply a “pivot” to just about anything besides a business – right? Well, one small town, Highwood, IL, located about 25 minutes north of Chicago, pivoted their annual October festival, called – The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival this year. Highwood which has a population of approximately 5,400 people in an area that is less than one square mile, started hosting a pumpkin fest in 2011. The original idea was to break the Guinness World Record of the most lit pumpkins (which Boston set the record in 2006 with 30, 128). To hold all these pumpkins, they had over six blocks of scaffolding – it was definitely a site to see. Highwood had gutted thousands of pumpkins week’s in advance so children and adults could come to event and carve without worrying about the process getting messy. In addition to all these pumpkins, Highwood also had food and beverage vendors – truly supporting the local economy. Unfortunately, they didn’t break the record, so they tried again in 2012 and 2013 – again, getting very close, but not quite there.
The Highwood Pumpkin Fest was a brilliant marketing tool by the city to draw families from around the state for three days of the year. Every year, the crowd was increasing and increasing – to the point where you couldn’t walk down the street without bumping into someone else. Highwood brought in rides and games for the children too. In 2014, Highwood decided to “pivot” their annual fest and instead of trying to break a world record, they turned the event into a more family friendly, better executed festival. There were still rows of scaffolding housing pumpkins and the food and beverage tents, they also added a pumpkin design contests to support charities such as Misericordia, two different stages for bands, a couple food trucks and most importantly, people didn’t feel cramped!
Whether you just launched a new business or organizing a town festival, making a pivot to your original strategy may not be a bad idea.
Let us know if you attended the fest this past weekend in Highwood – how did you like it?