Riot Fest is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an unexpected marketing move: selling discounted tickets at Costco.
Festival founder “Riot Mike” Petryshyn enthusiastically painted the picture of the quirky campaign, which he said was pitched to him by the big-box warehouse club.
“Just think about it,” he said. “You can buy the world’s largest jar of pickles, an oversized jar of mayo, some big bag of potato chips, Topps [baseball] cards, a casket, some Riot Fest tickets and a hot dog on the way out. That’s awesome.”
As it turns out, shoppers agree. For the last month, they have been snapping up one-day general admission passes for $104.99, or $20 cheaper than the standard price. The tickets are available in 20 stores in the Chicago area and throughout Illinois, as well as on the Costco website, while supplies last.
Petryshyn stressed that the promotion is not in response to a dip in ticket sales for the fest, which runs Sept. 19-21 in Douglass Park. Rather, he was tickled by the partnership, which he describes as “pitch perfect” for the Riot Fest brand and target demographic.
“It almost seemed like it’s counter to who we are, but it’s not,” he said. “I think we’re funny, and doing stuff like this makes a ton of sense. And I think Costco realized that, too. Maybe we are that brand to trial-run this a little bit.”
Petryshyn also said there is overlap between Costco members and Riot Fest attendees who are excited to see the headlining legacy acts: Blink-182, Weezer and Green Day.
“What makes Riot Fest tick is we’re not just for 18-year-olds because that is a flash in the pan,” he said. “That is hard to do year in and year out. It’s a race we’re going to lose because you’re not building anything. You’re definitely not building a community. And our community goes to Costco on Saturdays and probably Home Depot afterward.”
Despite not advertising the promotion, the ticket sales are “overperforming,” Petryshyn said. He said he is also seeing positive feedback online.
This partnership does have some precedence. Years ago, the festival sold thousands of tickets at record stores and book stores until the demand for digital tickets surged in recent years, Petryshyn said.
“We have a really dedicated base,” he said. “There’s like an emotional bond. Let’s say a new festival puts tickets in Costco. It’s not going to have that same response. I know we’re looked at differently: as being independent and as being left-of-the-dial. This is a left-of-the-dial move.”
And he said he is already thinking about how to enhance the partnership next year.
“A new idea is popping up in my brain every single day.”