Media and Marketing Artist Advisor (fixed term)
Closing date: 10:00 Wednesday 26 February 2025
End date: Monday 25 August 2025
Location: Based in our central Edinburgh office
Background
The idea at the heart of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is simple: anyone with a desire to perform and an avenue willing to host them is welcome. No individual or committee determines who can or cannot perform at the Fringe.
It all began in 1947 with eight companies – six of them from Scotland – taking a risk, turning up uninvited and performing on the ‘fringe’ of the inaugural Edinburgh International Festival. Over 75 years later, the Fringe has grown to become one of the greatest platforms for creative freedom in the world, second only to the Olympics in terms of global ticketed events. In 2024, 3,745 shows took place in 296 venues across Edinburgh.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society was founded by artists to nurture and uphold the Fringe's values of inclusivity, experimentation, and imagination. We exist to support, advise, and encourage everyone who wants to participate in the Fringe, provide information and assistance to audiences, and celebrate the Fringe and what it stands for all over the world.
We are seeking to appoint an experienced individual to the position of Media and Marketing Artist Advisor (reporting to the Artist Development Manager). Leading up to and during the Fringe, the Artist Development Team provides professional development advice to artists to help them make the most of their time at the Fringe. The Fringe Society also has a media centre for journalists, helping the press to find what they are looking for without recommending or making value judgements about specific shows.
The Media and Marketing Artist Advisor role sits within the Artist Development Team, advising artists on potential marketing activity and media engagement, while working closely with the media office to stay up to date with Fringe news stories and media outlets who are in town.
Role and responsibilities
The successful candidate will perform a wide range of duties, including but not limited to:
* Lead on advising artists on marketing activity to promote their show, including social media, print and flyer distribution, and managing a marketing timeline.
* Support artists by providing them with bespoke one-to-one advice on how to promote their show and engage with media, such as ways to contact the press, writing and distributing a press release, and ways to engage the right audience for their work.
* Provide structured feedback on the content and structure of their press releases, and work closely with the Artist Development Team to develop guides and resources to help participants.
* Work closely with the Media and Artists Services teams to stay informed of various opportunities happening across the Fringe landscape and offer these opportunities to artists.
* Signpost artists to a range of online and in-person information sessions in the run-up to and during the Fringe, as well as participating in panels for these sessions.
* Support artists with queries such as ways to boost ticket sales, options for approaching media, and ways to find and communicate effectively with their audience.
* Support the wider Artist Services and Media team with the set-up and running of events such as the Made in Scotland press launch, Meet the Media, the Fringe programme launch, and the Welcome Address.
* Support the Media Office by working with the wider team to upload reviews to edfringe.com.
* Support the Media Office with further ad hoc requests.
Person specification
* Knowledge and experience of a range of marketing techniques, including festival marketing, digital and social media marketing, and building an audience.
* A clear understanding of the work of the Fringe Society and the ability to give objective, fair, and consistent information and advice.
* Experience of working in a marketing, PR, or media environment – either in-house or agency.
* Experience of working with media, particularly writing and distributing press releases, and pitching to the press.
* Experience of working in a busy, fast-paced environment where you must prioritise your workload, work independently and as part of a team, and creatively problem-solve.
* Strong verbal and written communication skills, and excellent administrative skills.
* Customer-facing experience with an ability to listen to individual enquiries, empathise with their situation, and confidently give advice and solutions.
* Excellent organisational skills, including diary management.
* A background and understanding of theatre, comedy, music, or other forms of art or entertainment.
* Knowledge of the Fringe media landscape.
* Experience of working at or participating in an arts festival, or working in the arts and entertainment sector.
Rate of pay and benefits
The rate of pay for this post is £13.00 per hour.
Normal working hours are 35 hours a week, worked from 10:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday with a one-hour unpaid lunch break.
From the beginning of the festival, your hours will increase to 42 hours a week to be worked in 8-hour shifts between 09:00 to 18:00 (including a 60-minute unpaid lunch break) over six days between Monday and Sunday. Your working hours will be organised according to a rota system which the Society will notify you of in advance of the Fringe.
We use positive action under section 159 of the Equality Act in relation to disability or race. This means that if we have two candidates of equal merit in our process, we will seek to take forward the D/deaf, disabled, Black, Asian, or ethnically diverse candidate in order to diversify our staff team.
The Fringe has identified six pillars of commitment around the sustainable delivery of their work, are active members of the Festivals Edinburgh Sustainability Working group, and include climate action as one of the headline targets in the Fringe development goals. As part of the commitments of this work, all Fringe staff members are expected to assist with the Fringe Society’s environmental goals and consider these in all elements of your work.
We are also committed to maintaining the open-access policy of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all sectors of the community. We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and aim to successfully employ and retain disabled people and those with health conditions. We expect employees to support these commitments and to assist in their realisation.
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