QARA Studios
Executive Producer: Yerkebulan Kurishbayev
Producer: Tamerlan Baipeissov
Creative Producer: Zhandos Qakhar
Marketing Director: Milana Inkarbekova
Marketing Manager: Laula Nassimoldina
Design: Zhoodarbek Dzheenbekov
SMM: Nartay Ualikhan
OYU Fest is a celebration of summer, music, friendship, food, and dance, inspired by the OYU Live online music project. OYU Fest features Kazakhstani artists, traditional-style entertainment, support for local businesses, and a significant contribution to the culture of the city and its residents.
TASK
In 2024, the QARA Studios team faced the challenge of organizing the OYU Festival in two cities of Kazakhstan—Almaty on June 1 and Astana on July 27. The goal was to create a large-scale event that would not only attract locals and tourists but also reflect Kazakhstan’s rich culture, uniting people through music and art.
CONTEXT
Amid growing interest in Kazakh culture and art, we aimed to organize a festival that would reflect the national flavor while maintaining modernity and relevance. The OYU Festival was designed to be more than just an event; it was intended to be a cultural phenomenon that could unite people of different genders, ages, and interests.
Idea: To emphasize the uniqueness of the OYU Festival, we decided to integrate traditional elements of Kazakh culture into a modern musical and art context. The festival became a platform for performances by well-known Kazakhstani artists and the work of local brands. The festival featured participation from 10 restaurants and 31 partners. The festival’s general partner was Kaspi.kz, a leader in digital payments, with special partners including Toyota and Coca-Cola. Collaboration with Wolt.Kazakhstan allowed for the creation of a unique food zone.
EXECUTION
We developed a concept that included musical performances, art installations, workshops, and markets reflecting modern cultural trends in Kazakhstan. The festival took place in Almaty and Astana, attracting people from across the country and tourists from abroad. To promote the festival, we used various channels: push notifications about the upcoming festival in partner apps JET, Ticketon, and Invictus; advertising in Chaplin cinemas (Almaty and Astana) and Cinemax (Almaty), where trailers were shown up to 70 times a day before each movie. Offline advertising was organized in collaboration with RTS Decaux, MYD Production, Keruen Media, Nomad Media, as well as in shopping centers Star Media, Asia Park, and Keruen City.
Special attention was paid to creating merchandise, which was developed in collaboration with @isulu.design, HOWE, Adili, Meraly, and Ozin Project, including sticker packs and badges in the festival’s identity. We also made the festival accessible to all visitors: children under 12 and people with disabilities in groups 1 and 2 had free entry, along with an additional ticket for a companion, and pets were also welcomed.
RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
The OYU Festival 2024 became a landmark event for the cultural life of Kazakhstan. It attracted attention not only from the local but also the international audience, showcasing Kazakhstan’s cultural diversity and modernity.
Over 17,000 visitors at both festivals
Over 8,000,000 views on social media
Reach: 2,500,000 people
Number of clicks: 57,000
Blogger and influencer audience: near 10,000,000 followers
The festival line-ups included performances by Kazakhstani artists and bands. In Almaty, Marhaba Sabi, Kunzharyq, Aikyn, Shiza, Irina Kairatovna, Nurlan & Murat, Dequine, and Ayau performed. In Astana, performances included Asiya, Shiza, Nurlan & Murat, Sadraddin, Tynyq, V$XV PRiNCE, ARO, Aikyn, and Dequine.