One Spark organizers had a couple of goals after last year’s festival: They wanted more technology projects and more creators from outside Duval County.
So, they went to several Southeast cities — including Atlanta, Miami and Tampa — to talk about One Spark and to build on relationships in the startup and creative communities there. And when they weren’t there in person, organizers used targeted advertising in those markets and others.
The strategy worked.
There’s a 44 percent increase in technology projects this year and a 23 percent jump in those from outside Duval County. In all, there are 555 registered for the third annual festival that will take over much of Downtown from April 7-12.
They’ll be competing for $350,000 in crowdfunding and can be considered for part of the $3.5 million in potential capital funding.
The number of projects is below last year’s 635 that registered but festival CEO Elton Rivas said it wasn’t unexpected based on benchmarks from similar events.
Rivas said the One Spark team could see the momentum in the two key categories building three or four weeks ago, based on questions coming through the website.
The staff made a number of changes to the website’s homepage, he said, to better answer what One Spark is and how it can benefit creators.
He said technology creators come from a few different categories, including social apps and consumer-facing products or services.
“One Spark is the best place to launch one of those,” Rivas said.
There are few places that offer the demographics of the One Spark crowd, he said. And with the launch of rewards-based crowdfunding this year, creators can get contributions from anywhere in the world for 30 days after voting begins.
With the festival just over a month away, Rivas said there are several ways for creators to prepare.
The Creator Academy offers a series of programs — paid and free — including how to develop a successful crowdfunding campaign and “Angels & Investors.”
Soon, onespark.com will offer one- to three-minute videos with tips to help creators, including how to set up a team and social media strategy.
For One Spark team members, their tasks include working to get the app launched by mid-March and finalizing changes in signage to focus more on simple directional signs for key attractions at the festival.
Rivas said the team has a “healthy anxiety” in the final weeks leading up to festival.
Last year, Rivas said, the city was “blessed with an amazing week of wonderful weather,” which contributed to attendance of about 260,000.
Though they can’t control the weather, their “healthy anxiety” will shift to include that issue about five days before the festival starts.
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