Before the gates opened, Lexington was already talking.
Railbird Festival
A first-year festival asks a city to understand a new name, trust a new experience, and commit an entire weekend. The local campaign made Railbird feel like Lexington’s event before the first act took the stage.
see the work- client
- AC Entertainment · inaugural Lexington festival
- period
- 2019
- our part
- Strategist and consultant for the local organic launch, in coordination with AC Entertainment’s Knoxville team.
What was
in motion.
AC Entertainment brought national festival experience and a major lineup to Keeneland. Madeline’s assignment was focused: activate local influence, build useful social proof, and deliver substantial community engagement within a tightly managed consulting budget.
The decisions that shaped it.
Map the people who move the city
Identify credible local voices whose audiences overlapped with music, food, bourbon, culture, and the distinctive character of Lexington.
Give participation a local point of view
Frame the festival through the place hosting it, creating reasons for community figures and their audiences to share the event organically.
Coordinate with the producer
Work directly with AC Entertainment’s Knoxville team, keeping the local activation aligned with the festival launch and within the project’s assigned hours.
What the work included.
- Local influencer strategy
- Organic outreach and activation
- Social launch coordination
- Event-page engagement campaign
- Performance reporting
engagements delivered to the event page
Documented in Madeline’s curriculum vitae as the result of the strictly organic local-influencer campaign.
reported inaugural attendance across the weekend
Attendance reported by Madeline. Contemporary coverage and later event-industry reporting describe the 2019 festival at approximately 15,000 attendees per day.
A closer look.
The inaugural invitation
Original 2019 festival poster shown as launch context. Festival identity, poster design, lineup, and production are credited to Railbird and its producing partners.
Railbird Festival · archived by PosterDropsA city-level launch
Case-study visualization of the local network connecting trusted voices with the inaugural festival.
ad.visor case-study visualization · role and engagement from Madeline’s CV
From engagement to attendance
The documented event-page engagement and reported inaugural weekend attendance.
ad.visor case-study visualization · attendance shown as reported by MadelineA national-caliber event still needs a local invitation.
Good work has good company.
- Local influencer strategy and activation: Madeline Diane
- Festival producer and launch partner: AC Entertainment, Knoxville
- Venue: Keeneland
- Festival identity, lineup, operations, and production: Railbird Festival and its producing partners