Why Leafleting Still Works: The Smart Way to Promote Your Summer Event

When it comes to promoting your summer event—whether it’s a music festival, beer fest, food fair, open day or a local charity fundraiser—you’re spoilt for choice. Digital channels dominate the marketing landscape: Facebook ads, Instagram reels, email blasts, and SEO campaigns. But there’s one method that still packs a surprising punch: leafleting.

Yes, good old-fashioned direct marketing. It may not be shiny or algorithm-powered, but it’s powerful, cost-effective, and too often underestimated.

Here’s why leafleting deserves a spot in your event marketing strategy—and how to do it right.

1. Leafleting is Physical. People Notice It.

Unlike emails that vanish into the spam folder or social ads that disappear with a scroll, leaflets are tangible. You can touch them, fold them, stick them on your fridge or pass them to a friend.

That physical presence makes a difference. A well-designed leaflet catches attention, stays in the home longer than a tweet stays in someone’s mind, and gives people something real to act on. This is especially valuable for events happening in a specific location—your target audience is local, and so is your delivery.

2. It’s Perfect for Hyper-Local Marketing

Leafleting works especially well when promoting events that attract local crowds. Think:

  • A street food festival in Brighton

  • A craft beer weekend in Leeds

  • A student open day in Sheffield

  • A summer fete in a London borough

Direct delivery into local homes or high footfall areas targets exactly the right people—those who can actually get there. Unlike social ads, where you’re paying to reach people miles away who will never attend, leafleting is geographically precise.

You can go even further with “door-to-door” drops around the venue or “hand-to-hand” leafleting in town centres, outside train stations, universities, or supermarkets.

3. High Engagement Rates

People are bombarded by digital content every day, and most of it gets ignored. On the other hand, research consistently shows that print media—especially leaflets—has a much higher engagement rate.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), 92% of people read leaflets delivered through their door, and 48% either keep, pass on or take action after reading them.

In a time when attention is the most expensive commodity, that’s gold.

4. It’s Cost-Effective

Compared to digital marketing, where prices keep climbing, leafleting is still affordable. Especially for smaller or one-off events with tight budgets, it can offer serious bang for your buck.

Let’s break it down:

  • Design: You can create a great leaflet using free design tools like Canva, or hire a freelance designer for under £100.

  • Printing: A run of 5,000 full-colour, double-sided A5 leaflets can cost less than £100.

  • Distribution: Door drops or hand-to-hand campaigns vary depending on area, but are often under £50 per 1,000 leaflets delivered.

That means a full campaign to reach 5,000 households might cost under £350. For the kind of exposure you’re getting, that’s incredibly efficient—especially when compared to Facebook ad campaigns with limited reach and high CPM (cost per thousand impressions).

5. Boosts Your Digital Marketing Too

Leaflets don’t have to work alone. They’re a brilliant way to support and boost your digital marketing.

Add your event’s QR code to the leaflet and send people straight to your website or ticketing page. Include social handles, hashtags and discount codes. Use the leaflet to drive people online, where they can engage further, sign up or buy tickets.

You can even run A/B tests by using different promo codes on different leaflet versions and track which areas respond best. It’s a clever way to bridge offline and online efforts.

6. Great for All Kinds of Events

Leafleting isn’t just for the big players. It’s scalable. Whether you’re hosting a 10,000-person music festival or a community-run farmers’ market, it works.

Here are some events that benefit hugely from leafleting:

Music Festivals

Promote headliners, early bird discounts and local shuttle services. Target areas where fans are likely to live—university towns, city centres, or suburbs with high youth populations.

Food & Drink Festivals

Entice with mouth-watering photos and a list of featured vendors or breweries. Include family-friendly messaging or tie-ins with local businesses.

Beer Festivals

Appeal to craft beer lovers with tasting notes, brand line-ups and any unique cask features. Add QR codes for tickets and updates.

Open Days

Ideal for universities, schools, businesses or sports clubs. Leaflets help create a sense of invitation and legitimacy, especially when handed out in relevant local spots.

Summer Fairs & Community Events

Leafleting shines at this scale. It adds a personal touch to promotions, builds anticipation, and helps reach those not active online (such as older residents).

7. Fast Turnaround and Flexibility

Need to fill last-minute ticket gaps? Leafleting campaigns can often be planned, printed and launched within days. That’s a lifesaver when digital campaigns aren’t performing or you’ve had a late surge in capacity.

You can also target different groups in different areas with tailored messaging. For example:

  • Leaflet A goes to students with a “£5 entry” discount.

  • Leaflet B targets families with a “Kids Go Free” weekend offer.

Same event, different angle. This kind of flexibility is hard to pull off cost-effectively online.

8. It Works Where Digital Fails

Let’s be honest—digital advertising is not always the silver bullet it’s made out to be.

Ad fatigue is real. Algorithms change. Privacy updates mean less tracking. And some demographics—like older adults or low-tech households—simply don’t see your Facebook ad.

Leafleting works across generations. It doesn’t rely on screen time, cookies or device preferences. It just lands in their hand or their letterbox.

Plus, in areas with patchy internet access or tech-shy communities, it might be your only effective option.

9. It Builds Trust and Legitimacy

When someone receives a well-designed leaflet, it signals effort. You’ve invested time and money. You’ve bothered to reach them physically. That adds credibility—especially for new or lesser-known events.

It also reduces the “scam factor” that can haunt online-only event pages. Leaflets help people feel confident that your event is real and trustworthy.

A professional leaflet with logos, maps, contact info and a clear call to action creates a solid first impression.

10. Word-of-Mouth Starts With a Leaflet

You don’t need everyone who gets a leaflet to attend your event. You just need some of them to talk about it.

Leaflets are great conversation starters. Someone reads one, mentions it to a friend or brings it to work. “Have you seen this? Looks good.”

In a connected community, that kind of buzz travels fast—especially in small towns or tight-knit city neighbourhoods. Leafleting gets the ball rolling.

How to Make Your Leafleting Campaign a Success

It’s not just about doing leafleting—it’s about doing it right. Here are some pro tips to make your campaign land.

Design for Clarity

  • Use bold headlines and short, punchy text.

  • Include essential info: What, Where, When, Why, How Much.

  • Make your call-to-action (CTA) loud and clear.

  • Add a QR code linking to your ticket page.

  • Include contact info, maps, social media links.

Print Quality Matters

Cheap, flimsy leaflets get binned. Invest in decent paper stock and vibrant colour printing. Make your leaflet feel worth keeping.

Target Smartly

Don’t scattergun. Think: where does your audience live, work or pass through? Prioritise high-density and high-relevance areas.

Time it Right

Start 3–4 weeks before your event. Add a second round closer to the date for last-minute ticket pushes or “Don’t Miss It!” messages.

Track What Works

Use unique URLs, QR codes or discount codes to measure leaflet response. Combine with Google Analytics to see who’s converting.

Final Word: Don’t Underestimate Leaflets

Leafleting might not be flashy. But it works. It’s direct. It’s physical. It gets noticed. And it fills the gaps that digital sometimes misses.

For summer events in the UK—from giant music fests to indie beer nights—leafleting is a proven, practical and powerful way to get your message in front of the people who matter.

Use it wisely, creatively, and consistently—and watch your attendance climb.

Need Help With Your Event Leaflets?

If you want to design, print and distribute leaflets that actually drive results, get in touch with local experts or leaflet distribution services in your area. Many offer design and delivery bundles tailored to events.

A great leaflet could be the best ticket-seller you haven’t used yet.