“When city leaders questioned the success of the event, we were happy to show that attendance was more than 4x what was expected. That gave them the confidence to increase our budget, helping us to deliver an event that our residents and guests have come to know and love.”
-- Rachel Waldron, Parks and Recreation Director, The City of Dunwoody, GA
The Challenge
City of Dunwoody seeks data to prove community impact of annual holiday lights park display event
The City of Dunwoody, Georgia sought to justify increased budgets for its Holiday Lights event, which had grown in popularity. Launched in 2020, the event was originally intended to activate a local park - Brook Run Park - during the traditionally empty period of December. It would also promote a sense of community while prioritizing public safety during the pandemic. The event was well-received and organizers initially estimated an attendance of approximately 5,000 visitors. However, lacking hard data, it was difficult to secure additional funding. How could the city demonstrate the event’s popularity and secure the needed funding?
The Solution
Placer foot traffic data reveals event attendance 4x higher than originally estimated
As a large, public and ungated event, the Holiday Lights display presented a particular challenge - it would be difficult to understand how many people were attending through eyeball estimates alone. Thus, Rachel Waldron, Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Dunwoody, used Placer.ai to create a custom POI and geofence the event area at Brook Run Park.
Learn more about Custom POIs
Rachel was surprised to discover that attendance at the Holiday Lights event was significantly higher than estimated - in fact, over 4x higher! Rather than 5,000 attendees, the yearly event drew over 20k visitors in 2023. Using Placer’s Rankings Overview report, Rachel also found that Brook Run Park ranked in the 96% percentile nationwide and 98% percentile in Georgia for the Nature & Landmarks category during the event period.
Learn more about Metrics
Placer’s Daily Visits report indicated that Thursdays and Fridays were the event’s most popular days (each averaging ~7k visitors over the event period - a whopping 140% of the original estimate (5k) for event attendance across the month). The greater-than-expected event foot traffic served as a powerful boon to local businesses, with Placer’s Visitor Journey report showing that the event shared >23% of visits with nearby dining and retail establishments.
Learn more about Visitor Journey
The Outcome
SUCCESS: Dunwoody, GA secures additional 10% funding for annual holiday lights display event
By leveraging Placer.ai’s foot traffic data to quantify the positive economic impact of the Holiday Lights event to the city council, the City of Dunwoody successfully proved the event’s popularity and increased its budget by 10% for the upcoming year. The program was also awarded the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association D6 Outstanding Special Event Award in 2023. With this success, the city continues to explore opportunities to maximize the positive economic impact of the event, benefiting both residents and businesses alike.
