578,907 views, a five-year sales high: Oxford’s Biggest Charity Fireworks
In our third year marketing the event, organic social and Meta ads helped grow ticket revenue 22% on 2025 to its highest level in five years. the campaign earned 578,907 views across Facebook and Instagram, and our ads drove 9,635 visits to the ticket website at just 15p per visit.
Overview
Oxford Round Table has run Oxford's Biggest Charity Fireworks in South Park since 1967. It's organised entirely by volunteers, and every penny of profit goes to Oxfordshire charities, more than £1 million so far.
2026 was our third year running the event's marketing, and this year we sponsored it too. We run the event's organic Facebook and Instagram content, from the September launch through to the night itself and beyond, and planned and managed a Meta ads campaign focused on getting people to book online before the day. Final ticket revenue was 22% up on 2025 and the highest of the last five years, with 9.5% more paying guests.
At a glance
- Client
- Oxford Round Table
- Event
- Oxford's Biggest Charity Fireworks, South Park, Saturday 7 November 2026
- Our role
- Campaign strategy, organic Facebook and Instagram content, copywriting, Meta ads planning and management, and reporting. Post-event content ongoing
- Relationship
- Third year marketing the event, and a 2026 sponsor
- Period reported
- Social: 15 August to 12 November 2026. Final ticket sales compared with previous years
Ticket revenue
+22%
On 2025, and the highest in five years
Paid tickets
+9.5%
More paying guests than 2025
Social views
578,907
Across Facebook and Instagram in 90 days, reaching more than 100,000 people on Facebook alone
Ticket page visits from ads
9,635
Visits to the ticket website from Meta ads, at just 15p per visit
The challenge
The event has a short, intense sales window. Most tickets sell in the final few weeks, and anything sold on the gate is cheaper to produce but harder to plan around. The brief was to push people to book online, earlier, and at the same time keep the charity story at the centre of every message.
Competition was also up. Another local fireworks display was already running ads on Facebook and YouTube before our campaign started, and the kick-off came in early September, leaving around nine weeks to build momentum.
What we did
We planned the campaign in stages that matched how people decide to come: why it matters, what the night involves, why to book now, and everything you need on the day.
Charity first. Early posts led with 58 years, more than £1 million raised and the volunteers behind it, so every ticket felt like a donation as well as a night out.
Early bird urgency. A 20% discount code and clear online-versus-gate pricing ("£40 online for a family of four, £60 on the gate") gave people a reason to book ahead.
Meta ads aimed at ticket page visits. We optimised for landing page views rather than likes, tested several creatives and moved budget to whatever was cheapest per visit. [CONFIRM: budget started at £300 and was increased?]
Practical content in the final week. Running orders, an interactive site map, travel guides and "tonight's the night" content for people making last-minute plans.
Partners and community. Sponsor spotlights, the Daily Info art competition and Best Seat in the House kept people talking and gave partners something to share. [CONFIRM: did we arrange the creator posts?]
Upsell content. Dedicated posts for the Super Family Tent and the online-only silent disco afterparty.
The results
Final ticket revenue rose 22% on 2025 and was the highest of the last five years, with 9.5% more paying guests.
Between 15 August and 12 November, organic content and Meta ads earned 578,907 views across Facebook and Instagram, including 95,332 organic views. The content reached 102,277 people on Facebook and 46,700 on Instagram, and the two accounts gained 215 new followers. Across the campaign, our Meta ads drove 9,635 visits to the ticket website at just 15p per visit.
Meta ads
Top ads by ticket page visits
| Ad | Launched | Ticket page visits | Cost per visit | Reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ad 1 | 14 Oct | 2,699 | 8p | 29,094 |
| Ad 2 | 20 Sep | 1,975 | 15p | 34,343 |
| Ad 3 | 14 Oct | 1,429 | 24p | 40,577 |
| Ad 4 | 18 Oct | 1,059 | 17p | 23,466 |
| Ad 5 | Sep | 807 | 11p | 15,991 |
| Ad 6 | 22 Oct | 785 | 20p | 21,192 |
Source: Meta Ads Manager, 1 September to 10 November 2026. Ticket page visits are landing page views on oxfordfireworks.co.uk.
What the data taught us
Practical posts beat hype in the final week. On Instagram, the site map (2,216 views), the travel guide (1,611) and the "tonight's the night" reel (3,230) outperformed most promotional posts. People were deciding how, not whether, to come.
The cheapest ticket page visits came mid-October. Ad 1, launched on 14 October, delivered 2,699 landing page views at 8p each, about half the campaign average.
Other people's posts went further. Posts about the event from local creators reached more people than most of the event's own posts, with the top three earning 9,424 views between them.
New audiences, not just existing fans. 90% of Instagram views in the final month came from people who didn't follow the account, so the content was reaching new ticket buyers rather than the same audience every year.
If your event relies on last-minute ticket sales, get in touch.