PART2 PLANNING

Conceptualising festivals and events that will inspire, impart knowledge, or achieve any of a myriad of other objectives is a perpetual challehge for the practicing event manager. Whatever concept that is decided upon then needs to be subjected to a range of planning processes if it is to successfully meet the expectations of its various shareholder groups, such as the attendees, community, sponsors and the event ‘owner’.

In this section, the areas of event conceptualisation and planning are discussed, with specific chapters dealing with strategic, financial, human resource, marketing and sponsorship planning, and event concept development.

Chapter 3: The Strategic Planning Function

 Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of strategic planning as it applies to the conduct of events. It begins by dicussing the importance of planning to the overall success of an event and then moves on to describe the strategic event planning process. This process comprises a number of sequential and interrelated steps, begining with the development of an event concept and /or intent to bid, and ending with event shutdown, evaluation and reporting. The potential for legacy related outcomes flowing from the application of this process is also acknowledged and briefly discussed here.

 What is strategic planning?

In its simplest form, the strategic planning process involves determining where an organization is at present, deciding where it should be positioned in the market place in order to maxmize its chances of progressing its mission, and creating strategies and tactics to achieve that position. In other words, the strategic planning procss is concered with end results and the means to achieve those results.

 The strategic planning process and event organizations

The process of strategic planning in an event context involves an event manager moving through a number of sequential and interrelated steps.

Development of event concept or intent to bid Decision to proceed with bid Event feasibility analysis Decision to cease Formation of a bidding body and preparation and submission of a bid document Decision to proceed With new event Acceptance of bid Rejection of bid Establishement of organizational structure Feedback Strategic planning ·Establishment of vision/mission/purpose ·Development of event goals and objectives ·Conduct of a situational analysis ·Identification of strategy options ·Development and implementation of operational plans ·Creation and implementation of control systems ·Evaluation, shutdown and reporting Legacy The strategic event planning process

Chapter 4: Conceptualising the event

 Introduction

A crucial element in the creation of an event is the understanding of the event environment. The context in which the event is to take place will play a major role in determining the event concept. In order to understand this environment, the even manager must first identify the major players － the stakeholders who are the people and organizations likely to be affected by it. The event manager must then examine the objectives of these major players － what each of them expects to gain from the event and what forces acting on them are likely to affect their response to the event. For achieving the best outcomes, design will play a key role in shaping the experience to be provided for event participants. This chapter examines the key stakeholders in events, and outlines some of the processes that event managers can use to devise creative and successful event concepts.

 Stakeholders in events

Entertainment/reward

Host organization Objectives Management Impats Participants and spectators Participation/support Payment/reward Host community Context Money/in kind Event Labor/support Editorial/advertising Promotion Acknowledgement Co-workers Sponsors Media The relationship of stakeholders to events

 Sourcing festivals and events

Festivals and events are usually obtained or generated from one of the following sources: ·in-house festivals and events ·pitching and tendering for events ·bidding for events ·franchising events

 Creating the festival and event concept

A core task of the event manager or team will be to create a strong cooncept for the event, or to update an exsisting concept and apply it to the particular context and circumstances of the event. Deciding on the basic idea or concept of an event creates the fundation on which the whole event creation process will later be built. It is crucial therefore to identify a sound and robust concep, based on a good understanding of the full context of the event and its stakeholders. The concept must be capable of achieving the event’s purpose, flexuble enough to serve the full range of stakeholders, and achievable within the available resources.

Identifying an appropriate festival or event concept will require considerable research, insight and creativity. However, getting the concept right will greatly increase the potential for a successful festival or event outcome.

Defining the purpose of the festival and event

The first step in creating the festival or event concept is to define the purpose of the festival or event, which ideally should be outlied in the event brief supplied by the host organization. For corporate events, this is sometimes known as the business case, or the justification for holding the event. This in turn will drive the major decisions regarding the development of the event, including the choice of theme and elementts and the key corporate messages that the event needs to deliver.

For public events, the event manager should clarify with the host organization the purpose for holding the event. The purpose may be multi-faced － for example, to provide a leisure activity for residents, to attract visitors and to reate economic benefit. Identifying the purpose fully and accurately will provide a sound starting point for determining the event concept.

Identifying the festival or event audience

The next important question to clarify is who will be attending the festival or event. For corporate events, knowledge of factors such as the age and gender of attendees, their levels of seniority in the participating organization, and their experiences and tastes will be of great assistance in tailoring the event concept to the needs of the audience.

For public events, it is important to know whether the event is directed at the whole community, or to one or more segments within it. Their age range, income levels and lifestyle interests will all help to determine the event concept.

Deciding the timing of the festival or event

Important decisions need to be made about the duration of the festival or event, and about the season/time of year, day/s and time/s when the event will be held. For corporate events, the business cycle may influence the timing. A similar logic will determine an appropriate day of the week and time of the day.

The timing of public events may be determined by favourable seasons.

Choosing the festival and event venue

The location of the festival and event will be another important factor in developing the festival or event concept. The venue must meet the needs of event, not only catering for the number of attendees, ut also contributing to desired style and atmosphere. The venue must be able to meet the operational needs of the event in terms of access, catering, staging and facilities. It will need to fit inside the budget, including the costs of decoration, theming, and the provision of adequate power, water and staging facilities if these are not provided. Lastly, it will need to meet the needs of participants including transport,parking and convience.

Choosing the festival or event concept

A widely used and rewarding technique employed by many event managers for developing event concepts is brainstorming.

 Define the paramters of the event

 Form a group of event stakeholders and colleagues

 Brief them on the event context and the parameters of the event  Brainstorm a wide range of event concepts and ideas  Identify the ideas that best serve the needs of the event  Evaluate and priorities these ideas  Choose and refine an event concept

Remember that the event concept is only the basic idea for the event, which will be fleshed out and elaborated later in the event creation process. However, the identification of the event concept is a crucial decision on which the ultimate success of the event wil depend.

Summarising th process of creating the festival and event concept

Goldblatt (1997) suggests that the process of creating an event concept can be summarised by five key questions that he terms the ‘five Ws’ of the event. 1. Why is the vent being held?

2. Who will be the stakeholders inn the event? 3. When will the event be held/. 4. Where will the event be staged?

5. What is the event content or product?

Designing the festival and event experience

From an event manager’s viewpoint, an event can be seen as a designed experience, consciously created in order to achieve a given purpose or objective. The design process involves a myriad of decisions and choices that contribute to the overall experience of the event attendees. It includes elements such as the site layout, flow of guests, performance program, catering, security, site decoration and atmosphere. Berridge (2007) suggests that the design process can also be applied to the senses ( sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste), interaction (such as trying out products and sampling services), the emotions and even the meaning and significance that participants take away from events. The total effect of these decisions will determine the nature of the event experience, and how it is received by individual participants or guests. 

Evaluating the festival and event concept

Once the event concept has been decided and an initial scoping of the event completed, it ia essential to examine whether the event can be delivered successfully within the available timeframe and resource. This process is known as a feasibility study, and may be conducted internally or, in the case of larger events, contracted to an external body. Onn the basis of the feasibility study, a decision will be made as to whether or not the event will proceed. To determine the feasibility as well as whether the event concept matches the needs and resources of the event, thrre screens are submitted: 1. the marketing screen 2. the operations screen 3. the financial screen

Chapter 5: Financial Management and Festival and Event

 Introduction

Financial management is defined as decisions that concern the sourcing, planning, allocation,monitoring and evaluation of the money resource. In the festival and event environment, financial decisions take place within the overall objectives of the event or fetival. This chapter concerns the financial tools and techniques that are used in the process of delivering an event and the management of a portfolio of events.

The event environment is fluid and the characteristic of financial management for events includes:

·Although there was a framework for the budget, it is accuracy changed over time. ·Unexcepted income and cost arise, even for a major event such as the Olympics. ·Financial management is a high-level responsibility. ·The event manager is expected to defend the spending.

·There are mutual dependencies between the areas of event management (in this case the finance, the operations and the program).

Even with all these changes, the event must go on. The management of event finance is a process, a series of steps that starts with forcasting and setting up to monitor the event finances. Cost benefit analysis and cost analysis go hand in hand. The budget can be developed as a draft budget and then refined as the cash flow management and the cost control planning becomes more detailed. Management of finance is not just observing the flow of money according to how it is set out in the budget. It is active management. It is decision making that concerns the relocation of funds, finding new sources of income and reducing new costs. All of these decisions sit under the cloud of the deadline. Every financial decision in the event enviroment must take into account the variable, time, and the constant, the deadline.

 The budget

a budget can be described as a quantified statement of plans. The budget process incudes costing and estimating income and allocating financial resources. An event budget is used to compare actual costs and revenues with projected costs and revenues. In particular, maximum expenditure for each area of the event’s operation is estimated.

Constructing the budget

Preparing a budget is a complicated process. The process begins by establishing the economic environment of the event. To determine the economic enviroment for a proposed event, it is useful to ask the following questions:

·What similar events can be used as a model for the proposed event and its enviroment? ·Will changes in the local or state economy affect the budget in any way?

·If the event is to involve international performers or hiring equipment from overseas, will there

be a change in the currency exchange rates?

·How exposed is the event to changes in world tourism patterns?

These questions underline the importance of understanding the event’s target market.

The next step is to obtain the guidelines from the client, sponsors or even committee. A client may request, for instance, that only a certain percenttage of their sponsorship be allocated to entertainment, with the rest to be allocated to hospitality. Guidelines must fit with the overall objectives of the event and may require constructing sub-budgets or program budgets. The third step is to identify,categorise and estimate the cost areas and revenue sources. Generic budget － first level Income Grants Donations Sponsorship Ticket sales Fees Concessions Total

Once the cost and possible revenue sources and amounts are estimated, a draft budget is prepaaared and submitted for approval to the controlling committee.

The final step involves preparation of the budget and financial ratios that can indicate deviations from the initial plan. An operating business has a veriaty of budgets, including capital expenditure, sales, overheads and production. Most special events will require only an operations budget or cash budget.

Account Expenditue Administration Publicity Venue costs Equipment Salaries Insurance Permits Security Accounting Cleaning Travel Accommodation Documentation Hospitality Volunteers Contingencies Total Amount Special program Community groups Establish what is the

economic

enenviroment

Establish guidelines

budget to

fit Identify and estimate cost

sreas

and

revenue sources

Prepare a draft budget Evaluate draft budget for committee and and sponsor approval

ratios prepare

final

budgets and control

objectives, including sub-budgets The budget process

 Costing and estimating

The use of a spredsheet template allows the festival organizer to create a generic budget and apply it to each event. The items not needed are simply deleted. Projected costs－second level Income $ Income $ Administration Office rental Fax/photocopy Computers Prints Telephone Stationery Postage Office staff SUBTOTAL Publicity Artwork Printing Poster and leaflet distribution Press kit Press ads Radio ads Programs SUBTOTAL Venue Hire Preparation Insurance Public liability Workers compensation Rain Other SUBTOTAL Permits Liquor Food Council Parking Chidcare SUBTOTAL Security Security check Equipment Personnel SUBTOTAL Accounting Cash and cheque Audit SUBTOTAL Cleaning Before During After SUBTOTAL Eqipment Stage Sound Lights Transport Personnel Toilets Extra equipment Communication First aid Tents Tables and chairs Wind breaks Generators Technicans Parking needs Uniforms SUBTOTAL Salaries Coodinator Artists Labourers Consultants Other SUBTOTAL

SUBTOTAL Travel Artists Freight SUBTOTAL Accommodation SUBTOTAL Documentation Photo/video SUBTOTAL Hospitality Tent Food Beverage Personnel Invitations SUBTOTAL Community Donations SUBTOTAL Volunteers Food and drink Party Awards and prizes SUBTOTAL Contingecies SUBTOTAL Catherwood and Van Kirk (1992) divide the costs of an event into four main categories: 1. operational or production costs 2. venue/site rental 3. promotion 4. talent

According to O’Toole and Mikolaitis (2002), the tools of project management can be used to estimate event costs. These include:

· Top-down estimating. The event manager arrives at a figure based on their experiene and a comparison to events of a similar type and size.

·Bottom-up estimating. The eveent is divided into its components and the costs are estimated for each component.

·Parametic estimating. Parametic estimating is where ‘the overall cost of the event is assumed to be related to one element, a parameter of the event’.

Tips on reducing costs

With careful and imaginative planning, costs can be reduced in a number of areas.

· Publicity. Established festival may need very little publicity as word of mouth will do all the necessary work.

· Equipment and suppliers. Suppliers of product to events have down times during the year when their products may be hired cheaply.

· In-kind gifts. Many organizations will assist events to achieve cross-promotional advntages. Entertainment can be inexpensive if there is a chance thar an organization can promote a performance or product at the event.

· Hiring charges. The hire cost of large infrastructure components, such as tents, generators and headline acts, can be reduced by offering work at other festivals and events.

· Prioritise cost centres. Estimates are made of the influence of cost changes on the event and the cost centres are placed in a priority list according to the significance of the effect.

· Volunteers. Costs can be reduced by using volunteers instead of paid staff. It is important that all of the skills of the volunteers are fully utilised.

Revenue

Revenue can come from the following sources:

· ticket sales － most common in entrepreneurial events · sponsorship － common in cultural and sports events · merchandising · advertising

· ‘in-kind’ arrangements

· broadcast rights － an increasingly important source of revenue in sport events · grants － federal, state and local government

· the client － the major source for corporate events.

The ticket price can be decided by one or more of three methods.

1. Covering costs. All the costs are estimated and added to the projected profit.

2. Market demand. The ticket price is decided by the prevailing ticket prices for similar or

competing events.

3. Perceived value. The event may have special features that preclde a price comparison to other

events. There can be variations in the ticket price for different entertainment packages at the event (at many multi-venued events the ticket will include admission only to certain events), for extra hospitality or for special seating.

Financial reporting

The budget report is a means of highlighting problems and suggesting solutions. It is an effective form of communication to the event committee and staff and should be readily understood. It is important that appropriate action is taken in response to the reporter’s suggestion.

·The report should relate directly to the event management area to which it is addressed. ·It should not contain extraneous information that can only obscure its function. Brevity and clarity are key objectives.

·The figures in the report must be of the same magnitude and they should b comparable. ·The report should describe how to take remedial action if there is a significant problem.

Resporting guidelines

Chapter 6: Human Resource Management and Festivals and Events

 Introduction

Effective planning and management of human resource is at the core of any successful event. Ensuring an event is adequately staffed with the right people, who are appropriately trained and motivated to meet its objectives, is fundaental to the event management process.

Human resource planning context Human resource strategy and objectives Human resource Policies and procedures Recruitment, selection and induction Training and professional development Supervision and evaluation Termination, outplacement, re-enlistment Evaluation of human resource management planning process and outcomes – modifications

The human resource planning process for festivals and events

 The human resource planning process for events

Human resource strategy

An event’s human resource strategy seeks to support its overall mission and objectives. Objectives from a human resource management perspective are:

·cost containment － improved staff/volunteer productivity, reduced absenteeism and decreased staff numbers

· improved quality － better recruiment and selection, expanded employee and volunteer training, increased staff and volunteer numbers, and improved financial rewards and volunteer benefits

·improved organizational effectiveness － better job design,changes to organizational structure and improved relations with employees and volunteers

·enhanced performance regarding social and legal responsibillities － improved compliance through training with relevnt legislation, such as that relating to occupational health and safety, anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunity.

Recruitment, selection and induction

How event managers approch the recruitment process depends on the financia resources they have available to them. With large event, a budgt is likely to be set aside for this purpose, designed to cover costs such as recruitment agency fees,advertising, the travel expenses of non-local applicants and search fees foe exeutive placement companies. Other events with limited money can still successfully engae in his process by: ·using stakeholders

·negotiating sponsorship agreements

·identifying and liaising with potential sources of volunteers/casual staff.

A useful starting point in the selection process is a selection poliy. This policy should have been developed earlier in the policy and procedure stage of the human resource planning process. In constructing such a policy, thought needs to be given to: ·approaches to measuring the suitability of candidates ·sourcing people ·the decision makers ·selection techniques

·the organization’s business objectives

·how the event organization intends to comply with equal employment opportunity legislation. Getz (2005,p.226) suggets a range of actions be taken as part of an effective induction program. ·Provide basic information about the event.

·Conduct tours of venues, suppliers,offices and any other relevant locations. ·Make introductions to other staff and volunteers.

·Give an introduction to the organizational culture, history and working arrangements. ·Overview training programs.

In addition to these actions, it is sound practice to discuss the job description with the individual to ensure he or she has a clear understanding of matters such as responsibilities, performance expectations, approaches to performance evaluation, and reporting relationships. At this time other matters associated with the terms and conditions of employment should also be discussed/reiterated, including probationary periods, grievance procedures, absenteeism, sickness, dress code, security, holiay/leave benefits, superannuation, salary and overtime rates, and other benefits such as car parking and meals.

The induction process can also be facilitated by the development of an induction kit for distribution to each new staff member or volunteer. Such a kit might contain: ·an annual report

·a message from the organizing ommittee ceo welcming staff and volunteers ·a statement of event mission/vision, goals and objectives ·an organizational chart ·a name badge ·a staff list

·a uniform

·a list of sponsors ·a list of stakeholders

·any other appropriate items for example, occupational, health and safety information.

Training and professional development

Training focuses on providing specfic job skills/knowledge that will allow people to perform a job or to improve their performance in it. Professional development, on the other hand, is concerned with the acquisition of new skills, knowledge and attitudes that will prepare individuals for future job responsibilities.

Supervision and evaluation

Goal setting Feedback Feedback Performance reviw discussion Feedback Performance appraisal Rewards Dynamic performance appraisal program

Chapter 7: Marketing Planning for Festivals and Events

 Introduction

This chapter examines a strategic approach to festival and event marketing planning, and how the event manager carries out all of marketing planning activities necessary to achieve the event’s objectives, congruent with the event’s corporate strategic plan.

 What is marketing?

Consumers might offer their dollars in exchange for a concert experience, but for some types of marketing exchanges － for example, community festivals － the time of the consumer to attend may be the only exchange. Alternatively, it can be viewed as a management philosophy, where the organizational exists to satisfy its idebtified consumer needs while achieving its various objectives. That is, the organization’s operations are centred on the satisfaction of identified consumer needs.

The following list shows the marketing activities that an event marketing manager may undertake to produce a succssful festival or special event.

·Identify a target market whose needs can be satisfied by the event.

·Analyze the needs of the target market to establish the design of the event experience and the way in which it will be delivered in order to satisfy these identified needs.

·Predict how many people will attend the event and the times that different groups or market segments will attend.

·Research any competing events that could satisfy similar needs to devise a unique selling proposition (USP) foe the event that enables it to be differentiated from similar leisure activities. ·Estimate the price or value that visitors are willing to exchange to attend an event － for example, ticket price or donation.

·Decide on type and quantity of promotional activity, including the media mix and messages that will reach the audience of the event.

·Consider how the choice and design of value and the methods of ticket distribution fit with the needs of attendees.

·Establish the metrics to judge the success of the event in achieving its marketing objectives.

Festival and event as ‘service experiences’

The marketing concpt is just as applicable to a leisure service such as an event as it is to any other product.

Event as services differ from products in that they must be experienced to consume them － the production, delivery and consumption of an event are inseparable, happening simultaneously in most cases. The challenge for event managers and marketers is to try to manage these, smooth

out any variations in quality and ensure that there is an immediate recovery where poor service occurs.

Another key difference of services like events is that they ar intangible and, uunlike a product, cannot be oened.

Many special events also have some credence qualities － characteristics that consumers don’t have enough knowledge or experience to understand or evaluate.

For marketers, a further challenge is the perishability of the event experience － for example, seats unsold at today’s football game or tonight’s concert will not be available for sale again.

 Festivals and event marketing research

Analyzing event environments

Strategic marketing is a planning tool based on thorough analyses. Astute marketing decisions emerge from a thorough analysis of competitor activities, the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological environments (C-PEST) in which the event occurs, and a rigorous analysis of the event organization’s internal resources to establish the organization’s strategic capability.

The C-PEST analysis

Socialculture Technological Enviorment Audit scan) (or Political Competitor Entertainment Economic related related Components of the environment analysis

Marketing internal resource analysis Another essential step in developing a marketing plan is an assessment of the event’s internalresources. Classic economicsts categorise the resources available to an entrepreneur as land. In event or festival organizations, the resources needed to effectively produce an event are human,physical and financial.

The SWOT analysis Once the C-PEST and the internal resource audit are completed, an analysis of strengths, weaknessness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) can be conducted. This summary of the critical issues identified through the C-PEST and internal resources analysis enables the event marketer to take advantages of the event’s opportunities and strengths, improve weaknesses, negate threats and, just as importantly, have a solid foundation for establishing marketing ojectives and strategies for the event. This tassk is made easier if all the data collected are summarised into no more than ten bullet points for each sectionn of the SWOT analysis.

 The festival or event consumer’s decision-making process

Understanding the consumer decision-making process for events and festivals is aided by th following PIECE acronym:

 Problem recognition － the difference between someone’s existing state and their desired

state relative to leisure consumption

 Information search － an internal and/or external search; limited or extensive search

processes for leisure solutions

 Evaluation and selection of leisure alternatives

 Choosing whether to attend an event and which optional purchases to make at the event or

festival

 Evaluation of the post-event experience

 Steps in the marketing planning process

Segmenting and targeting the event market

Most events do not appeal to everybody, so it is essential to identify those consumer segments whose needs most closely match the event experience.

Geographic segmentation based on the place of residence of event visitors is a commonly used method. Many community festivals are dominated by local visitors or day-trippers from the immidiate state or region.

Demographic segmentation relies on the characteristics of people, such as age, gender, occupation, income, education and cultural group. The lifecycle phase of visitors is a further means of demographic segmentation, as is a socioeconomic scale based on occupation (usually of the major income generator in family units).

Psychographic segmentation, or dividing a market according to its lifestyle and values, is another useful marketing planning technique.

Positioning the event

Events positioning can be achieved in at least nine different ways: 1. the exsiting reputation or image of the festival or event 2. the charisma of a director or leader 3. a focus on event programming 4. a focus on performers

5. an emphasis on location or venue and its facilities 6. event users 7. price or quality

8. the purpose or application of the event 9. the event category or ‘product’ class

Developing event marketing objectives

Hypothetical examples of marketing objectives for an festival or event might be to:  Increase box office receipts in 2011 by 10 percent ( market share growth objective)  Increase the number of acts by 10 percent (event growth objective)

 Increase the perentage of seats sold in all ticketed events to 80 percent in 2011 (efficiency

objective)

 Retain 90 percent of sponsors for 2011 (effectiveness objective)

 Increase publicity generated in print and electronic media by a further 10 percent for 2011

(efficiency objective) .

Choosing generic marketing strategies and tactics for festivals and events

First, Porter (1998) suggests most organizations have a choice of differentiation, focus or cost leadership trategies. For the event marketer, decisions on these strategies are based on whether the aim is for the event to hold a leadership position in a region or city’s leisure market or to have a narrower, yet well-defined market scope.

Other marketing strategy options arise from the ovrall event strategies of intensive growth, integration and diversification.

Selecting the event’s ‘services marketing’ mix (10Ps )

While each element is of considerale strategic and planning importance, it is relatively easy to group them, as shown as follows:

 the event product experience (the core service), its programming (different event components,

their quality or style) and its packing ( a mix of opportunities within the event or marketing of the event wit other external attractions, accommodation and transport to the event )

 the place (where the event is held and how its tickets are distributed ), its physical setting (the

venue layout relative to consumer needs) and on-site event processes (queuing and so on )  people (cast, audience, hosts and guests) and partnerships (stakeholders such as sponsors and

media)

 price, or the exchange of value to experience the event

 promotion or integrated marketing communication (media and messages employed to build

relationships with the event markets and audiences) (Getz 1997).

 Planning festival and event ‘product’ experiences

The ‘product’ of an event is the set of intangible leisure experiences and tangible goods designed to satisfy the needs of the event market. The development of an event or festival can be easily modelled on the processes used to plan, create and deliver services as shown in the following figure.

Corporate objectives and resources Market opportunity analysis Resource allocation analysis Service Operations Geographic scope ·Area served ·Single versus multi-site Customer facilities ·Location ·Communication links Scheduling ·Hours of event ·Continous versus intermittent ·Frequency of intermittent events Physical resource deployment ·What tasks ·When ·Where Extent of participation of customers in event experience Allocation of tasks Event experience delivery process Strategy selection ·Degree of customisation ·Human resources deployment Positioning proposition ·Product elements ·Distinguishing characteristics ·Target market Customer benefits ·Core benefit ·Tangible elements ·Augmented product Costs ·Money ·Time ·Mental effort ·Physcial effort The process of creating an event ‘product’

Chapter 8: Sponsorship of Festivals and Special Events

 Evolution of sponsorship

Application on festivals & special events after 1984 Peak Renaissance

Rapidly development 14C—15C

Concept

Origined in 13C

 What is sponsorship?

Sponsorship has become a critical elements in the integrated marketig communication mix of many private and public secotor organizations.

Sponsorship is said to be one of the most powerful media now used to communicate and form relationships with stakeholders and target markets. (Grey and Skildum-Reid 2003)

‘connecting with’

organization

consumer

‘talking at’

IEG defines sponsorship as ‘a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property(typically a sports, entertainment, event, or organization) in return for the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property’ (in Cornwell et al. 2005).

102

44

10.2

13.4

2003

Global sponsorship spending ($billion)

2006

2009

2014

Creating a successful event that can generate cash or contra from sponsors means establishing a

reciprocal relationsip between the organization providing the sponsorship and the event. However, it also means an emotional connection must be made with those consumers targeted by both the event and its sponsors. This three-way relationship that underpins the success of sponsorship is illustrated in the following figure. Sponsors use events to emotionally tie their product or service to a market segment that identifies with the event and consequently identifies with the sponsor’s product.

Event sponsor Event property

Event

The trinity of sponsor,event and audinces audience

Source: Adapted from Fit sponsorship, www.fitsponsorship.com

 Trends influencing the growth of spinsorship

Characteristics of festivals & special events

Company’s business needs

Changes in marketing Media reform

Consumers’ attitude about traditional AD Proliferation of brands,products & services

 Sponsorship benefits for events and spnsors

EventSeeks:Business Seeks: financial investmentin-kind servicesmarketing and media expertiseevent brand enhancementproduct and service offersfor event goers.increased brand awaeeness brand image enhancement product trail/service expourse sales or hospitality opportunities market interactivity. Exchange relationship in event sponsorship How events can benefit from sponsorship

Event manager should ask these questions before seeking sponsorship as a revenue stream:

 Does the event have sufficient rights or benefits that can be offered to sponsors?  Are the events’ stakeholder likely to approve of commercial sponsorship?  Is the target market of he event congruent with the target market of the sponsor?  Are there some companies that are simply not suitable as sponsors?

 Does the event have the resources and skills to market and manage sponsorship?

Sponsors’ benefits － links with the consumer response

sponsor Process Consumer response Intensity of goodwill towards event sponsor Sponsor’s brand -cations Generic activity Category (arts or Sports) Sponsor Individual awareness event Favourable Transfer disposition of image values Intent to purchase sponsor’s brand Actual purchase of sponsor’s brand communi (sponsorship) Intensity of event consumer’s involvement The sponsorship effects process Source: Adapted from Meenaghan 2001a, p.115.



         

Benefits of evevnt and festival sponsorship gained by sponsors are: Access to specific niche/target markets.

Corporate brand image creation/enhancement.

Building brand awareness for an organization and its services/products. Influencing consumer attitudes about a product or service brand. Associating a product or service with a particular lifestyle. Improving relationships with distribution channel members. Achieving product sales and merchandising opportunities. Demonstrating product attributes.

Providing employee rewaards and recognition.

Creating goodwill and a climate of consent for an organization’s activities. Entertaining key clients with coroprate hospitality.