FUNDAMENTALS OF EVENT MANAGEMENT AND PROMOTION What are Events?
Events can include: exhibitions & f airs, social events, marathons, pushkar mela, conferences, launches, etc. Why Events?
Increase in leisure time and spending power had led to the proliferation of: events, celebrations and entertainment. Making anything a big affair generates the concept of EVENTS. Government now supports and promotes events as part of their strategies for: -
Economic development
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Nation Building
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And destination marketing
The events have emerged as an industry in their own right. Brand Ambassadors - Indians started becoming brand ambassadors for foreign products, due to which foreign product started being launched in India. What is Event Management?
Every time you saw a program like ‘film fare’ awards or those pop concerts and beauty pageants, you would have wondered how people managed to set up such brilliant shows. Every tiny detail from your entering the venue to your going out is a result of vigorous planning. Events mean big money, but it involves lots of discipline and meticulous planning. Event management involves studying the intricacies of the brand identifying the -
Target audience
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Devising the event concept
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Planning the logistics
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And coordinating the technical aspects. (lighting, sound, audio, visual, etc)
The recent growth of the festivals and events as an industry around the world means that the management can no longer be ad hoc. (ad hoc – person managing a specific work) Some examples of famous events:
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Pushkar mela
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Global village
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IPL
WRITING AN EVENT PROPOSAL
It is important to write an event proposal before planning an event.
A proposal is an FIR, a starting point of an effective plan.
The more detailed a proposal, the easier the planning, the more successful an event.
Successful event : Planning, Expertise and time
A proposal should include the following:
Sponsors
Event contact and complete contact information (include full name, phone number and email address of the contact for the event, list only one or two people to contact because information is going through less people and you are less likely to miss important pieces of information)
Event title and description (list of all planned activities, proposed date, time and location)
Event purpose (what need will this event f ulfill)
Publicity plans
Logistics (how many people will be there, setup)
Activities, grounds, etc. (include a diagram. Some activities require permit from the government)
Evaluation method (we should get some sort o f feedback)
Financial information (activity costs, food, decors, facilities, ground costs, publicity costs, transport, etc)
MANAGING PEOPLE
Understanding Behaviour -
Natural instinctive behaviour is not always appropriate.
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Make an effort to produce effective team work.
Encouraging Constructiveness -
Encourage constructive attitudes in people more effectively by Rewards and by always approving of their good conduct and positive contributions.
Natural Behaviour -
Appropriate Behaviour
Reacting emotionally when information Is received. Avoiding risks through fear or insecurity.
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Fighting fiercely & defensively when under threat. Making snap judgments on people & events. Spreading gossip throughout the organization.
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Establishing the facts using a pragmatic approach. Taking risks in an entrepreneurial fashion. Forming collegiate, collaborative & combative. Insisting on detailed analysis before judgment. Practicing totally open communication.
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Competing for status and its symbol. Dwelling on past successes. Feeling more comfortable in small factions. Always seeking hierarchical superiority.
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Recognizing achievements not status. Learning from mistakes. Choosing to work in co- operative groups. Operating within flat, non- hierarchical structures.
Building confidence:
Reducing insecurity – everybody needs to be told that they are performing well and those they are respected for both what they are, what they have done, and what they are doing. Praise is a very effective, way of improving confidence, but be sure that it is deserved.
Encouraging ability – lack of confidence often hold people from seeking out new challenges at work. Encourage staff to believe in their own abilities by giving them additional tasks.
Eliminating fear – drive out fear and you will find that trust, optimism and kindness are much of effective.
Enabling participation – confidence in the work place stems from true participation in the work. This can happen when employees share information and therefore have a real influence over what is actually happening.
Communicating clearly – sometimes highly organized, sometimes haphazard communication happens all the time. Improve its quality by being open, honest and accessible to everybody.
Planning Process:
Planning is the process by which the organizer looks towards the event to discover what various courses of action are available to arrange it, and which course of action would be the best. Being new in the business means the plan to start with, may be no more than a vague hunch or an organizers intuition about what might be appropriate. However, this can be worked up very quickly into something useful and relevant. The objectives have to be carefully thought through clear to ensure that the purpose of event is obvious to all in those involved. The clarity has to trickle down from the chair of the organizing team. Clarity at the beginning also helps the planning process and helps everyone to pull in the same direct ion. Event Objectives:
Good objectives are SMART, SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, REALISTIC and TIME – BASED.
Identify the hazards and associated risks that a jurisdiction must address when planning for any event.
Describe the importance of pre – event planning and determine who should be included on the planning team.
Identify key steps in planning a special event.
Identify strategies for successfully planning an event.
List the key issues to be considered during the pre – event planning process.
Importance of Planning:
Before scheduling an event, planners should co nsider the:
Scope of the event
Risks to spectators and participants
Impact on the community
Emergency support needed
Permitting required
The Planning Team:
Multidisciplinary approach:
A sense of ownership
Greater access to resources
Forming cooperative relationships
Team Members:
Emergency management
Law enforcement
Fire and rescue
Public works / Utilities
Public health
Transportation authority
Activity:
Break into small groups
Each group assigned a category
Brain storm a list of organization, agencies or people needed for your event planning team
discussion
Planning Considerations:
Initial planning team meeting
Develop a mission statement
Develop event objectives
Determine the necessary components of the public safety plan.
Initial plan team meeting , meeting team considerations: the promoters or sponsoring organizations purpose and experience.
Mission statement:
Questions to answer –
What is the purpose of the special event
What are we doing to address the purpose
What benefits or values will result from the event
How will public health and safety be protected
Issues to consider: Common special issues related to pre – event planning include –
The permit approval process
Legal issues
Liability issues
Political issues
Economic issues
Attendee issues
Promoters or sponsors:
Involve promoters and sponsors in all phases from the beginning
Ensure that promoters first priority is public safety
Community cooperation:
1. Mutual aid – agencies or team can pool resources and share. Agencies can set up programs with neighboring communities 2. Public private partnerships
Contractual agreement between public agency and a corporation
Each party shares services and facilities for the use of the general public.
Local Agencies:
Always include the following agencies community in pre – event planning:
Organizations and agencies representing the disabled
Emergency services and public safety agencies
Health agencies and medical community representatives
Legal council
Local emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs)
Public works agencies and utility companies
Purchasing and procurement agencies
Local Leaders:
City Manager
Community relations officials
Emergency services officials
Elected officials
Legal issues:
Promoters should consider:
Injuries
Acts or omissions
Costs incurred in responding to major emergencies occasioned by the event.
Effects of the event on normal emergency operations.
Finding venue for an event:
The most important aspects of a successful event is finding a venue for it. Following factors can help in short listing a venue for an event:
Range of potential venues available.
Items of equipment, resources, personnel and visitors can get to the venue easily. In some cases an event organizer might know exactly which venue to choose but in some cases the choice of venue maybe extremely limited, especially in rur al areas.
The few questions that an organizer will normally ask will be,
What location is required
What are the venues available within that location
And the type of audience for the event will form the judgment about the venue
Site visits are useful, but organizers need to have a reasonable idea of event requirements before visiting venues. Visits should be arranged via venue managers, or for larger sites, the venue sales team.
First impressions are important
What can be heard? Is it quite, noisy, under a flight path, does it have good aco ustics.
What does it smell like? Is it neutral, does it smell of stale food?
Does it have gardens
Try to make sure you see all the areas your visitors will use
Objectives of an event in relation to venue
What factors are critical to the success of the event in relation to the venue?
Does this venue satisfy these factors?
Site inspection: venue environment and location, venue faci lities and services.
Is the scale plan of the venue available?
Checklist
Event: date, address, event contact. Objective of event (in relation to venue):
What factors are critical to the success of the event?
Does this venue satisfy these factors?
Site inspection
Venue facilities and services.
Is the scale plan of the venue available.
What is Logistics?
Logistics is the time related positioning of resources to meet user r equirement where resources may be transport, storage, or information. Logistics is generally being used to operate the supply chain to satisfy the customers. Elements of Event Logistics:
The various elements can be organized into a system and this system is used for logistics and elements: Supply of customer:
Marketing
Ticketing
Queuing
Transport
Supply of product:
Transport
Accommodation
Artistic needs
Supply of facilities:
Security
Power
Water
Contractors
Event Site Logistics:
Flow of audience, artists and equipment around the site
Communication
Amenities (desirable feature of the place)
VIP and media requirements
Emergency procedures
Event shutdown:
Removal
Clearing
Contract
Supply:
This is divided into 3 areas of:
Customer, Product and Facilities
Supply also includes the procurement of goods and services
Transport:
The transport of goods and services can be a major cost to an event and requires special consideration. Linking:
Logistics is part of overall planning of an event and is l inked to all other areas. With large multi – venue events the logistics becomes so complex that an operations and logistics manager is often appointed. The logistics manager functions as part of the overall network management. Flow Control:
Flow control is the flow of Products, services and customers during the event. Information Network:
The efficient flow of information during the event is generally a result of effi cient planning of information network. Logistics play a large role in different types of events including ones that have:
Large international component, such as major sporting events
Complex events in foreign countries such as trade exhibitions and conferences
Events that occur in remote locations and need most of supporting resources transported to the site
Exhibitions of large or complex products, such as mining or agricultural exhibitions
Events that are moving, such as travelling exhibitions and races
Event Coordination and Control:
After planning of an event, the central function of management is controlling. Without a management system, such as project management, control becomes impossible. The event budget is perhaps the most important control plan. What is Control?
Control consists of making sure that what happens in an organization is supposed to happen. The control of an event can range from the event manager simply walking the site and discussing daily progress with staff, to implement and monitor a detailed plan of reports, responsibilities and budgets.
Events planning can be effective only if the execution of the plan is carefully controlled. To do this, it is necessary to develop proper control mechanisms. Control affects every element of the management of events. Control can be identified by 2 categories:
1. Information Processing: This is necessary for all planning. When it is goal directed, it allows the continual comparison of an organization’s stated goals against reality.
2. Reciprocal communication or feedback: There must be a constant interchange between the controller and the areas to be controlled. These activities depend on an effective communication system. Elements and categories of Control:
The process of control involves establishing standards of performance and ensuring that they are realized. This can be done in three steps: 1. Establishing standards of performance
This can come from several sources including:
Standard practices within the event management industry
Guidelines supplied by the board of management of the event
Specific requirement of the client and sponsors
Audience or guest expectations
Standards must be measureable
2. Identifying Deviations from standard of performance
This is done by measuring current performance and comparing it with the established standards. Since the budget is expressed in measurable terms, it provides an important method o f highlighting areas that are deviating from the plan and require attention. 3. Correcting deviations
Any performance that does not meet the established standards must be corrected. This can entail the use of many types of problem – solving strategies, including renegotiating contracts and delegating. Control Methods:
Some of the control methods used in events are very straight forward, while others can be complex and require a high level of financial reporting skills and all aim to highlight areas that have deviated from plan and management needs to take action.
