Event-Management its components and types.ppt

Introduction to Event
Management
• The Aim of this course is to assist u in ur
training to become an event manager of
highest caliber.
•Many of us have observed events, most of us
have even participated in events, but few have
managed events.
•As an event manager, u r there to do a far
more than to just observe the event.

WHAT IS AN EVENT?
• An event could be a large gathering of
people, audiences, groups etc for a
specific purpose or goal.
• Events are often a “ once in lifetime”
experience for many.
• Finally, one of the most important thing abt
an event is that it is always backed by
some bodies DREAMS.

John Lennon, wasn’t so generous abt his comment
on the Summer Music Fest at Atlanta, He said “
the songs of all the gangs (bands) were also good
but the organizers stole the show,” feb,06,1974
• The preceding example focus on the
importance of sound management & the
complexities of organizing an event of
such category.
• Now we all should move on to the next
level of classifying & describing events
according to:

Events as per SIZE
• MEGA EVENTS
These are the lifetime opportunities for both the
participants & the audiences.
They are generally expensive to stage.
They require careful & long planning.
They usually take place once in a year.
They carry high level of risk, including financial
risk & safety risk.
There is often a lot at stake for those involved,
from the organizers view point.

• Although the size of the mega event in
terms of expenditure, sponsorship,
economic impact, and world wide
audience would undoubtedly put in the
category of mega events, it is worth
comparing its size with, for example, “The
Maha Kumbh Mela” ( Great Urn Fair )
which has the largest gathering in the
history, it has arguably the largest
gathering of humanity ever for a single
event.

Regional Events
• These are designed to increase the appeal
of a specific tourism destination or region.
• FAN fair, the world’s biggest country music
festival, held annually in Nashville, the
Kentucky Derby & the Memphis art festival
are all examples of tourist destinations
achieving market positioning for both
domestic and international tourism
markets through their annual events.

Major Events
• These r designed to attract significant local
interest & large number of participants, as well
as generating significant revenue.
• For ex: Chinese New year celebrations r
celebrated at many cities just to make sure other
places are brought to notice & can also make
revenue.
• Most cities have a large convention centers to
hold a large gathering,trade shows,
conferences.
• A unique moment in time celebrated with
ceremony and ritual to satisfy specific needs.

Types of Events
• Sporting Events:
The United States recently hosted one of the
world’s largest sporting event, the 2009 Winter
Olympics, & the success can be attributed only
to a management team,who despite a rocky
start, laced with controversy, knew how to pull
off such an extravaganza.
Sporting events r held in all towns, cities,states,
through out the nation. They attract international
sports men & women at the highest level.
Tennis,golf,baseball,football,basketball, car rasing
r just a few examples in the lead.

• These major events are matched at the
local level by sporting competitions for
players at all levels.
• For ex: Pro Am,held annually at most golf
courses,allows members to play with
professional golfers. This event is usually
the highlight of the golfing calander &
requires considerable efforts from the
event team for support it in all manners.

Entertainment, Art & Culture
• These events are very popular & well known for
their ability to attract large audiences.
• In some cases, the concerts are extremely
viable from a financial point of view, in others,
financial problems can quickly escalate when
ticket sales do not reach targets.
• Timing and ticket pricing are critical to the
financial success of such events.
• In India, around 19.7 millions are spent only on
organizing of these events.

Commercial Marketing &
Promotional Events
• Promotional events tend to have high budgets &
high profiles.
• Most frequently they involve product launches,
often fro computer hardware or software, motor
cars, fashion products.
• The aim of promotional events is generally to
differentiate the product from its competitors & to
ensure that it is memorable.
• The audience for a promotional activity might be
sales staff, who would ultimately promote the
product to the prospective buyers.

Meetings & Exhibitions
• The meetings and conventions industry is highly
competitive. Many conventions attract thousands
of people, where as some meetings include only
a handful of high profile participants.
• FESTIVALS
• Wine & food festivals r increasingly popular,
providing a particular region the opportunity to
showcase its products. Many wine producing
regions of France hold festivals in combination
with musical events such as Portland Jazz
Festival.

Family Functions
• Wedding, anniversaries and nowadays, divorces
and funerals all provide opportunities for families
to have a get together.
• It is important for the event manager to keep
track of these changing social trends.
• For ex: Asian tourism are a big market for the
wedding industries, with many celebrities
coming down to India to have solemnization with
Vedic Mantras.

Fundraising Events
• Faris, which are common in most
communities, are frequently run by
enthusiastic local communities.
• The efforts and the organization required
for the events are often underestimated.
• As there general aim is raising funds, so
the activities should be of such a nature
which help in increasing the gains rather
than reducing the return.

• It has to be said that the most common
events are community related and that
they are run on a fairly small scale with
voluntary support and sponsorship. These
events provide the potential event
manager with invaluable experience, as
well as the opportunity to contribute to
their community.
• Every event has a purpose, and the theme
is generally linked to the purpose.
• Analysis of even the smallest event can be
very valuable for having to prepare for the
big show.

The event Team
• An event manager is generally supported by a
team that grows enormously as the event draws
near.
• A planning team of 12 that works together for a
year can explode into a team of five hundred in
a short period of time.
• Now the question arises that who all the event
manager will be working with. There will be
many but the most important of all will be the
Contractors.

• Having just mentioned contractors, it is
important to note that the event manager
typically works with a number of contractors.
• The team comprises mainly of:
1. Venue manager
2. Stage manager
3. Lighting, audio & video companies
4. Decorators and florist
5. Entertainers
6. Rental companies
7. Security companies
8. Ticketing operations

• For some events, the manager is also
required to work in liaison with government
agencies at a range of levels,from local
government through to federal
government.
• Code of Ethics:
As with all modern professions, the
presence of a code of ethics can enhance
the reputations of those involved and can
assist customers to feel confident in their
choice of event manager, supplies, or
contractors.

Concept and Design
• Objective:
1. Establish the purpose of an event
2. Develop a theme & décor that is consistent
with the purpose
3. Analyze the needs of the event audience
4. Review financial & other recourses
5. Identify an appropriate venue to suit the
purpose of an event
6. Establish the timing and duration of an event
7. Review the logistical requirements of an event

Developing the Concept
• There are numerous elements that needs to be
considered in developing an event concept.
They include the purpose of the event, the event
theme, the venue, the audience, available
resources, the timing of the event, and the skills
of the team.
• The most important of these elements is the
purpose, although the purpose is strongly linked
to the theme and the venue.

Purpose of the Event
• The purpose of the event should drive all the
planning. For ex: if you are running a
conference for financial planners, there could
be two quite different purpose:
1. To facilitate an exchange of information,
bringing participants up-to-date with the latest
changes in financial planning software
products.
2. To achieve a memorable out-of-body
experience for financial planners in order to
develop a positive association with a new
software product.

• Although for many events the main
purpose is making a profit, for many it is
not. The Bix memorial jazz festival held in
Devenport, Iowa, has been an annual
event for over thirty years, Its purpose is to
keep alive the memory and musical
accomplishments of the city’s native
son,Bix, who was a pianist & a composer.
This festival is an excellent example of an
event with a Community service.

Theme of the Event
• The theme of the event should be linked to the
purpose. Moreover, it should be completely
compatible with guest needs and consistent in
all respects.
• Most events adopt a color scheme that is
repeated in all items produced for the event,
such as ticket, programs, uniforms, décor,
poster.
• This technique helps attendees to identify with
the theme.

• There are endless number of potential
themes, limited only by your imagination
and the size of the customer’s pocket.
• Some ex:
1. Historical
2. Geographical and cultural
3. Sporting
4. Film, music, entertainment
5. Artistic
6. Food
7. Objects ( i.e. flowers, animals, boats )

• When coming up with ideas for a theme, it is
important to consider the range of suitable
venues available, keeping in mind the
constraints of budget and other considerations.
• VENUE FOR THE EVENT
• The event manager needs to carefully consider
the planning implications of choosing an unusual
venue in preference to a standard venue
requiring decoration only to match the theme.
• Lighting, sound, and catering also provide
challenges in usual settings. This treatment will
become more evident with few examples of
unusual venues but yet attractive:

• Demolition site
• Parking lot
• Tunnel
• Museum
• Research facility
• Amusement park
• Orchard
• Vineyards
• Aquarium

• When considering the choice of venue, the
event organizer needs to look at a number of
factors:
1. Potential to fulfill the purpose of event
2. Ambience
3. Location
4. Access by public transportation
5. Parking
6. Seating Capacity
7. Cost of decoration, sound & Lighting
8. Cost of Man- power
9. Food & Beverage facility
10. Safety

Timing of the event
• Linked to weather or season
• Four time related factors:
1. Season, 2.Day of the week, 3.Time of
the day, 4. Duration
Events planned too close to holidays &
other community functions may have a
poor attendance.

Analyzing the Event Concept
1. Competition: involves looking at the timing of
other events, even if they are un-related
People have limited disposable income,
festivals and events tend to be non essential
items in most family and tourist budgets.
2. Regulation: A wide range of laws have an
impact, Parking, traffic, neighborhood impact in
terms of timing and noise require liaison with
government.

3. Marketing: How to sell, most important
question?
Should we advertise months beforehand,
or the week before?
Will the audience turn up on the day?
How can u encourage them to do so?
What medium should be used to advertise
the event?
Should we sell the tickets in advance?
These are some questions one should be
clear before hitting on to the dance floor.

CASE STUDY
A group of university students decided to hold a
Rock Concert in the mountains in June and
advertised the concert on the internet. Three
bands attended the three day concert, and there
was 24 hours music. One young girl described
the entire situation a living hell, “the dance area
was in the valley and to get a drink of water u
had to climb a steep hill. Even then, the water
was dirty and brown. The restroom were so far
away that nobody bothered to use them. The
music pounded all night and the floor in the
cabin we were in vibrated so you couldn’t sleep.

My friend got sick and there was no medical help.
The organizers did not had a clue abt any thing.
They just wanted to make a fast buck.
List three ways in which the organizers were
negligent?
List three ways by which the event could have
been improved?
This event was described as a cultural event to the
authorities. Do u think it belongs to that
category?
As an event manager what suggestions you would
give to have the same event in your control?

Certain Relevant Questions???
1. Is the event a good idea?
2. Do we have the skills?
3. Is the host community supporting?
4. Can we get a venue at a price we can
afford?
5. Will the event attract an audience?
6. Will the event attract Media support?
7. Is the event financially viable?
8. Are there any parameters being
developed to judge the success?

What are the Risks?
The final question to ask………Coz failure
& fuss comes together my friend……..
Possible threats could be:
• Heavy weather, wind / rain
• Flooding
• Fire
• Collapse of buildings or temporary
structure
• Accident involving workers
• Crowd Control
• Security of participants and VIP’s

• Food poisoning
• Break down in water / power supply
Best remedy of risk……
SWOT Analysis…..Knowing yourself better
1. Strength
2. Weaknesses
3. Opportunities
4. Threats

Legal Compliance
• Laws and regulations have an impact on
events.
• Identify the bodies from whom the
approval is required.
• Identify insurance and other fees which
are applicable
• The fulfillment of contracts b/w organizers
and other parties.

Diff. Acts and regulation
• Local government Acts and regulation
• Business registration
• Entertainment industry Legislation
• Music copyright
• Liquor Licensing
• Federal trade Commission, Act
• Clean Air Act
• Noise Control
• Clean water Act

Marketing
• Marketing is important coz it attracts
audiences
NATURE OF EVENT MARKETING
1. Intangibility( Fun , entertainment,
information)
2. Inseparability
3. Variability

Process of event marketing
1. Establish the features of the product
2. Identify customer
3. Plan to meet audience needs
4. Analyze consumer decision making
processes
5. Establish price and ticket program
6. Promote the event
7. Evaluate marketing efforts

Establish the features of the
product
• Each event offers a range of potential
benefits to the event audiences, could be:
• A novel experience
• Entertainment
• A learning experience
• An exciting result
• An opportunity to meet others
• A chance to purchase items
• An inexpensive way to get out of the

Sponsorship
• This is one of the most common funding
sources for staging an event.
• Approves for increased profile and sale of
products.
• For ex: a newspaper sponsor could
provide free space for the advertisement.
• Essentially, the sponsor identifies the
potential of the event, mainly through the
use of logo, and expects the return on
investment.

There are number of questions to ask before
approaching a potential Sponsor
• What are the benefits?
• How long will the association last?
• How much exposure will the sponsor
achieve?
• Will the sponsorship be exclusive?
• Is there compatibility?
• Will there be ambush marketing?

Promoting the Event
• Plan the promotional strategy
• Develop a logo or a brand for the event
• Introduce the advertising material & place
them appropriately
• Manage publicity, and public relation

Financial Management
Develop an event budget, including income
& expenditures
Identify break-even point in order to make
pricing decisions
Manage cash flow
Prepare a profit and loss a/c & a balance
sheet
Develop control system on handling of cash

10 min Brainstorming
• Furnish a University tour event in order to
put forward a student life for the newly
selected.
• Make use of your own personal
experience as a parameter to reach a final
decision.

Image / Branding
• First step, develop a name, logo, & image
• It includes color scheme & use of graphics
• Should appear on all material ranging from
tickets to every thing
• Image and logo when put together can be
called as Branding.
• Find areas to use these brandings, could
be on T- shirts, hats, hand bags etc.

Advertising
• It is the second element of promotional
strategy, may include:
• Print
• Radio
• Television
• Direct mail
• Billboards
• Brochures
• Internet

Publicity
• A very miss understood word, literal
meaning “ Tell the world around that even
you exist.”
• First question: “ What makes this event
newsworthy,”
• Media is used to bend, stretch, differ with
law but should speak GOOD abt the
event.

Public Relation
• Event is organized for “ Public “, then how
can neglect the people.
• Develop & Manage relation with the crowd
with the help of Media,
• Be flexible in your response to their
behavior
• Informative and helpful as a host
• Remember, it is all having a good time
together.

Financial Management
1. Is the Aim to make profit?
2. How much the event cost?
3. What are the revenue sources?
4. How many tickets must be sold to break
even?
5. What control systems are needed to
avoid fraud ?
6. How will Legal & Taxation obligations be
met?

The Budget
• Preparing a budget is part of initial
planning,
• It is a plan based on accurate quotes from
all contractors, provides guidelines for
better handling of cash( $ ) and
expenditure.
• Helps in clearing all management fees

PANIC PAYMENTS
• Adapts Murphy’s Law within the event—
”That some thing will go wrong at the 11th
hour.”
• The closer you go to the scheduled date,
last min. crisis will crop up,
• Essentially the supplier has the event
manager over a barrel.
• Careful planning & detailed contract can
curb the problem in the first stage.

RISK MANAGEMENT
1. Risk --- Situation where something will go
wrong.
2. Often misjudged in terms of safety &
security, but could also include: cash flow
crisis, staff strike, poor publicity & of
course, GOD’s will.

TYPES OF RISK
• Natural Disaster
• Financial risk
• Legal risk
• Technology related risk
• Mismanagement
• Safety & Security risk
• Risk at Sporting events
• Man made risks

Process of Risk Management
• It involves a three step process:
1. Identify risks and hazards
2. Assess the risk and hazards.
3. Manage the risk and hazards.

A little in Detail
• Identify the Risk & Hazards---
1. Fire
2.Plant & Equipment
3.Hazardous Substance
4.Electrical equipment
5.Stacking of unbalanced heavy items
6.Temporary fencing, staging, seating
7.Moving vehicles.

Assessing the Risk & Hazards
• The following questions must be asked:
• What is the likelihood of this risk
happening?
• Who will be exposed to the risk?
• What impact has this risk had in similar
circumstances ?
• How will people react to this risk ?

Managing the Risks
1. Elimination plans to eliminate the risk
altogether ( covered walking space)
2. Substitution plans known as PLAN B
3. Administrative controls
4. Contingency plans such as evacuation
plans.

Tools for Promotion
• Advertising
• Public Relations
• Direct marketing
• Word of mouth
• Hospitality
• Advertising

Advertising
• It is the controlled method of communicating the
message. The event manager can manipulate the
message. It includes the following:
• Give-Away : Leaflets, Posters, Brochures
• Radio : Commercial, Community, National
• Internet : Web Sites, Radio
• Television : Cable, Free To Air, Satellite
• Press : Newspapers, Magazines
• Non-Media Alternatives: Outdoor Advertising, Street
Banners, Aerial, Innovative
• It can be done by the event manager or, if the event and
promotional campaign is too big, by an appointed
advertising agency.

Public Relations
• The PR campaign is a plan to gain maximum
positive publicity for the event. For an
entrepreneurial event it would include:
• Data collection:
– Preparing a media list of suitable targeted media
– preparing a contact list and club list such as
politicians, interested people and opinion leaders -
often called media talent - who can be called on to
make suitable comments or actions which promote
the event.
• List ideas for continuous exposure such as
interesting media ready stories, competitions,
public appearances, stunts, speeches etc.

PR Contd…
• Depending on the size and complexity of
the event, the PR strategy can range from
organizing a media launch and handing
out a press kit to just sending a out a one
page media release to selected media.
News releases can be staggered over the
planning period to generate increased
interest in the event.

Tips on Writing a News Release
• Make sure it is released at the right time for it to be
picked up by the media.
• Make it clear and concise with the main features at the
very beginning of the release.
• Put who, what, when, why and where in it.
• Have all contact details in it and the date.
• Use liftable quotes.
• Pitch it at the correct level: who will write the story and
who will read it.
• Identify any media talent associated with the event and
give their contact details.
• Make sure all the spelling is correct – particularly
sponsors and main participants.

Direct Marketing
• This is delivering the promotional message straight to
the interested individual.
• The basis of direct marketing is the establishment of a
data bank and a strategy to best reach those individuals.
• The mail out is the most common traditional method.
• The database can be created from previous events
through competitions, guest books, inquiries, point of
sale information or just by asking the participants if they
would like to receive information on other similar events.
Example: The effectiveness of direct marketing can be seen in the Port
Fairy Festival in southern Victoria. The Festival has an overall budget
of half a million and only spends $6,000 on their promotion. Each
person who comes to the festival is given the first rights to buy a ticket.
The tickets are sold out five months before the festival begins.

Websites
• The latest and increasingly popular method of promoting
an event is to create a web site.
• The advantage is that the site can also capture enquiries
and be a point of sale for tickets.
• The current movement towards virtual reality sites can
give the potential attendee a view of the event.
• The site can give real information, such as the program
and map.
• Used in conjunction with a other elements of the PR
campaign, a web site can be used to distribute photos
and press releases. It transfers the some of the cost to
the customer.

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH TRADITIONAL MEDIA
• Too many advertisements have led to a cluttering on T.V, print and
other media. This has given rise to a need for avenues, which
provide exclusivity to the sponsor while not sacrificing the benefits of
reach and impact.
• The increasing no. of TV channels and the greater no. of programs
have led to fragmentation of the viewer-ship. Hence, the need for
narrow-casting of campaigns to the sharply defined target audience.
• Proliferation of low intensity television viewers who view a little of
each channel leads to the need for capturing the full attention of the
target audience.
• Media cost inflation – Due to rising inflation which has been eroding
the advertising budget, advertisers are demanding the beat return
from every ad-rupee spent. Media planning has become more
complex and therefore the need for increase the effectiveness in
terms of tangible impact which can be instantly evaluated has risen.
• Proliferation of various media channels, therefore the requirement
for intelligent media buying.

RELATION BETWEEN EVENT MARKETING
AND THE 5PS
• The five Ps of marketing: product, place, people, price
and promotion play an essential role in Event Marketing.
• To successfully use Event Marketing the marketer must
understand how Event Marketing fits together with the
other parts of the marketing strategy.
• Kotler describes the organization’s marketing mix as
controllable variables that are mixed so that the
organization gets the response that they are asking for
from the target market.
• Event Marketing is not a substitute for any of the other
components- it is a complement. It takes an imaginative
mix of all the communication tools available to extend
the impact of the event.

Contd….
• If an organization uses Event Marketing, they still need to use the
other parts of the promotion mix before, during, and after the event.
An example of this could be how a car producer can have advertisements to
inform about a new car launch, and then use events to get people to test drive
the new car, and then follow up with direct marketing with a discount coupon.
One of the main advantages with Event Marketing compared to the other
channels is that the objective can both be direct sales, and image building,
depending on how it is used.

Events planning – with 5 W’s Concept
We follow 5 Ws (i.e. Why, What, When, Where,
Who) principle to create an event plan
1. Why:
– Why means, why you want to organize the event i.e. event
objective.
– What do you want to get from the event? For e.g.: do you want to
organize the event to enhance your company’s brand image, to
increase company’s sales, to promote your clients
products/services or to promote a social cause etc.
– Defining event objectives at the very start of event planning is
very important as it gives you the direction in which you should
proceed to accomplish your objectives.
– Organizing an event without clear objectives is a huge waste of
both time and resources.

2. What
‘What’ means what you are going to do in the event i.e. what will be the:
– Event Name What will be the name of the event? For example: ‘BKK".
– Food and Beverage Menu It contains the list of food items and beverages
you will serve during the event to guests and target audience
– Guests Profile who will be your chief guest and other guests? Your guest list
must include organizers, sponsors, partners, clients and specially media
people. Use your imagination to create good titles to woo your guests. Like
Guest of honor, star guest etc. Never give special treatment to one particular
guest or guests group.
– Type of Entry Decide how will be the entry. Entry will be by ticket, pass or
invitation only.
– Entry fees What will be the entry fees? If you are going to charge entry fees,
then be prepared to pay entertainment tax. Your entry fees should be
according to your target audiences status. If you overcharge you won’t get any
audience.
– Promotional Campaign How you are going to promote your event,
organizers, sponsors, partners and clients: - pre-event, at-event and post-
event.
– Program Menu It is the list of various activities that will occur as a part of the
event.
– Event Budget to determine your event budget finds out what will be the cost
for producing and marketing the event.

3. When
When you are going to organize the event (i.e. date and time)? Keep
following things in mind while selecting date and time for the event:
1) Select date and time according to target audience convenience
and availability. For e.g.: don’t organize events during work days,
examination days or festival times. The best time to organize
events is during weekends like Saturday or Sunday.
2) 2) Make sure that your events date and time, don’t clash with
other events date and time specially bigger events date and time.
For e.g.: it is not a good idea to organize your music concert on a
day when there is Bon Jovi concert.
3) 3) Keep climatic conditions into mind while selecting date and time
for your event. It can be disastrous to organize event outdoor on a
day when the weather is stormy or heavy rain is expected. Here
you can take help of your own experience if you are familiar with
the climatic conditions of the region where you intend to organize
the event or you can take the help of the meteorological
department for the weather forecast. Find out how the weather will
be on the day of your event.

4. Where
– Where you are going to organize the event
(i.e. venue)? Check out the venue selection
tips.
5. Who
– Who will be your organizers, sponsors,
partners, clients and target audience?
– How many target audience you are expecting
to visit the event and why?
– You must have very good reason to this Why
as you will have to convince your prospective
organizers and sponsors that why particular
number of people will attend the event.

SWOT Analysis in Event Planning
Products/Services Research
If you are organizing a corporate event then it is necessary
for you as an event manager to do research of the
products/ services promoted and sold by your corporate
client.
• Find out how the company promotes its products
• How the company wants to build/enhance the image associated
with its product (also known as the brand image)?
• What is the market value and market share of the company and its
products?
• Who are the customers of the product?
• What are the features of the product?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of the product in
comparison to competitors products?
All this research will later help you in making an effecting
promotional campaign for your corporate event.

SWOT Analysis
It is a strategic planning tool which is used to identify and analyze the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in your
project. SWOT analysis can also be done on your organization.
Strengths: These are the attributes of your
project/organization which are helpful in achieving projects
objectives. For e.g.: experienced event team, high
motivation level, excellent PR, good market share etc.
Weaknesses: These are those attributes of your
project/organization which are harmful in achieving projects
objectives. For e.g.: social loafing, lack of funds,
inexperienced event team, low energy level, lack of media
and corporate contacts etc.

SWOT Analysis Contd…
Opportunities:
These are those external factors which are helpful in achieving the
projects objectives. For e.g.: little competition, favorable economic
conditions, support from the local authorities, availability of the state of
the art infrastructure etc.
Threats: These are those external factors which are harmful in
achieving the projects objectives. For e.g.: high competition, little or no
support from local authorities, bad weather, poor infrastructure, high lab
our rate, unavailability of raw material etc.
It is very important that you conduct SWOT analysis before
developing an event plan to develop a strategy which
maximizes the potential of strengths and opportunities of
your project and at the same time, minimizes the impact of
the weaknesses and threats.

5 C’s of Events
• Activities that are required for marketing and
managing the events, the steps needed to be
followed for successful accomplishment of
objective through events are known as the 5 C’s
of Events. It involves the following:
– Conceptualization of the creative idea and ambience
– Costing involves calculation of the cost of production
and safety margins
– Canvassing for sponsors, customers and networking
components
– Customization of the event according to brand
personality, budgets, etc.
– Carrying out involves execution of the events
according to the final concepts.

The Guide to Event Communication:
Strategy, Plan & Tools
• Have you ever considered integrating
important information rollouts into your
marketing campaigns?
• Have you decided on effective
communication strategies to engage your
attendees?
• From hashtags to hospitality, your event
communications and how they tie into your
marketing plan can mean everything in
terms of your event’s success.

Pre Event Activities
Communication Timeline
Your marketing agenda and communication schedule will be influenced
by deadlines for selling tickets, signing speakers, and/or deciding event
programs. Here are some general timeline rules to stick to when
planning your communication strategy:
• By 12 weeks (at least) before the event, you’ll want to announce the
event.
• Spend the next 10 weeks (or more) executing your marketing
campaign and working on a strategy for communicating necessary
information. Keep in mind that you won’t know all this information at
once; it will come to you gradually, and you’ll want to be strategic
about when you release it.
• You’ll need to keep your other organizing teams informed about your
communication strategy so they can send you information you might
not have shared otherwise.
• On the week of the event, communicate any and all vital information
and share directly with attendees.

Pre Event Activities Contd….
Important Details to Communicate
Communicating the following information, in this order, will help to
prevent unpleasant surprises for both your team as well as the
attendees:
• Speakers’/hosts’ names: Since your speakers and hosts are a
huge part of what draws attendees to your event, you’ll want to start
introducing speakers early on in your event communications. Include
on your speakers might be keynote titles, photos, and brief
introductory bios. You can also consider sharing their presentation
slides or any necessary handouts.
• Event agenda and activity: Attendees will need to know the event
agenda ahead of time to plan their event activities and make the
most of the day, which is especially important in a conference with
multiple sessions.

• Communication channels & necessary downloads: You need to decide
the communication channels to use to update your attendees and engage
them from the ticketing moment. It can be an event app, social media, event
website or emails. By considering your attendees demographics, select
effective ones and let attendees know how to access them. If you organize
business events, using a mobile event app is a trend nowadays. For
example, any mobile app (WHOVA) is a great tool for communicating
important information such as agenda, directions and logistics, sponsors,
slides, surveys/polling, etc., as well as social media outlets.
• Music/DJ: Your Emcee and DJ set the tone for your event. Help people get
acquainted with them beforehand.
• Food and drinks, at least one week out: This is helpful so that people know
whether they need to eat beforehand or bring food, especially if they have a
food allergy.
• Dress attire: Make sure all participants know how to dress for your event.
Business casual or flip-flop friendly?
• Weather: Outdoor events, transportation and even attire can depend
heavily on this crucial detail. You likely won’t know this information until less
than one week out.

Communication Tools
Now you know what to communicate and when. Knowing how to
communicate that information effectively is much more important,
though. Beyond merely announcing information, you should engage
attendees and get them involved in your event as much as possible.
Here is a checklist for you, from basic to advanced communication
tools.
1. Basics
• Event website creation: This will help anyone who is interested in
learning more about your event easily find updated information in
one spot. Potential attendees will most likely come to this page.
• Email marketing. Gather the emails of your past and current
attendees as well as your supporters to build a strong newsletter list.
Make sure to build a strong campaign to introduce and confirm any
headliners, venue changes, or special workshops that will take place
all while featuring your event’s page on the official website to
increase search engine optimization.

Communication Tools
2. Mobile event app
If you haven’t used an event app yet, you would be surprised how much a top-
notch event app can help you communicate with your attendees, going beyond
providing a mobile agenda and logistics.
It is important to select a right event app for you by considering the following
aspects:
• Push notification: Check whether it supports a push notification to allow
you to send announcements to attendees mobile devices as well as their
emails. It will be convenient to keep attendees updated and reminded
especially at an event day.
• Group chat: A good event app supports a group chat so that your team can
have internal discussions and sync-ups before or during the event. It will be
also useful for attendees to communicate with one another to arrange ride
sharing to your event, share information of local attractions, or discuss
topics your event is covering.
• Public bulletin board: If the app provides you with a bulletin board, you
can use it for lost & found, encourage vendors to post promotions or job
openings, engage attendees with timely updates on event activity, and
provide a place for them to communicate.

Communication Tools
2. Mobile event app
• Social media outlet: It will be convenient if your attendees can directly post
their experience in social media while staying in an event app.
• Live polling/survey: Live polling is not only for competition events but can be
used to get a headcount on session attendance for food/room arrangement,
develop event programs, engage attendees with thought-provoking questions,
etc.
• Attendee retention: Choose an event app that will keep your event on the
app after the event, and allow you and your attendees to continue using it for
post-event follow-ups. Just like email newsletters, have a communication
strategy on leveraging a mobile app to update your attendees with upcoming
events and increase attendee retention. Having a long-term communication
channel is important especially if you are trying to build a community.
• All-in-one management: Some event apps are provided together with other
marketing tools as an all-in-one management system. Using such a bundle
will be more cost-effective and save you time from managing multiple
systems.

Communication Tools
3. Social media
• Each social network serves as a different tool with a gauge for a unique
audience. Who are your attendees? If your event focuses on a younger
demographic, weaving an image-rich story of what to expect, your sponsors,
vendors, speakers and themes can build solid engagement through
Instagram, SnapChat etc. Tech-oriented audiences will be itching to share
their experience under your event hashtag on Twitter.
• Twitter: Regardless whether it is a business event or not, Twitter is a good
place where you will want to feature an up-to-date stream of what’s
happening, ask for feedback, answer any questions, share interesting
comments and engage more. You can acquaint followers with all speakers
and hosts’ official handles.
• Facebook: If your audiences are in Facebook, it is a good idea to set your
event as public to promote more invitations throughout the Facebook
community and moderate shared comments, photos and videos.
• Instagram: It is a great place to share high quality sneak peeks of speakers,
location and anything evocative of the event’s story. Be sure to utilize your
event hashtag here.

During the Event Activities
Remind core team members including your emcee and venue staff to share all
elements of the timeline, so everyone can be on the same page and have
plenty of time to prepare. This includes scheduling the opening tweets,
announcements or live polls through your event app, possibly the night before.
Regarding communication with your attendees, you will need to update
attendees with the following information.
• If you use an event app, you would like to get the most out of it. As the
event program and logistics are all easily accessible on the app, it is
important to let attendees know of it and download it ahead of time.
• Remind everyone of the event hashtag, along with promoting where to
share and engage across your social media channels.
• All breaks, meals, receptions, and other activities outside the venue should
be made clear via announcements, printed agendas and/or an event app.
• Share what’s going on with those who couldn’t attend. Post fascinating
photos, videos and quotes across social media, so your audience at large
can feel involved.

Revisit Your Communication Toolkit
We’ve already covered which tools to use and why, but once the event
begins, their significance and purpose can change.
• If you use a mobile survey, live polling, twitter wall, slide sharing,
etc., through your mobile event app, remind your attendees of this
during opening remarks. Check if your app can send out an
automatic or manual reminder via push notification and emails, as
Whova does.
• Be sure to schedule important posts for Twitter and Facebook ahead
of time, so organizers and volunteers can focus on capturing real-
time content and making sure everything runs smoothly.
• Why not up the ante with a selfie hotspot for attendees or an easy-
to-participate gamification like a photo contest?

Revisit Your Communication Toolkit
• Live-stream your event around the world. Snapchat, Meerkat or
Periscope? That’s entirely up to you, but there are pros and cons of
each live streaming app, so make sure you’re aware of any risks of
“reporting” live, functionality or any additional equipment you may
need on hand. Here is a checklist for you:
– Choose your location carefully (seat, angle, lighting… lack of zoom).
– Keep it professional, avoid handheld. Purchase a stand for your device
to enable crisp and clear pictures. It’s worth it.
– Avoid any confusion for viewers by keeping a banner with the event
name and information in the shot or having someone moderate the feed
by posting comments to inform the other viewers of what’s happening.
– Double check that your device has enough hard drive space available
and plenty of battery life. Even better, bring a charger.
– Let speakers and anyone within earshot know that you’re filming. No
need for anything inappropriate or distracting to occur.
– While you’ve already let folks know about the live stream before the
event, make sure to continue to do so. An extra tweet or two can invite
any stragglers to join in.

Post Event Activities
• Thank everyone involved and conclude the event. If you
use a photo slideshow, it is a good idea to display photos
taken by participants during the last day’s lunch or the
closing remarks.
• Did you collect attendees’ feedback from a live poll or a
mobile survey before/during the event? You can share
these results with attendees. For example, you can get
them to participate in deciding your next event’s location
through a live poll from an event app or emails (Whova
supports both), and share the results in real time.
• If you didn’t collect feedback through a mobile survey
during an event, it is not too late. You can still create a
survey (e.g. SurveyMonkey or Snap Surveys) and send
that out over email within 1 week.

Post Event Activities
• Take a moment to consider how you want folks to share their
experience afterwards and perhaps capture all their content into a
memorable photo album to include on event pages or a thank you
email. You can ask participants to share any other photos or reviews
(with the event hashtag) on social media. Their content is invaluable
and can be even more spectacular than your own.
• It is very important to engage attendees after an event as you will
want to get them back for upcoming events. Send out newsletters
about this event and the next event within 1 week after the event
through your websites, emails, announcements and bulletin board
provided by an event app, and social media. Keep the conversation
going for those who weren’t present as well.

Strategic Alternatives
arising from
Environmental Analysis

Developmental Strategy
Maximize Opportunities
by minimizing weaknesses
Maintenance Strategy
Utilizing company’s strengths
to take maximum
advantage of opportunity
Survival Strategy
Minimizing both weaknesses and
threats by considering options
such as:
Joint Ventures, Retrenchment,
Liquidation, etc
Pre-Emptive Strategy
Maximizing strengths
and their usage to
overcome threats
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL
Maximize Opportunities
by minimizing weaknesses
Utilizing company’s strengths
to take maximum
advantage of opportunity
Survival Strategy
Minimizing both weaknesses and
threats by considering options
such as:
Joint Ventures, Retrenchment,
Liquidation, etc
Pre-Emptive Strategy
Maximizing strengths
and their usage to
overcome threats
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL

 Arising from a situation of strength and favorable
opportunities, the maintenance strategy provides
reasons to carry out activities that maximize
available advantages.
 This is the perfect position to be in. Beyond this,
every activity gets focused on maintaining the
winning edge and the lead over competitors.
 The event company here can well afford to be
aggressive knowing very well that it has the
relevant strengths to back its claim on the
opportunity.

 To gain advantage of potential opportunities
while not having sufficient strengths.
 It requires passive and defensive strategy, which
attacks relevant opportunities in such a way as
to cover up on inherent weakness.
 Analogy here could be from the game of test
cricket where a side that knows victory is
impossible also knows that it can ward off a
defeat by trying for a draw.
 This can be called a developmental strategy
where one tries to make the most of the
opportunity by not giving in to weakness.

Pre-emptive Strategy
 This strategy is usually used by entrenched
market leaders on new entrants on their turf.
 Potential threats are nipped in the bird by
exercising the full power of the company’s
strength.
 This is a very powerful and aggressive strategy
as it requires foresight to fully understand the
threats looming on the horizon.
 Selecting which one to tackle requires careful
study since some points of strength could get
eroded if used unnecessarily.

Survival Strategy
 This strategy is used to ensure that the company
is alive for a battle on another day when it will
have the requisite strengths to grab its share of
opportunities in the market.
 This strategy gives license to take decisions like
leasing one’s soul to the devil if only with an
intent to retrieve it later.
 In plain words, it allows one to make drastic
decisions in the face of harsh environment.

arising from
Competitive Analysis

Rebuttal Strategy
Respond to new initiatives by
competition with a similar move
Sustenance Strategy
Manage critical success factors
more effectively
Venture Strategy
Maximize user benefits by using
path breaking, trend setting
initiatives to take a lead vis-à-vis
competition by being first in the
market.
Accomplishment Strategy
Relative superiority
Exploit competitor’s weakness
USE EXISTING CREATE NEW
COMPETE
AVOID
HEAD-ON
CONFLICT
EVENT CONCEPTS
COMPETITION
Rebuttal Strategy
Respond to new initiatives by
competition with a similar move
Sustenance Strategy
Manage critical success factors
more effectively
Venture Strategy
Maximize user benefits by using
path breaking, trend setting
initiatives to take a lead vis-à-vis
competition by being first in the
market.
Relative superiority
Exploit competitor’s weakness
USE EXISTING CREATE NEW
COMPETE
AVOID
HEAD-ON
CONFLICT
EVENT CONCEPTS
COMPETITION

Sustenance Strategy
 This is a strategy to be used when faced with no
options but to take on the adversary with the
existing arsenal of event concepts that may be
out dated or still current but nearing the end of
its life cycle.
 It becomes essential that the event company
manage its resources and advantages in terms
of CSFs that have been identified with greater
efficacy.
 Successful concepts need to be brushed up and
revamped to meet customer expectations in the
face of competitive offerings.

Rebuttal Strategy
 If the competition forces new concepts first than
the rebuttal strategy should be used.
 In this, the event company can launch its own
new concepts of a similar vein and regain its
dominant position by aggressively promoting the
same as a better alternative.
 This way the education of the market about the
new concept is left to the new competition and
an advantage gained is that market reaction to
certain new concepts is fore known.
 The disadvantage lies in the fact that the first
mover advantage is lost.

 This strategy is viable when an existing concept
is doing better than any of the competitors’
equivalent offering.
 This strategy, therefore, essentially says that
stick to the winning concepts and exploit the fact
that competition cannot offer a similar quality
concept and thereby wants to avoid a head-on
conflict by itself.
 The danger here is that competition may use
any of the other strategic alternatives available
to a challenger to combat the situation.

Venture Strategy
 This strategy envisages making use of the first
mover advantage by creating new concepts ahead
of competition thereby creating niche markets.
 This may even involve a re-definition of market
segmentation.
 By maximizing user benefits and creating path
breaking trend setting concepts the event
company positions itself to take a lead vis-à-vis
competition by being first in the market.
 This is a double-edge strategy in that failure is as
devastating as the benefits of a successful launch.

arising from
Defined Objectives

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
OF CLIENTS
RETAIN CLIENTS
MARKET DEVELOPMENT
OF CONCEPTS
EXISTING NEW
EXISTING
NEW
EVENT CONCEPTS
CLIENTS
OF CLIENTS
RETAIN CLIENTS
MARKET DEVELOPMENT
OF CONCEPTS
EXISTING NEW
EXISTING
NEW
EVENT CONCEPTS
CLIENTS
Client/Concept Fit Matrix

Contd…
 The above matrix provides options that event organizers
have an offer in terms of concepts and their market.
 The basic strategic alternatives here revolve around
whether the objective is to retain customers or market
development.
 These objectives further lead to the strategic options of
achieving them either to customization or new concept
development.
 By offering new concepts to a existing customers, a
strategy of increasing business from increasing clients
can be discerned.
 Similarly by offering an existing event to a new client, a
strategy of increasing productivity of the event concept
can be followed.

PREP MODEL
 This framework has its roots, in the fact that,
events as a business proposition for
corporatization is relatively nascent in nature.
 Therefore, the concept of strategic perspective
to growth through and along with clients is a
major decision to be taken by an event agency
having major growth plans.
 This model deals with the strategic options
available by playing off objectives relating to
market development against growth in
competition.

Predatorial Strategy
Enrichment Strategy
Proactive Strategy
Retaliatory Strategy
EXISTING NEW
EXISTING
NEW
CLIENTS
COMPETITION
Predatorial Strategy
Enrichment Strategy
Proactive Strategy
EXISTING NEW
EXISTING
NEW
CLIENTS
COMPETITION
PREP Matrix
The above matrix provides the choices before the event
company when it comes to a trade off between clients and
competition in terms of assigning priorities in decision making.

Enrichment Strategy
In a market situation where the event
company is forced to compete fiercely for
retaining its market this strategy is
followed.
It is used where the need to maintain and
improve the quality of service becomes
predominant.

Predatory Market Development
Strategy
If the development of new clients from
existing competitors is the need of the
situation then the event company would be
adopting this strategy.
This is essentially an offensive through
focused strategy wherein clients of other
event companies are targeted.

This is basically a defense mechanism
wherein the event company tries to defend
itself from predatory strategies of
essentially new entrants.
This strategy involves taking action aimed
at retaining its existing clientele and
potential client base.

Pro-active Strategy
The event company here can explore new
client bases and stretch the limit of its
concepts across untried event categories.
Every event category has its own special
environmental and competitive structures.

Zero Risk
Assured Returns
Low Risk
Assured Returns
(can charge extra
since chances of
failure are high)
Medium Risk
Assured Returns
to cover costs +
chances of loss
are low
High Risk
Assured Returns
to cover costs but
lower chances of
profit
High Risk
Chances of high
profits with equal
chances of losses
Very High Risk
Very less time to
ensure reach
Chances of failure
& loss are high
Pre-Planned Ad-hoe
Time
Fully
Sponsored
Partially
Sponsored
&
Ticketed
Fully
Ticketed
Type
of
Finance
for
Funds
&
Revenue
Zero Risk
Assured Returns
Low Risk
Assured Returns
(can charge extra
since chances of
failure are high)
Medium Risk
Assured Returns
to cover costs +
chances of loss
are low
High Risk
Assured Returns
to cover costs but
lower chances of
profit
High Risk
Chances of high
profits with equal
chances of losses
Very High Risk
Very less time to
ensure reach
Chances of failure
& loss are high
Pre-Planned Ad-hoe
Time
Fully
Sponsored
Partially
Sponsored
&
Ticketed
Fully
Ticketed
Type
of
Finance
for
Funds
&
Revenue

Risk versus Return matrix contd..
 The above matrix considers two of the most important
risk factors as well as the degree to which it can affect
the events company – Planning Lead Time and Type of
Finance.
 Events based on time can be divided into pre-planned
i.e., events carried out after thorough planning with
enough time for taking conscious decisions and ad-hoc
events i.e., those that are taken up on the spur of the
moment. On the basis of finance, events can be fully
sponsored, fully ticketed or partially ticketed and
sponsored.
 Each decision carries with it an element of risk, the
gradations of which can vary from zero risk to very high
risk as shown in the Figure.

Event-Management its components and types.ppt

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