Strategic Marketing For Events

  

Event Strategy (Section 2)

Strategic Marketing For Events

• The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM, 2005) defines marketing as, ‘the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably’. In simple terms, marketing is concerned with satisfying consumer needs and wants by exchanging goods, services or ideas for something of value.
• growth in the number and diversity of services (including events) that require different marketing approaches from those for goods

• recognition of the unique marketing requirements of not-for-profit organizations (typical of many festivals)

• the increasing importance of stakeholders – for example, the community,

  government, investors/sponsors, media and others who can be as influential as consumers on organizational survival

• advances in technology such as the Internet, the linking of computers with

  telecommunications and other innovations that affect the marketing of services, including events

• internationalization, which has created global opportunities to enter new

  markets – for example, the touring and staging of events in offshore locations.
• Analyze the needs of the target market to establish the design of the event experience and the way in which it will be delivered.

• Predict how many people will attend the event and the times that different groups or market segments will attend.
• Research any competitive events that could satisfy similar needs, to devise a unique selling proposition.
• Estimate the price or value that visitors are willing to exchange to attend an event – for example, ticket price or donation.

• Decide on marketing communication, including the media mix and messages that will reach the audiences of the event.
• Consider how the choice and design of venue(s) and the methods of ticket distribution fit with the needs of attendees.

• Establish the degree of success of the event in achieving its marketing objectives.
• gives event managers a framework for decision making that should result in events

  that reflect innovation and creativity, but cater for market segments that seek novelty or the excitement of something new.

• • Sponsoring bodies need reassurance that their sponsorship is linking their brand with

  their target markets. Sound marketing practices give marketers the ability to convince sponsors that a festival or event is the right marketing investment.

• Local and national government financially assist many festivals and events.

  

Governments usually fund only those events whose management can demonstrate

some expertise in marketing planning and management.

• Event stakeholders, such as the community, environmentalists and indigenous

  leaders, as well as consumers, are critical in today’s societal marketing approach alongside satisfaction of the needs and wants of event or festival markets.

• Consumers (particularly in major cities) have an enormous range of leisure activities on which to spend their disposable income.
• longer term, rather than short

• not another word for tactics – strategy is the broad overall direction

  that an event takes to achieve its objectives, while tactics are the

  detailed manoeuvres or program that carry out the strategy. Tactics

  can be changed as market conditions change, but the overall direction

  – the strategy – remains constant (at least for the planning period).

• based on careful analysis of internal resources and external environments – it is not a hasty reaction to changes in the market.
• essential to survival – well-considered thought out marketing strategies enable event managers to achieve the objectives of their event.

• • Macro Level: to understand external forces affecting the event

  and its markets.
• Kinds of Online and offline information sources:

• • government statistics and reports (national and region statistics

  on the consumption of festivals and events, arts and sport)

• media coverage (about the events sector and particular events

  or festivals in the region)
• industry magazines and Conference & Incentive Travel
• historical and current data from other events, festivals and event organizers.
• Micro Level: to gain insight into the event’s existing and

  interview and quantitative research; demographics, motives, satisfaction and intention to revisit the event)

  potential consumers and any strategies previously used by the organizers(segmentation & target market).

• This level use a mix of research techniques: in depth

• The C-PEST Analysis includes: competitive analysis,

  

political environment, economic environment, socio-

cultural environment, technological environment.

• Internal Resources Analysis: human resources, physical, and financial resources.
• SWOT Analysis

• Political Environment
• All levels of government can be active players in producing

  

and sponsoring events and offering event development

grants. Steps to understand new legislation or changes in the

regulatory environment that affect event delivery – for

example, rising public liability costs and regulations related to licensing, racing, gaming, lotteries and so on.

• Economic Environment
• The buoyancy of the economy (the property of maintaining

  a satisfactory high level), foreign exchange rates, interest rates, employment rates, growth in household incomes and

the government’s fiscal policy. The value of the pound

compared to the currency of other nations, for example, can

raise or lower the cost of attracting foreign artists to an

International Festival.

• Socio-cultural Environment
• The size and variety of cultural/subcultural groups in the event’s target market; changes in lifestyle, including work–leisure patterns; changing

  demography; changes in entertainment demand and changes in education levels and household structures.

• For example, during the late 1980s/early 1990s the increase in popularity

  of dance music and its related culture lead to an increased demand for

  illegal dance events, commonly known as ‘raves’. Interest in these illegal gatherings diminished after the mainstream nightclubs organized events to cater for this new market, including high-profile venues such as the late Hacienda in Manchester, that went on to enter the folklore and legend of dance music.
• Technological Environment

• the use of the World Wide Web, email marketing (including e-newsletters) and a mix of on-line and off-line event participation.
• Entertainment Environment
>Trend analysis in the entertainment environment can be done via desk research and travel to center of artistic innovation or places where emerging sports are practised (certainly a fun part of the job). A good understanding of event innovations is also gained from reading professional and popular journals, networking with industry colleagues and travelling to trade fairs and exhibitions

• Human resources
• the number and type of staff and volunteers available, the particular skill sets required to produce the event, the costs of employing people, and innovative ways in which people can contribute to the event’s success.
• Physical resources
• includes ownership of a venue (although this is rare), computer hardware and software, desktop publishing equipment, access to venues at competitive rates and the use of conference rooms in buildings of some significance.

• For example, the use of event management software capable of supplying

  timely data on all aspects of the festival would be a physical resource

  strength. A far less tangible resource is the festival’s brand equity (public

  awareness and attitudes towards the event built over a longer period)
• Financial resources
• Current access to funds or a demonstrated ability to acquire

  capital is an obvious strength for any event. This access

includes the ongoing involvement of government and

corporate sponsorship funds.

• Once the C-PEST and internal resource audit is completed, an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) can be conducted. This summary of the critical issues identified through the C- PEST and internal resources analyses enables the event marketer to marry opportunities and strengths, improve weaknesses, negate threats and, just as importantly, have a sound basis for establishing marketing objectives and strategies for the event.

  Key steps for consumer’s decision process known as PIECE:

• Problem recognition – difference between someone’s

  existing state and their desired state relative to leisure consumption. Events and festivals fulfill physiological needs (exercise, relaxation, sexual engagement), interpersonal needs (social interaction) and/or personal needs (enhanced knowledge, new experiences, fulfillment of fantasies)

• Information search – internal or external search; limited or

  extensive search processes for leisure (including event) solutions.

  External Influences:

• Family and household influences, such as the desires of children, often influence the leisure behavior of parents.
• Reference groups are those groups that influence the behavior of

  individuals. Groups in close contact with individuals (peers, family,

colleagues and neighbors) are called primary reference groups.

• Opinion formers or opinion leaders such as media, theatrical or

  sports personalities (including critics and commentators).
• Opinion formers or opinion leaders such as media,

  

theatrical or sports personalities (including critics and

commentators).

• Internal Influences:
• These influences include perception (how we select and

  

process information), learning and memory, motives,

personality traits and consumer attitudes.

• Evaluation and selection of leisure alternatives
• For everyday products and services, evaluative criteria are often price, brand image and the contents of the market offer.
• Functional values, such as our perception of an event’s price–quality relationship and ease of access, may dominate.

• Emotional values may be more influential (the likely effects of a

  festival experience on our mood)
• Other conditional values for a festival may be whether there is convenient transport, good quality classical music or nearby accommodation that suits our tastes

• Choosing whether to attend an event and which optional

  purchases to make at the event or festival

• Evaluation of the post-event experience.
• Once we have attended an event, we start to compare what we expected with what we experienced. Consumer expectations arise from a combination of marketing communications planned by the

  event or festival organizer, word of mouth from friends and

  family, previous experience with this or similar events, and the event’s brand image
• Five (5) main dimensions of service quality in the commonly used SERVQUAL questionnaire:

• assurance – staff and/or volunteers give the appearance of

  being knowledgeable, helpful and courteous, and event consumers are assured of their wellbeing

• empathy – the event staff and/or volunteers seem to

  understand the consumers’ needs and deliver caring attention

• responsiveness–the staff and volunteers are responsive to

  the needs of the consumer

• reliability – everything happens at the event in the way the

  marketing

• communication has promised
• tangibles – the physical appearance of the event equipment,

  

artists’ costume/ presentation and the physical setting meet

expectations.

• consumer ‘perceptions’ are better indicators of the link between quality, visitor satisfaction and intentions to revisit
• Segmentation and Targeting the Event Market

• The process of identifying appropriate target markets is known as market segmentation. Segmentation can occur by geography, demography or lifestyle (psychography).
• The market segments chosen should be:
• measurable – that is, the characteristics of the segment (socio-economic status, gender, age and so on) must be accessible to the event marketer
• substantial enough in size to be worth targeting
• accessible by normal marketing communication channels
• actionable by the event organizer, given the marketing budget and other resources

• • Geographic segmentation: the place of residence of event visitors ;local residents of the area,

  _{tourists. day visitors from outside the immediate area, regional domestic tourists, international inbound}
• Demographic segmentation : age, gender, occupation, income, social class, education and _{cultural group.}
• Geodemographics segmentation: segmenting residential areas according to variables from _{population census data and additional sources including lifestyle databases}
• Psychographic segmentation – dividing a market according to its lifestyle and values. This _{method involves measuring AIO (activities, interests, opinions) dimensions and demographics.}

• Positioning Event
• Positioning represents the way in which the event is defined by consumers, or ‘the place it occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing products’
• 10 ways for positioning events:
• The existing reputation or image of the event – for example,

  the Olympic Games and other longstanding events such as the Edinburgh Tattoo.

• The charisma of a director or leader – for example, the Belfast Festival’s director.
• A focus on event programming – for example, Trafalgar Square Festival 2005, which was a three week festival

  programmed and positioned around the ‘city rites’ theme.

• A focus on performers – for example major sports (such as

  the football and golf) and theatre that highlight the players/performers.

• An emphasis on location or facilities – for example, Wimbledon, which is now synonymous with world-standard tennis.
• Event users – for example, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Children’s Theatre Festival.
• Price or quality – for example, a free civic concert series

  versus an operatic • performance by the world’s three best tenors.

• The purpose or application of the event – for example,

  health awareness of SIDs or diabetes, or celebrations such as the United Kingdom’s Trafalgar Weekend as the centerpiece of Sea Britain 2005.

• • The event category or ‘product’ class – for example, fashion

  events, food and wine festivals, and concerts.
• Multiple attributes – for example, the London Fashion

  

Week, which is positioned on its designers, reputation and

image, as well as its purpose of bringing new fashion designers into the public eye.

• Choosing generic marketing strategies for events.
• Before events marketers begin the more precise task of deciding on marketing elements such as the program, the ticket price and other variables, they should reflect on their overall strategies for the event’s future. Is there a plan to grow or expand the event and/or its markets? Or is there a plan to consolidate the current program and further penetrate existing markets?
• Selecting the event’s ‘services marketing’ mix

  

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

components, their quality or style) and its packaging (a mix of opportunities within the event or marketing of the event with other external attractions, accommodation and transport)

• the place (location(s) where the event is held and 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

• integrated marketing communication (media and messages

  employed to build relationships with the event markets and

  audiences)
• 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 modeled on the processes used to plan, create and deliver services (Figure 7.9).

• Festivals and events, as service product experiences, contain three elements (Lovelock and Wirtz, 20
• The core service and benefits that the customer experiences – for example, performing arts or sports event.
• Supplementary features/augmented services that

  differentiate an event from its competitors – for example, its artists, service quality, the type of visitors, different modes of transport, and merchandise.

• The delivery process – for example, the role of the customer in the experience, length of event, level and style of event.
• 4 key elements in programming the event into a success:

• The need for a distinguishing core concept in the program – what is it that you’re presenting that actually has meaning to the audience?
• The need to marry the event program with its physical environment or site

• – what kinds of performances will really be spectacular in this setting?

  What kinds of performers and stage structures (existing and created) will shine in this environment?
• The role and operational approach of the artistic director/producer – the producers are both program gatekeepers (selecting event participants from

  proposals submitted by performers) and poachers (travelling around to

  pick the best performers, just as sports clubs send out their talent scouts).
• 4. Established criteria for program content – criteria include the compatibility of performers to a festival’s market, the history of this type of performance at other events, and a performance’s technical quality. Some producers of bigger festivals have a rule about (1) how many times an overseas act has performed within the country, and (2) a desired ratio of innovation and tradition in their event portfolio

• Avenues for packaging include the opportunity to package different

  types of entertainment, food and beverage, and merchandise as a

  single market offer (a service bundle), and the opportunity to package the event with accommodation, transport and other attractions in the nearby region, such as the FIA British Grand Prix

  at Silverstone draw national and overseas tourists, demonstrating

  some sophistication with packaging. For example, packages are available including flights, hotel accommodation, grandstand

  tickets, return coach transfers, VIP parking, full hospitality much

  more depending on the price the customer is willing to pay
• Successful events have solid partnerships and strong links with loyal supporters (attendees, volunteers, government and corporate representatives).

• For example: the Glastonbury Festival worked to overcome negative reactions by local residents, local newspapers and other media annually reflect coverage of events that retain protestors. From a brand equity perspective, events need ambassadors internally and externally to fully capitalize on their competitive potential.
• Price can be a key influence on event demand. Many special events are ticketed, a large number of festivals do not charge an entrance fee, and some simply seek a gold coin donation. However, a ‘free’ event still presents costs to the consumer and costs to the producer. Other key influences on ticket price or entry fees are competing opportunities and perceived value

• the Barnardo’s fundraiser example, potential consumers compare the perceived benefits – dinner, drinks,

  

entertainment, parking, opportunities to socialize, prestige

and the novelty of an unusual night out – with the perceived costs.

• These costs could include money, time, the physical effort

  involved in getting to the venue, psychic costs (related to social interaction) and sensory costs (such as going out on a

rainy night). If the organizer has adequately positioned the

event and communicated its benefits, the target market is

likely to perceive a positive net value and purchase tickets.

• In establishing the pricing strategy for an event, an

  organizer will account for two cost categories:

• Fixed costs – those costs that do not vary with the volume of visitors (for example, venue rental, interest charged on loans, lighting and power costs, the cost of volunteers’ uniforms and artists’ fees).

• Variable costs – those costs that vary with the number of

  visitors (for example, the cost of plastic wine glasses at a

  festival, catering costs at a product launch and the cost of staff needed to serve attendees).
• ‘Place’ refers the venue and the place at which consumers can purchase their tickets.
• Use ticketing agency as physical setting for ticket distribution. The

  

advantages of selling ticket in ticketing agency: Ticket sales can be

monitored, and the data collected can guide decisions on the level of marketing communication expenditure needed to attract the targeted visitor numbers. The security problems inherent in accepting cash at the door or gate are also alleviated. Because customers pay in

advance, the cash flow to the event producer occurs well before the

staging of the event, with obvious financial advantages for the event organizer.

• Public relation
• A direct email campaign and newsletter
• Advertising
• Sales promotion: discount or special offers.
• Direct marketing communicates one-on-one with existing festival or event-goers via mail, the telephone or the Internet.