Event Planning and Project Management - Example

School: Topic: EVENT PLANNING AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT Lecturer: Table of contents tails 0 Executive summary 1.1 Aim and objectives of the event Saint Valentine’s Day remains a significant social and religious occasion across the globe, especially in circular and Christian dominated countries and neighbourhoods. Because Valentine’s Day has become part of society and an aspect of social and religious ritual, it can be termed to be Liminal (Anderson & Holden, 2008). Generally termed as a day of love, Valentine’s Day has been used to show love across several demographic and social connections of relationships. It is however common knowledge that Valentine is particularly embraced among lovers, especially newly found lovers. On such a day, one may therefore ask what happens to singles who are either searching for love or have been absolutely out of love. With this question in mind, the planned event is a Singles Valentine Festival aimed at bringing several singles from all walks of lives together at a common place, where they can both share in the pride of their current state of relationship and also hope to find love. The rationale for the event is to discourage loneliness and a feeling of neglect during such time of the year when most people are seen to be sharing companionship and unified relationships. To achieve the aim of the study, the following objectives will be pursued. 1. To camp an average of 50,000 people at a common grounds for a period of 12 hours 2. To promote social unity and sense of acceptance among a group of single individuals 3. To create a platform where singles can shed away nostalgic and emotional feelings of loneliness 4. To create an avenue where singles can meet and find love 2.0 Background 2.1 Event concept The event concept is to bring singles together on the day of love. This is a concept that seeks to reinforce a sense of personal acceptance and love for one’s unique self. Indeed, it can be difficult for a person to be loved if the fellow cannot love him or herself. This concept this therefore an avenue for teaching people from all walks of lives, especially young adults and the adult population that there is more to celebrate about themselves than for them to be celebrated by others on Valentine’s day. The concept is to make available to attendants all kinds of fan and merrymaking including the following: Dance party Open air live performances of different types of music Poolside experience Eating bash Drinking bash Socialisation centre Counselling sessions Free health screening Fan at the park, and many more Lucky dip for love 2.2 Rationale for the event As it has been stressed earlier, the event is being organised with the rationale of eliminating a feeling of loneliness, neglect and self-rejection from attendants. It is certainly expected that as lovers and others in relationships find places to go on Valentine’s Day, singles would also wish that such an experience happened to them. This wish and feeling must not be cut short and remain only a dream because there is nowhere for these singles to merge and have fan. Another rationale for the event is to create an atmosphere and avenue where people can meet and find love. It cannot be denied that some people have a type of personality that makes it difficult for them to easily socialise in the absence of a triggered stimuli (Gratton & Henry, 2001). For such people, the event will become that stimulus that will trigger social companionship because their presence at the event alone signifies their quest to meet love. 2.3 Event feasibility How feasible the Singles Valentine Festival will be is expected to be influenced by four major factors. These are venue, funding, attendance, and organisation. The venue factor describes the possibility of securing a place that will be spacious enough to house all 50,000 expected participants. In this, sports stadia and social centres are targeted. The ability to afford the place, comply with safety and security rules, coupled with how early moves are made to secure the place will account for the venue feasibility as to whether or not the place can be secured for the event. Funding is another important factor that influences the feasibility of the event. Indeed the event is expected to be capital intensive as money will be required at almost all stages of the event include pre-staging, staging, and post-staging phases of the event (Gratton & Preuss, 2008). After committing so much resources and money into the organisation of the event, it is expected that enough people as expected will attend. The success of the event can therefore be measured by how many people attend it. It is for this reason that attendance is an important feasibility factor. To ensure that attendance does not become a major issue for the organisers, intensity with publicity is recommended (Thorrow, 2004). The publicity is expected to focus more on educating the public to understand the rationale for the event and the relevance of it. What is more, after the people have successfully attended the event, it is expected that the staging and organisation will meet their expectations. The success or feasibility of the event is therefore influenced by the extent to which the deliverables of the event can be successfully organised to the expectations of those to attend the event. As much as possible, the event must be considered as being organised at a world class standard. To ensure this, people with the right forms of expertise must be employed to take charge of all aspects and activities within the event. 3.0 Marketing strategy 3.1 Market research conducted Ahead of the decision to select the Singles Valentine Festival, a lot of research went on as part of market research to understanding the dynamics on the market and finding how the response of potential patrons of the event would be. The market research that was conducted was through the use of mixed research method where primary data collection was combined with secondary data collection. As part of the primary data collection, a research setting was identified where first hand data was collected from individuals about their ideas on Valentine Day programs and how they felt people who were single fitted into the occasion of Valentine’s Day. The primary data collection process was useful in ensuring that data that were collected were justified for credibility as they came exactly from targeted audience (Chalip & Costa, 2006). The primary research was performed by the use of a survey where an average of 1000 people was given close ended questionnaire to respond to. The close ended questionnaire was used as it makes it possible to collect quantitative data and analyse them in very easy manner when there is a very large sample size to deal with (Gammelsæther, 2010). The overall findings made from the primary research was that people who are singles also yearn to be part of the Valentine Day’s ceremonies and that any form of single’s festival will be greatly welcomed and appreciated. Next to the primary market research, secondary research was also performed. Secondary research is a type of research where the researcher collects data from existing works of literature (Vigor, Mean &Tims, 2004). For this market research, secondary data was referred to because it served as an avenue where as many sources and different opinions about the concepts of events could be collected. In effect, the secondary market research was useful in building theoretical evidence for the study. Some of the areas that were studied through secondary data collection were strategic positioning, segmentation, promotions, publicity, and event management. Furrer (2002) argued that a major advantage with the use of secondary research is that it allows the researcher the opportunity to collect data about facts and figures that may not be readily available through primary data collection. 3.2 Target market Based on the concept of the event, the target market can be said to be singles that are both males and females. The target market is expected to comprise singles with different demographic relevance. The first demographic relevance that forms a target market has to do with age. For a program of this nature, it is expected that people who are aged over 18 years will be targeted. This is because of the legal restrictions that consider people below the age of 18 as minors and requiring parental approval to engage in such social events especially as the event will go late into the night and may have alcoholic beverages served and sold there. Another demographic relevance that forms a target market has to do with gender. Even though both male and females are expected at the event, the main target gender shall be females. This is because of social perception that it is males rather than females who approach the other person and proposes love. Because of this social perception, most ladies or females who do not have love depend on social events as the one being planned to be exposed to men who would engage them in relationship talks. Then also socioeconomic background of people serves as another important demographic relevance. This is generally because people who attend the event are expected to pay for their entry and also buy different forms of products that will be sold at the event. Targeting people with constant source of income will ensure that affordability will not be a problem for these people. 3.3 Sponsorship, fundraising activities Funding and financing have been noted to be important factors that determine and influence the overall success or failure of social events (Carlsen & Taylor, 2003). This is certainly an assertion that can easily be agreed with, given the amount of money that is expected to go into the planning, stage and off staging of the event. With this know, two major forms of sponsorship and fundraising activities will be organised. All these will target the corporate world. First, sponsorship and funds will be sought from a corporate institution or a group of institutions who would want to become headline sponsors of the event. As headline sponsors, the name of the corporate institution shall be added to the event’s title. For example if Samsung agrees to be the headline sponsor, the event will now be referred to as Samsung Singles Valentine Festival. Apart from headline sponsors, a second form of sponsorship and fundraising that will be sought will be from vendors who would want to mount stances at the event ground and sell various products, items and paraphernalia to the participants. These vendors are considered as part of the sponsors as monies from them will be secured and put into the organisation of the program ahead of the main day of the event. To ensure that sponsors show interest in the event, several avenues are going to be created for them by which they can also market and publicise their products. For example the headline sponsor will have the opportunity of branding the whole event with logos whiles the vendors will be allowed to engage in unlimited sales during the event. 3.4 Pricing strategy Pricing has been found to be one of the most important 4Ps of marketing which influences the extent to which an event will be patronised (Vigor, Mean & Tims, 2004). Tomlinson, Bass & Pillay (2009) observed that pricing may be either high or low and can still attract enough participants, depending on how the organisers position the event. Low prices are generally recommended for events which seek to attract a very large audience (Cashman & Hughes, 1998). This is because when prices are low, there is the perception that a lot of people will be able to afford the event. High prices on the other hand are recommended when only a limited number of people are expected at a program and that reducing the price may attract more people than can be contained at the event grounds (Thorrow, 2004). From these two schools of thought, a pricing strategy that targets as many people as possible will be used. This is because the event is targeting an attendance of 50,000 people and so prices must be low enough to attract a lot of people. Baade and Matheson (2002) also emphasised that the ease with which people are able to pay to events is also an important part of the pricing strategy. With this noted, several payment platforms will be created. These will be generalised into online payment points and cash payment points. The online payment point will be a way of promoting electronic commerce by making it possible for people to pay through the official website of the event organisers. Cash payment points will also be made available at several affiliate shops, restaurants, schools, and supermarkets where people can easily access them. 3.5 Promotional strategy To attract 50,000 people to a single venue on a single day will certainly be a very huge task to accomplish. The hugeness of this task is however a situation that makes the use of promotional strategies very relevant and important. The reason this is said is that through promotional strategies, event organisers will be able to take the event as far to the target audience as possible (Furrer, 2002). Promotion will also ensure that a lot of people hear about the event whiles people also come to understand the rationale and relevance of the event (Bailey, 2005). There are several avenues by which the event will be promoted. Three of these include the use of print media, electronic media, and the internet. As far as the print media is concerned, there will be fliers, posters, banners and billboards that are made specifically for the event. The mobile print works will be distributed to people within the target market and those very close to the event grounds. The immobile print works will also be made available at several vantage points where people within the target market are very likely to lay eyes on them. Examples of these places will be where people already engage in social outings such as restaurants and clubs. The electronic media will be used through radio and television. Promotional advertisements will be played on both radio and television. Apart from the promotional advertisements, presenters will be paid to give publicity to the event on air. It is expected that the electronic media will have the further reach of audience than the other two. This is because of the ease with each the electronic media may be accessed. As part of this, public relations personnel from the event management company shall also use the electronic media for promoting and educating the public about the event. Last but not least, the internet will be used to promote the event. The internet alone is expected to have three promotional platforms. The first is through sponsored advertisements on popular websites such as Google, Yahoo and Facebook. The second platform will be the use of social media in creating awareness about the event. A social media fan page will be created on almost every known and popular social medial site. Finally, the official website for the event will be made interact so that it is possible for users of the site to get all the information they need from the website. 4.0 Human Resources 4.1 Key director roles and responsibilities Human resource is an important requirement for the success of any event. This is because it is through human resource that different expertise, experiences, skills and competences will be brought together to ensure the successful organisation of the event (Barchi, Omar & Aman, 2009). One such key human resource role is directorship. The event is expected to have five major directors who will be handled different roles and responsibilities as the head of various functional groups for the event. The table below depicts the key directors and the responsibilities they are expected to perform. Directorship Number of directors Key responsibility Director of finance 2 To ensure that sufficient funds is secured for the event and that the funds are effectively used Director of publicity and public relations 2 To ensure that every person who needs to hear about the event hears about it and that the estimated 50,000 people are brought to the program Director of logistics 3 To ensure that all materials and resources needed for the programs are successfully conveyed to the event grounds. Director of planning 2 To ensure that the event is well planned for and that the planning is well controlled to be executed as planned. Director of events 4 To ensure that the actual event takes place successfully without any technical hitches. 4.2 Organisational structure The organisational structure refers to the arrangement of functions and the positioning of authority within the workplace which influences the flow of information and resources (Getz, 1997). As reflected in the definition, the type of organisational structure operated can go a very long way to affect how information and resources flow. Within the context of the event that is being planned, there are two major types of organisational structure that will be considered. These are functional structure and divisional structure. Functional structure generally refers to an organisational structure that has several activities and function which are distributed among people within the organisation based on their expertise, skills and area of learning (Sterken, 2006). Each function is therefore made up of a leader who coordinates the activities and functions of all the people. Divisional structure on the other hand can be likened to a self-contained group that has people from different expertise coming together to perform specifically assigned roles (Bramwell, 1997). Both functional structure and divisional structure have their merits and demerits. As far as the Singles Valentine Festival is concerned, the functional organisational structure will be used. This will be done to ensure that roles are undertaken according to the unique expertise of the directors identified above so that there can be specialisation within each functional group. Once the functional organisational structure is used, it will ensure that there is no apathy to the roles that need to be performed because people will be engaged in what they are trained to do (Brenke &Wagner, 2006). The functional groups to be created will therefore comprise finance, logistics, planning, events, and publicity and public relations. Under each of the functional groups, there will be four other hierarchies. The hierarchies are director, supervisors, experts, and labourers. The authority assigned to each of these people will vary as the hierarchy goes down. This means that those below the hierarchy will report to those immediately on top of them. The final decision makers shall therefore be the directors. The directors shall issue instruction tasks that need to be performed. The supervisor will then ensure that the experts perform the roles. The experts will on the other hand use their knowledge to direct labourers on what needs to be done. 4.3 Additional staffing requirements Having identified the directors and the organisational structure that will be used in distributing roles, it is important to note that there are some additional staffing requirements that will be needed to make the work of the group whole. Some additional roles that will need special staff to perform include technical staffs, human resource staff, feeding staff, entertainment staff, and cleaning staff. Even though the roles of these people may be integrated into the main roles within the functional role, it is expected that these additional staffs will be used as oversight staffs that will ensure that there is some sought of ease for the mainstream staffs in the performance of their roles. For both the mainstream staff and additional staff, there are some provisions that will be given to ensure that they are well positioned to be effective with their roles. The first of these is training. Training has been note to be very important for achieving the best out of any group of staff tasked with the responsibility of organising a social event (Bob & Swart, 2010). This is because training widens the knowledge of the staff and ensures that they refresh their ideas to match the changing dynamics of society. The training that will be given will therefore be continuous training which ensures that staff do not lug behind in terms of current knowledge in the field of event organisation. Another requirement will be motivation and incentives which will be put in place to ensure that staffs are both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to perform their roles with maximum commitment. 5.0 Operations 5.1 Logistic Logistics have three directors assigned due to its importance to the success of the event. Taks et al. (2009) noted that logistics is a critical factor to consider for any social event as it affects several outcomes of the event including effectiveness and efficiency. Logistics as used in this context simply refers to the successful movement of goods, materials and equipment from one point to the other. The original points are expected to be the sources such as sales point and manufacturing centres. The destination will be the event grounds. To ensure that logistics take place successfully, there will be a direct link with transportation and planning. Because of the functional organisational structure the logistics function team will be autonomous and have the separate budget. This will eliminate all forms of bureaucracies and waiting that can cause delay with the movement of materials and equipment. Once all forms of hindrances that can affect the free flow of materials and equipment are taken away, it is expected that logistics will be effective and efficient (Bianchi, 2003). Cashman (2005) lamented that most event organisers place emphasis on pre-event logistics to the neglect of post-event logistics. Meanwhile, it is as important to ensure that materials and equipment that must leave the event grounds leave as it is that these get to the event grounds. The logistics oversight will therefore ensure that provisions are make to successful get all materials and equipment away from the grounds after the event. 5.2 Licences required A number of licenses will be required to get the event underway. Gathering permit or licence is one form of licence that is needed to clear the event organisers to bring together that huge number of people that the event is estimated to have. A trade and commercial permit is also needed to ensure that pavilions are created for vendors to sell and display their products at a fee. This commercial permit is needed because the vendors would have to be identified by state authorities so that they pay the necessary taxes on the sales they make on the day. Commercial and sales permit is also needed for the sale of alcohol and other products considered being the reserve of adults. The reason such permit is needed is that the event organisers need to be cleared of the sale of illegal products and the sale of products to unauthorised people such as minors. What is more, insurance is a major issue for mega social events as the planned Singles Valentine Festival. Insurance is needed not only to cover the people but the place and the equipment that will be assembled at the grounds. People’s lives must be insured against risks of harm, injuries and fatalities. Property and the place need to be insured against damage and destruction. Last but not least, security issues are important and so a permit is needed from security agencies to ascertain that the right security measures have been put in place. 5.3 Work breakdown structures 5.4 Shut-down process The shutdown of the event is expected to be done in a very systematic and gradual manner. As indicated earlier, the approach to getting the event together is going to be as important to organisers as the approach to shutting it down. The shutdown process will actually start even before the program gets underway. One way to do this is to clearly state and define the closing time for the event. In this context the closing time for the program shall be 4 am after it has started at 4pm the previous day. This means that it will be a 12 hour event. One other way to successfully shutdown the program ahead of time will be to schedule all activities in such a way that adequately fits into the overall time frame. Where the programs are many, there will be concurrent and simultaneous programs so that participants will select the ones they prefer to be part of. Timing will be an important part of the shutdown process. What this means is that whiles the program is taking place organisers will time performers so well to ensure that they do not eat into their allocated time. Most importantly, the shutdown process shall involve the allocation of personnel and logistics which ensure that all people successfully leave the event ground within 1 hour of closing the program. Some of the provisions that will be made shall include the provision of buses to convey people to the nearest lorry stations and train stations to get vehicles to their homes. The security shall also be tasked to enforce the evacuation of the event grounds after the 1 hour grace period elapses. 135 6.0 Finance 6.1 Start-up costs The start-up of the event is expected to incur several costs that will come from different expenses to undertake. The table below summarises the start-up costs that are expected and where they will be coming from. Function Expense Estimated cost Logistics Outsourcing 90,000 In-sourcing 40,000 Transport 10,000 Distribution 15,000 Planning Venue 50,000 License 20,000 Welfare 10,000 Artistes 5,000,000 Finance Budgeting 5,000 Sponsorship 30,000 Expenditure monitoring 5,000 Income monitoring 5,000 Publicity Promotions 150,000 Education 50,000 Branding 100,000 Public relations 30,000 Event Staging 200,000 Technical 150,000 Performance 10,000 Security 40,000 Total 6,510,000 6.2 Sources of finance There are four major sources of finance for the event. The first source of finance is through the headline sponsorship. To be a headline sponsor, a company will be expected to pay a quarter of the projected start-up cost. This means that whoever aspires to be a headline sponsor will have to pay £1,627,500. The second source of funds is to come from the vendors who will register to be part of the event and sell their products and merchandise to participants. The fee to be paid by the vendors will come in two forms depending on the size of pavilion they select. There will be two pavilions which will be single pavilions and double pavilions. The single pavilion will go for £5,000 per vendor whiles the double pavilion will go for £8,500. There will be space for 50 double pavilions and 100 single pavilions. This means that an estimated £425,000 will be generated from the double pavilion vendors and £500,000 from the single pavilion vendors if all spaces are sold out. The third source of funding is expected to be early tickets which will be sold 1 month before the event. It is estimated that 30,000 tickets will be sold 1 month before the date. These advance tickets will go for £100 per head. This means that a total of £3,000,000 will be raised through advance tickets. Finally, the event organiser is expected to internally raise an amount of 1,000,000 The summary of source of start-up finance is given in the table below. Source Unit amount Expected Total number Total amount Headline sponsor 1,627,500 1 1,627,500 Single pavilion vendor 5,000 100 500,000 Double pavilion vendor 8,500 50 425,000 Advance ticket 100 30,000 3,000,000 Event organiser 1,000,000 1 1,000,000 Total 6,552,000 6.3 Projected sales forecast (3 years) Should the Singles Valentine Festival be organised for a period of 3 years, the following projected sales are expected to be realised for each year starting 2016. The projected sales is further represented in the table below Single Vendors Double Vendors Sponsors Tickets 2016 500,000 425,000 1,627,000 5,000,000 2017 550,000 550,000 2,000,000 7,500,000 2018 650,000 700,000 2,500,000 10,000,000 TOTAL 1,700,000 1,675,0000 6,127,000 22,500,000 All sales are expected to increase by the year. This is because the unit charge on each item will be slightly moved upwards. This will be done to cater for inflation and other economic shocks that may affect the value of the pricing as the years go by. But as the prices go up, it is important to improve the quality and publicity of the event so that patrons will have a sense of value for money as they pay more to be part of the event. 6.4 Projected cash flow forecast (3 years) Over the next 3 years, the projected cash flow is expected to be found as the movement of cash into the event and out of the event (Thomson et al., 2009). This forms the financial product of the event, which comprise both expenditure and income. This is done by the use of a simple expenditure and income balance table for each of the years. Expenditure Logistics Planning Finance Publicity Events 2016 155,000 5,080,000 45,000 330,000 400,000 2017 170,000 5,500,000 60,000 400,000 480,000 2018 200,000 6,000,000 90,000 550,000 520,000 TOTAL 525,000 16,580,000 195,000 1,280,000 1,400,000 Total expenditure over the next 3 years is expected to be £19,707,000 Income Single Vendors Double Vendors Sponsors Tickets 2016 500,000 425,000 1,627,000 5,000,000 2017 550,000 550,000 2,000,000 7,500,000 2018 650,000 700,000 2,500,000 10,000,000 TOTAL 1,700,000 1,675,0000 6,127,000 22,500,000 Total income for the 3 year period is expected to be £32,002,000 6.5 Project profit and loss account (3 years) Over the 3 year period, the profit/loss account of the event will be calculated by simply determining the difference between income and expenditure 3 YEAR PERIOD INCOME Tickets 22,500,000 Sponsors 6,127,000 Double vendors 1,675,000 Single vendors 1,700,000 Total Income 32,002,000 EXPENDITURE Publicity 1,280,000 Finance 195,000 Events 1,400,000 Planning 16,580,000 Logistics 525,000 Total Expenditure 19,980,000 Profit/Loss 12,020,000 References Anderson B. & Holden A. 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