Event Management: The Necessary Theories of Sourcing Information - Literature review Example

LITERATURE REVIEW In order to perform any for of research, it is extremely important that a thorough study of the relevant theory and literaturebe performed. In this regard, the current section will discuss some of the necessary theories by sourcing information from the requisite sources of literature such as books and online resources. The theories that will be discussed as part of the literature review are as listed below: Fundraising. Sponsors. Sports events. Each one of these is discussed in the next paragraphs in separate sub-sections. FUNDRAISING When it comes to organizing events, finance is a very important aspect and needs to be given due credence if the event is to become a success. under the concept of finance seen through event management, the task of fundraising is the practice of collecting and grouping funds, mostly in the form of charitable donations and gifts that are given by diverse entities such as individual persons, corporate business houses, charitable institutions and also by the government through many of its agencies and departments. The purpose of fundraising is usually organized by an individual or a social organization for non-profit purposes. However, fundraising is also used to obtain funds from potential entities that are capable of investing money in the interests of an organization typically for financing some strategic operation in which case, the practice of fundraising indicates towards a for-profit motive. There are a number of ways in which fundraising is usually organized. The first and the foremost among them is by way of an annual endowment that is usually received from either a governmental agency or a financial institution. Such an endowment is usually given on a periodic basis whenever the beneficiary has invested money on a prior basis so as to entitle it to receive such a periodic financial return. This form of fundraising is usually adopted by non-profit organizations in order to ensure a periodic flow of income that helps the organizations to perform its yearly activities (L. Peter Edles, 2006). There is also another form of fundraising, which is different from the usually perceived approach of receiving any kind of donations in the name of charitable fundraising, wherein something is sold in order to generate funds. For example, a non-profit entity may sell devotional books in order to generate the necessary funds. It is also not uncommon to see banners in stores which say that a part of the proceeds would go towards the benefit of war veterans. This not only helps boost sales, but ensures that the intended target audience benefits in the end. There is also another form of fundraising wherein the organization that is to receive funds, does not receive it in the form of monetary funds, but rather some gifts are donated to it, in which case it is known as an 'In-kind gift'. The practice of fundraising is nowadays being vigorously being carried out over the internet too. Thus, it can be seen that the fundraising is carried out for a number of purposes by a number of entities for both profit and non-profit purposes (Adrian Sargeant and Elaine Jay, 2004). SPONSORS The concept of sponsorship is another important aspect of event management, wherein it is concerned with receiving financial and other forms of support from an individual or an organization in order to organize an event. Apart from supporting events, sponsorship is also utilized for supporting individuals as well as organizations that are in need of funds and are themselves unable to generate it on their own. Under sponsorship, the individual or organizations that arranges for providing the required assistance is referred to as a 'Sponsor'. Therefore, a sponsor would either have the necessary financial backing or the requisite capability to provide support such as personnel, infrastructure etc. or a combination of both. Unlike a fundraiser, a sponsorship is an activity that is intended to benefit both the Sponsor as well as the entity that receives the funds from the sponsor. While in the case of the latter, the sponsorship helps bring in the much needed funds and various other support services, the former is benefited by way of providing the sponsorship as it helps provide the desired marketing and branding to it. the publicity that is derived by the sponsor by way of the sponsorship helps it to reach an extended customer base by way of promotion of the event that is sponsored. This works both towards enhancing the reach-ability of the sponsoring individual or company as well as helps it in marketing any desired products as well by displaying them to the target audience (Steve Sleight, 1998). Sponsorships are usually encountered upon in sports wherein teams depend upon proper funding and additional support from business organizations. In such cases, the intended objective and purpose of branding is to facilitate the beneficiary to act as a platform of promotion for the sponsor. This is achieved in this case by displaying the sponsor logo on places such as the team sports gear, billboards, training and support equipment etc. this form of sponsorship is most prevalent in the case of Sports, public events as also arts & music related functions. It is not surprising to see the logo of a popular drink or a cigarette brand on a Formula one car. This is either because the beneficiary has received funds (from the cigarette brand) or support services (from the tire brand such as Bridgestone) (Steve Sleight, 1998). Today, the single largest media that continues to be the most prominent platform of sponsorship is the broadcasting domain. In order to earn revenue, almost all television channels today allot a portion of their broadcasting time for use by business entities. Under these slots, companies usually pay a pre-defined fee in order to get their commercials aired on the channel during those specific times. This form of sponsorship, though one of the most expensive forms of promotion, still is the most popular form of branding and promotion resorted to by most big and medium sized companies as it helps them obtain the maximum penetration within the customer base (who are the viewers in this case) within the shortest possible time, which is the reason companies always vie over each other in an attempt to come out with the best possible commercial that may work towards attracting the customer. Thus, It can be seen that Sponsorship is quite different from fundraising wherein the primary motive is to adopt a vigorous branding and promotion approach for the sole purpose of boosting sales and revenue by way of reaching to an extended audience (Bianca Ford and James Ford, 1993). SPORTS EVENTS Among the many types of events that are covered by event management, managing Sports related events is an integral part. In fact, Sports management is one of the most extensive and expensive forms of event management that usually require a huge amount of resources, proper planning and disaster management and recovery mechanisms. This is regardless of the size of the event that is intended to be organized. Thus, it can be seen that Sports event management does not only require a high degree of planning but it also requires the collaboration of people with a range of skills in broad disciplines and additionally requires a lot of time and energy in order to plan out and implement all individual aspects of the event (Stedman. Graham, 1995). The first and the foremost aspect under Sports Event management is to ensure that the necessary scheme of things are properly planned well ahead of schedule. Additionally, these individual components must be planned in such a manner that they are well coordinated when the plan goes into action. This generates what is usually known as the Event management plan. With the event plan in place, the next step is to construct the event budget, which apart from determining the manner in which the finances would be allocated and spent would also help determine the sources of appropriate funding (in which case, the role of fundraising and sponsorship comes into the picture). Of course, this must also take care of any possibility of ambush marketing on the part of the Sponsor's competitors. Finally, when the time to actually implement the event (and the event extensions) comes into effect, constant monitoring and coordination of various activities are the activities that hold maximum priority especially on the part of the event manager (Glenn Bowdin, 2006). RECOMMMENDATIONS Though most event managers try to achieve the maximum possible within the constraints of budget, time and resources, it is always commonly believed that improvement is always possible in any given segment of event management. The first and the foremost aspect towards better quality of service is to be able to generate the maximum finds possible and this must be achieved using the various methods described above, to the extent each of them is deemed necessary for such purposes. Generating funds in requisite amounts would help hire the best quality manpower, pave the way for providing the best services and allow for implementing all the planned activities without having to do away with any of them due to any constraints. But then, it addition to collecting the necessary funds well ahead of time, getting the best manpower is also very crucial for the success of an event. This is because only people possessing better skills and good temperament will themselves be leaders and will also allow themselves to be guided by able leadership. This will not only help to utilize the time and resources with maximum efficiency but would also facilitate the existence of good team collaboration. Apart from these two aspects, it is also deemed appropriate that there needs to be good promotion for any event. This is because it is good promotion especially in the case of events that involve sponsorships, which will result in more people to become aware of the event, thus fulfilling the purpose of both the event organizers as well as the event sponsors. Utilizing the services of the media is a great utility in this case wherein having both the event promotion and event coverage will ensure maximum outreach to the people. REFERENCES 1) L. Peter Edles (2006), Fundraising: Hands-on Tactics for Nonprofit Groups. New York: McGraw Hill 2) Adrian Sargeant and Elaine Jay (2004), Fundraising Management: analysis, planning and practice. London: Routledge. 3) Steve Sleight (1998), Sponsorship: What it is and how to Use it. New York: McGraw Hill. 4) Bianca Ford, James Ford (1993), Television and Sponsorship. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. 5) Stedman. Graham (1995), The Ultimate Guide to Sport Event Management and Marketing. Boston: Irwin Professional Pub. 6) Glenn Bowdin (2006), Events management. London: Elsevier. Read More