Event and Venue Management: The Riverstock Music and Camping Event - Case Study Example

Riverstock Music and Camping Event Name Instructor Course Executive Summary South Australia is widely known for hosting events with the support of Events South Australia which is a state body. Riverstock music and camping event is one event which was sponsored by this body. This event took place for three days; 18th -20th November 2016 at Riverland by the bank of River Murray. The report has analyzed some of the some of the marketing strategies used to market the event. According to the report’s findings, some of the marketing strategies included market positioning and segmentation. The report has also analysed some of the promotion strategies of the event which were through social media more so Twitter and through their website. The report has also discussed the key target market which was the South Australians. Some of the theories that the report has used to evaluate the motivations of the target markets include the push and pull anf the seeking and escaping theories. The report has also given an account of my best and worst experiences of the event. According to the findings of the report, the best experience was in relation to the event’s objectives which was the authentic and entertaining experience of both camping and music. On the other hand, the report has discussed the worst experience being the fact that there was crowding which presented various crowd-related problems. The report has also conducted a SWOT analysis of the event. Some of the recommendations that the report has given regarding the ways to make the event better include the need to use other social media platforms in marketing, availing various camping options and developing alternative plans to manage unexpected issues that may arise. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Description of the Event 5 Goals of the Rivertock Event 5 Strategic Event Planning 5 Target Markets 6 Motivations of the target market 6 Push and Pull Motivations 6 Seeking and Escaping Motivation Theory 7 Levels of Experience 7 Marketing the Event 7 5Ps of Marketing 8 Segmentation 9 Geographical Segmentation 9 Psychological Segmentation 9 Demographic Segmentation 10 Behavioral Segmentation 10 Event Promotion Tools 10 Social Media 10 Website 11 Best Experience 11 Worst Experience 12 SWOT Analysis 12 Recommendations 14 Conclusion 15 References 16 Introduction South Australia is usually a host of numerous and diverse major events. Riverstock music and camping event was an event which was supported by the Events South Australia which is an annual event, and it was held in Riverland, South Australia on 18th-20th November 2016. The event intended to give the attendees entertaining experiences of music and camping by the banks of River Murray. The aim of the report will be to document a reflective account of the experience that I had at the Riverstock music and camping event through the analysis of various concepts including target markets, motivations of the target markets, marketing strategies. The report will also aim at giving a detailed reflective account of both the best and worst experiences of the Riverstock event, and analyze the internal and external environment and factors that impacted the event. The report will first take give a description of the Riverstock music and camping event. Secondly, it will discuss the marketing and promotion strategies that were used to publicize the event. Thirdly, the report will evaluate the key target markets of the event through assessing the motivations of the target markets. The fourth aspect would be to give a reflective account of both the best and worst experiences of the event. This will be followed by a detailed SWOT analysis table evaluating the internal and external environments that influenced the event. The table will be followed by the necessary recommendations and conclusion of the reflective report. Description of the Event The name of this event was Riverstock. This is an annual event whose aim is to showcase three consecutive days of music which was held at the river bank of River Murray located at Moorook, Riverland. This event was held on 18th-20th November 2016. Aside from the music event, there was camping just by the river as well. For this particular year, John Swan together with his band among other musicians graced the event. People were prohibited from carrying their food and alcohol as there were various outlets in the venue where they would acquire all these stuff. This event offered a very secure family environment where there were numerous activities for the children as well, but they were not allowed to carry their pets in the venue. The charges for the event were affordable where adults were required to pay $30 and the children below ten years of age paid $18. The number of visitors was quite high where which was about 800 guests most of whom were from South Australia and a few others who came from other parts of Australia and the world as well. Goals of the Rivertock Event Strategic Event Planning It was evident that the Rivertock’s event planners strived to engage other organizations and stakeholders in the planning process so that they could manage to achieve the event’s goals and objectives. This is clear as they acquired sponsorship from a government’s body known as Events South Africa which sponsored the event as well. The effective strategic event planning undertaken by Riverstock planners boosted the effectiveness and efficiency of the event as well as the effect the event had on those who attended. The Riverstock event had two primary goals. One of them was to offer its audience three continuous days of great music which would rotate non-stop over two different stages which were the acoustic and main stages. The other goal was to offer the people who attended the music event a comfortable, secure, and fun camping experience which would be by the river as well which would just be nearby the site where the music event was taking place. Target Markets The key target market for the Riverstock music and camping event was the local people who lived in South Australia. They mostly consisted of the repeat visitors as well as the general audiences and families. Precisely, the event attracted more families as compared to the events in the previous years. This could primarily be attributed to the fact that in the event’s advertisement, information about the event offering a secure family environment and various activities for the children was clearly highlighted. There were also visitors from other Australian states and a few other tourists from across the world. Identifying a target market for this particular event was helpful in marketing as the organizers managed to select the most appropriate place, price, and promotion strategy for it (Eldering, Expanse Networks, 2001). Motivations of the target market Push and Pull Motivations Some of the push motivations of the target market was the timing of the event which was held when many people were not yet on holidays and children were still in school most of them doing their end-year examinations. Since this was intended to be a family event, a significant number of people opted for the events which were held during the December holidays when most of the adults and children were on holiday as well to avoid distractions. On the other hand, the pull motivation factors included the pricing of the event which was quite affordable for the target market given that it was charged for a three-day event. The location was also another motivation since it provided a beautiful and relaxation scenery which was away from the busy city life. Seeking and Escaping Motivation Theory In the identification of the motivation factors of the attendees of the Riverstock, the target market was seeking personal rewards in the form of personal entertainment and external rewards in the form of interaction with other people and forming new friendships. On the other hand, the target market was motivated to escape some of the personal environments related to stress, pressure, and fatigue from their everyday activities. Levels of Experience The Rivertock music and camping intended to engage the audience on a temporal level. This made the particular event rather unique because various interactions were occurring between the event management systems, the people who were the audience, as well as the setting of the event. This was achieved primarily because there were comprehensive event programs that were given which were the way people interacted with the event’s management. The proper planning and organization of the event made it produce a personal feeling which made one feel persuaded of the need to be there so that they could enjoy the experience fully. Marketing the Event One of the ways in which it was marketed was through market positioning. Precisely, this was done through creating a series of the event (Ibrahim and Gill, 2005). 5Ps of Marketing The 5Ps of marketing the Riverstock event included Product, Price, Place, Public Relations, and Price. Product In this case, the product of the event was a three-day entertainment program which comprised of music and camping experiences. In marketing the event, the history of the event was given, its value, and what makes it unique was also documented. Price After evaluating the financial goals of the event, the event ended up pricing the event at $30 dollars for the adults and $18 for the children excluding the commodities like camps and food. This was affordable by many people which resulted in a high turn out. Place The event location was very adequate and in line with the goals of the event. In marketing, the venue reflected the event’s character as being entertaining, relaxing, and fun while enjoying the nature. The event’s location by the banks of River Murray attracted more people to attend it. Public Relations Realizing that the public relations determine the way the target market perceive the event and its goals, the event was marketed through TV adverts, banners, newspapers, as well as campaigns to enhance the public’s positive perceptions of the event. Positioning Market positioning was achieved through creating a series of the event. Riverstock music and camping event is known for hosting the event every year and has a reputation of being an affordable and relaxing place just to go and have fun while relaxing which is what positioned it in the market. Segmentation Geographical Segmentation The geographical segmentation entails segmenting or dividing the audience by their geographical location (Yankelovich and Meer, 2006). Since the primary target market was the South Australian citizens, the marketing plan was entirely based on this location. For example, the locations of buying tickets, the transportation options, and the choice of place to host the event clearly depicted that this market was segmented based on their geography because they would relate easily with the information on the marketing platforms. Psychological Segmentation This is whereby the market segmentation was done based on the lifestyles, interests, attitudes, and values of the target market. In this way, the market was segmented by their internal motivations as opposed to their individual external attributes (Yankelovich and Meer, 2006). This was the case as has been discussed in the pull motivation factors of the target market. Demographic Segmentation This is the market segmentation whereby the event’s marketers divides its market based on their gender, age, marital status, religion, among other factors (Yankelovich and Meer, 2006). In this event, the demographics were based on age, and gender where the event was targeting both adults and children irrespective of their ages as well as both males and females. Behavioral Segmentation This is where the market is segmented by their observable behavior of the target market (Yankelovich and Meer, 2006). In the Riverstock event, the behavioral segmentation was based on the way the attendees bought the tickets as well as their attendance frequency. For example, the people who bought the ‘early bird’ tickets were put one one segment from those who bought tickets at the very day. Also, since this is an annual event, those who are repeat attendees to the event were also segmented. Marketing was done differently for these segments according to their behavior. Event Promotion Tools Social Media The event was primarily promoted through the use of social media. The event organizers promoted it through social media by having a hashtag for the Riverstock music and camping event. There was the utilization of some engaging videos and visuals which drew a significant amount of attention to the tweets which were intended to promote the event. Social media was also utilized to highlight some of the activities that would be taking place in the event as well as highlighting the names of the musicians who would perform there. This assisted in driving the sales of the tickets significantly in addition to amplifying the buzz around that particular event (Hoffman and Fodor, 2010). Website The promoters of the Riverstock music and camping event also developed a rather compelling website which is regarded as a critical entity when it comes to event marketing (Woodside, Ramos Mir, and Duque, 2011). Riverstock’s website was the home which contained all the information that was related to that particular event. This website entailed information concerning the venue, the activities which would be taking place, the tickets, among other information in detail alongside the pictures. Additionally, the website also had the social share option or buttons which assisted in spreading the buzz regarding the event wide and far. Best Experience My best experience in the Riverstock music and camping event was camping by River Murray which was just next to the event’s site. This enabled me to enjoy camping while still enjoying the music that was being played in the event at the same time. This was my best experience because it gave me a full and holistic experience of the event where I got to enjoy many experiences at the same time. I came to have this good experience because the event organizers seemed to have realized that when camping meets music, then the participants would have an authentic and unique outdoor camping experience and will enable them to acquire value for their money. This is why they came up with such a unique idea of combining camping and music just nearby River Murray which even made the experience better. This experience needs to be strengthened further because it is a good weekend gate away especially for the family whereby one gets to experience nature, music, and camping experiences all in one event. It is such a good refreshment vacation experience which is affordable and is not far from home as well. Worst Experience On the other hand, my worst experience was overcrowding. The event organizers anticipated for about 500 visitors but it turned out that there were about 800 visitors. This presented some congestion problems which I found unpleasant and caused a lot of discomforts. Following the increase in the number of people, the camping area was congested, entrance to the site was a problem, and safety and security were jeopardized. I did not like the fact that we had to make long queues in basically anywhere that I wanted to get a particular commodity more so when it comes to getting food, drinks, and while using the utilities like the shower rooms and the cloakrooms. I think I came to have such a bad experience because the event organizers did not anticipate for such a high number of visitors. Although they had estimated about 500 visitors, their uppermost limit was about 650 visitors, but they turned out to be 800 guests which are what presented the over-crowding problems. I think this situation will need to be improved so as to enhance the comfort, safety, security, and fun of the event which is the primary purpose of attending it anyway. SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Good marketing strategy Overcrowding Strong relationships with the state government Transportation issues Proper event planning and coordination High venue and musicians’ expenses Specialized and superior service offerings Safety of the venue Opportunities Threats Appropriate contingency plans Bad weather conditions Establishment of own service provision company Poor performance by the musicians Various camping options Excess number of visitors or a low turnout in the same light Changing the dates of holding the event Lack of adequate support from the other stakeholders As has been highlighted in the table, the strengths of the event include good marketing strategy, strong relationships with the state government, proper event planning and coordination, and specialized and superior service offerings. This were the strengths because the event planners managed to create a strong event and had a high return on investment while getting adequate help will assist in improving the event’s benchmarks. Some of the internal and external threats that the event faced included poor weather conditions, poor performance by the musicians, a lack of or excessive marketing strategies, as well as the lack of the necessary support from the stakeholders. These were the threats because they would jeopardize the quality of the event which would consequently lead to low satisfaction levels by the attendees and impact on the turnout of the event in the coming years. The weaknesses of the Riverstock event included overcrowding, transport-related issues, high expenses, as well as the safety of the venue. These were the weaknesses as they resulted to the jeopardizing of the quality of the event and led to some distress levels to the event’s attendees. Some of these weaknesses could have resulted in some of the attendees to bail out of it and impact detrimentally on the level in which the goals of the event will be achieved. The opportunities that presented themselves regarding the Riverstock event included the development of appropriate contingency plans, establishment of own service provision company, having various camping options, and changing the dates of holding the event. Through exploring these opportunities, the event would manage to satisfy some of the needs of the market which will result in attracting more potential attendees and sponsors as well as event participation. Recommendations Expectancy Confirmation Theory Despite the few challenges that I experienced related to overcrowding, most of my expectations related to the event were fulfilled. I expected some quality music, exquisite camping experience, utmost entertainment, and great levels of interaction and comfort which most of them were achieved. My disconfirmation of beliefs related to the performance and the experience that I had was positive because the what I was offered outperformed my original expectations which are what increased my post-event satisfaction levels (Bhattacherjee, 2001). The social media marketing seemed to focus mainly on Twitter while there are other social media platforms which could be exploited including Facebook and Youtube. Therefore, the event’s marketing could exploit some of the other social media avenues as well (Hoffman and Fodor, 2010). Regarding camping, there could be the provision of other camping options aside from the ones provided. Some other options could include the caravan sites, the auto camping sites, and the individual camping sites. Regarding planning, the organizers could develop alternative plans on the way to address unexpected issues like an excess turnout or a low turnout from what was expected to be safe in case of any of those (Silvers et al., 2005). Conclusion The Riverstock music and camping event is an event that is held on an annual basis last year, November 2016; it was held at Riverland by the river banks of River Murray. This event was marketed through market positioning as well as market segmentation. Event promotion was done through the use of social media more so Twitter and their website in addition to a television advertisement. The key target market were the South Australians, but visitors came from other states as well as some parts of the world. My best experience was having to experience a mix of music and camping by the river bank, and my worst was the fact that the event was crowded so much. The SWOT analyses as well as well as the recommendations for the event have been discussed in the report. References Abbott, J.L. and Geddie, M.W 2000, Event and venue management: Minimizing liability through effective crowd management techniques. Event Management, 6(4), pp.259-270. Bhattacherjee, A 2001, Understanding information systems continuance: an expectation-confirmation model. MIS quarterly, pp.351-370. Eldering, C.A., Expanse Networks, Inc. 2001, Advertisement selection system supporting discretionary target market characteristics. U.S. Patent 6,216,129. G. Woodside, A., Ramos Mir, V. and Duque, M 2011, Tourism's destination dominance and marketing website usefulness. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 23(4), pp.552-564. Hoffman, D.L and Fodor, M 2010, Can you measure the ROI of your social media marketing?. MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(1), p.41-45. Schunk, D. H., Meece, J. R., & Pintrich, P. R 2012, Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications. Pearson Higher Ed. Silvers, J.R., Bowdin, G.A., O'Toole, W.J and Nelson, K.B 2005, Towards an international event management body of knowledge (EMBOK). Event Management, 9(4), pp.185-198. Yankelovich, D. and Meer, D 2006, Rediscovering market segmentation. Harvard business review, 84(2), p.122-125. Read More