Festival and Special Event Management - Research Paper Example

Business Plan: Sydney Paralympics Name Course Name Executive Summary Business plan is important in determining the direction and approach in which an event can become successful. Sydney Paralympics is an example of event that could take place in the first week of August 2013 that is aimed at illustrating the capabilities of persons with disabilities. The event would be preceded by a week of exercise in which persons with disabilities would be oriented towards understanding the event. Some of the stakeholders who would be involved with the event include the government, business organisations, communities, audiences, spectators, media channels and other important institutions that aim to assist persons with disabilities. The targeted market for the event includes the government, institutions, the community and the persons with disabilities. Numerous parties and partners would be involved in ensuring the event becomes successful and some of them are the human resource. The human resources are persons who are responsible in aiding the event to be successful and some of the holders include the human resource department, finance department, marketing, logistics and liaison departments. Moreover, the promotional channels that would be utilised in ensuring more consumers are engaged include Internet based marketing, print media, and audio and video media channels. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Brief Description of the Event 4 2.0 Festival Objectives 4 3.0 Stakeholder Analysis 5 4.0 Site Analysis 6 5.0 Logistics and Staging 7 6.0 Human Resources 8 7.0 Market Analysis 10 7.1 Market Research 10 7.2 Target market 11 7.3 SWOT Analysis 11 8.0 Customer Analysis 11 9.0 Marketing and Promotion 12 10.0 Sponsorship 13 11.0 Impact of the Event 15 12.0 References 16 1.0 Brief Description of the Event Persons with disabilities are common in Sydney and their capabilities has never be utilised or analysed. Many people believe persons with disabilities are incapable and therefore carrying out a sporting event would inform the community and the society of the benefits of persons with disability. The event would be known as Sydney Paralympics and it is aimed at bringing together persons with physical disabilities to participate in athletics based competition. Five sporting events would take place and the event would take place at Stadium Australia. The decision to use Stadium Australia is because it is strategically located in terms of access and also it is a large stadium with the appropriate resources to carry out the event effectively. The Sydney Paralympics would take place on the first weekend of August 2013 and the participants would participate in a one week exercise before proceeding with the event. This is aimed at informing the participants on the events and also determining whether there are external factors such as injuries or other complications that would prevent them from participating in the event. 2.0 Festival Objectives In any event, objectives usually guides planning and implementation of the event (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). Different events or festivities are guided by different objectives and in the case of Sydney Paralympics, the objectives are: Bringing together people with disabilities and the community to have fun To create and raise affection towards people with disabilities To give opportunity to people with disabilities to express their capabilities To introduce stakeholders involved in people with disability industry 3.0 Stakeholder Analysis Sydney Paralympics Stakeholders Roles Event Planner/Manager This is the person responsible for all activities taking place and also plays the role of linking different stakeholders towards understanding the reasons of the event and the outcome of the event (Michael, 2009). In addition, the event planner ensures the stakeholders fulfils their promises, allocates available resources and directs the event towards achieving objectives stated (Damm, 2011). Organisational Committee The organisational committee include individuals from stakeholders and they help in decision making and ensuring planning corresponds to the objectives. Industry players e.g. government, non-governmental organisations dealing with people with disabilities Industry players ensure the event is planned and completed based on governmental regulations. In addition, the industry players provide appropriate resources ranging from monetary to advice. Examples of industry in Sydney Paralympics include the central government, Sydney government, and people with disability organisations (e.g. Physical Disability Council of NSW and Physical Disability Council of Austria Ltd.) Stadium Australia This is the location in which the event will take place. It has a capacity of more than 82,500 people and it will be enough space to host the event. Moreover, the event is charity in nature and it is important to come to an understanding with the management of the stadium to understand the purpose of the event (Stadium Australia, 2013). Participants (Athletes) These are the people with physical impairments and they will be the actual participants. Spectators/Attendees These include the community and stakeholders cheering and appreciating the contribution of the participants. Media Media coverage is important from promoting the event, to actual been present at the event, and post event information provision (Damster, 2005). The media will also inform the community on the benefit of the event and the contribution of the community and stakeholders towards achieving objectives Community The community are the immediate persons who understand the participants and location of the event (Baum, 2009). The community is beneficial since it has enough information and can advice other stakeholders towards ensuring the event is successful. Business community Business community includes people selling drinks, organisational bringing promotional materials and other commercial related activities. The importance of this stakeholder is that they bring resources, which can be utilised in ensuring the event becomes successful. 4.0 Site Analysis The site is an important component that contributes towards determining whether an event is successful or not (Dana, Mary & Randall, 2010). The site defines whether numerous persons would attend the event based on circumstances and other technical requirements of the site (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). Some factors that participants and visitors bases in determining whether the site is conducive include security, accessibility, practicability and availability of resources to fulfil the requirements of the event. These are also factors considered by institutions, organisations or individuals carrying out an event. The Stadium Australia is located in Sydney and it is a multi-purpose stadium meaning that it has enough resources to host the requirements and uniqueness of Sydney Paralympics event. Stadium Australia is also large and it can easily host more than 80,000 spectators and participants. In addition, the stadium is strategically located and it offers numerous means of access. The security within the stadium and in the stadium can easily be managed because the stadium has been holding numerous large events. Therefore, the most important aspect is ensuring that different stakeholders including the management of the stadium are involved in planning and carrying out the event. Such approach would also be beneficial to the stadium as a site of holding similar and future events. 5.0 Logistics and Staging In any event, some requirements including requirements and other resources are required to ensure the event is success (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). Events require numerous resources and these resources differ from one event to the other. For example, a wine festival might require different logistical resources compared to a rally event. In the case of Sydney Paralympics, the appropriate logistical approach is based on project management. Project management allows and assists in determining the appropriate approach in which a project should be completed and steps that should be followed to allow achievement of proposed outcome. Even though project management is important in ensuring efficiency towards a project, numerous challenges are associated with Sydney Paralympics logistical management. Some of the challenges include difficulties in bringing the persons with disabilities to the stadium, management of the crowd and management of any applicable equipment. To manage these challenges, human resource is important and the human resource should be informed on their roles and responsibilities. 6.0 Human Resources Human resource is crucial in ensuring an event becomes successful (Michael, 2012). Human resource comes with different expertise that ensures organisation operates effectively. Human resource is important in ensuring the Sydney Paralympics event becomes successful. The human resource required in ensuring the effective is held effectively includes persons dealing with finance, human resource, liaisons, logistics and marketing. The following chart illustrates the management of Sydney Paralympics. The following table summaries some of the responsibilities that are allocated to each of the departments/director Department/Director Preview of Responsibilities Managing Director The holder of this position would coordinate all the activities of the different departments into ensuring the event becomes successful (Allen et al., 2012). The holder would also be the point person in which other stakeholders can associate to the event. Finance Department The holder would be responsible for financial collection and assist in budget of the funds towards fulfilling the financial requirements of the event. The holder would be responsible to ensure the funds collected are utilised effectively Human Resource Department The holder would ensure employees and volunteers’ work together forming a coherent team (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). In addition, the human resource manager would be responsible to bring together individuals with different expertise towards fulfilling the requirements of the event. Liaisons Department The holder would be responsible to informing the public and updating the stakeholders regarding the event. The holder would be informing on the status of the event, what is required, how it can be achieved and other important matters that would ensure the event becomes successful. Logistics Department The person holding this position would be responsible to ensuring different departments works seamlessly through providing any resources required at specific localities and also ensuring participants and audiences can participate in the event comfortably. Marketing Department The holder of this position would be responsible to informing regarding the services and products that are offered to the audience (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). In addition, the person ensures that the targeted audience are engaged and encouraged to participate in the event. Apart from the above mentioned human resource professionals, other persons who are important in ensuring the event is staged effectively include: Human resource/ Kind of labour Role and responsibility Recruited staff These are the most important persons because they have experience and they would ensure the event achieves its objectives. Some of the recruited staff include the human resource manager, finance and administrative management, marketing manager, managing director and public relationship manager Volunteers Volunteers are important persons because they come to assist with the aim of ensuring the event becomes successful. Example of volunteers in this event includes the local community who aim to ensure the event becomes successful. Outsourced staff The outsourced staff might include call centre personnel who would be answering the questions from the participants and audience. Staff of the venue These are management staff of the stadium and other personnel who are important in ensuring the venue operates well. Security The security comes in two forms which are the security of the stadium and police officers who would be responsible for managing traffic around the venue 7.0 Market Analysis Market analysis allows identification of the environment in which an organisation operates and on how the consumers within that market behave. The consumer behaviour defers and some products and services can be appreciated in certain environment compared to other products. 7.1 Market Research Market research allows for collection of information regarding the market. Market research and marketing research are sometimes interchangeable and it links the customers and public to the marketer (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). Marketing research allows for collect of information, refining these information and then evaluation of marketing actions. Information regarding event organisation and sports events is numerous in the literature. Such information is easier to collect, refine and utilise in formulating and implementing the Sydney Paralympics event. 7.2 Target market Target market is a segment from a larger market in which the resources can be concentrated on to obtain the maximum influence (Leask, 2010). The targeted markets for the Sydney Paralympics are people with disabilities, community, organisations and government. 7.3 SWOT Analysis Understanding the way an organisation operates relative to the environment determines the marketing strategies and other strategic measures that can be introduced (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). SWOT analyses provide an avenue in which the strengths and opportunities of an organisation can be maximised and also the weaknesses and threats of an organisation can be minimised. The following table summaries the SWOT Analysis of hosting the Sydney Paralympics event. Strengths It is aimed to support the community Easily access support from numerous stakeholders Weaknesses Requires a lot of logistical consideration Opportunities Numerous organisations and individuals championing persons with disabilities requirements can easily participate in the event Threats It is the first event and thus there is no enough information regarding the event 8.0 Customer Analysis Customer analysis allows understanding the customer through customer segmentation, customer value, motivational factors, consumer behaviour and other factors that drives a consumer to purchase products or services (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). Customer analysis also allows identification of customers and strategies that would be utilised in targeting these customers. In addition, customer analysis allows identification of the most profitable customers and how they can be engaged. The following table discusses the customers and benefits of these customers to the event: Customers Influence to the event People with disabilities This would be targeted market because it determines whether the event would take place in the first place (Damm, 2011). Resources should be concentrated on informing and engaging people with disabilities into ensuring that they participate in large numbers. Community The community allows for identification of persons with physical disabilities. The community would also provide services in kind such as transportation. These people would also contribute in the number of audiences in the stadium. Organisations Organisations would provide financial and other type of sponsorships that would ensure the event becomes successful. The higher the number of sponsors would also mean that enough resources are collected and hence would contribute towards the success of the event. Government The government would provide assistance which could ensure the event is successful. This can be achieved through creating awareness and also informing the government on the benefit of the event. Audience These are the important persons because they would attend the event and also pay for the entrance fee. The audience would generate additional revenues towards achieving the goals of the event. 9.0 Marketing and Promotion Marketing and promotional strategy is a framework which is utilised in spreading the information on the product or service to the stakeholders, the public and customers (Leask, 2010). Promotion involves engaging the public and consumers into getting information regarding a given product or service with the aim of changing their consumer behaviour (King et al., 2010). To promote the Sydney Paralympics, numerous media channels would be utilised in ensuring the consumers and other interested parties are engaged on the event. The following table summaries the media channel utilised in informing the public on the Sydney Paralympics event. Media channel Analysis of media channel Television, radio Television and radio are important platforms in which consumers and other stakeholders would be involved on the occurrence of the event (Damster, 2005). Information regarding the event would be allocated prime time period and also discussions on important of analysing the benefits of person with disabilities can take place. Print, newspapers, publications, brochures Information on Sydney Paralympics would be printed on numerous publications include newspapers. In addition, brochures and pamphlets would be printed and distributed to numerous organisations and people with the aim of engaging the customers. Internet based promotion Internet is a unique platform in which information can be exchanged easily and reach more people (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). Two strategies in utilising the Internet would be utilised. The first approach would be creation of a website that explains and defines the objectives and planning of the event. The second approach is opening accounts in social media such as Facebook and Twitter whereby information regarding the event would be posted. The benefit of this approach is the idea that the social medium acts in a manner in which information is passed from many people to many people. 10.0 Sponsorship Sponsorship is defined as the provision of assistance either in kind or financial to an event with the aim of achieving commercial objective. In addition, sponsorship is also aimed at ensuring specific social and community is encouraged with the purpose of fulfilling social responsibility requirement. Moreover, sports sponsorship allows the easiness in which certain sports event is directly associated with target audience (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). In any event, different sponsors come with different assistance with the aim of achieving or fulfilling certain goal. The following table summaries some the sponsors and sponsorships that would ensure the event is becomes successful. Sponsor Sponsorship (Reason for inclusion) Media houses Media house would provide a platform in which information regarding the event would be transmitted (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). Media houses provide a means in which a large audience can be reached and also can easily engage the participants and the target market. In addition, the media would also inform the public, participants and other persons who want is required from them and when it should be completed. Government The government has enough resources and determines policies and other regulations that guide such effects (Leask, 2010). The government responsibility is to ensure all persons can operate effectively and therefore involvement of the government would be beneficial for the event. For example, the government would be requested to provide security measures and other sponsorships in kind. Stadium Australia This is the site in which the event would take place. The management would be involved in planning and also becomes a major contributor during the actual event (Gelbman, 2012). Involvement of the Stadium Australia management would provide the expertise and other services that are better known to them compared to other persons outside the stadium. Moreover, the management would provide means in which additional sponsorship and funding can be accessed from. Non-Governmental Organisations NGOs play an important role in improving the living standards of communities and societies (Baum, 2009). In addition, the NGOs try to engage with different institutions and organisations with the aim of elevating community or societal problem. The NGOs would be requested to fund the event and also provide other services to ensure the event becomes successful. Business Community The business community is the most important sponsor because it can either offer its services in terms of financial, supportive services e.g. drinks and also advice (Leask, 2010). For example, numerous organisations would be involved in providing supportive services while others would be requested to support the event financially. Community The community usually play an important role in determining whether an event becomes successful (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). Regarding the Sydney Paralympics event, the community is the most important sponsors because they would be bringing the participants to the events. Moreover, the community have knowledge on persons with disabilities and therefore the community contributes immensely towards ensuring the event becomes successful. 11.0 Impact of the Event Event management has different impacts to the location whereby the event is held (Batyk & Smoczynski, 2010). It is paramount to understand the influence of the event to the society and community in order to formulate measures to address complications if they might occur. Economic – the economy of the region would develop because the audiences and spectators increases utilisation of products and services and this can contribute positively to the economy. Moreover, the sponsors can benefit positively to a successful event because the customers views and perspectives towards the sponsoring companies would be positive. Environment – sustainability of the environment is important and numerous risks exist, which can contribute to degradation of the environment. Waste management is important and the stadium or location has already measures that address waste management and also rowdiness of spectators and audience. Social – the community and the society would benefit immensely from the event. The persons with disabilities capability would be known and also the culture of the society can be understood. Moreover, the region would develop economically meaning the society would continue to benefit and therefore illustrates the benefits associated to event organisation. This can also be illustrated by job opportunities offered to the society from the event. 12.0 References Allen, J., O’Toole, W., Harris, R., & McDonnell, I. (2012). Festival and Special Event Management, Google eBook, 5th Ed. London: John Wiley & Sons Batyk, I., & Smoczynski, S. (2010). “Tourism – Common cause”. Polish tourist products. Tourism Management, 31(4), 553-555 Baum, T. (2009). People and Work in Events and Conventions: A Research Perspective. London: CABI Damm, S. (2011). Event Management: How to Apply Best Practices to Small Scale Events. London: Diplomica Verlag Damster, G. (2005). Event Management: A Professional And Developmental Approach, 2nd Ed. London: Juta and Company Ltd. Dana, T., Mary, R., & Randall, U. (2010). An Analysis of Event Managers' Problem-Solving Propensity: Applying the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI) to the Field of Event Management. Event Management, 14(1), 83-89 Gelbman, A. (2012). Island of Peace or Island of War: Tourist Guiding. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(1), 108-133 Getz, D. (2008). Event tourism: Definition, evolution, and research. Tourism Management, 29(3), 403-428 Gold, J., & Gold, M. (2010). Olympic Cities: City Agendas, Planning, and the World’s Games, 1896 – 2016, 2nd Ed. Sydney: Taylor & Francis King, A., Ward, K., O’Connor, P., Green, D., Tonkin, Z., & Mahoney, J. (2010). Adaptive management of an environmental watering event to enhance native fish spawning and recruitment. Freshwater Biology, 55(1), 17-31 Leask, A. (2010). Progress in visitor attraction research: Towards more effective management. Tourism Management, 31(2), 155-166 Michael, H. (2012). Sustainable Mega-events: beyond the Myth of balanced approaches to Mega-event Sustainability. Event Management, 16(2), 119-131 Michael, M. (2009). What makes a Good Festival? Understanding the Event Experience. Event Management, 12(2), 81-93 Raj, R., & Musgrave, J. (2009). Event Management and Sustainability. London: CABI Stadium Australia. (2013). Home. Available at http://www.anzstadium.com.au/Home.aspx (Accessed 8 May 2013) Read More