Vendors of Red Bull Crashed Ice at Quebec City - Case Study Example

Introduction Event management has gained application in so many sectors of the Canadian economy. The sports industry is one such area that requires special attention. This is because it involves the outdoors, it has the capacity to draw large crowds and the magnitude of sponsors involved is usually high. However, for purposes of this paper, special emphasis will be given to an ice event sponsored by The Red Bull Company known as Red Bull crashed Ice. This event will be based in Quebec City and most of the recommendations given will be based on the location. (Red Bull Crashed Ice, 2008) Also, the essay will be a discussion of the vendors needed to make such an event successful. Examples of vendors that will be discussed include; food vendors, beverage vendors, advertising vendors, Music and entertainment vendors, ancillary vendors and security vendors. Food vendors A sports event without food is a failed one. Reports indicate that many Canadians including the ones at Quebec City are looking for snack based foods. Some of the most common foods to be found in such events include peanuts, soft drinks, hotdogs, and ice cream. Consequently, the Red Bull Crashed Ice event will be more of a success if it contained some of the latter mentioned items. Dry foods such as peanuts and other snack may be sold by many vendors. However, food requiring some sort of heating such as hotdogs and sausages will need to be sold by vendors with stands. The company either has the choice of having stalls where the vendors could be located or alternatively, they could offer these items in carts. The latter approach would be more feasible than the former one because of the fact that the event will only last for one day. Additionally, most food vendors are usually contract based; consequently, most of them may already have their own facilities that would assist them in the process of selling their merchandise. In order to determine how much reception the sports fun will give to a food type, it is essential for one to consider the nature of the sport. In sports where there is less action, then people are likely to get out of their seats and buy items. The Red Bull Ice event will be packed with action as it is naturally a fast sport. (Red Bull Crashed Ice, 2008)Additionally, the weather or the condition of the venue plays a large role. It has been noted that when it is extremely cold, people tend to stay in their seats and move around less, however, when it is warm, then they are likely to look for food stands. In order to ensure that food vendors conduct their business people, it will be essential for food vendors to move around with the commodities because the nature of event is likely to trigger minimal participation from people. In order to boost the success of this event, it will be important for the food vendors to offer a wide variety of foods. For instance, hamburgers, pizzas and some deep fried chicken may be an alternative. It should be noted that most people tend to prefer certain dry foods in sports events because it gives them the flexibility to stand up and cheer their teams without worrying about dropping their food. This means, that the food on offer needs to be easy to handle. There are various ways in which the company can access such food vendors. First of all, it could find out some of the vendors that have taken part in previous events in Quebec thus hiring them. The best way of doing this is by consulting with previous sponsors of the game. Alternatively, the company could search through numerous Food vending sites across the Internet which contain lists of people who have worked in the sporting event before. These vendors normally place their resumes on those websites and the company can then prove whether the claims made in those advertisements are true by calling some of their previous clients. Additionally, some vendors have created websites of where to find them and where they are based Quebec City has a wide range to choose from. One such company is known as Kijiji Edmonton. This company was created with the purpose of serving food during events. The company normally charges no hiring fees and will make money off the sales that they manage to make during one's event. Other companies include; Willis Built carts Mobile Field Kitchen Company Mobile Kitchen Canada Mobile Kitchens Rentals Beverage vendors While some consumers may not opt to eat while watching a game, almost of them are highly interested in drinks. This is because drinks are handy to carry around and are refreshing. Beverage vendors may either sell soft drinks or alcoholic ones. However, because the event will be sponsored by Red Bull (Red Bull Crashed Ice, 2008); a mildly alcoholic beverage, then the company should not allow other alcoholic drinks to compete with them directly - only soft drinks should be allowed in the event. Vendors serving the Red Bull drinks will need to know the dangers of selling alcohol to minors. Additionally, buyers ought to be provided with free water so as to curb cases of drunkenness. Besides this, the vendors will also be required to limit the number of servings which they offer to certain individuals so as to bring order in the event. It should also be noted that continuous alcohol intake may actually cause brawls and other forms of disorganization within the company. This can make the event highly unsuccessful. For instance, it could cause property damage, vandalism just to name a few. Aside from Red Bull as an alcoholic drink, there will also be a number of soft drinks. It would be advisable to select vendors from different categories or companies. This is in order to make up for the differing tastes in soft drinks within specific events. It should also be noted that some groups may not necessarily enjoy certain drinks but this may actually be countered when there are a wide range of them. Entertainment vendors In order to ascertain that the Red Bull event becomes a success, a lot of resources will have to be dedicated to the entertainment aspect. The first thing that comes to mind when considering a sports event is the music. The company will have to hire an experienced Sports event DJ. In order to ensure that he is able to effectively handle this challenge, it will be important to make certain that the DJ works for a reputable company. Since Quebec City has so many entertainment companies, issues such as costs and scheduling issues have to be put in mind. The DJs chosen for the event will also need to get people hyped up. In order to do this, they must play music that suits the demographics in the event. Since the event is expected to attract a large pool of youth and teenagers (Red Bull Crashed Ice, 2008), then the DJ must put this into consideration. Besides the latter issues, care must be taken to ensure that the vendors hired for the event are highly skilled in coordinating music types. For instance at the start of the event, it may be important to play music that will get the crowd absorbed into the event. Somewhere in the middle when people have begun catching up then this will have to be hyped up. At the end of the event, there may be a need to play music at a lower tempo. These are all intricacies that can be handled by someone who has had prior experience in management of large sporting events. The types of equipments used in entertainment will also be imperative in predicting the outcome of the event. This means that the nature of the music equipment chosen for the event needs to be in top condition. This can only be done by selecting vendors with the right expertise in this field. Additionally, a lot of attention should be given to the overall nature of the sporting event. Security vendors Source: http://www.sportseventsecurity.com/ A number of terrorist attacks have been held in public places and one of the freshest events that occurred was the September eleven attacks. After this occurrence, the US alongside its neighbors woke up to the harsh reality of the looming terror threat to its country. Consequently, whenever one is planning to hold a public event such as the Red Bull crashed ice one, then there ought to be adequate security preparation. Security vendors will be important in the establishment of order in the event and also in providing a number of services. Since so many tasks will be carried out by this group, then it is imperative for one to look for ways in which they can enhance this experience by looking for certain features in security vendors. First of all the vendor of choice should be one who has experience in crowd management. In the event that a brawl occurs or that there is some form of chaos in the crowd, then there should be adequate control of it through the security personnel. Consequently, vendors must be physically and emotionally prepared to handle such crowds. Additionally, the ideal security vendor is one who can deal with isolated incidences of violence from the fans. For instance, in a basketball tournament, a fan was angered by the fact that his team was losing, he woke up and threw a can of beer at a player. The security personnel did not respond fast enough and this eventually drew other members of the crowd thus causing a lot of commotion. The security vendors to be chosen for this event should be those ones who have had prior experience in dealing with such incidences especially sports related ones. One should also put in mind the fact that security personnel need to be well versed with other more dangerous security issues. For instance, they need to be ready for incidences that may occur as a result of the use of explosives or small weapons or weapons of mass destruction. These kinds of threats have been identified by many security companies and most of them have asserted that an event cannot be said to fully secure, when dangerous ammunition has not been adequately handled. Security vendors chosen for this issue will have to demonstrate that they have adequate expertise in the field. They need to show that they have acquired experience there and that there are adequate levels of protection in those areas. (Red Bull Crashed Ice, 2008) Lastly, the security vendor chosen for the event needs to undergo training in the venue of the event. This is because each event has its own security threats. By undergoing training there, the company will be in a position to assess the kind of security threat in the event and thus look for ways of preventing it. In fact, security experts assert that the most successful security endeavors are those ones that start from prevention rather than mitigation of the event. In order to ascertain that the company chosen has actually gone through this, then there will be a need to look at certificates for workshop attendance in security, testimonials from other companies that have hired them and have been satisfied with their services. Also, evidence of training will also have to be indicated through training certificates. It should also be noted that for there is a need for the efficient coordination of the following aspects -Equipment -People -Products These are all issues that need to be protected by security personnel so as to ensure that they are present when they are required. Additionally, care needs to be taken to ensure that there are adequate levels of finance in all these areas. (Red Bull Crashed Ice, 2008) The security team also needs to demonstrate that they are adequately prepared to tackle a fire incident. In case of anything, the security team needs to be in a position where they can handle some of the major hurdles that emanate from a fire. Some of them include staying calm and safely evacuating members of the crowd out of the building. Ancillary service vendors For the Red Bull event to be a success there is a need for efficient coordination of all the small aspects that in essence could not make the event worthwhile. Some of the activities that need to be considered here include checking for tickets, making audience arrangements, showing people where to seat and the like. All these activities fall within the ancillary service section. The major qualities that need to be examined by event coordinators in choosing these vendors is their flexibility. Because some of these tasks are relatively simple, then they can be handled by one particular company. The company needs to demonstrate that they can check for tickets, well, that they have good ushering skills (by showing people where to seat) and also they need to illustrate that they are capable of handling certain other responsibilities that may arise individually among the fans. It is essential for the ancillary vendor chosen for this event to be fairly priced. Since there are numerous vendors who are willing to provide such services, then the service organizers have a wide range of options to choose from. This also means that they have the right to get value for their money by employing only those groups that demonstrate their full capabilities in handling this matter. Electronic vendors The latter event will also be in need of electronic service vendors because the expected crowd will need to hear everything that is going on. Consequently, providers will need amplifiers that are large enough and those ones that have the right pitch and tone. Additionally, a public address system will need to be instated. There are a number of vendors who own these kinds of equipments and they normally rent them out to those in need of them. Consequently, the event can only be labeled a success if communication is done clearly and this will be by selecting vendors who has good equipment. In order to ascertain that this is done correctly, then the service vendor will have to be tested on the quality of his sound systems. Conclusion Carrying out an event such as the Red Bull crashed Ice competition will involve numerous vendors. (Red Bull Crashed Ice, 2008)Some of them may need to demonstrate high levels of experience and these include security and entertainment vendors. Others may need to offer low hiring prices such as ancillary service providers and food and beverage vendors. Some of the places where these vendors can be accessed are through their company websites and also through previous vent holders who have positive experiences with them. References Red Bull Crashed Ice (2008): The Red Bull Crashed Ice, retrieved from http://www.redbullcrashedice.ca/home accessed on 1st Dec 2008 Read More