A

Project Report
On

“Event Marketing”

In the Partial Fulfillments of the

Degree Requirements Towards The
Master of Business Administration

Submitted By: Submitted To

Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy Amitab Anand

Session 2009-2010.
National School of Business.
Bangalore.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work has been a result of valuable guidance and supervision of Mr. Amitab Anand an
ideal teacher and a true guide. I don’t have the words to express the deep-felt gratitude which I
owe him. He rendered invaluable help and guidance to me during my project and remained a
continuous source of information and motivation for me. He deserves my special thanks for his
most constructive suggestions and healthy criticism through out my MBA. I feel enriched by his
invaluable guidance.

Finally what ever I’m is all due to my parents who have always been a constant source of
guidance, inspiration, and optimism for me. I would also like to thank my friends for their
support and encouragement through out my project report. With so much able guidance it is
difficult to offer any excuse for the shortcomings that might follow. How ever the faults solely
are my responsibility.

Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy

Table of contents.

i. INTRODUCTION TO EVENT MANAGEMENT

 Marketing Tools
 Service to Customers
 Event Manager
 As an Industry
 Technology
 Education
 Categories of Events.

ii. Research Methodology

iii. Analysis and Interpretation
 Event Management

INTRODUCTION
Event management is the application of project management to the creation and
development of festivals, events and conferences.

Event management involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying

the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and
coordinating the technical aspects before actually executing the modalities of the
proposed event. Post-event analysis and ensuring a return on investment have
become significant drivers for the event industry.

The recent growth of festivals and events as an industry around the world means
that the management can no longer be ad hoc. Events and festivals, such as
the Asian Games, have a large impact on their communities and, in some cases, the
whole country.

The industry now includes events of all sizes from the Olympics down to a
breakfast meeting for ten business people. Many industries, charitable, and interest
groups will hold events of some size in order to market themselves, build business
relationships, raise money or celebrate.

Every time when you saw a programme like 'Film fare' awards or those pop
concerts and beauty pageants you would have wondered how people managed to set
up such brilliant shows. Every tiny detail from your entering the venue to your
going out is a result of rigorous planning. Well…that's event management for you.

It does mean big money, but it also involves lots of discipline and meticulous
planning to be in this profession. So if you are think you are that type then go
ahead and take the plunge. Planning an event is an event in itself. Your job as far as
organizing an even begins with the very basics. The client comes to the event
manager with a vague idea in mind…it is entirely upto the event manager to work
on the idea and turn it into a reality. Events could be anything from concerts,
product launches, conferences, promotions, press conferences, jubilee celebrations
and farewells to television based events, fashion shows, wedding or parties… it
could be just anything.

In a nutshell : An event manager has to first design the basic framework,j after
which he prepares the marketing plans, hunts for sponsors, works on the logistics,
locates the site/destination, contacts vendors, hires performers, prints/mails
invitation cards, creates menus, looks after the stage/lights, books the artistes,
arranges for transport for different people, and on the D' Day co-ordinates, plans
and finalizes every aspect of the event. Event managers usually start working
months before the event.

Sometimes, inorder to make the work easier, large event management companies
hire the services of smaller companies on a contract basis.

Remuneration: An excellent field to make money…in fact once you starts getting
the feel of the field, it will never be a problem. Even freelancers today earn
anywhere between Rs.30, 000 and above today. It is a very lucrative profession.
Money again depends on the kind of events you handle. If you prefer to deal with
weddings and parties it may easily come around Rs. 50,000 or even more. Event co-
coordinators with a good deal of experience could earn even in seven figures.

Joining an event management company…. A person who enters into this field has
to first join as a trainee. This person becomes the promotion co-ordinator. Event
management companies nowadays hire lots of young people for this post. Very
basic jobs in promoting the event is given to them. One could do this on a freelance
basis also. The next job in this field is event co-ordination. The main job of an event
co-ordinator is to supervise the various stages of planning in event management.

Skills Needed… In terms of educational qualifications, a graduation should be ideal

though not much stress is laid on education. But there are a host of other qualities,
which are essential for a person to be well-equipped in this field. These include:
• Analytical/Critical thinking and problem solving - Analytical thinking,
critical thinking and problem solving are abilities that are a must in this field.
You should be able to acknowledge a problem, recognize that it has to be
solved then and there, and always think on how the situation could be avoided
in future. An event manage

• Client/Customer service orientation - Client/customer service orientation is

the ability to be client focused and committed to meeting the needs of your
customer. An event manager has to be client focused, he must attempt to know
the client's needs, he must be able to put them at ease while interacting with
them, build trust and respect with customers and clients

• Good negotiation skills - It is a general opinion that negotiating means

underestimating the seller. On the contrary it is a skill in business which, when
developed, makes you an astute minded businessman.
•
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines - An event manager
should be able to handle pressures and deadlines at ease. Inspire of meticulous
planning and arrangement, a small error or miscalculation can wreak havoc
and disrupt the entire schedule. At such testing times, you should be able to
remain calm and cool and perform your role as though everything is under
control, so that others are not adversely affected.
• Teamwork, facilitation and co-operation - Needless to say, one of the most
important things here is the ability to work as a team. You should not only
know how to lead a team but also work with everyone and get the job done.
You should be able to build efficient teams of people and facilitate their
effectiveness. Always remember, "There is no 'I' in Team".

• Planning, co-ordination and organization - This involves the ability to

effectively coordinate and organize oneself, others, information and/or
situations at a personal and/or organizational level.
• Good networking skills - An event manager needs to build up his own
network and the number of contacts he has the more successful he will be.
Any kind of business can be only expanded through contacts and you must
therefore have the skill and aptitude to go out and talk to people.
What is Event Marketing?

There are certain strategies to follow which are applicable no matter what the sizes
of the budget in these are:

a. Identifiable target market

b. Accurate positioning
c. Good channels of distribution
d. An effective launch strategy
e. Category domination
f. Sustaining power
g. Delivery of a promise

It's your creative thinking, not the limit to your spending power that determines
your success. A major marketing tactic employed in the Event Marketing strata are:

a. The need to use multiple channels of distribution- Gone is the days of

relying solely on receipts. Videocassettes, cable and network television and
foreign sales are all diverse sources of revenue.
b. The importance of synchronous launch- Forget about launching a product
market by market, consumers have short attention spans and multiple entertain
c. The aggressive use of credible endorsements- if someone raved about your
product let everyone know. Consumers are generally influenced by third party
testimonials

d. At the same time, the entertainment and event industry has taught some tough
lessons the hard way. For e.g.- don’t let end options.

Your costs run high that returns on your investments are impossible and never
advertise or distribute your product when everyone is releasing theirs.

Entertainment/ Event marketing involves the setting of prices, packaging,

advertising, distribution and merchandising of just about any form of entertainment
or event available for public consumption. Travel has begun on the information
super highway. Shortly millions of people will encounter a staggering selection of
entertainment through satellites, phone lines, high-powered PCs and hundreds of
cable television channels. Then there will be a profusion of new ways to reach these
consumers.

Contents
• 1 Marketing tool
• 2 Services of companies
• 3 Event manager
• 4 As an industry
• 5 Technology
• 6 Education
• 7 Categories of Events
Marketing tool
Event management is considered one of the strategic marketing and communication
tools by companies of all sizes. From product launches to press conferences,
companies create promotional events to help them communicate with clients and
potential clients. They might target their audience by using the news media, hoping
to generate media coverage which will reach thousands or millions of people. They
can also invite their audience to their events and reach them at the actual event.

Services of companies
Event management companies and organizations service a variety of areas including
corporate events (product launches, press conferences, corporate meetings and
conferences), marketing programs (road shows, grand opening events), and
special corporate hospitality events like concerts, award ceremonies, film premieres,
launch/release parties, fashion shows, commercial events, private (personal) events
such as weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Clients hire event management companies to handle a specific scope of services for
the given event, which at its maximum may include all creative, technical and
logistical elements of the event. (Or just a subset of these, depending on the client's
needs, expertise and budget)

Event manager
The event manager is the person who plans and executes the event. Event managers
and their teams are often behind-the-scenes running the event. Event managers may
also be involved in more than just the planning and execution of the event, but also
brand building, marketing and communication strategy. The event manager is
experts at the creative, technical and logistical elements that help an event succeed.
This includes event design, audio-visual production, scriptwriting, logistics,
budgeting, negotiation and, of course, client service. It is a multi-dimensional
profession.
The event manager may become involved at the early initiation stages of the event.
If the event manager has budget responsibilities at this early stage they may be
termed an event or production executive. The early stages include:

 Site surveying
 Client Service
 Brief clarification
 Budget drafting
 Cash flow management
 Supply chain identification
 Procurement
 Scheduling
 Site design
 Technical design
 Health & Safety

An event manager who becomes involved closer to the event will often have a more
limited brief. The key disciplines closer to the event are:

 Health & Safety including crowd management,

 Logistics
 Rigging
 Sound
 Light
 Video
 Detailed scheduling
 Security
As an industry
Event Management is a multi-million dollar industry, growing rapidly, with mega
shows and events hosted regularly. Surprisingly, there is no formalized research
conducted to assess the growth of this industry. The industry includes fields such as
the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events), exhibitions, conferences
and seminars as well as live music and sporting events.
The logistics side of the industry is paid less than the sales/sponsorship side, though
some may say that these are two different industries.

Technology
Software companies service event planners with a complete solution including
Online Event Registration, Event Marketing Tool, Hotel Booking Tool, Travel
Booking Tool, Budgeting Tool etc

Education
There are an increasing number of universities which offer Graduate
Degree/Diploma in Event Management, especially in the UK where they have been
quick to catch on to the new interest and many are now
offering certificate, diploma, degree and masters degree coursework. In the
Netherlands - Rotterdam – Euro College University of Professional Education
offers Hospitality & Events Management. In India National Academy of Event
Management & Development - NAEMD offers Diploma & Post Graduate Diploma
in Event Management, National Institute of Event Management - NIEM, Event
Management Development Institute - EMDI and Amity University also offer
courses on event management.

In addition to these academic courses, there are many associations and societies that
provide courses on the various aspects of the industry.

Study includes organizational skills, technical knowledge, P.R., marketing,

advertising, catering, logistics, decor, glamour identity, human relations, study of
law and licenses, risk management, budgeting, study of allied industries like
television, other media and several other areas.
In a first for the industry, a National Student Events Conference is being held in
2008 with the aim of improving links between students and industry. Topics
covered will include the Olympics, health & safety, incentive travel and
networking. The NSEC will take place on 18 April 2008 at the University of
Derby's Keddleston Road campus.

 Career opportunities are in the following Industries :

1. Event Management
2. Event Management Consultancy
3. Hotel, travel and hospitality Industries
4. Advertising Agencies
5. Public Relations Firms
6. Corporations
7. News Media
8. Non-profit organization
9. Integrated Marketing & Communications
Categories of Events
Events can be classified into four broad categories based on their purpose and
objective:

1. Leisure events e.g. leisure sport, music, recreation.

2. Cultural events e.g. ceremonial, religious, art, heritage, and folklore.
3. Personal events e.g. weddings, birthdays, anniversaries.
4. Organizational events e.g. commercial, political, charitable, sales,
product launch.
EVENT MARKETING

Today entertainment and event marketing has become a large income generating market.
Many of the industry profiles state that any event which requires funds would call for an
excess budget, but the fact is a well planned strategy for an event will work on any budget
Event marketing thus becomes a very important part of your event plan.

Marketing Your Event.

There isn't an industry in the world whose marketing exercises are more than
discernible than the event/entertainment business. When you market an event, you
are charged with creating a brand in the shortest amount of time possible.
Advertising, publicity, promotion in some cases, research are the tools of effective
event marketing. To make it, your project should be armed with a good poster, press
kit, lots of promotions and a creative campaign and sometimes the event; nobody
can predict an event's success or failure. At the same time not even the most
provocative and powerful marketing can save a bad event.

Prior to beginning the marketing process for your event, it's a good idea to take a
check of the saleable qualities of your product/event before you market it. Ensure
that you are properly equipped to proceed. You should be able to answer the
following questions about your product/event before you market it:
What can marketers do to reach this position?

While it is true that the public has a voracious thrust for some new event, simply
producing a product or event no long guarantees success. Prior to risking thousands
or even millions of rupees promoters, producers and entrepreneurs must determine
exactly who their audience or target audience is and how best to reach it. Reaching
your target is half the battle won. Convincing them that it is the best thing that has
happened requires marketing prowess.

Whether you call it marketing or hype, great advertising is a kind of art that can
often help propel your product towards a very profitable existence within its short
life span.

Before we dive into the wonderful world of event marketing, we need to look at the
world of advertising.

Advertising:

Advertising will evaluate and determine the marketing characteristic of your event
and help you reach your target market by doing the following:

 Analyze the present and potential market for your product

 Outline the relationship of your product and any inherent competition it might
face in the marketplace
 Profile the available media (radio, print, outdoors, television, e-mail or direct
mail) necessary to communicate the product benefits to the consumer.
 Formulate a cohesive strategy or marketing plan
 Execute your marketing plan Marketing Your Event

There isn't an industry in the world whose marketing exercises are more than
discernible than the event/entertainment business. When you market an event, you
are charged with creating a brand in the shortest amount of time possible.
Advertising, publicity, promotion in some cases, research are the tools of effective
event marketing. To make it, your project should be armed with a good poster, press
kit, lots of promotions and a creative campaign and sometimes the event, nobody
can predict an event's success or failure. At the same time not even the most
provocative and powerful marketing can save a bad event.

Prior to beginning the marketing process for your event, it's a good idea to take a
check of the saleable qualities of your product/event before you market it. Ensure
that you are properly equipped to proceed. You should be able to answer the
following questions about your product/event before you market it:

a. Is it a strong and a unique event?

b. Have there been similar events of the same genre that has been successful?
c. Do you have any notable cast in your event?
d. Do you have a target audience?
e. Is the key art powerful?
f. Does the product/company connected with the event have a marketable track
record?
g. Is there a merchandising capability?

The remainder of the process deals with the challenges an issues these question
raise. Creating a Budget

There is no set formula when setting a budget to market an event. You have to look
at several variables prior to generating a budget:

a. What is the potential of your event?

b. Who is your audience?
c. What is the gross of similar events held in the past?

You will also need to find out how many markets should be included in the release
of your event. (Markets here means see the other approach to budgeting is targeting
your audience and determining how best to reach out to them. This can be very
tricky, since making a mistake by targeting the wrong market can destroy an event.
The way to ensure a strong opening is to create an awareness frenzy as the
premieres. Depending on the genres, you need to generate a lot of publicity, press
releases and a breakthrough campaign to isolate your product amidst in the clutter.
The most essential and effective tool is in building awareness for any event in a
campaign. ties)

Positioning Your Product /Event

Long before the creation of your campaign begins, the positioning of your event
must be decided. The positioning of the genre of the event decide the type of
audience you will reach and exactly how you will posture the event to the press,
who will write about it long before the consumer will ever see it.

Once you have determined who your audience will be, you can then start to research
their characteristics and model your campaign after other similar events that have
proved successful.

Creative Checklist

This section describes the creative elements necessary for the development of the
key art and promotions required to sell your event.

Key art

Key art is the image created for the poster and later adapted for newspaper ads and
publicity materials. Key art is the first element of creativity developed long the
event. The role of the poster is to generate an early awareness for the event. The
poster image should be clean and simple. It's important to remember that key art
designed for the poster will also be adapted for the newspaper campaign. The
graphics must be clean and powerful in order to reduce properly as your ads grow
smaller in the third or fourth week of release.

Along with the poster comes the cutline. The cutline or copy line is generally a few
words that position or set up before the event. The copy should be provocative, able
to set a mood and sell the event
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of the Event Management is to provide participants with the numerous
skills they need to work as professional event managers. You will learn how to
prepare, implement and evaluate events as well as co-ordinate the different elements
that make an event memorable. The course will explore how to prepare winning
proposals, effectively negotiate with suppliers, manage finances and the budget,
locate suitable venues and schedule staff. Tips will be explored as to You will have
an opportunity to put together your own event proposal for a real event of your
choice and this will form a major part of your assessment for the course how to
design and implement a successful event

Objectives
• Event Management Planning, Testing Ideas
• Client Consultation, Preparing the proposal
• Selling and Presentation Skills
• Developing creative and innovative elements to your event
• Locating a venue, Contracts and Agreements
• Finding staff and professional help for an event, Managing Schedules,
• Record Keeping, Co-ordinating speakers, staff, contractors & volunteers
• Marketing the Event, Formulating a PR Strategy, Publicizing the Event,
• Public relations, News Releases, Writing Feature Articles for the press

• Designers & Suppliers, Invitations, Merchandising, Packaging

• Guest Arrival, Registration & Admission Process,
• Event Risk Management, Security & Safety,
• Financial and Budget Management, Corporate Event Management –local and
global
• Identifying Legal Requirements, Contracts, Systems set-up and ticketing,
• The event itself, Organizational effectiveness, Organizing conferences,
choosing
• sites and working to a budget, Case Study Analysis, Evaluation of the Event
• Presentation skills, Speech content, Exhibition Management
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
Our approach to each and every project and its components has an embedded
planning process which is seamlessly executed. Offering project design,
development, production, implementation, and evaluation, we provide you with a
total package for all of your communication and event's needs. This technique was
pioneered and mastered by the principals of Strategic Event Management &
Production, and continues to provide the benchmark for the industry.

Step 1: Requirements In this initial interactive stage, project requirements and

strategic objectives are developed and refined. Acting as a consultant drawing upon
our vast experience, specific objectives are focused upon with emphasis on creative,
technical, operational, financial, and strategic processes.

Step 2: Design During this phase, emphasis is placed upon the "manufacturing"
design process to establish blueprints for necessary locations, exhibits,
presentations, "show ware", and deliverables for a successful event. Appropriate
reviews are calibrated against meeting objectives in order to keep the design phase
on target.

Step 3: Production It is during this phase that the actual construction of all
"deliverables" takes place. For instance; hotels booked, film and video shot, music
scored, transportation arranged, staging constructed, menus finalized, entertainment
booked, agendas manufactured, etc.

Step 4: Implementation The Event General Manager and the Strategic Event
Management & Production Team, are on-site to bring all elements together for a
successful event. Load-in, set-up, rehearsals, and adjustments are made to
completely satisfy your requirements. This is where our experience and attention to
detail come together to deliver a flawless project.
Step 5: Measurement/Evaluation At this critical phase, your audience is asked for
their feedback against the stated strategic objectives of your event. The evaluation,
along with a complete financial reconciliation, is then packaged for management
use. This information has proven invaluable to our clients for measuring the impact
of their event's objectives while learning about marketing opportunities for the
future.

Strategic Event Management & Production has successfully used this process
with our many clients, and each and every time has delivered a highly-effective,
well-executed, Strategic Event! Please contact so that we may discuss ways in
which we can assist your organization with your next event.

ANALYSIS
The event management has over 18 years experience within the event field and have
extensive knowledge of the industry. Client satisfaction is the key to our success
and as a company we pride ourselves on maintaining the highest customer services
levels by providing constant communication with our clients.

Each client has a dedicated event director to oversee the whole event and
communicate with the client on a day by day basis. Coordinating budgets, formats,
presenters, briefing details and venue coordination the event director’s role is to
work alongside the client ensuring all objectives are met and to oversee the event
management team right through to event completion.

Working behind the scenes are the event managers - ensuring every minor detail is
taken care of from venue, entertainment, audio visual to themes- adding the
finishing touches is their specialty.

All departments work to a critical path set by the event director and approved by the
client and regular update meetings ensure everything is running smoothly and
according to plan.

After each event we provide a detailed report on your event with photos of the event
with comments and suggestions from the team.
Our mission statement is simple - to create individual events for our individual
clients - provide refreshing cost effective event

Management services - and releases you of the stress of event organization by

assisting you in time consuming event planning.

We can assist you in individual services or by providing a whole event package

which encompasses the complete spectrum of event services.
SWOT Analysis in Event Management

Products/Services Research
If you are organizing a corporate event then it is
necessary for you as an event manager to do
research of the products/ services promoted and
sold by your corporate client.

• Find out how the company promotes its

products
• How the company wants to build/enhance
the image associated with its product (also
known as the brand image)?
• What is the market value and market share of the company and its products?
• Who are the customers of the product?
• What are the features of the product?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of the product in comparison to
competitors' products?

All this research will later help you in making an effecting promotional campaign
for your corporate event.

'S' stands for Strengths

'W' stands for Weaknesses
'O' stands for Opportunities
'T' stands for Threats
It is a strategic planning tool which is used to identify and analyze the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in your project. SWOT analysis can
also be done on your organization.

Strengths:
These are the attributes of your project/organization which are helpful in achieving
project's objectives. For e.g.: experienced event team, high motivation level,
excellent PR, good market share etc.

Weaknesses:
These are those attributes of your project/organization which are harmful in
achieving project's objectives.
For e.g.: social loafing, lack of funds, inexperienced event team, low energy level,
lack of media and corporate contacts etc.

Opportunities:
These are those external factors which are helpful in achieving the project's
objectives. For e.g.: little competition, favorable economic conditions, support from
the local authorities, availability of the state of the art infrastructure etc.

Threats:
These are those external factors which are harmful in achieving the project's
objectives. For e.g.: high competition, little or no support from local authorities, bad
weather, poor infrastructure, high lab our rate, unavailability of raw material etc. It
is very important that you conduct SWOT analysis before developing an event plan
to develop a strategy which maximizes the potential of strengths and opportunities
of your project and at the same time, minimizes the impact of the weaknesses and
threats.
Strengths
Conference Event Organizers are specialists in the field of event management.
Taking into consideration the great amount of events that are being organised in the
public and corporate sector, this field has become a very competitive market today.
Most companies working with event management offer a unique range of services,
supported by quality, efficiency, knowledge and client service.

Given below are some advantages in working with these service providers:

- You will receive significant and extensive support to organize an event: Most
of these renowned organizations are committed to offer a quality service with the
full assurance of delivering a successful event.

- Minimum Risk: Considering the experience of Conference Event Organizers,

they are capable of forecasting probable difficulties and are capable of offering
alternative suggestions, thus minimizing the levels of risk.

- Capable of offering unique and novel ideas: It is up to the client to decide if you
would like to have a change, a novel idea or a new feel for your event. You can
even suggest a new approach - these organizations are capable of offering such
features as well.

- Flexibility: They are open to suggestions for change and are capable of adapting
to new methods.

- Work together as a Team: The organization offers a personal approach and

works together as a team with the client or the organizing committee. They
effectively reduce the client's workload, are always willing to share responsibilities
and delivers successful results.

- Reduces stress: Conference Event Organizers will always support you with every
step, providing solutions to difficult situations.

- Endeavour and Effort: These organizations make special effort with their high
standard of service to make the event a tremendous success.
Weaknesses:
These are those attributes of your project/organization which are harmful in
achieving project's objectives.
For e.g.: social loafing, lack of funds, inexperienced event team, low energy level,
lack of media and corporate contacts etc.

Opportunities:

Careers in event management

Event management is fast catching up as a hot career option because of the element
of glitz, glamour, flamboyance and style associated with important social and
corporate events due to the increasing trend in retail and marketing sector.

Event management is all about putting in order a professional and focused event, for
a particular target audience. It involves visualizing concepts, planning, budgeting,
organizing and executing events.

Event managers organize events like fashion & celebrity shows, film awards,
celebrity promotions, road shows, musical concerts, company conferences,
corporate seminars, workshops, exhibitions, wedding celebrations, birthday parties
theme parties, product launching etc. An interesting area in Event Management is
organizing parties and disco nights.

The Event Manager is responsible for designing the basic framework, marketing ,
hunting for sponsors, working on the logistics, locating the site/destination, hiring
performers ,books the artistes, arranges for transport for different people, and on the
D' Day co-ordinates, plans and finalizes every aspect of the event.

Threats:

These are those external factors which are harmful in achieving the project's
objectives. For e.g.: high competition, little or no support from local authorities, bad
weather, poor infrastructure, high lab our rate, unavailability of raw material etc. It
is very important that you conduct SWOT analysis before developing an event plan
to develop a strategy which maximizes the potential of strengths and opportunities
of your project and at the same time, minimizes the impact of the weaknesses and
threats.

Analysis Report

After conducting market, competitors, product/service research and SWOT analysis,

create a report which contain details of all the research work done by you.
Documentation of your research work is important, later for event evaluation. Your
analysis report will also help you in getting sponsorship for your event.