A

PROJECT REPORT
ON
EVENT MANAGEMENT

A detailed study done in

“INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS”
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree
of Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) under Bharati Vidyapeeth
Deemed University, Pune.

Submitted by

Sahiba sehgal

BATCH: 2015-2016

Under the guidance of

MRs. Survinder walia

Bharati Vidyapeeth’s
School of Distance Education, (BVIMR)
A-4, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110063

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 DECLARATION

This is to certify that I have completed a Project tit "EVENT MANAGEMENT” under
the guidance of SURVINDER WALIA in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for
the award of Bachelors of Business Administration of Bharati Vidyapeeth University,
New Delhi. This is an original piece of work & I have not submitted it earlier elsewhere.

Sahiba Sehgal

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PREFACE

It is designed in such a way that student can grasp maximum knowledge and can get
practical exposure to the corporate world in minimum possible time. Business schools of
today realize the importance of practical knowledge over the theoretical base. The
research report is necessary as it provides an opportunity to the researcher in
understanding the industry with special emphasis on the development of skills in
analyzing and interpreting practical problems through the application of management
theories and techniques. It is a new platform of learning through practical experience.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to my
college BHARATI VIDYAPEETH for all their guidance, inspiration, constructive
suggestions which helped me in the project.
The successful start of this project was made by their guidance and co-operation.
I also owe my heartfelt gratitude and deep regards towards my guide MRS.
SURVINDER WALIA for leading and directing me at every step of the project. I
would like to thank her for her invaluable help and for her crucial role throughout the
course.
Last but not the least I would like to thanks all the people who directly indirectly who
have helped and encouraged me in completing the project effectively and timely.

Signature of the student

(Sahiba sehgal)

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 Table of Content

Introduction about the Company 7

1. INTRODUCTION 10

1.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 13

1.2 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH TRADITIONAL MEDIA 17

1.3 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EVENT MEDIA AND 5P’s 17

1.4 EVOLUTION OF EVENT MARKETING 19

1.5 KEY ISSUES FOR EVENT MARKETING 21

1.6 WHY EVENT 23

1.7 SPONSORSHIP Vs EVENT MARKETING 28

1.8 SIZE OF EVENT 30

1.9 TYPES OF EVENT 31

2. CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE 36

2.1 WATERSHED EVENT 37

2.2 THE KEY TAKE-AWAY 38

2.3 ROLE OF EVENT MARKETING IN MARKETING MIX 39

2.4 ROI DELIVERD BY EVENT MARKETING 41

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 44

3.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 44

3.2 NEED OF THE PROJECT 44

3.3 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT 45

3.4 METHODOLOGY 46

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4. EVENT MANAGEMENT A PROMOTIONAL TOOL 47

4.1 EVENT DESIGNING 47

4.2 COMMUNICATION EFFECTS OF EVENT MARKETING 50

4.3 EVALUATION OF EVENTS 53

4.4 REACH INTERACTION MATRIX 61

4.5 RETURN ON ONVESTMENT 62

4.6 KEY PROSPECT ANALYSIS 66

4.7 HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

PROMOTION AND MARKETING PLAN 67

4.8 STATEGIC ALTERNATIVES 69

4.9 RISK Vs RETURN MATRIX 75

4.10 APPICABILITY 76

4.11 ADVANTAGES OF EVENT 77

5. ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS 79

5.1 PRIMARY DATA ANALYSIS 79

5.2 INTERVIEWS AND DETAILED DISCUSSIONS 88

6. RECOMMENDATIONS 91

7. CONCLUSION 92

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY 93

9. ANNEXURE 94

10. KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL EVENT MARKETING 96

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 CHAPTER 1:Introduction about the company

Vision arts is a division of Vision entertainment ltd. Vision Arts is a team of qualified
professionals brimming with zeal and fervor to make an event of yours an extravagant
affair to remember for an entire era.
Vision Arts Company started in March 2103.

Logo of the company

EVENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Vision arts is an event management company, we supervises corporate events, such as

product launches, Annual Day / Family day, corporate anniversary parties, meetings,
conferences, Dealers Meet and marketing programs such as road shows and grand
opening events. In addition, we coordinate special corporate hospitality events such as
concerts, award ceremonies, parties to launch new products or services, fashion shows,
commercial events, and even private (personal) events such as wedding planning in
Delhi and religious services. Event management firms can handle a variety of specific
event-related services, which can range from a few select services for clients with
limited budgets, to handling all creative, technical and logistical aspects of an event.

VISION ARTS is a well established Event management Company with the

strategy to establish an exciting and inspiring environment around the audience so
that our guests or prospective clients experience cutting edge art direction of
every visual element - We lift the impact of each and every event, M.I.C.E.
(Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions) or Branding Portfolio to new
level of success and unparalleled identity.
Event management involves visualizing concepts, planning, budgeting,
organizing and executing events such as fashion shows, musical concerts,
corporate seminars, wedding celebrations, theme parties, product launching etc.

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We, VISION ARTS, help our clients achieve their objectives through the
development and execution of customized special events. Maximum client
satisfaction will be achieved through our involvement.
Our professional experience in event planning covers every aspect of event
management, which also includes a comprehensive network of relevant contacts
ensuring that you are provided with a superior quality of services as well as
competitive rates at every stage of event planning.

OBJECTIVE
Our OBJECTIVE is simply to certify enchantment for all the services we provide to our
clients as we have an uncanny ability to convert ideas to things, and eventually a reality,
which is the backbone to success!

GOAL
Our goal of team at the VA will cater to all your needs no matter how trivial it is. We
believe each action of ours is crucial as it is not enough to take steps which may lead to a
goal; each step must be a goal in itself.
Passion, enthusiasm and dedication of our team ensures that we share good VIBES with
you by providing end to end solutions totally on the basis of sheer hard work and ability
to convert your dreams into a reality.

Our Mission
Together we build successful events that connect people with markets that are renowned
for being professional and memorable, and reflect our own personal touch. GUEST
SATISFACTION IS OUR ASPIRATION!!

Our Vision
”To build a group of companies that support all the services needed to design, build and
creatively produce a conference or event.”
Vision arts Event deliver personal and unique experiences that are beyond expectation
and create long term loyal relationships as a best event management company.

Headquarters
B-238 Okhla Phase-1,
New Delhi-110020

Branches
Gurgaon- sec 14, Gurgaon, Haryana
Noida- Surajpur road, sec-144, Noida , UP:201301

Contact- 9212624561, 011-40621212.

No. of Employees in our company

170-200 employees work in our company.

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 Board of directors

Nivedita yadav Aakash Sarma Saurabh

Sr. HR Vice President CEO

INTRODUCTION
“VISION ARTS GENERATE Quality Business Leads

VISION ARTS ENHANCE Your Profile

VISION ARTS CREATE New Business Opportunities

Everyone Knows Us as EVENTS”

MEANING OF THE WORD ‘EVENT’

“The use of method involving people witnessing a happening within a capsule of time,
for the purpose of communication of a message”
An event is a live multimedia package carried out with some special concept, modified
to achieve the clients’ objectives.

Event in terms of social and Cultural life

In social and cultural life, an event refers to a social gathering or activity, such as:

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 • A festival, for example a musical festival
• A party, for example a birthday party
• A ceremony, for example a marriage

Event in terms of science

In science, an event is something that takes place at a particular place and time.
Specifically, event may refer to:

• Phenomenon, something observable at a given time

• A point in space time, a concept of the theory of relativity
• Extinction event, when a large number of biological species die out in a
relatively short period of time
• Event (probability theory), a possible outcome of an experiment

Meaning of the Word ‘Management’

The term "management" characterizes the personnel leading and directing all or part of an
organization through the manipulation of resources and deployment (human, financial, material,
intellectual or intangible).

Management has to do with power by position, whereas leadership involves power by influence.
Functions of management

Management operates through various functions, often classified as planning, leading

controlling, organizing and staffing.
1. Planning: Deciding what has to happen in the future (today, next week, next
month, next year, over the next five years, etc.) and generating plans for
action.
2. Leading: Exhibiting skills in these areas for getting others to play an
effective part in achieving plans.
3. Controlling: Monitoring — checking progress against plans, which may
need modification based on feedback

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4. Organizing: Making optimum use of the resources required to enable the
successful carrying out of plans.

5. Staffing: Appointing skill and unskilled workers, and efficient personnel.

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 EVENT MANAGEMENT

Event management is the application of management sciences to the creation and

development of events at domestic and international level such as festivals,
conferences, ceremonies, formal parties, concerts, or conventions. It involves study of
identifying the target audience, planning the logistics, devising the event concept,
coordinating the technical aspects before getting down to actually executing the
modalities of the event.

The recent growth of events as an industry around the world means that the management
can no longer be ad hoc.

The industry now includes events of all sizes as every industry, society charity, and
group will hold events of some type/size in order to market themselves raise money or
celebrate.

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Event marketing is growing at a rate of three times that of traditional advertising.
Corporate sponsorships in India in 2001 were estimated at $3.9 billion-with 65% of this
total going to sports events and most of the remainder spent on festival and fairs or
sponsoring entertainment tours.

Thousands of companies invest in some form of event sponsorship. Event marketing is a

form of brand promotion that ties a brand to a meaningful entertainment, athletic, social,
cultural, or other type of public activity. Event marketing is distinct from point-of-
purchase merchandising, sales promotion, advertising, or public relations. Event
promotions have an opportunity to achieve success from other forms of marketing
communications. Events reach people when they are receptive to marketing messages
and focused on people who live in relaxed atmosphere.

Event marketing is growing rapidly as it provides companies alternatives to the cluttered

mass media. It is ability to segment on a local or regional basis. It is also an opportunity
for reaching narrow lifestyle groups whose consumption behavior can be linked with the
event.

Event marketing integrates the corporate sponsorship of an event with a whole range of
marketing elements such as sales promotion advertising and public relations.
Corporations both large and small have grown this industry at a rate of 17 percent per
year, and yet they have achieved a high level of success.

1.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

What is marketing?
Marketing can be defined as a process by which individuals and groups obtain what they
want through creating, offering and exchanging products of value with others.

Marketing Tools
The “marketing mix”, an organization can use can be classified into four categories:

 Place

 Product

 Price

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  Promotion

Tools of Promotion
 Advertising

 Public Relations

 Direct marketing etc.

Advertising

It is the method of communicating the message. The event manager can modify the
message. It includes the following:

 Give-Away : Leaflets, Posters, Brochures

 Radio : Commercial, Community, National

 Internet : Web Sites, Radio

 Television : Cable, Free To Air, Satellite

 Press : Newspapers, Magazines

 Non-Media Alternatives: Outdoor Advertising, Street Banners, Aerial,

Innovative

It can be done by the event manager or, if the event and promotional campaign is too
big, by an appointed advertising agency.

Public Relations

Often it is the part of the event manager's job to gain maximum publicity for the event.
PR is different from advertising. It communicates a more complex message than
advertising. It is free but the event manager looses control over the result.

It can be publicity can be positive or negative. To this end it is important that the event
manager maintains control over the public relations. Although PR is mostly proactive, it
is important for an event to have a reactive PR strategy as part of the event risk
management.

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Who will make public statements to the press when there is an emergency? The PR
campaign is a plan to gain maximum positive publicity for the event. For an event it
would include:

• Data collection:

1. Preparing a media list of suitable targeted media.

2. Preparing a contact list and club list, interested people and opinion leaders -
often called media talent - who can be called on to make suitable comments
or actions which promote the event.

• List ideas for continuous exposure such as interesting media ready stories,
competitions, public appearances, stunts, speeches, feeding the chooks.

When these lists are prepared, the ideas prioritized and the story angles determined, the
journalist, editor or producer is contacted to ascertain the exposure potential of the item.
These publicity items are then placed into an overall promotion schedule. The critical
path is ascertained to ensure growing interest in the event.

Although PR involves the event's relation to the public, it is the relations that the event
manager develops with the media that can create interest in the event. It implies
developing an image with the media - finding out what they want and how best to supply
it.

If the manager does not have time to do this then the event organization should consider
hiring a PR company.

Direct Marketing

This is delivering the promotional message directly to the interested individual. The
basis of direct marketing is the establishment of a strategy to best reach those
individuals.

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The mail out is the most common traditional method. The database can be created from
previous events through competitions, inquiries, guest books, and point of sale
information or just by asking the participants if they would like to receive information
on other similar events.

1.2 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH TRADITIONAL MEDIA

The problems associated with traditional media that has been used for satisfying
marketing needs discussed in the previous section are listed below:

1. Huge amount of advertisements have led to a cluttering on T.V, print and other
media. This has given rise to a need for avenues, which provide exclusivity to the
sponsor while not sacrificing the benefits of reach and impact.

2. Proliferation of low intensity television viewers who view a little of each channel
leads to the need for capturing the full attention of the target audience.

3. Media cost inflation – Due to rising inflation which has been eroding the
advertising budget, advertisers are demanding the beat return from every ad-
rupee spent. Media planning has become more complex and therefore the need
for increase the effectiveness in terms of tangible impact which can be instantly
evaluated has risen.

4. Proliferation of various media channels, therefore the requirement for intelligent

media buying.

1.3 RELATION BETWEEN EVENT MARKETING AND THE 5PS

The five Ps of marketing: place, product, people, price and promotion play an essential
role in Event Marketing. To successfully use Event Marketing the marketer must
understand how Event Marketing fits together with the other parts of the marketing
strategy.

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Event Marketing fits under promotion in the marketing mix. Other marketing tools that
goes under this section are advertising, sales promotion, personal sales, direct sales,
public relations, and sponsoring.

Event Marketing is not a substitute for any of the other components- it is a complement.
It takes an imaginative mix of all the communication tools available to extend the impact
of the event.

Marketing Mix vs. Event Marketing

If an organization uses Event Marketing, they still need to use the other parts of the
promotion mix before, during, and after the event.

An example of this could be how a car producer can have advertisements to inform
about a new car launch, and then use events to get people to test drive the new car, and
then follow up with direct marketing with a discount coupon.

One of the main advantages with Event Marketing compared to the other channels is
that the objective can both be direct sales, and image building, depending on how it is
used.

1.4 EVOLUTION OF EVENT MARKETING

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From its origins in event planning, the event marketing industry has seen great growth in
the last five years and has consistently been one of the most effective tools that
marketing professionals have at their disposal in terms of making a tangible connection
to current and potential customers.

The increasing competitive pressures brought on by globalization are forcing business

professionals to find new ways to engage customers. While it is important to garner
leads, marketing and specifically event marketing professionals cannot lose sight of the
fact that the sales cycle only begins at lead generation and that current and prospective
customers must also be nurtured even beyond purchase. Companies can benefited from
the deeper event marketing touch points that promote nurturing such as proprietary
conferences that provide a controlled environment for delivering messages and closing
business.

EVENT MARKETING

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An event is a live multimedia package with a preconceived concept, modified or
customized to achieve the client’s objective.

REACH LIVE INTERACTION

EVENT
S
Right
Communication Live Desired
WITH CREATES Impact
From the Audienc
client e

Events Definition In-Short

This is a diagrammatic representation of the above definition. The model implies that an
event is a package which interacts between the target audience and the client to achieve
the desired impact.

Event marketing involves arranging feedback for the creative concepts during and after
the concept initiation so as to arrive at a customized package for the client, keeping the
brand values and target audience in mind.

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Marketing plays an important role in pricing as well as identifying opportunities to
define and retain event properties by gathering marketing intelligence with regard to
pricing, timing etc.

In fact, ideally event marketing involves studying the brand prints; understanding what
the brand stands for, identifying the target audience, it’s positioning and values, and
liaison with the creative conceptualizes to create an event for a prefect mesh with the
brand’s personality.

PUBLICITY AND PROMOTION

• If one knows how to organize an event he should also know how to market it.

• If there is something very peculiar or special about the event then that main point
has to be highlighted.

• A product launch for example requires a sales promotion campaign either before
or after the launch. In that case the product is advertised through banners and
media and even door to door services.

• Effort is taken to ensure that people sit up and take notice of the event.
Sometimes it could be an event like an award ceremony, which is to be shown on
television and different companies make a beeline for sponsoring their respective
products in the due course of the program. This is the way publicity and
promotions work.

1.5 KEY ISSUE FOR EVENT MARKETING

The Human Dimension

• A key issue for Event Marketing is having the right human resources
communicating the brand values. The importance of having the right people
working that truly understand the brand was emphasized by almost all the
interviewees.

• The human dimension of Event Marketing is what creates the uniqueness to the
brand in an event, especially for high-involvement purchases.

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 • In the capital goods industry, where high involvement decisions are taken and
more reliable information is needed, interaction serves as a great function. When
buying a car, the consumer is making one of his/her biggest investments, the
consumer is more sensitive and might require more than one-way communication
to convert to another brand.

What makes the 3D advertisement more unique is adding a human dimension, by

placing someone who is familiar with and can communicate the company brand and
product.

The Human Context

To add a human dimension might sound an easy solution in order to communicate the
brand identity. However, the human being is rather complex in her way of learning,
interpreting and understanding, since the person is characterized by her context.

Everything the human being experiences will affect the way the person interprets
situations. Unless she experiences a situation, which requires new behavior and this
behavior is positive, person will not change her way of acting. However, if person is put
in a situation in which person has to experience a new way of acting and if the
experience is interpreted as positive, it is most likely that person will repeat the behavior
in a similar situation.

Mental Models are deeply ingrained assumptions and generalizations that influence how
we understand the world and how we take action. The models keep us in the same
pattern of both thinking and acting.

By questioning the Mental Models people see matters from a different perspective and
openness. But in order to be able to question the Mental Models we first must realize
that there has to be something to gain by questioning them.

Most managers today only see the brand as the company’s logo and corporate identity
program, but in the future the company “brand” will have to communicate what an
organization is and what it stands for. Therefore the manager must change the
interpretation of the brand.

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It is as important to win a distinctive place in the perception of a company’s actual and
perspective customers, as it is the same with the employees.

Since it is the human dimension that adds the value to a customer in an event, all
members and functions in the organization must not only be market orientated in general
but also market orientated in combination with the brand values? It is a common fact that
people are different and cannot adjust to all situations.

Several interviewees supported this when mentioning that there has to be a match
between the individual values and the company values.

One crucial factor might be the individual’s ability to learn, since the individual must not
only understand the added values in the brand identity but also learn to interpret the
different situations that might occur during an event, and combine the behavior to the
specific situation.

It is the individual’s perception of the current situation together with how he/she
translates the added values to fit to that specific situation that will help or not help the
company.

Integrated Organization

When working with Event Marketing it is important to have a well-integrated

organization, therefore we agree, “That internal marketing builds service quality”.

By learning how different components in a system interact will increase the

understanding of how the entire system works. Understanding just one component by
itself that is isolated from the others will not be enough.

A company itself is a complex system that is connected by a series of contacts and the
components in this system are highly integrated.

Since we are a part of this network, we most often only see specific components and are
puzzled by that we cannot find good solutions to our greatest problems. System thinking
is a term that contains knowledge and different tools, which can help us, understand and
influence the entire patterns in an organization.

1.6 WHY EVENTS

1. Brand Building

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Creating awareness about the launch of new products/brand

• Enormous nos. of brand/product is launched every month. Similarly innumerable

new music albums, films, etc get released periodically. This tends to create
clutter of product launches.

• The large no. of launches also leads to need to overcome the another-product.

• The need to therefore catch the attention of the target audience at the time of
launch becomes very important.

Presentation of brand description to highlight the added features of

product/services

• Sometimes technological changes pave the way for manufactures or service

providers to augment their products. To convey this via traditional modes of
communication to the existing and potential customer base may sometimes be
futile.

• Special service camps of exhibitions are the perfect events that provide the
opportunity for a two way interaction and error free communication.

• For Example, IMTEX, the Industrial Machine Tools Exhibition, is an event used
by most machine tool manufactures to explain and highlight the new and
improved features of their product.

Helping in communicating the repositioning of brands/products

Events can be designed to assist in changing beliefs about firms/products/services.

Associating the brand personality of clients with the personality of target market

Citibank is an elite bank where people do banking with pride. Hence, other premium
brands would like to associate themselves with the same audience so as to benefit from
the rub-off effect.

An exhibition-cum-sale event organized exclusively for Citibank credit card holders,

small merchandisers get to do business with the Citibank customers, as well as build and
maintain a premium image for them. Here Citibank acts as the event organizer and small

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merchandiser’s acts as participants so that they can associate the personality of their
products with the personality of Citibank customers.

Creating and maintaining brand identity

• By satisfying individuals need.

• By fulfilling client’s objective.

• By providing quality in their work

• By working effectively and efficiently.

2. Image Building

• By building trust.

• By providing quality at reasonable prices

• Not doing cheats with the customers

• By dealing at a regular basis

Constructing the Brand Value Chain

3. Focusing the Target Market

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Helping in avoidance of clutter

Even though some events do get congested with too many advertisements, events still
provide and effective means of being spotted.

For example, Title sponsorship of a major event provides the sponsor immense benefit
since the sponsors name is mentioned along with the event like Hero Cup, Femina Miss
India, Lux Zee Cine Awards.

Enabling interactive mode of communication

Events generally provide an opportunity for buyers and sellers to interact. They also
provide a foundation for exchange and sharing of knowledge between professionals.
Example: Bang! Linux2000, Auto Expo.

4. Implementation of Marketing Plan

Enabling authentic test marketing

Events bring the target audience together, thereby creating opportunity for test marketing
of products for authentic feedback.

The seller can identify exactly the traits and other characteristics that are desired. For
example, marketing events that the Frito-Lay Company used before it launched its
WOW! Brand of potato chips.

Increasing customer traffic in stores

Events can be conceptualized to increase customer traffic. They can be modified to make
available, concepts ranging from retail store specific events to mega events like one day
international cricket tournament. For example, Nescafe 3-in-1 treasure hunt, co-
sponsored by McDonald’s is a combined effect in increasing the customer traffic as well
as increasing the awareness among the upper class of the existence of new McD’s
outlets.

Enabling sales promotion

Weekly events conducted by Crossword Bookstore helps in generating more revenue

during the weekends.
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Motivating the sales team

The need for interaction is not restricted to external customers only. End consumers are
not always the focus of live media exercises. This is especially popular amongst FMCG
companies.

For Example, during the cricket world cup held in England HSBC introduced a unique
pattern of motivating the sales force by awarding them runs instead of the traditional
points system. This resulted in conversion of almost all of its employees into sales
person.

Enabling market database assimilation, maintenance and updating

By keeping track of the reach and its effectiveness and interacting with the audience that
actually turns up for the event, event sponsors can assimilate and authentic database. The
database can be used to track various marketing trends. Events can then help in
maintaining and updating the database.

1.7 SPONSORSHIP vs. EVENT MARKETING

• There are many other marketing tools that can build brand-awareness and create
image. Authors seem to mix up the concept of sponsorship and Event Marketing,
although there

• is a difference between the two.

• When using Event Marketing, the organization works with the event as part of
the marketing strategy. When sponsoring an event, the organization buys
exposure during the event at different levels of the event itself.

• International Events Group (IEG) defines sponsorship this way: “The

relationship between a sponsor and a property in which the sponsor pays a cash
or in-kind fee in return for access to the commercial potential associated with the
property.”

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 • By using the commercial right, the sponsor could associate the brand and have an
effective selection of the target group to market themselves to.

• The association makes the brand synonymous with the sponsored happening, and
thereby the sponsoring has been called association by event.

• Today sponsorship is one of the world’s fastest growing forms of marketing and
together with Event Marketing they begin to play a more dominant role in many
companies´ marketing budgets.

Given below, model shows one way to look at where traditional sponsoring fits in
compared to Event Marketing.

Traditional Marketing vs. Event Marketing

When the organization is sponsoring an event, (upper left corner) there is always a
business agreement between at least two parties, which Event Marketing does not
necessarily have. Usually this is the case when there is a sport competition such as the
Olympics or a World Championship. This kind of sponsoring limits the possibilities for
the organization to market their products since they have no control over the happenings
at the event, etc.

There is a concept called the double lever effect, which explains the relationship between
different events. When organizations move to EM (1), EM (2) and EM (3) the
organizations increase their control and also the risk is increased. When the control is
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increased, there is also a larger possibility for organizations to use the event integrated
with the other marketing strategies.

The given fig shows how it comes to be a double lever effect:

Control & risk depending on activity

As we can see, there is a risk in Event Marketing. There is no possibility to test the
event for the target group, and everything has to work during the event. The risk
associated with the event could be one of the reasons why some organizations choose to
use pre-existing events instead of own events. Preexisting events are events that are
created by someone else for another purpose.

1.8 SIZE OF EVENTS

In terms of size events may be categorized as follows:

1. Mega Events

The largest events are called mega events, which are generally targeted at international
markets..

Example: The Olympic Games, World Cup Soccer, Super Bowl, Maha Kumbh Mela.

2. Regional Events

Regional events are designed to increase the appeal of a specific tourism destination or
region.

Example: Delhi Half Marathon.

3. Major Events

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These events attract significant local interest and large no. of participants as well as
generating significant tourism revenue.

Example: Chinese New Year Celebrations.

4. Minor Events

Most events fall into this category and it is here that most event managers gain their
experience. Annual events fall under this category.

In addition to annual events, there are many one time events including historical, dance
performances cultural, and musical. Business Meetings, parties, conventions,
celebrations, award ceremonies, exhibitions, sporting events and many other community
and social event fit into this category.

Example: Annual Trade Fair organized in Delhi, Chandipur Beach Festival

1.9 TYPES OF EVENTS

1. Sporting Events

Sporting events are held in all towns, cities, states and throughout the nation. They
attract international sports men & women at the highest levels.

2. Entertainment Arts and Culture

Entertainment events are well known for their ability to attract large audience. This
includes musical concerts, celebrity performances, movie releases etc.

3. Commercial Marketing and Promotional Event

Promotional events tend to have high budgets and high profiles. Most frequently they
include product launches, often for computer hardware and software, perfume, alcohol
or motor cars etc. The aim of promotional events is generally to differentiate the product
from its competitors and to ensure that it is memorable.

The audience for a promotional activity might be sales staff such as travel agents, who
would promote the tour of the clients or potential purchasers. The media is usually
invited to these events so that both the impact and the risk are high, Success is vital.

4. Meetings & Exhibitions

29
The meetings industry is highly competitive. Many conventions attract thousands of
people, whereas some meetings include only a handful of high profile participants.

5. Festivals

Various forms of festivals are increasingly popular providing a particular region the
opportunity to showcase its product. Wine and food festivals are the most common
events falling under this category. Religious festivals fall into this category as well.

6. Family

Weddings, anniversaries, divorces and funerals all provide opportunities for families
together. Funerals are increasingly are becoming big events with non traditional coffins,
speeches and even entertainment. It is important for the event manager to keep track of
these changing social trends.

7. Fund Raising

Fairs, which are common in most communities, are frequently run by enthusiastic local
committees. The effort in the organization required for these events are often
underestimated. As their general aim is raising funds, it is important that rides and other
such contracted activities contribute to, rather than reduce, revenue.

8. Miscellaneous

Some events defy categorization. Potatoes, walnuts, wild flowers, roses, dogs, horses,
teddy bears all provide the focus for an event organized in United States.

KEY ELEMENTS OF EVENTS

30
 Event
Organizer Infrastructure

Target
Venue Audience
EVENT

Media Client

Key Elements of Event Marketing

Event Infrastructure

 Core Concept: Search for new top class modeling talent through a contest and
pageant interspersed with entertainment.

 Core People: Participants i.e., models taking part in the competition during
entertainment slots such as well known classical musicians, Pt. Shiv Kumar
Sharma accompanied by Ustad. Shafat Ali Khan and popular music by Sweta
Shetty and Stereo Nation.

 Core Talent: Physical looks and proportions.

 Core Structure: Annual event of beauty pageant.

Importance of Infrastructure

Indian business events, particularly large trade fairs, are underdeveloped as a result of
poor infrastructure outside Delhi. New exhibition and convention centers developed in
Chennai and Hyderabad will help spur the industry’s growth. If a new facility of
international standard can finally be built in Mumbai, this will generate a huge
opportunity for business media companies.

Smaller, traveling events, road shows which move around the country’s many secondary
markets will also be significant income generators for some business media firms.

Event Venue
31
The two types of venue are as follows:

 In-house Venue:

1. Any event that is executed within the premises of the company or

institution or in the private homes or proprieties belonging to the client is
called an in-house venue.

2. The use of such venue is reserved for the employees of the company or
the residents of the campus.

3. Most in-house venues do not need to be paid or even if a payment is

involved, it may be open for favorable negotiation.

4. The main advantage of in-house venue is the huge saving in the costs
incurred in hiring the venue.

 External Venue:

1. Any venue over which neither the client nor the professional organizer
have any ownership rights is called an external venue.

2. These are venues open for the general public. Example: Hotels, Stadium
etc, etc…

11.10 ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING

Environmental scanning is one of the essential components of the global environmental

analysis.
Environmental monitoring, forecasting and environmental assessment complete the
global environmental analysis. The global environment refers to the macro environment
which comprises industries, companies, markets, clients and competitors.
Consequently, there exist corresponding analyses on the micro-level. Suppliers,
customers and competitors representing the micro environment of a company are
analyzed within the industry analysis.
Environmental scanning can be defined as ‘the study and interpretation of the PEST
events. The factors which need to be considered for environmental scanning are events,
trends, issues and expectations of the different interest groups. .

32
Macro environment
It includes PEST and it stands for political, economic, social and technological. Two
more factors, the environmental and legal factor, are defined within the PESTEL
analysis.
PESTEL analysis
Political factors

• Taxation Policy
• Governmental stability
• Trade regulations
• Unemployment Policy, etc.

Economical factors

• Interest rate
• Recession or Boom
• Customer liquidations
• Inflation rate
• Growth in spending power
• Rate of people in a pensionable age
• Balances of Sharing

Socio-cultural

• Values, beliefs
• Language
• time orientation
• lifestyle
• religion
• education
• literacy

Technological factors

• Internet
• Electronic Media
• Research and Development
• E-commerce

33
• Social Media
• Rate of technological change

Environmental factors

• Waste disposal
• Energy consumption
• Competitive advantage
• Pollution monitoring, etc.

Legal factors

• Product safety
• Advertising regulations
• employment law
• Health and safety
• Product labeling
• Labor laws etc.

1.11 POTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL OF COMPETITORS

Porter's five forces analysis is a framework that attempts to analyze the level of
competition within an industry. Porter referred to these forces as the micro environment,
to contrast it with the more general term macro environment. A change in any of the
forces normally require business unit to re-assess the marketplace given the overall
change in industry information.

34
Porter's five forces include - three forces from 'horizontal' competition: the threat of
substitute products or services, the threat of established rivals, and the threat of new
entrants; and two forces from 'vertical' competition: the bargaining power of suppliers
and the bargaining power of customers.
Porter developed his five forces analysis in reaction to the then-popular SWOT analysis,
which he found unrigorous.
Here suppliers refer to the event manager or the person who is organizing the event.
Buyer refers to that person for whom the event is taking place or who is the organizer of
the event.
Event manager needs to be updated at every point of time i.e. he should know which
event company is entering in the market. What policies their competitors are using?
Event manager should have competitive advantage i.e. something more or special then
his competitor.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
Below mentioned tax rate of 24 % which hits the occasion the hardest, which is nearly
one quarter of the total sales. As occasions continue to grow, these numbers will become
references rather than influences.
General assumptions

Profit and loss

35
In order to lead the industry in event planning it requires the use of the available
resources at the low cost.

Projected cash flow

36
37
Projected balance sheet

According to the numbers we will be over $125,000with a profit margin of over 30%.
We are operating with little to zero debt, boosting the net worth even higher.

38
 CHAPTER 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To study Event marketing as a Generic Promotional Tool:

1. The objective of this study is to understand the following things:-

• concept of event marketing

• Its benefits and

• Implementation process.

2. To evaluate the effectiveness of Event Marketing as a promotional tool.

3. To identify the problems associated with event marketing in the Indian scenario.

4. To offer suggestions for improvement to make it a more productive investment.

Also to study Event Management for organizing and managing the event in best
way:

1. The objective of this study is to understand the event management as a

communication tool.

2. Launching a product or a service.

3. Communicate to a particular target audience.

4. To make proper strategy , plan and execution of an event

2.2 NEED OF THE PROJECT

39
The need of the project is to study and analyze certain issues in event marketing and
management, and it need further attention and some suggestions which have been given
to make the Event Marketing and event management industry more effective in order to
utilize its full potential and serve the objective of an event and be mutually beneficial for
the Event agency, the Corporate and the customer.

2.3 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

1. To understanding the short coming of event marketing and event management.

2. How these are done today?

3. Problems faced by Indian event agencies.

4. Understand and manage the event in the best and effective way.

The few reasons for choosing event marketing as a promotion tool are as follows:

1. To accelerate your product into new markets.

2. To judge your products against the competition.

3. To promote positive product trends.

4. To reposition your company in a market.

5. To select a new approach to marketing your product.

6. To launch new products/services.

7. To network with customers not normally called upon.

8. To present your products to buyers face-to-face.

9. To target markets by types of visitors.

10. To understand customer attitudes

11. To appeal to special customer interests.

12. To make more sales calls in a shorter time cycle.

13. To meet potential customers for new applications.

14. To change or improve the perception of your product.

15. To invite special customers to increase business

40
2.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research is “ the manipulation of things, concepts of symbols for the purpose of
generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in
construction of theory or in the practice of an art.”

Research Design
Descriptive research is used for this study. A survey was conducted through a
questionnaire by which an analysis was drawn.

The methodology followed for the research

• Primary research detailed discussions with event management firms and the
corporate clients.

• Subsequent additions were made to the interview schedule to suit the specific
events under study.

• The secondary information was gathered from various marketing journals and
books on event marketing, sales promotions and publicity. Daily newspaper
reading in order to keep track of various kinds of events also proved helpful.

• The information gathered was studied and analyzed.

• It revels certain issues in event marketing which need further attention and some
suggestions have been given to make the Event Marketing industry more
effective in order to utilize its full potential and be mutually beneficial for the
Event Marketing agency, the Corporate and the customer.

41
 CHAPTER 3. CONCEPTUAL DISCUSSION
CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE
EVENT MARKETING SURVEY 2006

Fifth Edition of Global Study Shows Steady March of Events Business at the Dawn
of a New Era

• Five years of research has shown that events can play a strategic role in driving
business value within every organization.

• Corporate executives, both in and out of the world of meetings and events, now
see the benefits that face-to-face interactions can provide to their bottom line.

• Current customers and prospects can benefit from meetings and events as they
provide the greatest opportunity to learn about a company’s brand, value
proposition and (new) products/ services.

• Companies can derive business value from events to strengthen product or brand
awareness; differentiate from the competition; educate or train employees and
ultimately increase sales.

42
Three key indicators in Chart 1 show, however, an interesting change from 2005:

1. The importance of event marketing has remained virtually constant from the prior
year.

2. The proportion of the overall marketing budget dedicated to event marketing

decreased slightly from the prior year.

3. The perceived future importance of event marketing has declined less than 3% from
2005. While these results at first glance could be considered disappointing, none of these
indicators should be taken as a sign of a downward trend within the event marketing
industry.

In fact, these are clear signs of an industry that is stabilizing and showing signs of
maturation.

3.1 The Role of Event Marketing Remains Important In the Marketing Mix

• As the world economy continues its 2006 recovery, companies face ever-
increasing financial pressures to generate additional revenues and improve profit
margins. Globalization has created a myriad of new opportunities for companies
but has simultaneously brought with it new challenges in terms of newfound
competitors vying for the same pool of clients and the inherent need to
communicate one cohesive message to the diversifying marketplace.

It is not surprising therefore to see that almost one third of the marketing professionals
surveyed this year stated that their top marketing concern currently is reaching new
customers. Building brand awareness was respondents’ second most frequent concern,
coming in at a distant 13%.

43
Due to the increased competitive pressures, companies large and small, local and global
must therefore constantly evaluate the mix of marketing tactics to ensure the best
possible approach at reaching both current and potential customers.

It is perhaps because of this need to freshen the marketing mix that we see survey
respondents’ state that event marketing was either a lead tactic or vital component of the
marketing plan slightly less than half the time (49%) — a slight decrease from last year
insofar as it was less of a vital component and taken more under consideration with other
mediums.

• The current marketing mix shows in Chart 2 a slight decline as compared to last
year, almost 50% of respondents stated that the future importance of event
marketing was either increasing or increasing strongly. Furthermore, an
additional 40% of respondents stated that the future importance would remain
constant. This stability in event marketing’s role is corroborated by the fact that
event marketing represents more than 25% of survey respondents’ overall
marketing budget, which is only slightly less than a one percent reduction from
last year’s figure.

Another sign of the evolution of companies’ marketing mix appears in the budget
allocations for events. Much like in 2005, 59% of respondents stated that the majority of
their event marketing budget is currently allocated to trade shows while 35% are spent
on conferences. This latter figure shows a dramatic drop from the prior year’s figure of
47% and further augments the current shift towards a focus on lead acquisition.

44
3.2 Event Marketing Continues to Deliver ROI

Although the results of this year’s survey suggest that the current role of event marketing
may have slipped slightly in companies’ marketing mix, the data also shows conflicting
information in so far as event marketing remains the marketing element that provides by
far the highest returns on investment.

• Chart 3 shows that almost one in four respondents to the 2006 survey believes
that event marketing provides the greatest ROI in Marketing.

Although the figure is almost identical to last year’s estimate (and decreasing over time),
it is a statistical bragging right that event marketing has held for the last three straight
years, as well as four of the five years of this study (see Chart 4).

The most common reasons given for event marketing’s high returns on investment come
from the fact that it provides the greatest opportunity for direct, in-person, face-to-face
contact (58%).

It also provides the best opportunity to reach a targeted audience (45%). Survey
respondents also attribute event marketing’s high ROI to the fact that it provides one of
the only opportunities to reach a large and engaged audience in one venue (28%).

45
Turning to specific types of events, the survey results show that Trade shows (40%)
followed by conferences and seminars (21%) are the external events that are believed to
provide the greatest ROI due primarily to their ability to attract new customers.

When asked to look at their internal events, respondents cited education/training events
(41%) followed by sales or marketing meetings (28%) as the internal events those are
deemed to provide the greatest ROI.

3.3 Measurement Impacts Event Marketing Budgets

Seventy-one percent of respondents to this year’s survey (see Chart 5) cite that they do
engage in some post-event measurement activities. Not only is this a significant increase
from last year’s 60% mark, it is also the highest rate of measurement recorded in the
history of this study.

This is a clear sign that event marketing professionals and CMOs continue to need to
demonstrate the ROI that comes from producing successful events as greater financial
scrutiny comes from corporate finance departments.

46
The survey data shows that not only has the number of companies who measure
increased considerably from last year, but there has also been a slight increase in the
marketing budget allocated to measurement — up one tick from last year — to 12%.

When asked what key performance indicators (KPI) companies were measuring, over
one third of respondents (36%) cited number of qualified leads, with overall
communication effectiveness and sales increases each receiving 31% of the votes. The
most common tools used to calculate these KPI were sales reports (28%), onsite surveys
(26%) and post event surveys (24%).

Although measurement should not be considered a panacea for event marketing’s need
to demonstrate value, this year’s survey does show one striking benefit of measurement.
As can be seen in Chart 6, companies who do engage in some form of measurement are
three times more likely to see an increase in their budgets than those who do not engage
in any measurement. This data is further proof that tangibly demonstrating the value of
an event marketing program can significantly increase the chances of getting increased
funding.

About This Study

Event View, the annual and first-of-its-kind event marketing trends study for senior
marketing executives, was originated in 2002 by The George P. Johnson Company. The
MPI Foundation has co-sponsored this important research since 2003. Now in its fifth
year, Event View is the number-one published event marketing trends report globally
and the longest-running study for the event marketing industry, providing the insight and

47
guidance corporations and event marketing professionals within this field need to
develop strategic marketing programs.

Between May and June 2006, almost 900 individuals in marketing management
positions from North America, Europe and Asia Pacific in industries including
automotive, high technology, healthcare, and financial were interviewed via telephone
with hopes of bringing clarity to the events component of the marketing mix as it
compares to other elements in a marketer’s arsenal. The results of the 2006 survey have
a +/− 3% margin of error.

EVENT MANAGEMENT AS A PROMOTIONAL TOOL

3.4 EVENT DESIGNING

1. Conceptualization of the creative idea/ambience

2. Costing involves calculation of the cost of production and safety margins

3. Canvassing for sponsors, customers and networking components

4. Customization of the event according to brand personality, budgets, etc

5. Carrying-out involves execution of the event according to the final concept

48
 Initial
Concept
Canvassing

Conceptuali
-zation
Customization

Costing

Final Concept

Carry-Out

EVENT

Event Designing Concept

Example:

 Event : Holi

 Event Category : Fairs & Festivals

 Event Organizers : A2Z Events

 Core Concept of Holi

It is a celebration to mark the onset of spring and the harvest season. It’s a
symbolic gesture, celebrating good harvest and fertility.

49
It draws its origin from the Hindu Mythological event in which Prahalad emerges
unscathed from a fire arranged by his father King Hiranyakashyap and aunt Holika to
kill him.

 Background

 Title of the Event : RANG BARSE

 Place : Mumbai

 Venue : Parking lot of an amusement park

 Year : 1997

 Duration : 2 Days

 Target Audience : City dwelling families

 No. of Audience : 1500

 Ambience : Rural Mela

 Costing : Rs. 7 lakhs

 Event Type : Partially sponsor and partially ticketed

 Initial Concept For Holi 2000

A2Z wanted to repeat the previous year’s event ad verbatim

 Costing

Costing for Holi 2000 worked out to Rs. 10lakhs

Canvassing

Many corporate were approached with the initial concept to sponsor the event. The leads
generated through canvassing for sponsors and negotiation with venue owners gave a
strong impetus and indication of success for a particular variation. A leading soft drinks
company could be persuaded to fully sponsor the event.

Customization

50
The target audience of the soft drink company was pre-dominantly was fun-seeking
youth. The initial concept needed to be changed from a family oriented event to a
youthful event. The budget was needed to be drastically reduced to Rs. 2lakhs per center
and the event was to be simultaneously conducted in 5 locations spread across the
country.

Final Concept and Carrying Out

Constraint of budget and specific requirement of the client changed the initial concept of
a two day program to a 3 hour forenoon program titled “HOLI GYRATIONS 2000”.

The program essentially revolved around a color rain dance and color blast for young
people with coverage on a popular youth oriented music channel on the television. It was
also decided to use the event coverage as software for future use by the channel. Now
the event was fully sponsored show for a single sponsor with invitations to a limited no.
of participants. The show was fully customized to give importance to the sponsors’
colors viz. red and blue.

The carry out stage involved being exceptionally careful and prepared for eventualities
such as hazards of drunken misbehavior of the youth even though liquor was not allowed
inside the venue.

The interaction revolved around a popular VJ anchoring the show and except for
dancing, there would be hardly anything else actually happening. The carry out stage
gets completely taken over by the music channel.

3.5 COMMUNICATION EFFECTS OF EVENT MARKETING

Communication is the process of moving a message that includes different elements.
Those elements include source, message, channel, receiver and the process of encoding
and decoding.

51
.

. The direct communication with the customer is one of the main advantages with Event
Marketing compared to other marketing channels. In the definition of Event Marketing,
it is said that “an event is an activity that gathers the target group in time and room.”
This means that the event is eliminated from the noise.

Communication Process in Event Marketing

Event Marketing is marketing communication in four different dimensions.

 The first one is the emotional communication method. The Event

Marketing is a form of “pull” marketing, where the organizations try to
get closer to the feelings and emotions of the customers. They do this not

52
 by “pushing” their products at the customers, but by touching the
customers’ emotional feelings.

 The second dimension touches the customers by involving them in

activities. When the customer gets a feeling from a product, he/she is
informed of the value of the product. An example of this in the car
industry is the test-driving of new cars.

 The third dimension is the intellectual dimension and it regards the

relevance of the event for the customers.

 The fourth dimension is the spatial dimension, how to get the three prior
dimensions into action and to inform the customers through all marketing
channels. Some researchers say that in the future, customers will not buy
just the product, but the meaning, the event and the character, which in
turn give the customers the possibility to create their own value for the
product.

Relative Importance of Events as a Marketing Communication Tool

Dominant
Relative Position

Strong
Favorable

Tentative

Weak
Introduction Growth Maturity Decline
Life Cycle Stages
Position of Events and traditional modes of communication vis-à-vis the life cycle stage

53
 Events

Traditional Modes of Communication

With Regard to the competitive position of events as a medium and the life cycle stage it
is in vis-à-vis other marketing communication media, it is clear that:

Traditional ways of marketing communication in the Fig are moving from the growth
phase into the maturity stage. Their effectiveness is lost due to cut throat competition
which is leading to undesirable clutter in all kinds of media including internet.

An event as a medium is in a favorable position now and will continue to remain so in

the near future and tend towards becoming stronger. Event as a strategic marketing
communication tool would gain significant followers

3.6 EVALUATION OF EVENTS

1. Measuring Reach

Reach is of two types – external and actual.

Events require massive external publicity, press, radio, television and other media
are needed to ensure that the event is noticed and the benefit of reach is provided to
the client.

External reach can be measured by using the circulation figures of newspapers and
promotion on television and radio.

Measurement of external reach should be tempered with the timings of the

promotions as effectiveness of recall and action initiated among the target audience
is highly dependent on this important variable.

A ratio of the external reach to the actual event reach is a very tangible and useful
measurement criterion.

Ideally,

External Reach
=1
Actual Reach

54
 The ideal situation in real life is very rare since the external reach gets drastically
reduced in terms of reaching out to the target audience and mostly impractical in
most cases.

This is because the target audience is derived from the target population which is
invariably very large. It is impractical to assume that all the constituents of the target
population can make it to the event. The above ratio is usually found to be greater
than 1 in practice.

External Reach
>1
Actual Reach

2. Measuring Interaction

In most event categories, compared to reach, it is much harder to access the

interaction between the audience and the event and the benefit that accrues to the
client. A certain amount of quantifiable data can be of help in measuring interaction
for an event from the clients’ point of view.

These are as follows:

 No. of interaction points

The no. of direct and indirect interaction points that have been planned and
arranged for an event provide the important measurement tool. The greater
the no. of interaction points the better for the client.

 No. of interactions

The opportunity for interaction between the client and the audience before,
during and after the event is also a very tangible measurement criterion. The
greater the opportunity for increasing the no. of interaction, the better for the
client.

 Quality of interactions

55
 One-way or two-way communication during interaction has a profound
impact on the quality of interaction that takes place. The quality of interaction
is perceived as good when there is an avenue for two-way interaction

 Time duration of interaction

Every event has a limited time period within which both benefits the other
issues such as controversies are effective. The amount of time that is
available for interaction is very important in that the greater the duration of
the interaction, more are the chances that there are some meaningful and
decisive interaction between the client and the audience.

Important Points to Consider When Evaluating Event Marketing

1. Quantified Objectives

The reason why some people think that it is not possible to evaluate events is that
they have used Event Marketing without a specific purpose or objective.

The one reason why Event Marketing is not measured also depends on the
objectives, but that they are short-time objectives. The cornerstone in the evaluation
of events lies in the objective of the event.

Event Marketing can have different objectives and it is usually not directly to increase
direct sales. Whatever the goal is, the easiest one to evaluate is the one that is expressed
and quantified.

The most common criteria for a goal to be valid is that it has a time limit, is challenging,
measurable, realistic, result oriented, clear and that it could be followed. If the goal is
challenging, it is more interesting to try to reach it. If it is too, simple it is not inspiring
to work for, but at the same time it has to be realistic. Time limit and measurable goals
give a possibility to do a qualitative study. It is important that they are clear so that
everyone understands them and that they can easily be followed by developing a strategy
for how to reach

2. Identity, Image, Positioning vs. Evaluation

56
 Event Marketing is often used to create brand awareness, image and identity for the
products. This section shows that depending on the brand-awareness and how the
product is positioned, they can sell more products. Event Marketing can have both a
communicative as well as a teaching approach for the customer.

Identity

Identity is what the organization wants to stand for. The differences between identity
and image are that identity is as mentioned earlier what the franchiser intends to
represent, while the image is how the consumers experience the brand. The Image is
on the receiver’s side, while the identity is on the sender’s side.

Image focuses on how certain groups perceive a product or brand and refers to the
way these groups decode the signals transmitted by the product service and
communication of the brand. The purpose of identity, on the other hand, is to specify
the brand’s meaning, aim and self-image. In regards to Event Marketing it could be
said that the organization sends away an Identity at the event and the customers
receive it as an image of the product or organization.

Using Event Marketing can also differentiate the product for the customer by making
the value of the brand stronger for the customer’s identity. Identity comes from Latin
and means “same”.

The event in Event Marketing can be seen as a value community. In regards to Maslow’s
thoughts, humans have needs that need to be satisfied. The Value community creates
groups, where three concepts for group development need to be filled in order to create
group belonging. Event Marketing can offer the individual a short-track to belonging by
letting the individual attend an event. Through the event, the happening and the message
will give the individual a picture of him/herself, and a sense of belonging with other
individuals.

This shows that part of the brand advantages lies in the possibility to influence the
individual’s identity, and to make possible his/her relation to other individuals and in
this way strengthen their value community. By doing this, there is a possibility to
differentiate the brand from other brands. The brand is seen as an independent method of
competition.

57
Image

Image is how the customer understands and looks upon the product, and a definition is
“how the consumers experience the brand.” An event can give the customer a clear
picture of the corporate identity that the company is striving for. Usually the image
consists of different key factors that the customer receives during different times and in
different places.

These key factors could be the communication that the organization has the physical
environment, products, service, ethics, social responsibility, engagement in social and
local happenings, and the behavior of representatives from the organization

Image Building

The experience at the event may of course result in direct sales, but normally they help
to build image and create positive associations around the brand that will lead to more
sales later on. Image can create lots of competitive advantages compared to other brands.
This is especially true when the differences between the brands are small. A positive
image can lead to not only increased sales, but it can also strengthen the relationships
with all interesting parties within and outside the organization, facilitate new
employment, increase the tolerance of customers, and facilitate crises. However, even
though the main objective with the event is not to change or build image, there is always
a possibility for the customer to change his/her opinion and image of the organization.

Positioning & Branding

58
When a company has decided to use Event Marketing they need to understand how
Event Marketing can change the perception of the product in the customers mind, and
the positioning of the product.

According to Kotler, it is extremely important to have a specific positioning in the

customer’s mind, due to the fact that if a similar product has the same positioning there
is no need for the customer to buy your product.

It is important to create an image and a correct positioning for customers that create
differentiation between products. The positioning distinguishes brands from each other
and creates a place on the market and in the consumer’s minds for a particular project.
The idea behind positioning is to create brand awareness, which ideally leads to long-
term brand loyalty. The positioning is a two-stage process, indicating which category the
brand should be placed in and the differences between the brands in this category.

Products are becoming more and more alike.

A company needs to change its product from competitors´ products. An organization

has three main perspectives for differentiation. They are: total perspective, more value
for money, produces trustworthy products at a reasonable price, product perspective,
offer a better product that is newer, faster, cheaper, with unique selling attributes, and
customer perspective, to know the customer better, and thereby reply to their needs
faster.

The last perspective, the customer perspective, involves the relationship between the
customer and the organization. An event is the physical meeting between customer and
organization, and thereby Event Marketing can be used as a tool to build relationships
and create differentiation.

The idea behind positioning is to create brand awareness. Direct advantage of using
Event Marketing is that it creates high brand awareness around the product. The value of
the brand lies in the mind of the potential buyers, and not with the business itself.
Branding is part of the marketing strategy and product differentiation. The brand can
communicate more directly with the consumer than the product itself can; if the brand is
seen as having a personality and symbolizing certain values.

59
This is due to the fact that the brand has an emotional appeal to the consumers. A trend
within Event Marketing is to involve more cultural aspects at events.

The cultural aspects of events are not used extensively today. He further argues that
culture and brand strategy go hand in hand. Over time, a relationship between the
customer and the product can be developed into brand loyalty. This loyalty is
characterized by a positive attitude towards the brand, and over time continued purchase
of the same brand. A company seeks high brand loyalty because it creates stability and
provides an opportunity to gain high market share and profit. The development of brand
loyalty can be seen as a three-step model.

The first step is to create an interest for the product in the consumer. When time has past,
the consumers will simplify their buying detour through the product and the connection
between the brand and the target audience is strengthened. The third step is where brand
recognition is created, which is important for creating the long-term brand loyalty.

The Complexity of Evaluating Event Marketing

An event is concerned with a message, an interaction and integration. A message creates

something valuable for the customer, and gives the customer some kind of knowledge or
experience. The interaction between the organization and the customer will create a good
or better relationship. The integration part is concerned with how the Event Marketing is
part of the other marketing strategies.

Event Marketing are not being evaluated to full extent due to lack-of time, ignorance and
due to the fact that it is hard to evaluate it. Some of the interviewed persons agreed with
this theory, and believed that ignorance made evaluation complicated. Furthermore,
evaluations not conducted due to lack of time. The interviews also discussed that Event
Marketing is only one of the possible marketing channels that can be used when
marketing a product, and it is hard to evaluate it separately from the other marketing
tools. The more complex the marketing strategy, the harder it is to see what influenced
the customer to buy the product. Other reasons why it could be hard to evaluate the event

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are because someone’s experience cannot be valued on a scale, and the interaction as a
relation is not measurable.

Furthermore, depending on all other marketing aspects it is hard to see why the customer
has a specific feeling for a product.

Kotler claims that the easiest marketing channel to evaluate is direct marketing. By
using direct marketing it is easy to follow up exactly where the customers have seen the
coupons, brochures etc. However, none of the interviewed persons mentioned that it
would be easier to evaluate direct marketing than Event Marketing.

It is as easy to argue against direct marketing as being the perfect measurable evaluation
technique as it is to argue that Event Marketing should be trickier to evaluate. This is due
to the fact that there is a possibility that the customers could be affected by other parts of
the marketing as they are when it looks like it is the direct marketing that has made them
buy a product. As long as more than one tool of the marketing mix is used and there is
always a possibility that the customers can be affected by them, and thereby there is no
100% accurate evaluation tool.

The reason why it might be considered hard to evaluate an event depends on the fact that
it is hard to evaluate the intangible aspects of the event. When asking the interviewed
people to elaborate on intangible factors, such as the weather affecting the event, most of
them were sure that just the weather was not of importance for the success of the event,
and therefore there was no need to try to evaluate it.

There are many factors that cannot be evaluated, and that instead the focus should be on
the factors that can be evaluated.

This could be interpreted in the following way: since there is no possibility to evaluate
the event comparing to the external social happenings, the only way to elaborate on the
example weather is to work with the weather and use it. If possible, the external factors
should be eliminated, but if that is not possible the event should try to use them and
thereby work for the event.

Example:

Event : Olympic Games 2000

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Venue : Sydney, Australia

Category : Competitive – Sports

Event Organizer : IOC

Client : General Electric, NBC

Theme : Amateur sports competition to promote world peace.

Measurement Criteria: Reach increase for cable mediums MSNBC & CNBC, %
increase revenues for client.

Reach

External : Global (over 197 countries)

Actual : Prime time audience (approx. 18.25 million)

Event Evaluation

Advertisements sales increase from $ 680 million at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games to
$ 900 million for the Sydney Olympic Games 2000. MSNBC’s reach in terms of the
subscriber base expected to increase from 59 million to 70 million. CNBC’s reach in
terms of the subscriber base expected to increase from 74 million to 80 million.

3.8 REACH INTERACTION MATRIX

It summarizes the generic characteristics of each of the category to enable a bird’s eye
view on events. However, each category can be designed in such a way as to change the
degree of reach and interaction.

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 REACH
High Low

Exhibition

High
Cultural
INTERACTION Special Business

Competitive
Low

Charitable
Artistic

Reach Interaction Matrix

Amongst the various categories corporate interest have been concentrated on competitive
events, especially so on cricket. Such events have a broad based character and high
media coverage. This implies high reach and added excitement through live coverage on
various popular channels.

Post-event benefits trough highlights aid in the event recall over and above the normal
benefits that an event can offer. The fact that interaction is given short shrift is an
anomaly that needs to be corrected. Competitive events are closely followed by events
for artistic expression, then by exhibitions, special business events, cultural & charitable
events in that order for popularity with event-savvy sponsors.

3.9 RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Solely coming up with the sponsorship fee (cash expenditure paid out to be associated
with the event) for a specific event is not nearly enough of a guarantee for tangible
business results. The need to leverage the maximum benefits of the sponsorship is of the
highest priority. As a rule, this can be accomplished by spending at least two or three
rupees per rupee invested in the sponsorship.

In other words, the sponsorship fee is just a mere ante, and you must budget to properly
exploit the product that you have just purchased. Too many companies spend the big
bucks to get into the event marketing business and then never do anything with it.

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Leveraging your sponsorship includes an integrated marketing program involving
product sampling, on-site signage, event logo usage, and myriad multilevel cross-
promotions.

ROI MEASUREMENT TOOLS:

1. Quantitative

In the world of trade shows and corporate events, surveys are a frequent choice for
evaluating results. Even if we use lead generation forecasts or gross margin from show
sales to measure ROI on an event, a survey can help you understand the reasons why the
business event performed the way it did.

 Pre-Post Show Surveys

Often used to measure less tangible variables like brand awareness or perceived
competitive positioning, pre-post surveys sample a group of attendees on their
way into the exhibit hall at the beginning of the trade show, and then sample
another batch as they are leaving the exhibit hall toward the end of the event.
Pre-post surveys are effective in measuring changes in variables such as:

 Brand awareness

 Memorability or recall of key messages

 Attitude or image change

 Message impact

 New product consideration

 Audience profile

 Booth Exit Interviews

To measure the immediate effectiveness of the booth and experience there, an

exit interview can be helpful, especially for exhibitors using a sizable booth
footprint. An interviewer intercepts visitors on their way out of the booth, and
requests that they answer some quick questions. Exit interviews can explore such
areas as:

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  What prompted you to visit the booth?

 Were you treated well by the staff?

 Did someone approach you right away?

 How useful was the product demo?

 As a result of your visit to the booth, how likely are you to add the
company to your short list of considered vendors?

One of the big advantages of the exit interview, when done early in the business event, is
that it allows mid-course correction of any problems uncovered.

 Post-Event Surveys

Contacting a sample of show attendees to ask questions about their experience is

another method of evaluating trade show and corporate event results. Depending
on your information needs, you may want to survey the entire attendee
population, the people who visited your booth, or the group that participated in a
certain activity at the business event. Surveys typically support the following
event objectives:

 Perform detailed reporting and benchmarking of the attendee profile

 Obtain feedback on your exhibit’s ability to attract and communicate with

high-potential prospects

 Benchmark your performance against the competition

 Provide clues as to the value of your investment in events compared to

other elements in the marketing mix

Post-show surveys can be used to explore such issues as:

 Competitive comparisons

 Which products are most effective to exhibit or demonstrate

 Effectiveness of promotions and premiums

 Audience attendance/experience at other trade shows

 Audience quality

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  Audience motivation for attending the trade show

 Attendee activity at the trade show

 Strengths and weaknesses of your exhibit, staff, design, signage

2. Qualitative Tools:

Qualitative metrics, while not projectable to the entire population, can be helpful in
assessing your performance. Following are a few of the more beneficial qualitative
approaches.

 Mystery Shopping

If you’re looking for an objective means of analyzing your booth’s effectiveness,

consider hiring a professional evaluator to “mystery shop” your booth and assess
the experience from the point of view of a customer or prospect. Many trade
show consultants offer this service.

 Staff Feedback

The booth staff is your first line of customer contact, and a rich source of data on
most elements of interest. Staff feedback forms can be used for continuous
improvement in training, exhibit effectiveness, placement, and other marketing
tactics during the trade show.

 One Word of Caution

Don’t rely too heavily on informal feedback from booth senior and staff
management when assessing the value of the trade show.

Such comments as “Booth was crowded,” “Mostly junior people,” and “Felt light
to me” can do more harm than good.

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3.10 KEY ACCOUNT OR KEY PROSPECT ANALYSIS
Keeping track of key account attendance can be an important success metric, especially
at trade shows where we expect a relatively high level of current customer attendance.

Make a list of key accounts, noting which were invited in advance by the sales team to
visit the booth or attend a business event.

Distribute the list to booth staff and other company representatives at the trade show.
Ask them to check off any who were engaged in conversation, and make other
comments. Subsequent analysis of customer spending correlated to contact points can
often then help identify the relative importance of the trade show visit in helping to
secure orders from specific customers.

Competitive Analysis

Assessing the presence of the competition is best approached qualitatively. Check the
trade show guide to see who among your competitors is exhibiting, speaking, or
sponsoring events.

Assign competitive sleuthing duty to several of your booth staff and other company
attendees, if possible. Provide them with a form to fill out that covers such items as
booth size and location, products featured, staff size, visitor experience, etc.

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 Business Event Objectives and Associated Metrics

3.11 HOW BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PROMOTION AND

MARKETING PLAN
A good marketing plan summarizes of ‘w’ family i.e. who, what, where, when, and how
much questions of the company:

 Who are the target buyers?

 What sources of uniqueness or positioning in the market does your product

have?

 Where will you implement your marketing spending plans?

 When will marketing spending plans occur?

 How much sales, spending, and profits will you achieve?

The financial projections contained in our business plan are based on the assumptions
contained in our marketing plan. It is the marketing plan that details when expenditures

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will be made, what level of sales will be achieved, and how and when advertising and
promotional expenditures will be made.

The major elements of a marketing plan:

 The situation analysis describes the total marketing environment in which the
company competes and the status of company products and distribution
channels.

 The opportunity and issue analysis the major external opportunities and threats
to the company and the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company, along
with a discussion of key issues facing the company.

 The goals and objectives section outlines major company goals and the
marketing and financial objectives.

 The marketing strategy section provides the company's marketing strategy

statement, summarizing the key target buyer description, competitive market
segments the company will compete in, the unique positioning of the company
and its products compared to the competition, the reasons why it is unique or
compelling to buyers, price strategy versus the competition, marketing spending
strategy with advertising and promotion, and possible R&D and market research
expenditure strategies.

The sales and marketing plan outlines each specific marketing event or action plan to
increase sales. For example, it may contain a summary of quarterly promotion and
advertising plans, with spending, timing, and share or shipment goals for each program.

The sales and marketing plan outlines each specific marketing event or action plan to
increase sales. For example, it may contain a summary of quarterly promotion and
advertising plans, with spending, timing, and share or shipment goals for each program.

Some of the ways to market your product or service are

 Write letters (on issues and news items that have SOME relation to your
business) to the editors of local papers.

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  Have give-away (e.g. bookmarks or pens) that are useful and give details of your
business.

 Send news releases about your products and your business to local papers, radio
and TV shows.

 Take out an ad in a publication of a local group.

 Offer to make presentations, on a topic related to your product or service at

appropriate fora.

 Keep your eyes open for "specialized" newsletters, newspapers, or other

publications which might welcome an article written by you.

 Get on the Internet and connect to the world with your own home page.

Remember marketing is the face you show to public, highlighting uniqueness and quality
of the product. Check the content and layout before releasing an advertisement or
distributing pamphlet. Marketing is becoming an ever important tool in the present
competitive scenario, tell what your product or services can do, but don't promise what
you cannot deliver.

3.12 SWOT ANALYSIS

STRAGEGIC ALTERNATIVES ARISING FROM ENVIRONMENTAL
ANALYSES

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 INTERNAL

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES

Maintenance Strategy
Developmental Strategy
Utilizing company’s strengths
Maximize Opportunities
to take maximum
by minimizing weaknesses
advantage of opportunity
EXTERNAL

Survival Strategy
Pre-Emptive Strategy
THREATS

Minimizing both weaknesses and

Maximizing strengths threats by considering options
and their usage to such as:
overcome threats Joint Ventures, Retrenchment,
Liquidation, etc

SWOT Based Strategy Matrix

The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the
company, and describes the opportunities and threats facing Corporate Retreat
Professionals.

Strengths
• Superior, specialized service offerings.
• Well-trained, enthusiastic employees.
• Strong relationships with complementary service providers.

Weaknesses
• The concentration of a small niche of the market that will limit the potential size

of the market.
• The difficulty of generating awareness and visibility of the company in its first

few years of operation.

• The inability to rapidly scale to meet large, unexpected increases in demand.

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Opportunities
• A growing market of companies that are outsourcing event planning activities.
• Being one of the first service providers concentrating on this specific niche.
• Relatively low overhead.

Threats
• A slump in the economy that could have a ripple effect on service providers.
• Future competition from existing service providers competing in different but

complimentary market spaces.

• The inability to find qualified, high quality employees.

Competition
Currently there are three other companies that offer event planning specifically to
corporations. They, however, tend do events that are more general in scope such as
parties to reward customers or employees, or events to change the company's image.
There is no company that specializes in event planning of corporate training and product
release events. There are companies that offer corporate training, but these companies
provide the actual training and do not do any of the actual event planning/ logistics of
the entire event.

There is also no company that specializes in product release events. There are companies
that do provide this service, but they do not specialize in it. Because event planning is a
tight market, CRP will benefit from specialization.

The buying pattern for the larger corporations was, in the past, to have an in-house
solution. This pattern is disappearing in favor of outsourcing as there is the constant
drive for gains in efficiency, something outsourcing can offer.

Maintenance Strategy

Arising from a situation of strength and favorable opportunities, the maintenance

strategy provides reasons to carry out activities that maximize available advantages. This
is the perfect position to be in. Beyond this, every activity gets focused on maintaining
the winning edge and the lead over competitors. The event company here can well afford

72
to be aggressive knowing very well that it has the relevant strengths to back its claim on
the opportunity.

Developmental Strategy

To gain advantage of potential opportunities while not having sufficient strengths calls
for gaining a winning edge by using tactical retreats where irrelevant yet not giving up.

It requires passive and defensive strategy, which attacks relevant opportunities in such a
way as to cover up on weakness.

Pre-emptive Strategy

This strategy is usually used by entrenched market leaders on new entrants. Potential
threats are nipped in the bird by exercising the full power of the company’s strength.

This is a very powerful and aggressive strategy as it requires foresight to fully

understand the threats looming on the horizon. Selecting which one to tackle requires
careful study since some points of strength could get eroded if used unnecessarily.

Survival Strategy

This strategy is used to ensure that the company is alive for a battle on another day when
it will have the requisite strengths to grab its share of opportunities in the market. It
allows one to make drastic decisions in the face of harsh environment.

STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES ARISING FROM COMPETITIVE ALANYSIS

Further to the strategy from the environmental analysis a mapping of event concepts can
be used as a variable component along with decisions on facing competition, which can
lead to more detailed and in-depth strategic alternatives.

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 EVENT CONCEPTS

USE EXISTING CREATE NEW

COMPETE

Sustenance Strategy Rebuttal Strategy

Manage critical success factors Respond to new initiatives by

COMPETITION

more effectively competition with a similar move

AVOID HEAD -ON

Venture Strategy
CONFLICT

Accomplishment Strategy
Maximize user benefits by using
path breaking, trend setting
Relative superiority
initiatives to take a lead vis-à-vis
Exploit competitor’s weakness
competition by being first in the
market.

Concept vs. Competition Matrix

Sustenance Strategy

This is a strategy to be used when faced with no options but to take on the adversary
with the existing arsenal of event concepts that may be out dated or still current but
nearing the end of its life cycle.

It becomes essential that the event company manage its resources and advantages in
terms of CSFs that have been identified with greater efficacy. Successful concepts need
to be brushed up and revamped to meet customer expectations in the face of competitive
offerings.

Accomplishment Strategy

This strategy is viable when an existing concept is doing better than any of the
competitors’ equivalent offering. This strategy, therefore, essentially says that sticks to
the winning concepts and exploits the fact that competition cannot offer a similar quality
concept and thereby wants to avoid a head-on conflict by itself. The danger here is that
competition may use any of the other strategic alternatives available to a challenger to
combat the situation.
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Venture Strategy

This strategy envisages making use of the first mover advantage by creating new
concepts of competition by creating niche markets. This may even involve a re-
definition of market segmentation.

By maximizing user benefits and creating path breaking trend setting concepts the event
company positions itself to take a lead vis-à-vis competition by being first in the market.
This is a double-edge strategy in that failure is as devastating as the benefits of a
successful launch.

STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES ARISING FROM DEFINED OBJECTIVES

EVENT CONCEPTS

EXISTING NEW
EXISTING

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
RETAIN CLIENTS
OF CLIENTS
CLIENTS

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
NEW

MARKET DEVELOPMENT
OF CONCEPTS

Client/Concept Fit Matrix

The above matrix provides options that event organizers have an offer in terms of
concepts and their market.

The basic strategic alternatives here revolve around whether the objective is to retain
customers or market development. These objectives further lead to the strategic options
of achieving them either to customization or new concept development.

By offering new concepts to a existing customers, a strategy of increasing business from

increasing clients can be discerned. Similarly by offering an existing event to a new
client, a strategy of increasing productivity of the event concept can be followed.

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PREP MODEL

This framework has its roots, in the fact that, events as a business proposition for
corporatization is relatively nascent in nature. Therefore, the concept of strategic
perspective to growth through and along with clients is a major decision to be taken by
an event agency having major growth plans. This model deals with the strategic options
available by playing off objectives relating to market development against growth in
competition.

CLIENTS

EXISTING NEW
EXISTING

Enrichment Strategy Predatorial Strategy

COMPETITION

NEW

Retaliatory Strategy Proactive Strategy

PREP Matrix

The above matrix provides the choices before the event company when it comes to a
trade off between clients and competition in terms of assigning priorities in decision
making.

Predatorial Market Development Strategy

If the development of new clients from existing competitors is the need of the situation
then the event company will adopt this strategy. This is essentially an offensive through
focused strategy wherein clients of other event companies are targeted.
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Enrichment Strategy

In a market situation where the event company is forced to compete fiercely for retaining
its market, this strategy is followed. It is used where the need to maintain and improve
the quality of service becomes predominant.

Retaliatory Strategy

This is basically a defense mechanism wherein the event company tries to defend it self
from preditorial strategies of essentially new entrants. This strategy involves taking
action aimed at retaining its existing clientele and potential client base.

Pro-active Strategy

The event company here can explore new client bases and stretch the limit of its
concepts across untried event categories. Every event category has its own special
environmental and competitive structures.

3.13 RISKS VERSUS RETURN MATRIX

Time
Pre-Planned Ad-hoe

Low Risk
Sponsored
Type of Finance for Funds & Revenue

Assured Returns
Fully

Zero Risk
(can charge extra
Assured Returns
since chances of
failure are high)

Medium Risk High Risk

Sponsored
& Ticketed
Partially

Assured Returns Assured Returns

to cover costs + to cover costs but
chances of loss lower chances of
are low profit
Very High Risk
High Risk
Ticketed

Very less time to

Fully

Chances of high
ensure reach
profits with equal
Chances of failure
chances of losses
& loss are high

Risk vs. Return Matrix

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The above matrix considers two of the most important risk factors as well as the degree
to which it can affect the events company – Type of Finance and Planning Lead Time

Events based on time can be divided into pre-planned i.e., events carried out after
thorough planning with enough time for taking decisions and ad-hoc events i.e., those
that are taken up on the spur of the moment. On the basis of finance, events can be fully
sponsored, fully ticketed or partially ticketed and sponsored. Each decision carries with
it an element of risk, the gradations of which can vary from zero risk to very high risk as
shown in fig.

3.14 APPLICABILITY
Differentiation and Focus in Event Marketing

Event Marketing has several advantages with multiple purposes, which normal
marketing media do not have. For example, when advertising in a magazine, a company
needs to decide which message they want to communicate as well as with whom they
want to communicate.

For companies using differentiation as a competitive advantage, spreading several

messages in many different magazines, the result might not cover investment. On the
other hand, for companies using focus as a basic strategy, the cost for gathering
information about the specific target group must match the possibility to actually reach
the right segment. Depending on how Event Marketing is used both differentiation and
focus can be achieved.

There are two major differences when using events. The events are pre-
communicated; the companies have a possibility to control, who will attend, or the event
just happens; whoever is there has an opportunity to be a part of the event. Of course,
depending on which place the company selects for the event, different types of
consumers will be reached. When using general events; meaning that no single target
group is invited, the company can still gain on the situation since they have a chance to
adjust the added value to specific customers during the event.

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 The employees working during the event “read” the situation and adjust his/her
behavior. Further the event itself might also communicate an added value to other
people, although they might not be interested in the specific event.

On the other hand mean that Event Marketing can also be used when focusing on
specific target groups.

3.15 ADVANTAGES OFFERED BY EVENTS

As it is clear from the preceding section, use of events as a marketing communication
tool not only take care of the problems associated with traditional media but also offer
certain advantages because of which events are gaining importance over them. Some of
the advantages are detailed below:

1. Events have the ability to bring together sharply defined participants since the
capacity for a particular event is usually limited. A specific no. of the target
audience could be invited of enticed to buy tickets for a show especially created
for a particular profile of the target audience.

2. Since the audience is actively targeted, the option of control reach can be
exercised and ideal audience for narrow-casting of information can be gathered.
This leads to lowering of the media networking budgets and focused
communication with the specially gathered audience. The audience that has been
specially invited invariably is an ideal audience.

3. An event carried out professionally and cleanly is a memorable experience. The

word-of-mouth publicity that this generates is an advantage that lingers on a long
time after the event is actually been carried out. This provides an advantage of
higher brand recall to the client.

4. The involvement of all the senses in experiencing the event is one of the greatest
advantages that events can offer. Events can be designed such that the audience is
actively involved in every part of the event and made to feel good. Thus, events
as a live media offer a certain amount of immediacy to the experience – of being

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 there while it‘s happening. For the audience, it is undoubtedly a thrilling
situation.

5. Live media also enables interactive communication. Live media scores over
conventional advertising in terms of reach, impact and tangible immediacy of
measurement. Live media communication is a complete sensual experience as
compared to a press advertisement or TV/Radio commercial. This is so because
of press ad is basically a flat piece of paper and a commercial is just an
audiovisual experience. The high recall value of live media communication is
also a major factor.

6. No other media can boast of the ability to provide such massive collection of
feed back instantly as events. Being a live media, it is possible to feel and deduce
the reactions of the audience to the aim or objective that the event was conceived
for.

7. Easily customizable nature of events, mean that specific traits of the local
inhabitants can be incorporated in the big picture to ensure that the event is
socially and culturally in tune with the local culture. Thus, the localization of
events is very easy.

8. The advantage in terms of post-event publicity that events can offer over and
above the paid or bartered media is the benefit associated with reports of the
event in the newspaper and news on the electronic media. For such reports there
is no extra cost to be borne – neither by the sponsor nor by the event organizer.
This is a double edged sword because, in case the event is not up to the mark or
is dogged y controversies, then the same is also reported impartially.

9. The conversion of good events into television software for future use either by
the sponsors for their commercials or by media house for programming is also a
unique benefit that events offer. Such software become products by themselves
and can be used profitability in the future.

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 CHAPTER 4 :DATA ANALYSIS
DATA ANALYSIS ON THE BASIS OF ANNEXURE

1: Buying Behavior after a positive experience of an EVENT.

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Where,

a = Product/service you have heard but not checked out yet

b = Product/service you have never heard of
c = Product/service you already use

Interpretation

If people had a positive experience, about the event 88% are more likely to buy a
product just when they were aware of it. Surprisingly, 78% are more likely to enter into
the buying process even if it’s a new product.

2: Gender influence on purchase

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Where,
a = Product/service you already use
b = Product/service you have heard but not checked out yet
c = Product/service you have never heard of

Interpretation

After a positive experience of the events, women are more likely to purchase a product
they already use while men are a bit more adventures and may even be inclined to
purchase a product that they are not using or haven’t yet heard about that product.

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3: Men are explorers whereas women love samples

Interpretation

The female folk are drawn towards the event because they love samples which was
confirmed when 68% out of the female respondents gave the same reply where as the
male counterpart are more interested in exploring the product inside out.

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Graph 4: Create events for right ages

Interpretation

Fun and free best describes the motivation of younger event attendees while education
and interaction are what the older crowd is looking for.

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5: Events spur immediate sales

Interpretation

26% of the attendees are ready to purchase a product immediately after the event, 25%
within a month and 15% wont purchase the product at all.

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Graph 6: Reasons for participation in any event

Interpretation

Over all the age groups it was observed that if the product/service is of interest to the
attendees they are more likely to participate in an event. The next best reason for
participation across all age groups is the activity which the attendees enjoy.

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Graph 7: People spend time at mobile events.

Interpretation

68% of the total respondents spend approximately 15 mins on a mobile event and every
less people spend over 30 mins.

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8: Mobile events create better product understanding

Interpretation

Mobile events which demonstrate product features are more likely to generate better
understanding about a company or its product.

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4.2 INTERVIEWS AND DETAILED DISCUSSIONS with various event managers
and corporate helped me identify the problems in the event marketing industry.

1. The event marketing industry in India is highly unorganized.

2. Corporate are not fully aware of the concept, implementation process and
effectiveness of event marketing.

3. No post-event analysis is carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of an event. As

a result of which a lot of money is wasted and nothing productive happens.

4. Lately, event marketing has become a fad and even small entrepreneurs are
blindly following the multinationals such as Coke and Pepsi that have presence
all over in the event marketing industry (cricket, music, movies & road shows)

5. Even when large sums of money are involved, sponsorships have too often been
handed out on nothing stronger than the managing director’s whim. In such
cases, virtually no thought is given to their likely benefit to the company, or even
how such a benefit could be measured.

In the late 1980s, the Hill & Knowlton sports marketing division conducted a
survey of Western Australian companies involved in sponsorship. Many were
giving more than $100,000 a year. Yet a staggering 68% of them had no
procedures in place to check the value of their sponsorships. How many of those
companies would spend $100,000 on advertising without monitoring every year
stage of the campaign? How many would pay an executive $100,000 a year
without demanding accountability for performance.

6. Sponsorship today should be made as accountable as any other part of the

marketing mix. Some forms of sponsorship have long-term networking goals that
don’t lend themselves to immediate measurement. But if sponsorship is linked
directly to a product, measurement should be possible through the only criteria
that ultimately matter, Sales.

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7. T.V. and press coverage of the event cannot be equated with success-even if a
company’s logo appears often and prominently. Instead, we need to take a close
look at the sales results and see if they go up during the sponsorship period.

8. Not all sponsorships are readily measurable. There are many, especially in the
non-sporting field, where it’s almost impossible to establish a direct cause-and-
effect relationship between sponsorship and sales. Carefully planned
sponsorships can be a cost-efficient way to enhance corporate profile. They can
link a company and brand with their customers’ lifestyles and aspirations. They
can create a difference for the product, boost the effectiveness of the total
promotional program, and put one in touch with people who can do a great deal
for the business.

9. Sponsorship itself never is a major communications thrust. It is always and only

a complement to it. For every Rs. 100,000 you spend on sponsorship, you need
to spend at least another Rs. 100,000 on more conventional promotional
activities. And your sponsorship venture must not happen in isolation from them.
It must be an integral part of your total promotional program. It must tie in
closely in theme and message with everything else you are doing. Only then, will
you get real benefit from your sponsorship investment.

10. Commit large amounts of time and marketing expertise to it as well in order to
bring about a long-term product association with the event. It means monitoring
the event constantly, to ensure that your name, logo, product and so on are being
featured, exactly as agreed. It means developing reliable ways of measuring its
results, if that’s possible. It means thinking about extensions-spin-off consumer
and trade promotions, staff motivation programs, hospitality functions and so on.

11. It also means being willing to keep it going for several years at least. The longer
you stay with your sponsorship, the better the results you can expect-and the
better, for the event too. If its name chops and changes from one year to the
next, its image will become confused and tarnished. Then its value as a
sponsorship property will drop.

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12. There is no consistency of operations and quality of events on the part of event
management firms. Event marketing firms in India are very unprofessional and
lack integrated marketing expertise.

13. Situation analysis and TOMA effect which are done by advertising agencies is
not done by event marketing agencies.

14. Event marketing firms do not have retained accounts as advertising agencies.

15. They also provide poor services as compared to advertising agencies. Hence
corporate prefer to give their accounts for event marketing also to their own
advertising agencies. These advertising agencies may further forward the contract
to the event management firms in case they do not have the infrastructure and
facilities for event management themselves. This results in lesser profits for the
event management firms as a cut off percentage of at least 13.5% is retained by
the advertising agency itself. Hence there is a need to build a more qualified and
professional image of the event-marketing firms to gain corporate trust, and
remove this intermediary to achieve higher profits.

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 CHAPTER 5. RESEARCH FINDINGS
&RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1RESARCH FINDINGS
• The present study has been undertaken to get the first hand exposure on the
mindset of people towards Event Marketing concept & their involvement in
events as and when they come across, if any.

• A questionnaire was designed keeping in mind the requirements for study &
analysis of my thesis for comparing the hypothesis with the outcome of this
survey.

• A general survey conducted with a sample size of 50 respondents revealed the

following facts regarding the mindset of people towards the Event Marketing
concept.

• This survey also gave scope to take necessary steps for organizing an event at
right place, right time and in front of the right target audience.

• Event Marketing companies were also targeted and their response was also taken
which added value to my thesis.

Let’s have a look at what people feel about Event Marketing.

When people were asked what they feel about a particular company which promotes its
product/service through Event Marketing 82% of the respondents replied that it gives a
positive impression about the company and establishes the quality of their
product/service.

When people were asked about the reasons for which they have participated 53% replied
that the event appeared amusing which was followed by reasons like a powerful brand or
eye catching signs & banners.

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

To improve the condition of the event marketing industry and make it more professional
and profitable, the following recommendations have been listed:

1. Understand the corporate objectives, target audience, brand image and

positioning clearly.

2. Do not go overboard with your concept or preference for a certain event.

3. Conduct a situational analysis for appropriate event selection which synergies

with the company objective and brand personality.

4. Create extensive databases of the target consumers in order to conduct pre- and
post-event analysis and evaluation to check the success of the event and
consumer perception, also to assess the top of mind awareness and brand recall.

5. Conduct extensive market research to establish which parts of the program are
working and which ones are not. Those in the first category should be
maintained and strengthened. Those in the second should be relinquished.

6. In all sponsorship activities, it is important to protect the integrity of the activity

being supported. If it is cheapened or its identity threatened, the sponsorship
could rebound on the sponsor’s head.

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 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION
 Event marketing allows a company to break through the advertising
clutter and target an audience by enhancing or creating an image through
an association to a particular event.

 Brand awareness reinforces the product or service, and drives sales.

 Property or event, also profits, a financial partner, a supplemented

advertising budget, and added leverage.

 Event marketing also offers companies the flexibility to reach specific

geographic and demographic audiences. It is a benefit that allows depth
of exposure, as opposed to the breadth of exposure.

 As CMOs continue to face increasing financial pressures, they must

continuously provide higher levels of value, both in pure financial terms
and overall measurement of ROI.

 When considering the entire sales cycle, marketing professionals must

think beyond traditional methods and bring transparency and
measurement to their activities in order to demonstrate the fundamental
value of their field. To answer this challenge, the event marketing
industry must redefine itself to recognize the power of the “brand” to
forge deep connections, as well as also adapt events to contribute to
branding in more sophisticated ways.

 The perception of events as a form of media is quickly moving away from

standalone activities to integrated forms of communication. These forms
of communication synchronize with overall marketing goals through new
applications of techniques rooted in traditional event marketing that
project the brand more powerfully. Defining what an organization stands
for, mapping out a clear brand strategy, and then formulating event

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 activities that align with overall marketing goals is the next great step in
the evolution of the industry.

ANNEXURE
Questionnaire

Name :
Age :
Gender :
Occupation :

1. What are your feelings about a company that creates or sponsors events?
a) They are willing to let people try them out
b) Support activities that I enjoy
c) They understand my interests and needs
d) They like to have fun with me
e) They want to know more about me

2. Assuming you had a positive experience, would you be more or less inclined to
purchase a product or service after having participated in an event?
a) Product/service you have heard but not checked out yet
i. More likely
ii. Less likely
iii. Neither more nor less
b) Product/service you have never heard of
i. More likely
ii. Less likely
iii. Neither more nor less
c) Product/service you already use
i. More likely
ii. Less likely
iii. Neither more nor less

3. What was it that got you to notice or participate in the event?

a) It looked like fun
b) I recognize the company/brand running the event
c) Signs and Banners
d) Somebody invited me to participate
e) The crowd that was already taking part in the event
f) Others

4. Which of the following is your favorite part of marketing events?

a) I get to touch and feel a product/services
b) I get to learn more about a product/services

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 c) I get to ask questions about a product/services
d) I get a free sample of a product/services
e) I get to have fun by participating in activities

5. Which would most likely cause you to participate in a product demonstration or

event?
a) The product/services matched my interest
b) The product or company was sponsoring an activity I enjoy
c) My friend/relative had a positive experience
d) The event offered an activity I could participate
e) Other

6. How long did you stay at the mobile event?

a) 1-15 minutes
b) 15-30 minutes
c) over 30 minutes

7. Which of the following is true? After leaving the mobile event I understood the
company/product…
a) better
b) same
c) less

8. How soon after attending a company-sponsored event at/near a store did you purchase
the product or service being offered?
a) Immediately
b) Within a month
c) Within a week
d) Did not purchase
e) Within 3 months
f) Within 6 month
g) More than 6 months

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 KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL EVENT MARKETING

While marketing an event, there are a few key methods that can be employed to ensure
that the event gains the maximum response.

Event is managed in the minimum cost possible. Event marketing has been a concept
that has only recently been pioneered in India. But, though new, the concept has taken
off very well with the Indian consumers who are evolving rapidly.

Some of the methods are listed below. Following them can ensure a cost effective
implementation of the event marketing.

If the event is meant to market a certain product, then it is necessary to ensure that the
purchase decision-maker attends the event. It is important to get the message across to
the target audience and therefore enough research about the profile of the attendees is
important to be able to communicate effectively to them about the product. It is
important that least 50-60% of the people attending the event are targets of the product
to be promoted.

It is also important to evaluate the value-added benefits that the venue or the trade show
organizer makes available to your business. Make sure you find out if they allow access
to the attendee mailing list so you can implement a pre-mailing process in order to
promote your one-day trade show special, as well as the location of your booth.

Make sure you get participant contact information before the event as well as after.
Other value-added benefits that can be expected from the show organizer include: being
included in participant email distributions promoting the event, as well as an
advertisement in the event show guide.

Before the event is undertaken, the cost effectiveness of promoting the product through
the event should be questioned by asking yourself event qualifying questions around the
“who" instead of the “how many”.

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The giveaways at the event should be relevant to the business being promoted through
the event. And make sure you don't give something away for free just for the heck of it.

The location chosen for the event is perhaps the most important aspect. Make sure you
don't purchase a cheap booth at a popular exhibition because there are strong chances
that no one will be visiting you, since your booth will be tucked away hidden from all
eyes. The most ideal locations in any exhibition areas are found at the entryway to the
event and near the pathway to the food stations and restrooms.

OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS

A sponsorship checklist has been devised for the benefit of all those who are in the
business of event marketing or related to it.

1. Are you clear on your sponsorship objectives?

2. Does the activity or event have a link with your product?

3. Is the public perception of it a positive one?

4. Is it watched, attended, shared in or enjoyed by your target market?

5. Will your sponsorship raise your image in their eyes?

6. Is the activity or event free of close identification with a previous sponsor?

7. Will it create good ‘rubbing shoulders’ opportunities for you?

8. Can you measure its results?

9. Will it give you tangible benefits, such as naming rights, program advertising,
on-site displays or merchandise?

10. Will it have PR possibilities that reach beyond the immediate audience into your
target market?

11. Will it be a natural extension to your main advertising and promotional

activities?

12. Are you prepared to commit yourself to it for a considerable period of time?

13. Are you prepared to put a great deal of effort as well as money into it?

14. Will your key personnel commit themselves to it enthusiastically?

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BASIC COVERAGE
 Event Management Lynn Van Der Wagen & Brenda R. Carlos

 Principles of Marketing  Kotler & Amstrong

 Marketing Management  Philip Kotler

WEBSITES
 www.indiatradepromotion.org
 www.exhibitionsindia.com
 www.supercommindia2004.com
 www.branders.com
 www.eventmarketer.com
 www.marketersadvantage.net/articles.htm?k=Network%20Marketing
 www.mobilemarketingjoblist.com
 www.fundsmanagementworld.com/india
 www.sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/g/promotion.htm
 www.wilsonweb.com
 www.marketingnpv.com
 www.india.gov.in/business/growing_business.php
 www.frost.com/prod/servlet/events-asia-pac.pag
 www.indialine.com/events/automotive.html
 www.hindustantimes.com/3g/
 www.informatm.com
 www.MrSeeker.com

 www.google.com

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 www.slideshare.com
 www.shopairte.com

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