Event Planning and Management: Research, Concept Development, and Feasibility Screening PDF

03 == Research, concept development and feasibility screening ------------------------------------------------------- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | **Phase 1** | +===============================...

03 == Research, concept development and feasibility screening ------------------------------------------------------- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | **Phase 1** | +=======================================================================+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | INFORMATION GATHERING | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | SIGN-OFF | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ - the rush back to physical event spaces, especially for leisure, sport and music; - continuing reluctance by significant numbers of people to return to physical event spaces. - develop event aims and objectives in line with the client's and your organization's mission and values; - undertake initial information gathering; - use a structured approach to develop your event concept; - apply criteria for screening event ideas to assess their feasibility; - consult stakeholders about the event concept; - obtain sign-off for your event concept. #### Phase 1: Research, concept development and screening #### Mission #### Aims and objectives ##### Establishing the event aims and objectives - Educate -- training workshops are elements of an event programme that are primarily intended to educate attendees. - Enlighten -- a guest speaker could be invited to speak to event attendees, enlight- ening them about future issues and trends. - Engage -- motivational speakers can be used to engage attendees. - Energize -- icebreaker activities can be used to energize attendees. - Entertain -- remember to include time for social activities in the event programme for attendees to unwind and to enjoy themselves. - **SPECIFIC** -- Objectives should clearly state what you are expected to achieve, using action verbs to describe what has to be done. - **MEASURABLE** -- Objectives should each include a target or milestone so that you can measure whether or not you have achieved them. - **AGREED** -- Objectives provide a definition of success, and it is therefore impor- tant that the intended outcomes should be agreed with the client. - **REALISTIC** -- Objectives should be challenging but not unrealistic, taking account of the skills, knowledge and resources of the event team. - **TIME-BOUND** -- Objectives are less likely to be achieved with no time frame tied to the objective-setting process. #### Initial information gathering ##### Research -- identifying new trends ##### External and internal analysis tools - What are the key **political** factors affecting the industry? - What are the important **economic** factors? - What **social** trends are most important? - What **technological** innovations are occurring now? - What are the **environmental** considerations? - What current and impending **legislation** may affect the industry? ##### Sources of information for news and developments in events - WeddingDates Directory matches couples in their search for the perfect wedding venue, with hotels and venues. - WedPro drives sales leads and conversions for venues, and nurtures the Venue/Couple relationship, providing insights and reporting for venues at every stage of the relationship with engaged couples. - The Wedding Method package uses digital marketing tools and personalization to drive venues' return on investment #### Concept development ###### WHY ###### WHERE ###### WHEN ###### WHAT - **WHY** are you putting on the event? - **WHO** is coming to the event? - **WHAT** is happening at the event? - **WHEN** is the event taking place? - **WHERE** is the event taking place? #### Screening and feasibility ##### Financing your event ##### Other screening factors - **Time**: Is there time in which to organize everything that is needed for the event? An example where the lack of time caused an event failure was the Fyre Festival in Great Exuma, Bahamas in 2017, where the initial venue was cancelled by the owner leaving less than six weeks in which to build a festival site on an island with few natural resources and inadequate physical and specialist event resources. Many event organizers underestimate the time needed to organize an event, and this is often exacerbated when problems inevitably arise. A common response is to throw more resources at these problems, to overcome the time constraints, but this frequently impacts adversely on financial aspects. - **Event operations**: Do you have access to all the event resources required to deliver the operational aspects of the event? These resources include people with the skills and experience to deliver an event on-site, technical equipment, location, as well as resources to ensure the event content can be delivered. - **Marketing**: Do you have marketing expertise and resources in the relevant media needed to promote the event? It's not just a matter of setting up social media accounts or printing off leaflets and posters. A successful event needs a clear and detailed event marketing plan, agreed well in advance, that takes account of exter- nal changes as well as resources available. - **Health and Safety**: Are you up to date with what is required to ensure that Health and Safety measures are in place to protect event participants? This includes staff, traders, speakers, as well as paying guests. Even when legal requirements change and are less restrictive, events managers still need to ensure that all participants are kept safe from Covid-19 or any other risk factor. - **Fit with client aims and objectives**: Have you checked that the event concept fits with the organizational mission and values of the client, of your own organization and of the potential attendees? #### Stakeholders - Promoters (high power/high interest) - Latents (high power/low interest) - Defenders (low power/high interest) - Apathetics (low power/low interest). #### Sign-off - Map the different stakeholder groups and work to what needs to be done to keep them happy with the work you are doing. - Make sure you get your event budget and concept signed off -- before you go ahead! 1. How would you begin research for your next event? 2. Identify the key stakeholders for a specific event. 3. How could you use the event planning model to improve the way you plan your next event? 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