Practical Events

ManagementLecture Four: Managing

the Event

Lecture Overview

Project Management for Events

Marketing

Human Resource Management

Finance

Risk and Responsibility

The Event as a Project

The production of an event or festival can be defined as a project.

According to Gray and Larson (2000:4)

“a project is a complex non routine one-time effort limited by time, budget, resources and performance specifications designed to meet customer needs”.

Event management consists of a number of management areas, project management integrates these areas.

The Phases of Project Management

Project Management consists of:

Initiation Planning Implementation The event Shutdown

Marketing for Events

Marketing can be defined as:

“the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”

(Chartered Institute for Marketing, 2005)

The Marketing Plan

Shone and Parry (2001) suggest that a marketing plan should cover the following:

Statement of purpose, objectives and expected results

Analysis of the macro and micro environment Summary of event components Overview of target markets Marketing budget Marketing schedule

The Marketing Mix

The general marketing mix

Product Price Place Promotion People Physical evidence Process

The event marketing mix

Product Price Place Promotion Programming People Partnerships Packaging and

distribution

Human Resource Management for Events

“A philosophy of people management based on the belief that human resources are uniquely important in sustained business success. An organisation gains competitive advantage by using its people effectively, drawing on their expertise and ingenuity to meet clarified objectives. HRM is aimed at recruiting capable, flexible and committed people, managing and rewarding their performance and developing key competencies”

(Price, 2004:32)

HR Strategy and Objectives

Getz’s (2005) three stage process for staffing suggests:

Identifying all tasks associated with the event’s creation, delivery and shutdown

Determining how many people are needed to complete the range of tasks associated with the conduct of the event

Listing the numbers of staff/volunteers and supervisors needed and the skills/experience needed to form the ideal workforce

HR Issues

HR for events is unique for two reasons:

Events have a pulsating organisational structure Events often rely heavily on volunteers

Issues can therefore include:

Recruitment Training Motivation Retention

Finance for Events

Financial control is vital as it:

Allows us to judge likely success Allows us to judge the level of planning Provides a total cost picture Is useful when looking for additional funding

The Event Budget

Costs and Revenue

Costs:

Fixed Variable Also, think about

cash flow

Revenue

Ticket sales (scaling) Sponsorship

(leverage) In kind support Merchandising Grants Fundraising Broadcast rights Special features

Financial Reporting: profit and loss

PHOENIX EVENTS

Forecast Profit & Loss Account

(If 150 tickets sold at £3)

SALES (FROM TICKET PRICES) 450

LESS COSTS OF SALES 180

GROSS PROFIT 270

LESS EXPENSES

ADMINISTRATION EXPENSES 40

MARKETING EXPENSES 40

DECORATIONS 50

LOAN 50

NET PROFIT 90

Risk and Responsibility

Practical (real) risk

“the probability that a particular adverse event occurs during a stated period of time, or results from a particular challenge”

(Royal Society Study Group, 1992:2)

Event risk

“a working definition of event risk is any future incident that will negatively influence the event. Note that risk is not solely at the event itself”

(Bowdin, et al., 2006:318)

The Risk Management Process

Identify potential hazards

Identify who they may affect

Identify potential risks associated with the hazard

Assess the risk rating

Identify the controls that can be put in place to reduce/manage the risk

Identify the final risk rating

Identify who is responsible for managing this risk

Potential Issues

Licensing

Legislation

Public liability insurance

Additional insurance

You MUST include a full risk assessment and copy of your venue’s public liability insurance in your event plan

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