INTRODUCTION

Event management is a relatively new concept when compared to other business practices such as marketing but the practice itself is not new. In the past, events were organized and ran by the public relations manager without lots of considerations going into it but as competition increased it became clear that there was more than just scheduling to an event. Business event management was defined by Rouse as the practice of incorporating business logic into labeling events, handling events and communicating events (2007). It is generally the application of business practices of management, accounting and marketing in the management of the event. The inclusion of these business practices has made event management part of the strategic marketing practices and that is why EThames Graduate School of London needs my services.

            Event Details

Being one of the leading colleges in London, EThames Graduate School appreciates the support of their esteemed students and staff members and organizes an opening day event to welcome each and every individual to the new semester. The event takes into consideration all the parties involved and includes the respective representatives in the organizing of the event as well as in the activities of the event. The representatives are also involved in the process of choosing the speakers of the day whereby the institution invites influential individuals in the business sector or successful alumni of our esteemed institution. The event involves various activities with the first being the welcoming of all students back to the institution followed by a speech on the details concerning EThames and why it is the college of choice, which will be followed by a lunch break whereby there will be a chance of informal interaction between the students, staff members and invited guests. In the afternoon there will be a tour of the school, followed by a question and answers session and finally the closing remarks whereby the meeting will be concluded giving ample time for interactions between the students, staff and invited guests as the students settle down for the commencement of learning.

            Objectives of Event

In event management, one of the most important factors that need to be taken into consideration is the objectives of the event. This is because the objectives act as a guide of the list of activities that should be carried out on the particular day. The objectives are usually used in the creation of the schedule since the schedule’s goal should be to meet the objectives of the event. Being the start of the semester and this being the opening event, the main objectives of the event are welcoming the students back, laying out the institution’s goals for the semester and communicating any changes that may have occurred during the holidays. Secondly, EThames is among the leading colleges in London but is not actually the leading one therefore one of the objectives of the event should be marketing. It is important to note that institutional marketing is not addressed like any other form of marketing but is the analysis, planning, control and implementation of carefully formulated programs designed to bring about voluntary exchanges of values with target markets to achieve institutional objectives (Gupta, 2007). It is important to note that in marketing, higher education is viewed more of a commodity than a service that is sold in a consumerism environment (Gibbs, 2004).

The event will also be used for the purpose of creating a closer relationship between the students and the staff. A close relationship between the two is usually important in running of the organization as they are both dependant on each other. The question and answer session will be vital for this as it gives the staff and management a chance to identify instances of inefficiency and address them immediately which gives the students satisfaction. The interaction guest will also be an opportunity for the students to interact with some of their role models who might be members of staff or the invited guests. Therefore this will not only be an opening day meeting but also a mentoring day for some of the students. Finally the meeting will provide an opportunity for the students to showcase their talents in the entertainment section. This not only helps the students to improve their confidence it is also a platform through which special talents can be identified and natured to be part of the entertainment industry in the future.

            Planning techniques

For efficiency and effectiveness in event management, there is need to apply various planning techniques in the planning process of the event. There are various planning tools such as Gantt charts, work breakdown structures, critical path charts and policy statements (Catherwood and Kirk, 1992). However most of these tools are used in complex projects with the simplest one being Gantt charts which are also used in event management. The technique which was developed by Henry Gantt around 1910 is a simple but effective way of planning various activities by conveying the activities visually following a specific order against a timescale (Milosevic, 2003). The chart has the advantage of creating a visual image which makes the understanding of the plan easy and it is also simple to create.

The first step in the creation of the chart is the identification of essential tasks which in the EThames opening day are the activities on the schedule. Therefore the main activities will be promotion of the event, organization of the venue, decoration of the venue, invitation of the chief guest and entertainers and preparation of the campus in readiness for the tour. The second step involves the establishment of the relationships of the tasks which identifies which tasks need to be completed before others can start. In the case of EThames the suitability of the location of the event need to be checked and the chief guest need to be invited before the promotion kicks off. This step is followed by the input of the indicated activities into software or template so as to form the Gantt chart. The final activity involve the monitoring of the progress of the Gantt chart to identify any changes that are needed or to adjust the timescale if need be. It is important to allocate an adjustable timescale to avoid any incompetence on the final day.

            Marketing Opportunity

As noted earlier, the concept of event management is a branch of strategic marketing which is involves the identification of a specific market and application of various marketing strategies to meet the needs of the market. In event management however since the activities are not aimed at marketing the institution, the institution need to fulfill certain requirements so as to incorporate marketing in the event activities. In education, the concept of marketing starts from the needs and wants of the stakeholders. The institutions therefore have to position themselves in a way that they fulfill the requirements of the stakeholders so as to be competitive in the market since the success of their students after school is determined by the employers who are part of the stakeholders (Gupta, 2007). The fact that EThames is certified by the Quality Assurance Association means that the quality of education is guaranteed thus fulfilling the stakeholders’ needs.  The college also offers highly accredited undergraduate and postgraduate courses which fulfills the needs of the employers who are part of the shareholders. The courses are in line with the market requirements and therefore their marketability.

There is need to create a network whereby the institutions are in connection with the beneficiaries of institutional products. This means that the institutions create captive customers whereby they have ready employers for their graduates and the employers sponsor the graduates in the same institution for post graduate courses. The development of captive customers is however dependent on attractions for clients which are responsible for ensuring that customers remain sustained (Gupta, 2007). The attractions should make it convenient to influence customers to take services of the institution by providing privileged services. EThames Graduate School has been able to achieve this through various programs that the institution has adopted. The fact that EThames is eligible for students’ loans makes it one of the institutions of choice for students, the institution also provides for a strong students voice which is another advantage and finally the great location and facilities make it possible for the organization to launch a successful captive customers program. In the education sector, every institution holds lots of potential for marketing its services and products and therefore there is need for the institutions to identify their strengths and maximize on them at the same time identifying opportunities available in the market. For instance EThames Graduate School should take advantage of the opening day event by creating a lot of publicity and use the platform to advertise its products. Finally there is the issue of spiral effect of marketing whereby if the institution satisfies the needs of the society from which it gets its resources from, it gets more and more resources. EThames Graduate School is in a position to achieve this by perfecting its student’s support systems such that the students form part of their marketing team through word of mouth.

            Opening Day Management Program

The opening day event will be welcome to all stakeholders ranging from the students, staff, sponsors, parents, local authority, employers and other interested members. The opening day is not a student oriented events but it is addressed to the wellbeing of EThames Graduate School. There will be a chief guest whom I believe is a mentor to many and therefore would like to listen to her lecture and we wouldn’t like to restrict that. The activities and programs of the institution will also be laid out and a tour of the school will also be conducted therefore if anyone would want to know more about the institution this is just the perfect event.

            Budget

The event will involve various speeches, entertainment and a light lunch therefore the budget should be guided by these factors. The location of the event is within the campus therefore no money required for the venue but there will be a budget for the decoration of the location. Part of the entertainment will be by the college’s drama and music club who will be accommodated for a week prior the event for rehearsals therefore only their expenses will be part of the budget while entertainers from outside will be paid hence part of the budget. A huge chunk of the budget will go to promotion as we seek to publicize the events beyond the students and staff who will be sent emails.

            Booking Entertainers

As indicated earlier one of the entertainers will be the college’s drama and music club while the other entertainers will be a music band and a comedian who doubles up also as a master of ceremony. The two entertainers must be available on 3^rd September and their fee has to be within our budget and be able to gel with the various age groups and social classes represented as well as the values of the college.

            Interior Designing

The location that we will be using is usually used for various activities in the campus and since this is an important event it needs to be decorated. The stage for instance has to be decorated to fit the event and have the banners marketing the institution and a red carpet for the college’s chancellor and the chief guest.

            Health and Safety

Being an event that will be attended by many, the health and safety systems of the venue of the meeting have to be counter checked to make sure they are in order. The heating systems and the fresh air ventilations need to be in order to ensure enough supply of oxygen and prevent the room from being stuffy. The fire alarm and fire extinguishers will also be checked to make sure they have been refilled recently.

            Catering

The event is expected to have around 2000 people since this is the capacity of the venue that the meeting will be held. This being the case we will offer a bottle of water to every person on arrival and a relatively light lunch for all individuals. The colleges executive along with the chief guest and the entertainers will however be offered coffee on arrival and after completion of the meeting as well as a special lunch. As part of marketing and showing hospitability the meals will not be offered by any external caterers but by the colleges catering staff however the expenses will be on the events budget.

            Disabled audience

EThames Graduate School recognizes the plight of persons with disabilities and therefore there will be special transport for persons with disabilities from the gate to the venue of the meeting. We have also reserved a part of the venue of up to 40 seats for persons with disabilities. We have also charged one of the members of the catering staff with the duty of serving them. They will also be given a special tour of the school by a different guide.

            Security

Security is always a concern of many especially in events which are free and open to the public and we have taken this into consideration and tightened the security. The college has a large number of independent security guards who are charged with ensuring security and order within the school and therefore we will not be hiring any security personnel. More personnel will be deployed at the gate to conduct a thorough security check on individuals and cars entering the school premises.

            Promotion

This will be the first activity that will be rolled out since the event has to be promoted for an entire week before the actual date. This is to create publicity and give ample time for individuals who may want to know more about the institution ample time to reschedule their activities. Promotion will be through mass media and social media. We will install two billboards at strategic locations near the college and another at the institution’s billboard. Through the help of the students we will embark on a massive social media campaign making sure that enough publicity about the event has been achieved. The details of the event will also be publicized on EThames website.

            Monitoring Progress

In any event there is always need to monitor the progress to make sure that everything is at par. The Gantt chart which we established at the start will be the main indicator of the progress as it indicates activities against the timescale. It also ensures that no activities are ignored or skipped especially the fine details such as fire equipment. The entertainment team is also included in the program since it’s the events manager responsibility and will give a report after two days of their progress. The final monitoring of the progress will be on the morning of the eve whereby they will have a rehearsal on stage as we test the sound equipments and the suitability of the stage.

                        CONCLUSION

Event management is a branch of strategic management and can be termed as a form of marketing. However the success or failure of a corporate event is not measured by the number of the people attending but the quality of the event and efficiency of the services offered at the event. Management and preparation therefore takes centre stage in event management and therefore the need for the hiring professionals to do the duty. The success however is not achieved solely by the event manager but by close coordination between the event manager and the resident manager since the objective of an event is crucial in its success. This coupled with the events manager planning techniques and adequate financing gives assurance of a successful and satisfactory event.

References

Allen, J. (2003). Event planning: ethics and etiquette : a principled approach to the business of special event management. Etobicoke, Ont.: Wiley.

Catherwood, D. W., & Kirk, R. L. (1992). The Complete guide to special event management: business insights, financial advice, and successful strategies from Ernst & Young, advisors to the Olympics, the Emmy Awards, and the PGA Tour. New York: J. Wiley.

Gibbs, P. T. (2004). Trusting in the university the contribution of temporality and trust to a praxis of higher learning. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Gupta, B. L. (2007). Marketing Educational Products and Services. Governance and management of technical institutions (pp. 495 – 501). New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co..

Milosevic, D. (2003). Project management toolbox tools and techniques for the practicing project manager. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley & Sons.

Rouse, M. (2007). Business Events Management. Retrieved July 12, 2014 from http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/business-process-management

Manktelow, J. & Carlson, A. (2004). Gantt Charts: Planning and Scheduling Team Projects. Mind Tools. Retrieved July 12, 2014 from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_03.htm

 
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