Table of Content

1. INTRODUCTION 3

1.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 5

1.2 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH TRADITIONAL MEDIA 10

1.3 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EVENT MEDIA AND 5P’s 11

1.4 EVOLUTION OF EVENT MARKETING 12

1.5 KEY ISSUES FOR EVENT MARKETING 15

1.6 WHY EVENT 19

1.7 SPONSORSHIP Vs EVENT MARKETING 26

1.8 SIZE OF EVENT 28

1.9 TYPES OF EVENT 29

2. CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE 34

2.1 WATERSHED EVENT
36

2.2 THE KEY TAKE-AWAY 37

2.3 ROLE OF EVENT MARKETING IN MARKETING MIX 38

2.4 ROI DELIVERD BY EVENT MARKETING 40

2.5 MEASURMENT IMPACTS ON EVENT MARKETING BUDGETS 42

2.6 TRANSITION TO EXPERIENCE MARKETING 44

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 47

3.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 47

3.2 NEED OF THE PROJECT 48

3.3 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT 48

3.4 METHODOLOGY 49
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4. EVENT MANAGEMENT A PROMOTIONAL TOOL 50

4.1 EVENT DESIGNING 50

4.2 COMMUNICATION EFFECTS OF EVENT MARKETING 53

4.3 EVALUATION OF EVENTS 56

4.4 REACH INTERACTION MATRIX 66

4.5 RETURN ON ONVESTMENT 67

4.6 KEY PROSPECT ANALYSIS 71

4.7 HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

PROMOTION AND MARKETING PLAN 72

4.8 STATEGIC ALTERNATIVES 74

4.9 RISK Vs RETURN MATRIX 81

4.10 APPICABILITY 82

4.11 ADVANTAGES OF EVENT 83

5. ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS 85

5.1 PRIMARY DATA ANALYSIS 85

5.2 INTERVIEWS AND DETAILED DISCUSSIONS 94

6. RECOMMENDATIONS 97

7. CONCLUSION 98
8.ANNEXURE 99

8.1 QUESTIONNAIRE 99

8.2 KEYS TO SUCCESFULL EVENT MARKETING 102

8.3 SPONSORSHIP CHECKLIST 104

8.4 CASE STUDY 105

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9.BIBLIOGRAPHY 113

1. INTRODUCTION

“We GENERATE Quality Business Leads

We ENHANCE Your Profile

We CREATE New Business Opportunities

Everyone Knows Us as EVENTS”

Event marketing is growing at a rate of three times that of traditional

advertising. Though relatively small compared to the major components of the
marketing communications mix-advertising, sales promotions and P-O-P
communications-expenditures on event sponsorship are increasing. 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 sponsoring
entertainment tours or festival and fairs. Thousands of companies invest in some
form of event sponsorship. Defined, event marketing is a form of brand promotion
that ties a brand to a meaningful athletic, entertainment, cultural, social or other
type of high-interest public activity. Event marketing is distinct from advertising,
sales promotion, point-of-purchase merchandising, or public relations, but it
generally incorporates elements from all of these promotional tools. Event
promotions have an opportunity to achieve success because, unlike other forms of
marketing communications, events reach people when they are receptive to
marketing messages and capture people in a relaxed atmosphere.

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 Event marketing is growing rapidly because it provides companies
alternatives to the cluttered mass media, an ability to segment on a local or
regional basis, and opportunities for reaching narrow lifestyle groups whose
consumption behavior can be linked with the local event. MasterCard invested an
estimated $25 million in sponsoring the nine-city World Cup soccer championship
in the United States in 1994 and will likely sponsor other big events in many
countries as well.

Olympics and its renowned five rings are “the world’s most effective
property” in terms of marketing tools. The Olympics sell sponsorship on a local
and global basis, and every couple of year’s corporation’s line up to pay as much
as $50 million to be the lord of the rings. The Atlanta games in 1996 have a
reported $3 billion in the bank as a result of negotiating sponsorship, broadcast,
and licensee fees.

The Olympics represents the creme de la creeme of event marketing and

corporate sponsorship. Event marketing is a lucrative game of “what’s in a name”,
as consumers purchase tickets and expose themselves to everything. The world of
event marketing is a fast growing, high profile industry worth over $20 billion
annually, and one of the most successful marketing strategies.

Event marketing integrates the corporate sponsorship of an event with a

whole range of marketing elements such as advertising, sales promotion, and
public relations. Corporations both large and small have grown this industry at a
rate of 17 percent per year, and they have achieved a high level of success.

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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. All sport and recreation organizations undertake marketing, although
they are often unaware that they are actually doing so. Listing in the yellow pages,
telephone directory, placing information in the local newspaper, offering a
discount and special offers etc. are all forms of marketing.

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

 Product

 Price

 Place

 Promotion

Tools of Promotion
 Advertising

 Public Relations

 Direct marketing

 Word of mouth

 Hospitality

 Advertising

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Advertising
It is the controlled method of communicating the message. The event manager
can manipulate 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 part of the event manager's job to gain maximum exposure for the
event. PR is different from advertising in that it is not self praise but carries the
strength of disinterested credibility. 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 as much of the public relations as possible.
A thorough knowledge of the media's requirements and beneficial interaction with
the media personnel are sensible methods. Although PR is mostly proactive, it is
important for an event to have a reactive PR strategy as part of the event risk
management. 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 entrepreneurial event it would include:

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  Data collection: Preparing a media list of suitable targeted media, preparing
a contact list and club list such as politicians, 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 continual and
growing interest in the event. Milestones such as important editorials at critical
times can also be established. Specialist magazines and newsletters with their
highly targeted audience such as in-flight magazines, business magazines, trade
publications and association newsletters, need to be included in the lists.

Depending on the size and complexity of the event, the PR strategy can range
from organizing a media launch and handing out a press kit to just sending a out a
one page media release to selected media. News releases can be staggered over the
planning period to generate increased interest in the event.

Tips on Writing a News Release

 Make sure it is released at the right time for it to be picked up by the media.

 Make it clear and concise with the main features at the very beginning of
the release.

 Put who, what, when, why and where in it.

 Have all contact details in it and the date.

 Use liftable quotes.

 Pitch it at the correct level: who will write the story and who will read it.

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  Identify any media talent associated with the event and give their contact
details.

 Make sure all the spelling is correct – particularly sponsors and main
participants.

The media launch is used by most large festivals, although it can be used by
'boutique' events that target a specific audience. If the launch takes place in an
interesting area, it can be used as an opportunity to take photos and record
interviews. Television requires special facilities such as access, power and
transmission links.

What is the Media Kit?

 Press release including the 5 Ws

 Press ready photos or video footage

 Event program

 Sponsor information

 Interview possibilities, times and contact details of any ‘stars’

 Press gifts such as complimentary tickets, invitations or smart hooks

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 a rapport with the media - finding out what they want and how
best to supply it. Networking is possibly the best way to develop this rapport.

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

Direct Marketing
This is delivering the promotional message straight to the interested
individual. The basis of direct marketing is the establishment of a data bank and a
strategy to best reach those individuals. The mail out is the most common

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

The effectiveness of direct marketing can be seen in the Port Fairy Festival
in southern Victoria. The Festival has an overall budget of half a million and only
spends $6,000 on their promotion. Each person who comes to the festival is given
the first rights to buy a ticket. The tickets are sold out five months before the
festival begins.

Word of Mouth
Bill Hauritz of the Woodford Festival in Southern Queensland estimates
their advertising budget at less than $1000. The ticket sales generate over one
million dollars. Their promotion strategy is just word of mouth. An annual event,
they have concentrated on the quality of their program and site. This has built up a
loyal following.

Hospitality
As part of the promotion tool kit, hospitality can be powerful. The special
event or festival has to promote itself to the sponsors. The diner for sponsors, for
example, can be an inexpensive way to promote the event. A tour of the site can be
an effective way of promoting the event.

Web Sites
The latest and increasingly popular method of promoting an event is to
create a web site. The advantage is that the site can also capture enquiries and be a
point of sale for tickets. The current movement towards virtual reality sites can
give the potential attendee a view of the event. The site can give real information,
such as the program and map. Used in conjunction with a other elements of the PR
campaign, a web site can be used to distribute photos and press releases. It
transfers the some of the cost to the customer.
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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. Too many 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. The increasing no. of TV channels and the greater no. of programs have led
to fragmentation of the viewer-ship. Hence, the need for narrow-casting of
campaigns to the sharply defined target audience.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Proliferation of various media channels, therefore the requirement for

intelligent media buying.

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1.3 RELATION BETWEEN EVENT MARKETING AND THE 5PS
The five Ps of marketing: product, place, 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. Kotler describes the organization’s marketing mix as
controllable variables that are mixed so that the organization gets the response that
they are asking for from the target market. 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.

Fig 1.1: 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.

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1.4 EVOLUTION OF EVENT MARKETING
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. Not surprisingly, savvy event
marketing professionals are therefore focusing the majority of their efforts and
budgetary spend on lead generation tactics such as trade shows. 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 benefit tremendously 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.
The nurturing process will allow the customers to more effectively be funneled
into the subsequent stages of the sales cycle thus creating greater opportunities to
develop into repeat customers.

EVENT MARKETING
An event is a live multimedia package with a preconceived concept,
customized or modified to achieve the clients objective of reaching out and
suitably influencing the sharply defined, specially gathered target audience by
providing a complete sensual experience and an avenue for two-way interaction.

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 EVENT
S

REACH LIVE INTERACTION

Right
Communication Live Desired
WITH CREATES Impact
from the Audienc
client e

Fig: 1.2: Events Definition In-Short

This is a diagrammatic representation of the above definition. From the

model it is evident that an event is a package so organized has to provide, reach
and live interaction between the target audience and the client to achieve the
desired impact.

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

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 In fact, ideally event marketing involves simultaneous canvassing and
studying the brand prints; understanding what the brand stands for, its positioning
and values, identifying the target audience 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 canvassing. 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 programme. This is the way publicity and promotions work.

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

15
 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
encapsulate and communicate what an organization is and what it stands for.
Therefore the manager must change the interpretation of the brand. It is as
important to win a distinguished and 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/prospect 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.

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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”. Internal marketing can be defined as selling the firm to its employees,
and Kotler and Armstrong (1993) view internal marketing as the building of
customer orientation among employees by training and motivating both consumer
contact and support staff as a team. These definitions might be too static, since
they are not teaching the employees; rather they are persuading how great the
business idea of the company is.

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.

Match The Event To Your Market

Choose the kind of event that appeals to your target market suits your
product’s image and fits your marketing objectives.

If, for example, you are looking for reach and you are selling a low cost
product with wide general appeal, sports sponsorship may be the avenue for you.
If your product is an up market one, artistic events could suit you better. If your
have a technical product, science-type sponsorships would be possibilities and if
17
your main aim is to be seen as a good corporate citizen, put your sponsorship
money into good causes. The Children’s Hospital, the Red Cross or the
environment, to name three, AIDS research is another one.

The meteoric history of event marketing is based in sports marketing. In

fact, music and arts represents a combined 35 percent of event spending as
compared 45 percent for sports-related events. Event marketing also continues to
thrive as traditional advertising rate skyrocket and, really, fail to provide any
guarantee of reaching a targeted audience. Event marketing provides a cost-
effective approach to making a more hard-hitting, emotional, and tangible pitch to
consumers. It also gives companies the opportunity to cross-promote (promote
with other companies that have related products or services), offer sample
products (give-always), and build strong relationship with various channels of
distribution, such as retail outlets.

Charities go out of their way to meet both their own fund-raising needs and
the profit requirements of the firms they team up with. It is a commercial
relationship and the entire better for it. Charities need funds, and the businesses
need promotions, which show their worth in extra profit.

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1.6 WHY EVENTS
1. Brand Building

Creating awareness about the launch of new products/brand

Enormous nos. of brand/product are 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 “ooh-yet-another-product” syndrome. The need to therefore catch
the attention of the target audience at the time of launch becomes very important.
Meticulously planned events for the launch of a product/brand seldom fail to catch
the attention of the target audience.

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 rejuvenating brands during the different stages of

product life cycle
The massive amount of money that is spent during the introduction stage of
products gets drastically reduced over time. By the time the product reaches its
19
maturity/decline stage, the need for cutting down the budgets associated with the
media campaigns, while at the same time maintaining the customer base is felt.
And events offer the best medium for such a focused approach. It helps in
generating feelings of brand loyalty in the products’ end user by treating them as
royally as possible.

Helping in communicating the repositioning of brands/products

Events help in repositioning exercises to be carried out successfully. In
other words, 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 themselves. Here Citibank acts as the event organizer and small
merchandisers acts as participants so that they can associate the personality of
their products with the personality of Citibank customers.

Creating and maintaining brand identity

Australia-based Foster’s Brewing Group’s Asian subsidiary in its plan to
launch its bear brand Foster’s Lager in India choose the game of cricket – in which
the Aussies are known as the best team in the world. By becoming the official

20
sponsors of Australian cricket team on its India tour, Foster’s hoped to achieve its
goal of brand identity building and positioning itself at the premium end of the
market.

Rennie Solomito, Marketing Manager for Coors Light (Beer Company)

explains that in order to increase awareness and personality of the brand, Coors
Light tries to find the distinguishing “look of the leader” in each market. Coors
Light select events that are fast paced and young minded, for example, Coors
Light Silver Bullet Concert Series featuring artists like Bryan Adams and Celin
Dion

2. Image Building
Over and above the brand identity that a company encourages, events such
as The Great Escape conceived by Mahindra and Mahindra, exclusively for the
owners of their four wheelers, the Armada, are an attempt to build a specific image
of not only the corporate, but also the product, to let owners experience the thrill
of four wheel driving, M&M charts out an off beat route that emphasizes the
difference between normal and four wheel driving, and lets the participant
experience the high, one feels when steering and navigating an Armada.

Coke is associated with Olympics since 1928, the rationale behind this is
similar values and ideologies: International peace, brotherhood, standard of
excellence and fun.

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 Fig 1.3: Constructing the Brand Value Chain

3. Focusing the Target Market

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.

22
 Unparalleled footwear company NIKE ensures that it sponsors those events
which will give it a chance to create an emotional tie with the participants through
onsite brand usage and product presentation.

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.

Enabling focused sales and communication to a captive audience

In an event the audience is more or less bound to witnessing one particular
event. In such a situation it is very favorable for sellers to put forth their
presentations without any diversions. Such a situation is very valuable given the
ineffectiveness of traditional modes of communication in holding on to the
attention of the audience.

For example, Burger King wanted to reach a young demographic in the

New York area, EMG (Event Marketing Company) helped them to create a 30-
concert series at the New York Palladium. Burger King received onsite signage
and distribution of bounce back coupons.

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Increasing customer traffic in stores
Events can be conceptualized to increase customer traffic. They can be
customized 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 as compared to the revenue generated in the
weekdays.

Help in relation building and PR activities

Practitioners of this marketing function believe that event marketing
campaigns have the ability to create long lasting relationships with closely targeted
market segments. Relationship building is not restricted to end user customers but
also targeted at enhancing new distributors and sales representative relations.

For example: Techfest organized by IIT Bombay, is an annual

technological festival held by IIT Bombay has helped the sponsors in establishing
their relationship with the Institute and ensuring that an image of being interested
is created and nurtured.

Coke is sponsoring the Olympic since 1928. As coke does business in over
200 countries, the Olympics give the company the opportunity to identify its
product with the foremost special event in the world.

Motivating the sales team

24
 The need for interaction is not restricted to external customers only and end
consumers are not always the focus of live media exercises. This is especially
popular amongst pharmaceutical and other 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.

Generate immediate sales

Most events let firms install and exclusive boot and give the permission to
exploit the opportunity to merchandise. Events such as the annual limited period
discount sales from Wrangler and Van Heusen are authentic stock clearance and
seconds sales aimed at generating immediate sales.

Generating instant publicity

An event can be designed to generate instant publicity upon the
implementation of marketing strategy. The e-commerce start up Half.com, which
wanted to sell products such as CDs, Books, Movies and Games over the internet
was up against major and strong competition. The result of this publicity stunt
started the ball rolling towards getting this company purchased by eBay for more
than $300 million.

Enabling market database assimilation, maintenance and updating

By keeping track of the reach and its effectiveness as well as 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.

25
1.7 SPONSORSHIP vs. EVENT MARKETING
However, there are many other marketing tools that can build brand-
awareness and create image and not confuse them with event marketing the most
common confusion will be explained here. Authors seem to mix up the concept of
Event Marketing and sponsorship, 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
exploitable commercial potential associated with the property.” 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.

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

Fig 1.4: Traditional Marketing vs. Event Marketing

26
 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 increased,
there is also a larger possibility for organizations to use the event integrated with
the other marketing strategies. This fig 1.5 shows how it comes to be a double
lever effect:

Fig 1.5: Control & risk depending on activity

As we can see, there is a risk in using 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.

27
1.8 SIZE OF EVENTS
In terms of size events maybe categorized as follows:

1. Mega Events
The largest events are called mega events, which are generally targeted at
international markets. All such events have a specific yield in terms of increased
tourism, media coverage and economic impact.

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
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. In addition to annual events, there are many one time events
including historical, cultural, musical and dance performances. Meetings, parties,
celebrations, conventions, 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.

28
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
and mahurats 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. 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

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

29
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.

30
KEY ELEMENTS OF EVENTS

Event
Organizer Infrastructure

Target
Venue Audience
EVENT

Media Client

Fig 1.6: Key Elements of Event Marketing

Event Organizers
Femina with

Fountainhead: Event Support

Banyan Tree: Arrangements for classical music performance

Hemant Trevedi with assistance from Noyonika Chatterjee: Choreography and

Direction
Omung Kumar Bhandula for Opus Planet Construction: Sets

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 and
other performers during entertainment slots such as well known classical

31
 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
The two types of venue are as follows:

 In-house Venue: 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. The use of such venue is reserved for
the employees of the company or the residents of the campus. Most in-
house venues do not need to be paid or even if a payment is involved, it
may be open for favorable negotiation. The main advantage of in-house
venue is the huge saving in the costs incurred in hiring the venue.

 External Venue: Any venue over which neither the client nor the
professional organizer have any ownership rights is called an external
venue. These are venues open for the general public. Example: Hotels,
Stadium etc, etc…

32
Example of Key Elements of Event:
 Event : L’Oreal Femina Elite Model Look’98

 Venue

 Shoot location: The Retreat, Marve

 Official Host: Taj Mahal Hotel

 Target Audience :Youth and Family though with a younger mindset or

young at heart.

 Media

 Pre-Event: Magazines and news papers to inform about event and

call for entries with entry forms in them.

 Electronic Medium: TV and FM Radio to inform target audience

about event coverage, date & time.

 During Event: Live coverage on DD2 for widest coverage.

 Post Event: Re-telecast on Star Plus.

 Interviews and appearance of winner on shows sponsored by

L’Oreal on the electronic media.

 Report on the event in the print media.

 Clients

 Main Sponsor: L’Oreal

 Gifts Sponsors: Onida, Siemens, Bosh and Lomb, Global Tele-

systems, Akbarallys Department Store, Trussardi, Catwalk Shoes,
Estelle, The Orchids, Lakme, Sony Music.

 Ground Transportation: Adarsh Rent-a-Car – an H.B Kedia/Anil

Kedia Enterprise.

 Communication Convenience: Global Tele-systems

33
2. CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE

EVENT MARKETING SURVEY 2006

– conducted by

Fifth Edition of Global Study Shows Steady March of Events Business

at the Dawn of a New Era
The secret is out. Five years of research has shown that meetings and 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.

34
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.

35
2.1 A Watershed Event

While the meeting and events industry may be developing a beachhead

within companies’ marketing mixes, it continues to face increasing scrutiny as it
slides under the CFO’s budgeting microscope. Additionally, CMOs continue to
face mounting pressure to show ever-increasing value and return on their
investments.

Enter the CMO’s white knight in the quest for the enigmatic and much
sought after integrated marketing campaign — the evolution from event marketing
to experiential marketing — an integrated campaign model offering the
opportunity for an audience to “live the brand.” Although it is too soon to measure
how transformational the evolution to experiential marketing will be for the
meetings and events industry, high level findings from the 2006 global research
indicate that overall, awareness of and interest in experiential marketing has the
opportunity to bring the meetings and events industry to new heights.

36
2.2 The Key Take-Away

Event marketing continues to play an important role in the corporate setting

but has seen some minor setbacks in growth patterns from prior years in terms of
perceived importance and value, perhaps due in part to the high visibility gained in
years past. As opposed to potentially being discouraged by these findings, event
marketing professionals should consider these early signs as an insightful call to
action to innovate and create opportunities for even greater ROI. Event marketing
professionals must therefore develop either more focused traditional tactics or
adopt new approaches such as experiential marketing. 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.

37
2.3 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%.

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

38
from last year insofar as it was less of a vital component and taken more under
consideration with other mediums. Although 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.

39
2.4 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 insofar 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%) and that it provides the best opportunity to
reach a targeted audience (45%). Survey respondents also attribute event
40
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%).

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.

41
2.5 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.

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

42
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.

43
2.6 TRANSITION TO EXPERIENCE MARKETING

As the event marketing industry faces continues to face mounting pressures

from the business world to demonstrate value, event marketing professionals find
themselves in need to move towards the next evolutionary, if not revolutionary
step within the world of events. CMOs and event marketing professionals are now
looking for a solution that can provide a more complete approach to interacting
with customers and prospects. Senior marketing professionals are looking beyond
traditional event marketing tactics for an integrated campaign that offers the
opportunity for an audience to interact with a company’s product/service and its
brand before, during and after event(s) through the combination of advertising,
direct, interactive and traditional event marketing.

Over half of survey respondents (55%) in fact gave this definition to the
term “experience marketing.” This year’s research also shows that 80% of
respondents are currently adding experiencing marketing in some form or another
to their marketing mix. Not only have a significant number of companies tried
some experience marketing strategies, but a vast majority also feels as if there are
tangible benefits to the updated approach. A remarkable 87% have said that they
may eventually transition towards experiential marketing, while 74% have
definitively said they will be moving forward with more experiential marketing
within the next twelve months (see Chart 7). The most common reason given by
survey respondents for moving towards experience marketing was that it provides

44
a better method to convey the persuasive difference between their brand and the
competition’s. The second most frequent reason given was that it provides an
opportunity to leverage marketing spend across all of a company’s marketing
disciplines. Although rooted heavily in event marketing, experience marketing
should be considered a hybrid of many disparate forms of marketing finally
coming together looking to cohesively interact with the customer.

It is as evolutionary as it is revolutionary in as much as it brings new

meaning to the term “integrated marketing campaign.” Experience marketing
provides a unique opportunity to redefine the marketing landscape as well as how
companies interact with customers and prospects. Marketing and event marketing
professionals who can effectively cross this chasm and adapt to this new paradigm
have a great opportunity to become leaders within their organizations.

About This Study

EventView, 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, EventView is the number-one published event

45
marketing trends report globally and the longest-running study for the event
marketing industry, providing the insight and 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.

46
 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To study Event Marketing as a Generic Promotional Tool:
1. The objective of this study is to understand the 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

47
3.2 NEED OF THE PROJECT
The need of the project is to study and analyses certain issues in event
marketing and event management, which need further attention. And some
suggestions 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.

3.3 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

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

2. How these are perceived 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 launch new products/services.

4. To appeal to special customer interests.

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

6. To meet potential customers for new applications.

48
 7. To change or improve the perception of your product.

8. To network with customers not normally called upon.

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

10. To promote positive product trends.

11. To reposition your company in a market.

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

13. To target markets by types of visitors.

14. To understand customer attitudes.

15. To invite special customers to increase business

3.4 METHODOLOGY

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 reveled 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
49
its full potential and be mutually beneficial for the Event Marketing agency, the
Corporate and the customer.

4. EVENT MANAGEMENT AS A PROMOTIONAL TOOL

4.1 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

50
 Initial
Concept
Canvassing

Conceptuali
-zation

Customization

Costing

Final Concept

Carry-Out

EVENT

Fig 1.7: 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. 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.
51
  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. 10 lakhs

Canvassing
Many corporates 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
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.

52
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 pre-dominant 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.

4.2 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. The source is the organization, the message
could be a new car launch, the channel could be the event, and attendees are the
receivers. A problem many marketers have is to make sure that the noise that can
disturb the message going from the sender to the receiver does not interfere with
the message, and thereby influence the effect it has on the customer. The direct
communication with the customer is one of the main advantages with Event

53
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.

Fig 1.8: 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 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
54
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

Fig 1.9: Position of Events and traditional modes of communication vis-à-vis the life cycle stage

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 1.9 are moving

from the growth phase into the maturity stage. Their effectiveness is lost due to cut

55
throat competition which is leading to undesirable clutter in all kinds of media
including internet.

An event as a medium is in a tentative/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 and will bite into a much larger portion of the marketing budget.

4.3 EVALUATION OF EVENTS

1. Measuring Reach
Reach is of two types – external and actual, since 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. The DART & TRP ratings that rate the
popularity of programs on air and around which the promotion is slotted.
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.
56
 A ratio of the external reach to the actual event reach is a very tangible and
useful measurement criteria.

Ideally,

External Reach
=1
Actual Reach

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 is therefore
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 more difficult 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 first important measurement tool.
The greater the no. of interaction points the better for the client.

 No. of interactions
57
 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

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
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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

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 identity for a customer means, “who am I in
regards to the surroundings, and to myself?” The brand of a product can symbolize
a part of the individual customer’s identity. The brand can create a promise for the
customer, and the product gives the brand the physical proof of that promise. The

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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.

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

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 Fig 2.0: 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.

Exposure Rate: A way to measure the Image that the event has created could
be done by looking at their exposure rate. However before using and trying to get
media attention to an event it requires a careful analysis of the purpose, benefits
and to see if the media is available to deliver the appropriate message. There are
many different organizations that are working with observing the media and can
deliver the exact amount of times a name of a brand or product figured in the
media.

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Positioning & Branding
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 diversify 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
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having a personality and symbolizing certain values. 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.

Events Less Complex To Evaluate

According to the interviewees, depending on the purpose and objective of
the event, some of them are easier to evaluate than others. The interviewed people
said that the depending on the relationship between event and the customer, the
contact and knowledge of whom exactly attended the event decides weather it is
easy or not to evaluate the event.

Most brand-awareness events focus on the long-term success of the

organization. Events that are easier to evaluate are, according to Orreving, events

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where you know exactly who was there, and where you can control the
environment.

If it is a VIP event at a dealership where it is possible to see who was

actually there, it is easier to follow up with questionnaires and to see if they
actually bought a product.

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 experience. The interaction between the organization and the
customer will create a 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 therefore 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 is 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.

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 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, 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 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 factors that can not 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

Venue : Sydney, Australia

Category : Competitive – Sports

Event Organizer : IOC

Client : General Electric, NBC

Theme : Amateur sports competition to promote world peace.

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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.

4.4 REACH INTERACTION MATRIX

The reach interaction matrix 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

High Exhibition
INTERACTION

Cultural
Special Business

Competitive
Low

Charitable
Artistic

Fig 2.1: Reach Interaction Matrix

Amongst the various categories corporate interest have been concentrated

on competitive events, especially so on cricket in India. 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.

4.5 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
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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. 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 you 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
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 Booth Exit Interviews

To measure the immediate effectiveness of the booth and attendee

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:

 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

69
 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:

 Audience quality

 Audience motivation for attending the trade show

 Attendee activity at the trade show

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

 Competitive comparisons

 Which products are most effective to exhibit or demonstrate

 Effectiveness of promotions and premiums

 Audience attendance/experience at other trade shows

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.

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  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 staff and
senior 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.

4.6 KEY ACCOUNT OR KEY PROSPECT ANALYSIS

Keeping track of key account attendance can be an important success
metric, especially at trade shows where you expect a relatively high level of
current customer attendance. Make a list of key accounts, noting which were

71
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.

4.7 HOW BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PROMOTION

AND MARKETING PLAN

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 A good marketing plan summarizes the 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 your business plan are based on the
assumptions contained in your marketing plan. It is the marketing plan that details
when expenditures 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 analyses 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,
73
 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.

 Have give-aways (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.

4.8 STRAGEGIC ALTERNATIVES:

STRAGEGIC ALTERNATIVES ARISING FROM ENVIRONMENTAL
ANALYSES
74
 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

Fig 2.3: SWOT Based Strategy Matrix

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

Developmental Strategy
To gin advantage of potential opportunities while not having sufficient
strengths calls for gaining a winning edge by using tactical retreats where
75
irrelevant yet not giving up. It requires passive and defensive strategy, which
attacks relevant opportunities in such a way as to cover up on inherent weakness.
Analogy here could be from the game of test cricket where a side that knows
victory is impossible also knows that it can ward off a defeat by trying for a draw.
This can be called a developmental strategy where one tries to make the most of
the opportunity by not giving in to weakness.

Pre-emptive Strategy
This strategy is usually used by entrenched market leaders on new entrants
on their turf. 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. This strategy gives license to take decisions like
leasing one’s soul to the devil if only with an intent to retrieve it later. In plain
words, it allows one to make drastic decisions in the face of harsh environment.

STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES ARISING FROM COMPETITIVE ALANYSIS

76
 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.

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.

Fig 2.4: 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.

Rebuttal Strategy
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 If the competition forces new concepts first than the rebuttal strategy should
be used. In this, the event company can launch its own new concepts of a similar
vein and regain its dominant position by aggressively promoting the same as a
better alternative. This way the education of the market about the new concept is
left to the new competition and an advantage gained is that market reaction to
certain new concepts is fore known. The disadvantage lies in the fact that the first
mover advantage is lost.

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
stick to the winning concepts and exploit 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.

Venture Strategy
This strategy envisages making use of the first mover advantage by
creating new concepts ahead of competition thereby 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.

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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

Fig 2.5: 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 corporatisation 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

Fig 2.6: 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.

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Predatorial Market Development Strategy
If the development of new clients from existing competitors is the need of
the situation then the event company would be adopting this strategy. This is
essentially an offensive through focused strategy wherein clients of other event
companies are targeted.

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 an 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.

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4.9 RISK VERSUS RETURN MATRIX

Time
Pre-Planned Ad-hoe

Sponsored Low Risk

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

Fig 2.7: Risk vs. Return Matrix

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

Events based on time can be divided into pre-planned i.e., events carried
out after thorough planning with enough time for taking conscious 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 the Fig 2.7.

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4.10 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. 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.

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4.11 ADVANTAGES OFFERED BY EVENTS
As 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 invariably 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 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
84
 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.

85
 5. ANALYSIS & RESEARCH FINDINGS

5.1 PRIMARY DATA ANALYSIS

The present study has been undertaken to get the first hand exposure on the
mindset of people towards Event Marketing concept and 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 100 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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Graph A: Buying Behavior after a positive experience of an EVENT

90 88

80 78

70 69

60

50

40

30 29

20 16
10 6
10 3 3

0
More less neither More less neither More less neither
likely likely likely likely likely likely

a b c

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.

87
Graph B: Gender influence on purchase

180

160

140
87

120 76

70
100

80

60
27 90
82
40 67
11
20 6 18
32
3 3
8 7 11
2 2
0
More likelyless likely neither More likelyless likely neither More likelyless likely neither
a b c
Female 70 3 27 87 3 11 76 6 18
Male 67 2 32 90 2 8 82 7 11

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.
88
Graph C: Men are explorers whereas women love samples

70 68

60

50

40 36

30
24

20 18

12 12
8
9
10 8
5

0
I get to touch and I get to learn I get to ask I get a free I get to have fun
feel a more about a questions about a sample of a by participating in
product/services product/services product/services product/services activities

Male Female

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 counter part are more interested in exploring the product
inside out.

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Graph D: Create events for right ages

70
70

60
60

52
50

40 38

30
25
21 21
20
14 13
12
10 10
10 12 9 8
7 5 6 6
4

0
I get to touch and I get to learn more I get to ask I get a free I get to have fun
feel a about a questions about a sample of a by participating in
product/services product/services product/services product/services activities

22-29 yrs 30-44 yrs 45-54 yrs 55+ yrs

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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Graph E: Events spur immediate sales

15%
26%
2%
4%

4%

24%
25%

immediately within a week within a month

within 3 months within 6 months more than 6 months
Do not purchase

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 F: Reasons for participation in any event

80
80

70
66
63
60
60

50

40

30

20 18
16
13 14 13
9 10
10 7 7
3 2 3 3 3 3
1
0
The The product or My friend/relative The event offered Other
product/services company was had a positive an activity I could
matched my sponsoring an experience participate
interest activity I enjoy

22-29 yrs 30-44 yrs 45-54 yrs 55+ yrs

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 G: People spend time at mobile events

8%

24%

68%

1-15 mins 15-30 mins over 30 mins

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

93
Graph H: Mobile events create better product understanding

1%

24%

75%

better same less

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

94
5.2 Interview 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
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 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.

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
96
 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.

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.

97
 6. 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.

98
 7. 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 activities that align with
overall marketing goals is the next great step in the evolution of the industry.

99
 8. ANNEXURE
8.1 Annexure - 1
Questionnaire
Name :
Age :
Gender :
Occupation :

1. What are your feelings about a company that creates or sponsors

events?
□ They are willing to let people try them out

□ Support activities that I enjoy

□ They understand my interests and needs

□ They like to have fun with me

□ 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
 More likely
 Less likely
 Neither more nor less
b) Product/service you have never heard of
 More likely
 Less likely
 Neither more nor less
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 c) Product/service you already use
 More likely
 Less likely
 Neither more nor less

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

□ It looked like fun

□ I recognize the company/brand running the event

□ Signs and Banners

□ Somebody invited me to participate

□ The crowd that was already taking part in the event

□ Others

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

□ I get to touch and feel a product/services

□ I get to learn more about a product/services

□ I get to ask questions about a product/services

□ I get a free sample of a product/services

□ I get to have fun by participating in activities

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

demonstration or event?
□ The product/services matched my interest

□ The product or company was sponsoring an activity I enjoy

□ My friend/relative had a positive experience

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 □ The event offered an activity I could participate

□ Other
6. How long did you stay at the mobile event?
□ 1-15 minutes

□ 15-30 minutes

□ over 30 minutes

7. Which of the following is true? After leaving the mobile event I

understood the company/product…
□ better

□ same

□ less
8. How soon after attending a company-sponsored event at/near a store
did you purchase the product or service being offered?
□ Immediately

□ Within a month

□ Within a week

□ Did not purchase

□ Within 3 months

□ Within 6 month

□ More than 6 months

 Thank you for your cooperation 

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8.2 Annexure.2

KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL EVENT MARKETING

While marketing an event, there are a few key tactics and methods that can
be employed to ensure that the event gains the maximum response and also that
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 tactics and methods are listed below. Following them can
ensure a cost effective implementation of the event marketing.

Event Marketing Hint 1:

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.

Event Marketing Hint 2:

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.
103
 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.

Event Marketing Hint 3:

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”.

Event Marketing Hint 4:

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.

Event Marketing Hint 5:

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.

104
8.3 Annexure.3
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?

105
 8.4 CASE STUDU ON

RW(REAL WORLD)

ABOUT INDUSTRY

R W Promotions provides specialized marketing and communications

solution services to urban and rural India. After initially starting out as a dedicated
specialized rural marketing agency, RW Promotions now, has been consistently
providing all kinds of marketing solutions in urban, semi urban and rural markets.
In the span of a decade, it has emerged as the country’s top rural marketing agency
having implemented over 5000 campaigns spread over more than 1 lakh towns and
villages spanning the length and breadth of the country.

RW Promotions boasts of a strong workforce of over 500 employees

including 30 professionals with offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and
Hyderabad. Its services extend from brand-development, marketing and
communication strategies, media planning, selling and buying, to complete
creative execution across the length and breadth of the country.

RW IN DIFFERENT SEGMENTATION

BTL ACTIVATIONS

Below The Line activations include all kinds of services that come under
interactive solutions to reach out to the target audience of the brand and
dissemination of the communication likewise.

106
The more popular BTL activities that R W (Real World) has undertaken include:
1. Mall Activations
2. Retail Branding and Merchandising
3. Retail Marketing
4. Human Banners
5. Multiplex Activations
6. Dhabbhawalla activations
7. Bikers Rally
8. Auto Rickshaw Branding
9. Cycle Rickshaw Branding

Mahabharat On Ground Activation

107
 CME on Wheels

McVities Digestive – Retail Branding

108
VAN ACTIVATION

RW Promotions is the only organization of its kind, which boasts of, an

infrastructure of over 70 specialized stage vans and excellent database of skilled
artists like magicians, tattoo artists, mehendi artists, mimicry artists and more.
With its rural expertise and infrastructure, RWP specializes in planning and
executing van activations for clients across sectors from education to banks, to
social organizations to television channels to ceramics, mobile handset brands and
mobile phone service providers.

FABRICATION AND DESIGNING

STALL FABRICATION

R W is specialized in exhibition stall fabrication, exhibition stand

fabrication. The stall fabricated by us is easy to install. The Industry can fabricate
eye-catching stalls that facilitate in supporting the clients’ presentation for product,
concept &services and helps in making long lasting impression to the viewers.

109
 Stall Fabrication for JSW Steel

DISPLAY UNIT

Display units are one which gives visual representation of the products. The
Industry specially fabricates display units that convey the true essence of the
products to the end users.

Display Unit Fabrication For Osram

110
EVENTS

RWP expertise in the organizing and execution of the most challenging

events lies in decade long experience of organizing events, good rapport with
vendors with timely and flawless execution. The events services include product
launches, BTL activities, mall activations, seminars and conferences and
exhibition stalls.

Star Plus Society Activation Mumbai

KBC Hot Seat Aapke Shehar

111
 Durga Puja Pandal – Kolkatta

Times Mahotsav: An Exhibition on-Wheels

MELAS

Melas are the biggest congregation of people meeting one another and is a
big event in their respective social calendars. Annual melas that are organized with
a religious or festive significance are quite popular and provide an excellent
platform for distribution. Over 100 melas are held in India annually with an
average of over 15 lakh visitors per mela. These melas are spread over a fortnight
to three weeks and the entire rural towns are in a celebration mood with high value
purchases and spends being done during this time. Many brands are advertised and
promoted since they’re the ideal avenue for attaining product exposure, package
familiarity, brand recall and word of mouth.

112
 Sangli Festival

Religious Festival Branding

113
 9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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

 Principles of Marketing  Kotler & Amstrong

 Marketing Management  Philip Kotler

 Marketing is Business  Walter E. Vieira

 The Fundamentals &  John Wilmshurst

Practice of Marketing

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.flugsimulatoren.de/strategic-marketing.htm

 www.indianchild.com/marketing/india-marketing-scenario.htm

 www.fundsmanagementworld.com/india

 www.sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/g/promotion.htm

 www.TradeshowDisplayPRO.com

114
  www.clk.about.com

 www.inventors.about.com

 www.marketingnpv.com

 www.businessknowhow.com

 www.3rdfloorup.com

 www.exchange4media.com

 www.exhibitmanagement.com

 www.dmoz.org/Sports/Events
 www.biztradeshows.com/india/

 www.classifieds.sulekha.com

 www.india.gov.in/business/growing_business.php

 www.belowtheline.org/

 www.frost.com/prod/servlet/events-asia-pac.pag

 www.indialine.com/events/automotive.html

 www.hindustantimes.com/3g/

PERIODICALS
 Business & Economy

 4Ps Business & Marketing

 Business World

NEWSPAPERS
 Times of India

 Economic Times

115