CHAPTER 3

FACTORS THAT
INFLUENCE THE EVENT
PMG3144 EVENT MANAGEMENT

By
WAN HIZAM WAN HASSAN
LECTURER OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

• The recent growth of festivals and events as an industry around the

world means that the management of events can no longer be ad
hoc.
• Events and festivals have a large impact on their communities and, in
some cases, the whole country.

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 2.0 PLANNING
• Is vital and important for the success for an events.
• Planning process
1. What do we want? – screening the ideas, event objectives and detailed
aims.
2. Draft outline plan
3. Systematic detailed planning – bureau by bureau.
4. Organizing and preparing the event - development activities,
preparation
and deadlines.
5. Implementing the event – operations, control and action.
6. Divestment/legacy – closedown evaluation, feedback and recording,
handover.

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3.0 FACTORS INFLUENCE AN EVENT
• Among the factors that influence an event are:-

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3.1 HUMAN
• The organizer, or in the case of a very large event, a
professional researcher, will be looking for information about:
• demand for the event and the capacity of the market,
• competition,
• availability of technology,
• equipment and supplies,
• financing and sponsorship,
• organizations and availability of staff,
• local cultural or social issues and precedents
• time issues in event.

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3.1 HUMAN
• In the aspects of human factor, the following such be focused:
• Identify participants
• Staff and organizers involved in the event
• Allocate people to research information
• Get interested individuals involved
• Assign tasks
• Give particular task to various team members
• Delegate and spread the load
• Collate and check information
• Record information in minutes or data file
• Feed information to a specific person to cross check

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3.1 HUMAN
• Disseminate information
• All hands meeting to disseminate information
• Summary sheet of main points and outcomes
• Meeting acts as a check on results
• Identify any problems or oversights
• Deal with problem or oversights
• Ensure gaps are closed wherever possible
• Feedback from staff and other sources

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3.2 MATERIALS - PREPARATION OF THE
PROPOSAL
• What is a Proposal?
- Is a written in response to receiving a proposal request from the parties intending to hold an event.

• Preparation of proposal

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3.3 PHYSICAL
• Possibly the most important decision an event planner can
make that will affect the outcome of your event would be the
venue that you choose.

• There a lots of important criteria in choosing a venue:

• Budgets
• Space specifications
• Day/Time availability
• Appropriateness for type of event and client goals
• Security
• Customer service
• Other groups using the venue at the same time as your event
• Travel convenience
• Parking and proximity to transportation options
• Nearby amenities and entertainment options
• Accessible for persons with disabilities
• Reputation
• Vendor restrictions
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3.3.1 Logistics and supply functions
• Logistics aspects should also be focused such as:
• Special power and utilities supplies
• Specialist supply items
• Equipment hire
• Food and drink ordering
• Linen hire and uniforms
• Signage
• Audio Visual requirement
• Backdrop and staging
• Decoration supplies
• Dressing room
• Public and crew facilities

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3.4 FINANCIAL
• Budget Forecasting
• A forecast is a statement of the expected outcome of a given
set of events.
• It follows then that a financial forecast is a statement of the
expected outcome in financial terms of a given set of
(assumed) events.

• Budget can be obtain by:

• Fund-raising activities
• Team members contributions

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3.4.1 The Important of Financial management and
budget
• Financial planning and good financial control are important aspects
of the event management process.
• The recording of the financial aspects, ranging from the purchase of
items to the final budgeted accounts is potentially important to the
success of the events, even those not intended to be profit making.

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3.4.1.1 Creating a budget
• For commercial organizations or maybe senior management in
preparation a budget for an event.
• The preparation of a budget might involve several people, or a
volunteer with some financial or organizational background suited to
the task.
• For the person new to the financial aspects of running an event, the
planning of a budget may not be as easy as it first appears.
• The budget for an event may be no more complicated than a list of
revenues and costs, or it may be vastly complicated.

• Either way, it has to be determined with the objectives of the event

in mind.

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3.4.1.2 Some common budgeting mistakes
• Ignoring the objectives of the event when setting the budget.
• Plucking a figure out of the air ticket sales before finding out how much
the event is going to cost (a serious and regrettably frequent mistake).
• Not involving everyone concerned in the budget preparation and failing
to identify the full range of costs accurately.
• Being over-optimistic about demand for the event, or failing to find a
venue with enough capacity to do it properly.
• Overlooking subsidiary issues such as the costs of ensuring safety and
security, or the effect of having to add tax.
• Not having enough capital or start up funds to get the event off the
ground, given the need for deposits or advanced payments of various
kinds.
• People spending money but not getting receipts or invoices, so the
money is unchecked and you have no control evidence that they
actually spent it.

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4.0 COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHICS
• With many types of events, the potential number of attendees may
be quite specific, or specific enough for the event manager to get a
feel for the requirements.

• This can be checked by some research, either informally such as

‘talking to the locals’ or by formal surveys and questionnaires.

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4.0 Community demographics – cont.
• Suppose we were organizing a fancy dress party for a university.
We might already know a number of things about the market such
as:
• The age group
• The total number of students
• Their inclination to dress up and so on
• Therefore, it is important to really understand the current situation
and the people who are really involved with an event.

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5.0 Timing - when

• For many events, the issue of demand may not seem directly
relevant, and for personal events it particular it might be
thought that demand is not a significant factor in the planning
process, except to know how many people are coming or will be
invited to an event. Some checking is needed.

• What sort of people are interested

• How many might attend?
• When would be a good date and time to put the event on?

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 5.1 Timing - seasonally
• There’s always something about the holiday season which makes
people want to drink more, meet more, go out more and generally:
party more.
• For everyone in the event planning industry, the holiday season is
peak season. This is where top-notch planning and coordination skills
are needed.
• As a business, planning and scheduling your work in a systematic
manner might just save you from the after burn that most people
experience post ‘season’.

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Cont.

• Consider the following when planning a peak season event:

Plan how, when and where to execute each event, event program
as well as management.
• Since time is of the essence, you need to allocate time to work on
your timing and scheduling. This will help prevent issues such as
double booking or overlooking events.

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5.2 HOLIDAYS
• With so much going on during the holiday season, coming up
with new and creative ways to stand out and get your
audience’s attention is no easy task.
• People are busy. And while you’d like to think that your best
customers will remember you when it comes time to do their
holiday shopping, without the right plan, there’s no guarantee
they’ll be coming through your door.

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 Cont….
• With the right plan, an event could make this your most successful
holiday season yet!
• As you start planning, there are a few important details you’ll need to
keep in mind:
• 1. Decide on a goal
• make sure every decision you make is coming back to this goal. Write it down on a note
and keep it in mind as you sort out all the details and logistics.
• 2. Get the word out
• Create an page that includes event specifics, directions, fun images, and an exciting
description that will make people look forward to your event.
• 3. Stay organized
• The more you can understand about your audience, the better prepared you can be.
• 4. Capture the moment
• You want to make sure your event lives on past the holidays. Take plenty of pictures
(decide who’s responsible for this beforehand!), and share the photos with your email list
and social media following after the event is over.
• 5. Don’t lose touch
• The first thing you want to do is follow up with a thank you email to everyone who made
the event a success.
• By asking for feedback, you’ll make your audience feel like you value their opinion and
you’ll have great advice on how you improve the next time around.
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 6.0 Planning an Event Schedule

1. Understand the event brief, set out the goal and objective
of the event
2. Pick out the most suitable people to be part of the team
3. Choose the date for the event
4. Create hype around the event and make sure that you
market it as much as possible
5. Come up with a master plan that covers all the details for
event day

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6.0 Planning an Event Schedule – Contd…

6. Assign a special team for operations management

7. Approach and sign sponsors and partners who are
recognized brands
8. Have a publicity and marketing plan
9. Set out a feasible budget
10. Have an actual evaluation process to measure the success
post the event
11. Finally, come up with the event program

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 7.0 Annual events
• Planning an annual event is no easy task. You need to do
something that will make people say, “This was even better than
last year. I can’t wait for the next one.”

• It is especially important to consider the following key factors

when doing so because annual events tend to be “washed out” or
boring after the first few years.

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 7.0 Annual events
• Be Original
• You need to look at all the things you have done in the past and stay
away from them. People do not want to do the same thing over and
over again.
• Feedback and mistakes
• Encourage all your guests to fill out a questionnaire, leave feedback
about the event, and mention things that could have been done to
improve the event as well as anything that they found exceptional or
memorable.
• Marketing
• Be sure to advertise and deliver notice of event earlier to ensure
attendance

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