Event Planning

Topic 1: Strategic planning in events

Lecturer: Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc

Learning objective

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

• Understand the importance of planning to ensure the success of an event
• Discuss the strategic planning process as it applies to events
• Understand the process of developing an event concept
• Identify components of an event feasibility study
• Construct objectives for an event which are specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic, and time specific.

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 Content

1. What is planning?
2. Strategic planning process

What is planning?

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 What is planning

The planning process consists of establishing where an organization is at present,

where it is best advised to go in the future, and the strategies or tactics needed to
achieve that position.

What is planning

Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or

direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this
strategy.

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 Why is strategic planning important?

• Define objectives and create pathways to achieve these objectives

• Aid organizational leaders when daily or difficult decisions need to be made

• Be used to interact with key stakeholders

• Ensure all stakeholders are on the “same page”

WHEN does the event planning work begin?

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 Conceptualizing Planning the Running the Evaluating the
the event event event event

Creating the event concept

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 Creating the event concept

Identify the event

parameters Evaluate the
Brainstorming
event concept
(five Ws)

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“Five Ws” to ask in developing the event concept:

Why 1.Why is the event being held?

5. What is the
What Who 2. Who will be
event content or the stakeholders
product? in the event?

Where When 3.When will the

4.Where will the event be held?
event be staged?

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 Brainstorming

• Consulting with as many stakeholders as possible

• Should ignore restraints of practicality – of cost, scale, or viability (at this stage)

 Outcome: a single exciting concept or a range of possible concepts

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Evaluating the event concept

• To examine whether the event

concept will be inviting and
Marketing screen attractive to its audience

• To consider the skills and resources

Operations screen (included staffing) needed to stage
the event successfully.

Financial screen • To consider whether the event

organization has sufficient financial
commitment, sponsorship and
revenue to undertake the event

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 Planning for events

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Planning for events

4 steps in the strategic planning process

STEP 4
STEP 2 STEP 3
STEP 1 How will we
Where do we How are we
Where are we know when
want to get going to get
now? we have
to? there?
gotten there?

16 Source: George G.Fenich, 2015. Planning and Management of Meetings, Expositions, Events, and Conventions, Pearson
Education Limited, p. 29

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 Step 1: Where are we now?
Analysis of situation and feasibility study

Purpose:
• to analyze the current situation: situational analysis
• determine how feasible it would be to conduct the proposed event: feasibility study

 After this step: decide to proceed with that event or cease.

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Situational analysis
Gain a detailed understanding of an event’s
internal and external environment

Tools: SWOT, PESTELI

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 SWOT analysis

• Strengths: What are we doing well?

Strength Weakness
• Weaknesses: What needs to be
addressed or changed?

• Opportunities: Any outside forces or

trends that would be beneficial for us to
take advantage of it?
Opportunity Threat
• Threats: Any outside forces or trends
that we need to be able to defend
ourselves from?

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• P: Political

• E: Economic
PESTELI analysis • S: Social

• T: Technological

• E: Environmental

• L: Legal

• I: Industry

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 An example of PESTELI analysis

Source: George G.Fenich, 2015. Planning and Management of Meetings, Expositions, Events, and Conventions, Pearson
Education Limited, p. 32

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Feasibility study
Several contents may be included in a feasibility study:

• Budget requirements
• Managerial skill needs
• Venue capacities
• Host community and destination area impacts
• Availability of volunteers
• Sponsors and supporting services
• Projected visitation/attendance
• Infrastructure requirements
• Availability of public/private sector financial support
• Level of political support for the event

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 Step 2: Where do we want to get to?
Development of event mission/vision, goals/objectives

A vision statement outlines what the organization strives to be in an intended future

state.

A mission statement defines the fundamental purpose of an organization, clearly

describing why the organization exists and what it does to achieve its vision

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Step 2: Where do we want to get to?

Development of event mission/vision, goals/objectives

Goals are typically broad statements that indicate an anticipated outcome and serve as
a guide for tactical action planning

Objectives are detailed, measurement statements of overall desirable achievements

and should be written using the SMART principle.

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 Event objectives should be:
• Specific: focused on achieving an event goal
• Measurable: expressed in a way that is quantifiable
• Agreeable: agreed on by those responsible for achieving them
• Realistic: in term of the event organization having the human, financial and
physical resources to achieve them
• Time specific: to be achieved by a particular time

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Step 3: How are we going to get there?

Development of a strategy & operational plans

Growth strategy
• Strategy evaluation and selection
Some generic strategies:
Stability strategy

Retrenchment strategy

Combination strategy

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 Step 3: How are we going to get there?
Development of a strategy & operational plans

• Operations plans: will be needed for all areas of an event: budgeting, marketing,
human resources management, sponsorship, staging, risk management, logistics.

• Each operational plan includes:

• A set of objectives
• Action plans and schedules
• Details of individuals responsible
• Monitoring and control systems, including a budget
• An allocation of resources (financial, human and supporting,
equipment/services)
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Step 4: How will we know when we have gotten there?

Monitoring and measuring value/success of the event

• Monitoring is an ongoing analysis of the event to ensure the objectives are being
achieved.

• Evaluation is a systematic, objective assessment of an ongoing or completed event.

• At this step, you will create a monitor system and develop evaluation processes

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 Project assignment

Choosing the event:

Produce feasibility studies (FS) for at least 2
different event concepts, analyse the results of
the feasibility studies to select 1 event to run.

Submit both word and ppt files to LMS page. Be

ready to have a 15-minute presentation in the
class (31/3/2021).

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