CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION TO EVENT
MANAGEMENT
 1.1 Event – Definition, Need and Importance

• Definition Event can refer to a phenomenon, any observable

occurrence, or an extraordinary occurrence
• Marketing Guru, Philip Kotler, defines events as occurrences
designed to communicate particular messages to target
audiences.
• Suresh Pillai, Managing Director, Event us Management,
considers events as an additional media whereby two-way or
active communication is possible.
 Need and Importance of Event
• The purpose of the event should drive all the planning .
• Event management is vital for the following purposes:
•

1. Develops the theme of the Event: -. The theme of the event should be
linked to the purpose of the event. It should develop team sprit or friendship
between two clubs or states or nations. Therefore, the theme of the event may
be described as ‘The friendship Series’ or ‘The Good will Series’.
•

2. Provides Career Opportunities: -. Apart from event manager, there are

several other job opportunities in the Event management such as:
1. Operation and Logistics managers.
2.Entertainment manager’s
3.Sponsorship managers.
4. Event coordinator
5.Event Designer
6.Security Coordinator, etc.
•3. Develops leadership qualities: -. To
manage an event, the managers require good
leadership qualities to influence and motivate the
subordinates to work effectively in making the
event more successful.
•

•4. Develop Team sprit:. The success of the

Event management largely depends upon the
team effort.
•5. Enhances Corporate Image: - If the event
is well managed, then there is a possibility of
greater success.
•6. Encourages Creativity: - Managers need to be dynamic or
innovative in managing the event. The mangers have to find out
new and innovative ways in managing the event.
•

•7. Ensures safety and security: -. The Event management

team makes proper security and safety arrangements. For instance,
the event management team makes proper arrangement to deal
with the certain crisis such as occurrence of fire, failure of lighting or
air conditioning, gas leaks, and so on.
•

•8. Financial Management: -The Event management team may

be responsible for the financial management of the event. The event
management team may be responsible for:
•· Preparation of budget for the event.
•· Determining break-even point
•· Preparation of cash-flow analysis, and
•preparation of profit and loss statement, etc.
•There may be a number of reasons for conducting an
event such as:
• 1. To inform and educate the community about a cause
•2. To obtain media coverage for an activity or organization
•3. To rise funds
• 4. To celebrate a community’s strength and cohesiveness
•5. An awards or presentation ceremony
 1.2 Event Management

• Management of events has traditionally been alluded to as a

post marketing activity and assigned the classic production
responsibility as in any manufacturing firm.
• Management of an event encompasses all activities involved in
planning, organizing, staffing, leading and evaluation of an
event.
1.3. Conceptualizing – Creating and Developing Events

• The concept of Event management is all about applying project

management to the creation and development of festivals, events
and conferences
• It focuses on studying the intricacies of the brand, recognizing
the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the
logistics and coordinating the technical aspects prior to actually
executing the modalities of the proposed event.
• While creating and developing events, one should
always consider the five basic promotion
techniques.
• There are five typical or traditional techniques
used to promote events.
• These techniques include advertising, public
relations, cross promotions, street promotions, and
stunts.
1.3.1 Advertising
• Advertising includes print and electronic media, transportation
media (such as bus and rail), advertising specialties (calendars,
key rings, coffee mugs, and other products), and outdoor media
(billboards).
• Larger events may use many of these media resources, while
smaller events may carefully target their message to one or two
media
 1.3.2 Public relations
• Public relations involve informing the media and your target
market about your event and persuading them to support your
programs.

• Public relations activities for your event may include designing,

printing, and distributing media kits, producing public service
announcements for radio and television, producing and distributing
audio and video news releases, or even producing events.
1.3.3 Stunts
• A stunt involves an activity designed to generate
media coverage and attendance by spectators to
promote a specific event or series of events
•1.4 Size of Events
• During the design process the professional event manager
considers every possibility and challenges every assumption
determined during the research phase.
• This pushing of the research envelope is essential if you are
to produce innovative, highly creative, unique special
events that will exceed the expectations of guests.
• If you are to steadily increase the value of your work as an
event researcher, designer, planner, coordinator, and
evaluator, you must strive continually to collect the best
information and resources to produce a solid plan that
satisfies the needs, wants, desires, and ultimately,
expectations of event guests and to decide the event to be
large or small
 1.6 Event Team Management

•Team management refers to techniques, processes and tools for organizing and coordinating a group of
individuals working towards a common goal i.e. a team.

•Several well-known approaches to team management have come out of academic work. Examples include
the Belbin Team Inventory by Meredith Belbin, a method to identify the different types of personalities
within teams, and Ken Blanchard’s description of “High Performing Teams”.

•The ‘Team Development Model’, identified by Bruce Tuckman, offers a foundational definition of the
stages teams go through during their lifecycle. Those stages are labeled Forming, Storming, Norming and
Performing. While the activities of team management are not new, many of the tools used by team
managers are.

•The more Organizational Development-oriented practitioners often use interview-based analysis and
provide reportage and insights that team leaders and their management may use to adapt team practices for
higher performance. Teams can also be developed through team building activities - which can also be used
simply to build relationships where team members lack cohesion due to organizational structure or physical
distance. Project managers may approach team management with a focus on structure, communications and
standardized practices.