Introduction
The main goal of the upcoming event dedicated to the Racial Harmony Day in Singapore is to engage the public in cultural and leisure activities designed to popularize the ideas of racial equality and tolerance. This meeting is aimed at promoting humanism and brotherhood to maintain favorable relationships in society and avoid any racial conflicts. The upcoming holiday is a convenient time for such an event because, according to Frost (2020), in Singapore, issues associated with the racial division are manifested and reflected in the cultural development of the country. Chauvinistic sentiments in society are a relic, and organizing a cultural program for the population can help direct the thinking of prejudiced people in the right direction.
The key stakeholders in the event are the participants, the People’s Association, suppliers, and the media. The distribution of roles is important for building a stable event concept. The government side will provide appropriate financial support and give the necessary permits. Suppliers will provide the equipment and the elements to accompany the holiday, for instance, catering and musical design. Media resources will cover the event and publish relevant materials, and the participants will attend the holiday and purchase the desired accessories.
Program
Since the Racial Harmony Day in Singapore is celebrated on July 21st and falls on Thursday, the entire program of the event will take three days – from Thursday to Saturday. During this period, various entertainment and educational competitions and leisure projects will be offered to the participants. According to the Singaporean Ministry of Home Affairs (2022), promoting religious equality and tolerance is an essential objective of social development. Therefore, one of the activities will be the presentation of the characteristics of different ethnic cultures living in the country. In addition, quizzes will be organized for everyone, and based on the results of the contests, the most erudite participants will receive significant and useful prizes. Given the results of the past year, the most active members of social movements for equality will be noted and rewarded. Finally, joint receptions with people of different racial minorities will be organized for the participants to get to know better the representatives of other cultures.
Venue Selection
To select the optimal venue for the event, the number of participants and organizers involved should be thought out in advance. In addition, the possibility of hosting related services outdoors should be made, such as catering, recreation, medical services, and other sites to ensure convenience. Safety aspects are critical to follow to avoid accidents, and interaction with fire and law enforcement agencies should be part of the venue selection process. Finally, weather conditions are imperative to consider to prevent equipment damage or discomfort for all the participants engaged. Due to these factors, the optimal venue for the event is a university campus in which there are both open areas and large closed rooms in which people can also interact.
Event Marketing
Types of Target Audience
By promoting the idea of the event among the population, one can distinguish three categories of the target audience, highlighted in Table 1. The primary group includes the direct participants in the holiday programs, including representatives of the population, honorary citizens, and social activists. The secondary category consists of the providers, who will include support teams, service personnel, and other staff members. Finally, the tertiary group involves the media representatives who will be invited to cover the event process, interview, and post relevant materials on online platforms with mass access.
Table 1. Categories of the target audience.
Marketing Channels
With regard to marketing channels, promoting the event among the population can be carried out differently, but as the most efficient method, one can cite the use of digital resources. As Yoga et al. (2019) state, modern people receive basic information from the Internet, including data about tourism and entertainment projects. Therefore, the publication of news about the upcoming holiday on social networks is the key to the active dissemination of information among stakeholders. Another marketing channel is the involvement of traditional media, for instance, through the distribution of brochures and announcements about the future event. Such a step can also help draw attention to the holiday. Finally, direct emails to the public are a potentially powerful strategy for engaging people in the upcoming event. To do this, this is essential to segment the target audience and highlight those who actively use the Internet to ensure the widest possible involvement.
Marketing Timeline and Budget
The marketing timeline for the future event implies taking the key steps for a successful stakeholder engagement project. Over the next six months, appropriate stages will be implemented to spread the awareness of the Racial Harmony Day celebration. Within a month, negotiations with the administrators of popular online platforms will be completed to use their services and publish the necessary materials. It will take another month to prepare a base of potential participants for direct emailing. In parallel, negotiations will be held with suppliers and the media to participate in the event. The next four months will be used to publish specific materials, answer user questions, and organize all related service procedures.
The marketing budget has several major cost items and associated costs. The main costs relate to organizational nuances (equipment rental, staff fees, and other expenses). Associated costs will concern the acquisition of resources necessary for the comfort of the guests of the event, including food, drinks, prizes, and other details. This is planned that the main costs will be around $150,000, and the secondary costs will be approximately $50,000.
Event Evaluation
Event evaluation is critical to drawing appropriate conclusions about the success of the work performed and assessing potential gaps and omissions. MeetingHand Content Marketing Team (2019) identifies two main reasons that determine the significance of this procedure. They include the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data to identify the adequacy of the applied organizational strategies and the need to receive feedback from the target audience (MeetingHand Content Marketing Team, 2019). In the first case, economic, managerial, and other aspects of the work done are considered. In terms of participant feedback, the satisfaction of the parties involved is assessed to determine if the event has been valuable and important to them.
From the standpoint of specific key performance indicators to take into account, one can emphasize the sustainability of logistics, the adequacy of scheduling, and the effectiveness of marketing activities. As Chi et al. (2018) note, the perceptions of the parties involved are more important after a particular event than before because the organizers get real ratings. Thus, effective and thoughtful work to create conditions for the celebration of the Racial Harmony Day assumes the satisfaction of all interested parties at the end of the three-day holiday.
References
Chi, C. G. Q., Ouyang, Z., & Xu, X. (2018). Changing perceptions and reasoning process: Comparison of residents’ pre-and post-event attitudes.Annals of Tourism Research, 70, 39-53. Web.
Frost, M. R. (2021). An unsettled majority: Immigration and the racial ‘balance’ in multicultural Singapore.Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(16), 3729-3751. Web.
MeetingHand Content Marketing Team. (2019). How to evaluate an event. Meeting Hand. Web.
Ministry of Home Affairs. (2022). Maintaining racial and religious harmony. Web.
Yoga, I. M. S., Korry, N. P. D. P., & Yulianti, N. M. D. R. (2019). Information technology adoption on digital marketing communication channel.International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(2), 95-104. Web.