Introduction
This report is a compilation of the aforementioned event’s strategy and plan for the Creative Décor (hereafter referred to as the company). The event involves a design contest that will be held in Brasilia. Creative Décor is a limited company that was started in 2003 in Port Arthur, United States.
It is noted that the company started its operations in the printing and design industry but later diversified its products and services portfolio.
Moreover, it has globalised its operations and it is currently doing business in more than 15 countries in South America, Europe and Asia. During the event mentioned above, the company will market its new products such as E- paper cards, urban cloths- line, sportswear, and consumer electronics among others.
The contest is meant to draw artists, painters, designers, fine art professionals and the general public from all over the world. It is scheduled to take place on December 15th 2012.
All participants will be awarded with new products that the company is currently marketing. On the other hand, all attendees will receive branded ribbons and T- shirts for free and an opportunity to purchase other products from the company at half price.
In the report, the author will address the strategic aims of the organisation as far as the event is concerned, the objectives, opportunities and risks associated with the international event. The report will also identify the evaluation methods that will be utilised before and after the event.
Recommendations for future events will also be provided. Other areas that will be addressed in the report include the importance of the event to the organisation, the benefits of the event, the marketing and publicity support that are needed for the project, the value of celebrity of endorsement and strategies to attract sponsorships for the event.
The Report
Strategic Aims
The following are some of the strategic aims that will be addressed in the course of planning for this event:
- The introduction of the company’s products and services into the Brazilian market.
- The aim to increase the company’s revenue and profitability from the South American region.
- To enhance consumer experience in the South American region.
- To locate more investment opportunities in Brazil and other South American markets.
The Event’s Objectives and Actions
The planning for this event has to address various objectives. Some of the objectives are listed below with their accompanying actions:
- Objective 1 and Action 1
Objective 1: To gain competitive advantage over players in the Brazilian and other South American markets. The exhibition event will give the company an opportunity to understand the market dynamics in Brasilia.
As the company’s representatives interact with the participants in the event, they will gather information concerning the needs that exist in the market and which other companies in the industry have not been able to fully address. This will be in line with the company’s strategic aim of introducing its most recent products and services into the country and into the region.
Action1: The representatives of Creative Décor will provide all the participants in the event with structured questionnaires and stamped envelopes which they will fill from their homes and mail to the company later.
This will be used to collect information on the status of the market in the region. The issues addressed in the questionnaire will include the needs of the customers, their level of satisfaction and their future expectations.
- Objective 2 and Action 2
Action 2: During the design contest, company representatives will interact with the participants and gather one-on-one information regarding the status of the market. The information will include the client’s level of satisfaction, future expectations and such others.
Objective 2: The objective of the process mentioned above is to promote the company’s image and initiate brand awareness among the potential consumers. Hardy & Maguire (2010) are of the view that the most successful companies gain market share and consumer loyalty by creating the right image in the minds of the consumers. The image can be created through promotion campaigns such as advertisements.
It is to be noted that enhanced brand image will be an important factor in penetrating a new market that already has established players. The contest will provide the company with the opportunity of flaunting and showcasing its slogans and logos as well as the opportunity to present its persona, policies, attitude, design, and ethics.
Any company- no matter how successful it has been in another country or in another market- is always branded as a second best player whenever it enters a new market. The contest will provide this company with the best opportunity to display its creativity and distinctiveness to the potential consumers.
- Other Objectives and Actions
Action 3: The Company will design and mail E- paper cards to all the participants for free. Printing and mailing E- paper cards is one of the most recent services that the company has launched in the US. Participants will be directed by the company’s officials on how to download the application into their smartphones or computers.
Afterwards, the participants will use the downloaded application to add customized personal notes to their photos. These photos will then be sent to the company’s through email and uploaded into the system. The company’s officials in the IT stall will then print the photos on high quality paper and mail the card to the recipient.
Action 4: All participants in the event will receive a branded T- shirt and a ribbon from either the company’s sportswear or urban cloth line. The aim here is to popularise these products as well as create brand awareness among the consumers.
Action 6: The participants will have the opportunity to interact with the company through the various social network sites. Social network marketing has been rated by market analysts as one of the most effective ways of creating brand awareness for companies in foreign countries. This is given the popularity of these sites in these countries, especially among the young consumers.
Action 7: All other products provided by the company will be on offer for that particular day at half the price. The aim is to introduce the consumers to these products and hopefully, turn them into loyal consumers.
Objective 3: To learn from the experiential knowledge gathered by the company’s officials operating in other South American countries.
Action 8: Currently, the company has made inroads in two South American countries. These countries are Argentina and Chile. The company representatives from these two countries will be invited to the design contest. They will make presentations touching on the success of Creative Décor in their respective countries.
Opportunities and Risks Associated with the International Event
Just like any other marketing campaign adopted by companies in contemporary global market, the design contest is wrought with opportunities and threats for the company. The company aims at averting the risks or mitigating the effects of the risks should they occur while at the same time maximising on the opportunities presented by the event.
- Opportunities Associated with the Event
International event organisation provides companies with diverse investment and development avenues. Unlike many other transition economies, Brazil has very few competition restrictions. From 2005, the Brazilian government has offered various incentives to international companies interested in investing in the country (Fan 2008).
The aim of such incentives is to encourage the international investors to bring their money into the country. According to analysts, this will improve the economy and welfare of the Brazilians by providing job opportunities among other benefits.
This positive support has made it possible for the country to generate more revenue than some nations in the developed world. Market liberalisation in the country has led to increased competition that has expanded the economic capacity in the country (Fan 2008). The company will take advantage of this opportunity to penetrate the Brazilian market.
The company will use the event to take advantage of this opportunity. The Brasilia contest will provide Creative Décor with the opportunity to gauge the level of competition in the Brazilian market.
This will be very essential in formulating the investment strategic plan. The company will come up with strategies to address the competition and where possible, emerge as one of the leading players in the new market.
The contest will also provide the company with information on the technological advances that the country has made. This will be reflected in the kind of presentations made by the contestants.
- Risks
One of the major risks in organising the event emanates from the fact that some of the contestants may not turn up. However, the company has contacted all of them and has received confirmations from 27 out of the 35. Another related risk is poor turn out from the public.
The main aim for organising the event is to market the company’s brand. In order to deal with these two risks, the company has invited some of the most prolific designers to the event. The main celebrity who will grace the occasion will be Andreas Gursky who sold the most expensive image at New York’s Christie in 2011 (Dobusch & Müller-Seitz 2012).
Pre-Event and Post-Event Evaluation
- Pre-Event Evaluation
The company will put in place measures to evaluate the contest before it is organised. Pre-event preparations will include coming up with a budget, finding the most favourable location, contacting the local government for approval and permits, coming up with the event agenda, creating proposals for sponsorship, putting in place the appropriate risk management measures, and site preparation plan.
- Post-Event Evaluation
To analyse whether the objectives of organising the event were met, the company will use individual interviews, questionnaires, and poster exercise.
The organising committee will conduct five interviews to gather in-depth information on the impact of the event. As mentioned earlier in the report, questionnaires will be provided to all participants after the event. Poster exercise will be conducted on all persons who will attend the event.
Summary
Creative Décor will host the Brasilia contest to market its new products and services. This will be a much needed reconnaissance before entering into the Brazilian market. Brazil was selected as the third country in which the company will expand its South American operations. This is because of the favourable business environment created by the government and the potential for economic growth.
References
Dobusch, L & Müller-Seitz, G 2012, ‘Serial singularities: developing a network organization by organizing events’, Schmalenbach Business Review (SBR), vol. 64 no. 3, pp. 204-229.
Fan, Q 2008, Investment climate in Brazil, India, and South Africa: a comparison of approaches for sustaining economic growth in emerging economies, World Bank, New York.
Hardy, C & Maguire, S 2010, ‘Discourse, field-configuring events, and change in organizations and institutional fields: narratives of DDT and the Stockholm convention’, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 53 no. 6, pp. 1365-1392.