Hallmark Events Analysis and Discussion Essay

Introduction

• Hallmark events are beneficial to different communities.
• Individuals find new opportunities, such as emerging ideas and skills.
• They also attract local and foreign tourists.
• Proper management is essential to support their success.
• The Peace & Love music event is a good example for studying hallmark events.
• This presentation discusses the issues surrounding this hallmark event.

Governments and community leaders need to support hallmark events since they have the potential to deliver positive benefits. Specifically, they allow local citizens to seek entertainment and acquire new ideas for pursuing their goals. They also attract tourists, thereby adding value to the local economy. The issues and challenges surrounding the failure of the Peace & Love music festival forms the basis for learning more about the future of Hallmark events in Sweden and other regions.

Purpose and Methodology

• The 2013 Peace and Love festival was intended to repeat a culture practiced for decades.
• However, organizers chose to cancel the festival.
• Bankruptcy emerged as the primary reason for such decision.
• The purpose of the study “Understanding a Hallmark Event failure: A Case Study of a Swedish Music Festival” was to identify and understand the factors that led to this festival failure.
• The researchers relied on data sources from event organizers and members of the public.
• Secondary data focusing on the industry was analyzed.

The purpose of the selected study was to identify, describe, and discuss some of the gaps that led to the failure of the Peace & Love festival set for 2013. The scholars relied on a powerful methodology to get the required evidence (Nordvall & Heldt, 2017). They used responses from former event organizers, insights from industry trends, and social media comments.

Findings

• The completed research study presented useful findings.
• The selected event was already in a vulnerable position.
• The country has witnessed the entry of a new competitor.
• The festival market was becoming uncertain.
• Some of the visitors were incapable of finding the best event.
• These forces led to its eventual demise.

The completed study revealed that several factors were responsible for the outcomes of this event. Specifically, the organization had already found itself in a vulnerable position due to the changing market dynamics. The industry had also witnessed the entry of a new competitor and provider of similar entertainment opportunities. Most of the visitors were facing different challenges while trying to access or identify the best place to be for such festivals (Nordvall & Heldt, 2017). Such findings would encourage future organizers and investors to rethink their overall strategies if they wanted to succeed.

Article Conclusions

• The completed study explained why more organizers could encounter numerous challenges.
• The findings encouraged organizations and cities to transform their models (Nordvall & Heldt, 2017).
• The support of local residents was also essential.
• The decision to conduct additional studies could deliver new insights.
• Such observations would guide future events.
• The involvement of all key stakeholders in hallmark events is essential.

The researchers concluded that very little was being done to address the fate of hallmark events. Organizers and host cities had to change their strategies if they were to record meaningful results. Additional studies were also needed to change the situation and allow more stakeholders to focus on the best outcomes (Nordvall & Heldt, 2017). Such developments would take more communities and cities closer to their goals and transform the performance of tourism as an important economic activity.

Literature: Event Failure

• The concept of “failure” had not been discussed with finality before.
• All stakeholders needed to be considered when studying hallmark events.
• Some scholars have focused on different causes of festival failure, such as supply issues, poor leadership, poor marketing, and ineffective planning.
• Lack of social integration had caused failure before.
• Competition and weather had also emerged as possible triggers of failure.

Hallmark event failure remains a common phenomenon recorded in different cities across the globe. Some past scholars have succeeded by presenting some of the forces that trigger the failure of such festivals. For instance, Nordvall and Heldt (2017) believe that supply challenges, ineffective leadership, and inadequate planning could affect the success of such events. Some organizers have in the past failed to integrate members of society to understand their needs and present the most appropriate offerings that resonate with their demands.

Continuation

• Age consideration was a unique issue determining the performance of festivals.
• A conservative culture could also affect different festivals.
• Resistance to change featured prominently in past literature.
• Overspecialization could also deliver negative outcomes (Wallstam et al., 2018).
• Legal, political, and social factors are also worth considering.
• These aspects formed the foundation for approaching and analyzing the present case.

Past studies had gone further to identify some forces that were capable of affecting the performance of festivals. For instance, the failure of organizers to consider the age specifics and expectations of some of the people reduced the level of demand (Getz & Page, 2016). Some organizers had focused on overspecialization while others ignore political, social, and legal implications. Others were afraid of introducing new changes. Such factors worked synergistically to affect the overall success of hallmark events in different cities across the globe.

Causes of Failure: Festival Managers

• Festival managers believed that the event of 2012 set the stage for the 2013 failure.
• High costs for production and artists triggered this outcome.
• The number of visitors was also declining.
• The traditional model for business contributed to the failure.
• Managerial crises were also to blame.
• The new competition was also responsible for the failure.

The insights gained from different festival managers exposed some of the forces that had led to the 2013 hallmark event failure. They indicated that the 2012 event had been disastrous and failed to breakeven, thereby affecting the budget and gains for the 2013 festival (Nordvall & Heldt, 2017). The managerial crises and the resignation of the CEO affected the level of coordination and performance. The model was also inappropriate due to the increasing level of competition.

Causes of Failure: Festival Visitors

• Festival visitors indicted that most of the people wanted to be part of the Bråvalla event.
• The reports of ineffective performance emerging before the event discouraged more people from buying tickets.
• The festival had become less interesting to the people.
• The organizers had also introduced harsh rules for visitors.
• Competition was also a reality in the industry.
• These forces would have negative implications on the 2013 festival.

Event visitors were keen to present their insights regarding the issues surrounding the failure of the 2013 hallmark festival. Majority of them identified competition and strict rules as some of the contributing factors (Getz & Page, 2016). They also indicated that the event was no longer entertaining while the reports of possible failure and bankruptcy had become common.

• The failure of this event sent shockwaves to stakeholders.
• However, they would learn more about the possible causes.
• Event mangers would consider emerging insights to change their models.
• The bankruptcy revealed that future organizers had to consider the demands of all stakeholders.
• Future managers would be aware of possible competition sources.
• The concerns of different visitors were also worth considering.

Implications

The issues surrounding the failure of the 2013 hallmark event could offer powerful guidelines for ensuring that similar challenges never occurred. Event managers and visitors could examine such outcomes and consider new ways for addressing some of the recorded threats. A detailed analysis of the outlined problems could ensure that more festivals remained sustainable (Nordvall & Heldt, 2017). Future scholars should examine the emerging details from the 2013 hallmark festival and offer additional insights to event organizers and managers to achieve their potential much faster.

Conclusion

• The 2013 hallmark event was a failure.
• The organizers reported bankruptcy and canceled the event.
• Both managers and visitors identified unique causes of failure.
• Key ones included competition, poor leadership, and inability to change with the time.
• Some visitors were willing to attend other festivals.
• Nonetheless, new lessons emerged for guiding cites and future organizers.

The presented discussion has explained how different hallmark events were facing extinction. The findings from the 2013 festival can guide different city organizers to consider new ways of re-patterning their strategies. Some of the ultimate goals included to entertain, make profits, and promote cultural attributes associated with the specific cities. In conclusion, the lessons gained from this failure should form the basis for supporting the effectiveness and success of future festivals.

References

Getz, D., & Page, S. J. (2016). Progress and prospects for event tourism research. Tourism Management, 52, 593-631. Web.

Nordvall, A., & Heldt, T. (2017). Understanding hallmark event failure: A case study of a Swedish music festival. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 8(2), 172-185. Web.

Wallstam, M., Ioannides, D., & Petterson, R. (2018). Evaluating the social impacts of events: In search of unified indicators for effective policymaking. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 12(2), 122-141. Web.