Introduction to Events Management
This week’s lecture was very informative with an introduction to the concept of events management and how it can be applied in the sports industry. Initially, I did not know that the sports business industry is divided into different segments. However, during this week’s lecture, I learned that the industry has over ten market segments, and this realization widened my scope of thinking concerning the issue. It was interesting to realize that the sports industry can also be classified as both a product and service industry. Initially, I viewed sports as a spectatorial product, which is only used for entertainment. Now I know that the business falls in numerous categories starting from selling equipment and apparel, promoting merchandise, managing and marketing professional services, to selling sports media business products among other goods. The diagrammatical presentation of major sports events typology made it easy for me to understand how the industry is structured. Similarly, the world of sports events and OC breakdown highlighted how sports events are organized from the international level, through the national level to state or local level bringing together sponsors, media, and the general public. While I knew that there has to be some form of organization of sports events, I did not comprehend how planning was done and the different levels involved. One of the interesting learning areas during this week was the convergence between the entertainment and sports industries. The challenges and hurdles that have to be overcome in the sports industry gave a different perspective on sports events and business. For the first time, I learned about the different motivators of sports fans including enjoyment, gains, experience, and social aspects of the issue. It was also refreshing to understand the sports ecosystem and how money flows through the industry. I could not believe the number of resources and time that go into organizing major sports events such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup and the associated massive costs and revenue flows. This week’s lecture made me reflect on my understanding of the future of the sports industry. The topic was related to the strategic communication of events because, given the complexity of the process that is involved in planning for major sports events, such as the FIFA World Cup, I concluded that effective communication is required.
Events Publicity, Promotion, and Sponsorship
This week’s lecture started with an introduction to effective communication. I learned about the communication process of what happens between when a message leaves the source and when it gets to the receiver. Initially, I was not aware that communication is a process that goes through different phases and it could be improved by eliminating chaos, confusion, and conflict. The simple opening question on my understanding of the term communication jogged my mind as I searched for the right words to describe it. I realized that my definition was one-sided, as I did not classify the sharing of knowledge to be part of communication. My thinking was stuck on the conventional definition of passing information from a sender to a receiver. The historical perspective of events was also refreshing as I started to understand how the concept of events management has evolved with time. I learned that the nature of events reflects a nation’s culture together with contributing significantly to economic development. One of the new things that I learned during this week was the roles and functions of an event manager. I did not know that events management involves researching and evaluation. I thought that managers simply plan, organize, and implement strategies to ensure the success of an event. I also learned that almost every occurrence that involves people coming together could be classified as a type of event including political gatherings, music festivals, religious groups, and personal events among others. I realized that events could be organized at different levels from the international arena to the local level, with each having distinct characteristics. As a student, I was particularly interested in careers in the event management industry. This understanding has reinvigorated my desire to pursue a career in the industry and probably start my own business after gaining the relevant experience. This topic was directly related to the strategic communication of events. At the end of the week, I started to reflect on how I could improve my personal communication as I prepare to play major roles in the events management industry in the future after my graduation.
Events Publicity, Promotion, and Sponsorship – Week 2
This week’s lecture opened with a thought-provoking quote by one of the pioneers of branding, Walter Landor, that while products are made in factories, the art of branding is born in mind. I have always wondered why some brands are more successful as compared to others and I think this week’s insights have answered my questions. I did not understand the power of branding and how it distinguishes different products to determine their success or failure in the marketplace. Another insight from this week’s lecture is that it takes time, effort, sacrifice, and love to create a memorable event. Therefore, memorable events cannot be a function of luck or accident but hard work and continued learning. As the week progressed, I conceded that my understanding of branding was limited. This assertion was proved as we studied how to offer a branded experience. I thought that branding is for products, but I was wrong. I learned that branding is about the customer, and thus the message should be clear, precise, and meaningful to the targeted consumers. I also learned that companies use branding to convince customers how they would benefit by using a certain product. Ultimately, great brands create a fan base of loyal followers and users. At this point, I questioned why I preferred some brands to others, and I realized that I identify with my brands of choice as they create meaning by making me feel important. I realized that I use some brands because I believe I am contributing to a bigger cause like advancing humanity, but it all comes down to branding. As the week progressed, I was eager to know how successful brands are created, and I was surprised to learn that the involved process is simple and straightforward. The process involves creating a brand promise, a precise implementation process, shaping the personalized customer experience, and evaluating the process to measure and monitor its progress. I learned that positioning differentiates a company from its competitors and the process can be achieved using different strategies. This week’s lecture topic is directly related to the strategic communication of events. Branding is all about communicating a product’s usefulness to consumers in an effective manner to ensure that customers are convinced to buy based on the perceived value that they would get in return.
Events Publicity, Promotion, and Sponsorship – Week 3
This week’s lecture was a memorable journey to understanding the role of attitudes in marketing communications. It never occurred to me that attitude would play an important role in marketing, and thus I was keen to learn more about this topic. To start with, I learned that attitudes are conjectural constructs, and while they could be learned easily, they may be enduring. It was interesting to learn how the “think/feel/do” response wheel functions in the brand decision process. We revisited the communication process introduced earlier in another week, but this time the diagrammatical presentation of the concept was detailed including aspects of fields of experience and noise. I realized that fields of experience occur in the process of encoding and decoding messages. The encoding process can occur through verbal, graphic, musical aspects, or using animations based on targeted consumers. I had never heard of the semiotic perspective, but I learned that it defines the three central components that every marketing message should have including an object, sign or symbol, and interpretation. I learned that before attending an event, customers have some expectations, which they use to gauge their level of satisfaction. This realization resonated well with my behavior because I normally rate my level of satisfaction based on my experiences in a given event. However, I did not know that customers like certain brands because they are assured of not getting surprises because such brands offer timeliness, consistency, and guaranteed quality. However, during the week a classmate had noted that it is becoming increasingly difficult to please customers in modern times where thousands of brands are launched every month. Therefore, I started questioning how some brands have maintained their large fan base of loyal customers. However, in one of the lecture sessions, I learned that the secret is to be different and keep it simple. For instance, the brand “McDonalds” has successfully used this strategy to maintain a loyal fan base. I learned that meaningful messages could be passed without using words. The power of image became known as we explored different successful brands that communicate through simple images with minimal or zero words. The week’s topic was related to the strategic communication of events because as mentioned earlier, branding requires effective communication to deliver meaningful information to consumers.
MICE Industry
This week’s lecture introduced the concept of MICE in the industry of events management. Initially, I did not understand what the acronym “MICE” stood for, but I learned that it means “Meeting, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions”. In other words, the term MICE is used in different contexts to mean business events. I learned about the important role that MICE plays in the business travel and tourism industry. We were also introduced to the concept of meetings. One of the interesting aspects of meetings was the different arrangements that are used. It had not occurred to me that different meetings have disparate seat arrangements to suit the intended purpose. The lecture sessions also discussed in detail the differences between MICE and tourism based on aspects, such as the number of participants, the purpose of the visit, business drivers, distribution channels, and marketing approaches. We delved further into the MICE ecosystem, key players, and value chain and I gained invaluable understanding concerning this concept, which was new to me. One of the interesting things that I learned this week was the importance of business tourism. I was surprised to know that countries and cities are positioning themselves to capitalize on the quickly expanding MICE market. From South Africa to Asia, North America, Europe, and the Middle East, I realized that this trend is gaining popularity, and I sought to know why. I realized that the MICE trends of 2018 are associated with several factors that make it attractive for business. One of the outstanding factors is the nature of return on investment trends associated with MICE. It turned out that low budgets are needed to create huge impacts, which is a good trend for any business venture. Besides, efficiency in the industry reduces costs significantly, which is another good ROI indicator. Technology is also playing a major role by allowing players in the industry to optimize lead generation and conversion rates by using big data and analytics. This form of marketing strategy is efficient, low cost, and has high returns. I would like to study and know more about the different dynamics of MICE and its future projections. This topic was related to the strategic communication of events because it involves marketing and branding, which require effective communication strategies.
Events Publicity, Promotion, and Sponsorship – Week 5
This week’s lecture focused on explaining the major components of the communication mix and how different strategies could be applied in selected events. The session opened with a thought-provoking suggestion that Google has become the new business card. As I was reflecting on that simple message, I realized that technology has changed the way people interact and do business. I learned that inbound marketing costs 62 percent less than outbound marketing. Therefore, the new marketing mix has only two components – inbound and outbound marketing. Using the example of Starbucks’ marketing strategy, I learned that involving customers in making decisions concerning product skills could lead to phenomenal results. I did not know that Starbucks listened to its customers, which led to over 50,000 product ideas. As I reflected on the strategy, I realized that it makes sense to engage consumers and know what they want from your business. This revolutionary way of thinking allows for the personalization of products, which in turn increases sales volumes and ultimately profitability. The lecture gave me a different insight into the concept of brands, and that they are useless if they fail to connect with the relevant audiences. The bottom line is to create a compelling brand and back it up by ensuring that the product in question creates a value proposition by satisfying customers’ needs at different levels. I would love to know more about brand positioning and the different internal and external factors that affect the process. Ultimately, I would like to know more about how I can integrate communication mix into the events management business to create a compelling brand with a large fan base of loyal followers and consumers. This topic is directly related to the strategic communications of events because ultimately, the objective of brand positioning is to reach out to potential customers to convert them into consumers of the product or service in question.