Organization of a Large Scale Music Event: Planning and Production
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Organization of a large scale music event: planning and production Tatiana Caciur Thesis MUBBA 2012 Abstract 17.1.2012 MUBBA Author or authors Group or year of Tatiana Caciur entry 2008 Title of report Number of Organization of a large scale music event: planning and pages and production. appendices 54 + 4 Teacher/s or supervisor/s Heta-Liisa Malkavaara Live entertainment is currently one of the few vital components of the music industry as it struggles to survive in the XXI century and conform to the drastic changes on the music market. Music events occur in great amount on a daily basis and it is important to plan and produce them in the right manner in order to stay relevant and secure one‟s place on the market. This report introduces various crucial matters that require attention during event organization process, such as marketing and strategic planning, communication and promotion, risk management, event programming and capacity management, to name a few. The 5-phase project management model is applied as the base on which this thesis is built. The research is conducted by comparing the theoretical and practical approach used in the music event business. The practical approach is based on examinations and interviews with the world market leader in live entertainment – Live Nation. An additional analysis of practices used in other large and successful music events in Europe and USA is also conducted. As this thesis shows, the practical approach is often easier and less rigorous than the theory. Some of the steps in this process may be simply omitted due to being considered of little relevance by the management team, many other are outsourced to professional agencies depending on requirements (security, catering). It becomes evident how important it is to be innovative and always stay up to date with the state of the market in order to organize the most successful events. Keywords Event management, planning, production, marketing communication Table of contents Table of contents ...................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Structure of the study ................................................................................................ 2 2 Initiation ............................................................................................................................ 4 2.1 Events and concept ................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Purpose of the event ................................................................................................. 4 2.3 Marketing screen ........................................................................................................ 6 2.4 Consumer‟s decision-making process ..................................................................... 6 2.5 The structure of demand .......................................................................................... 7 2.6 Three Es Of Event Marketing ................................................................................. 9 2.7 The Five Ws of Marketing ...................................................................................... 10 2.8 Target market ........................................................................................................... 12 3 Planning ........................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Marketing planning .................................................................................................. 14 3.2 Strategic planning ..................................................................................................... 14 3.2.1 Strategy options ................................................................................................ 16 3.2.2 Purpose, vision and mission statements........................................................ 18 3.2.3 Goals and objectives ........................................................................................ 19 3.3 Operational planning ............................................................................................... 20 3.3.1 Forecasting ........................................................................................................ 20 3.4 Capacity management.............................................................................................. 22 3.5 Location .................................................................................................................... 23 3.5.1 Site plan ............................................................................................................. 24 3.5.2 Event signage .................................................................................................... 25 3.6 Time management ................................................................................................... 26 4 Implementation .............................................................................................................. 27 4.1 Programming the event ........................................................................................... 27 4.2 Integrated marketing communication ................................................................... 29 4.2.1 Communication policy .................................................................................... 30 4.2.2 Advertising and promotion ............................................................................. 31 4.2.3 Public relations ................................................................................................. 33 4.2.4 Web page ........................................................................................................... 35 4.3 Staging ....................................................................................................................... 37 4.4 Production schedule ................................................................................................ 38 5 Event ................................................................................................................................ 39 5.1 Load in \ load out .................................................................................................... 39 5.2 Audience ................................................................................................................... 40 5.3 Performers, artists .................................................................................................... 41 5.4 Risk management ..................................................................................................... 42 5.4.1 Risk communication ........................................................................................ 44 5.4.2 Managing crowd behavior ............................................................................... 45 6 Evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 47 7 Findings and conclusions .............................................................................................. 49 References ................................................................................................................................ 53 Attachments ............................................................................................................................. 55 Attachment 1. Live Nation press release example 1 ...................................................... 55 Attachment 2. Live Nation press release example 2 ...................................................... 57 Attachment 3. The process of strategic planning ........................................................... 58 1 Introduction The phrase “times they are a-changin” belongs to the great Bob Dylan and succinctly describes the current state of music industry. Indeed it is undergoing the changes that in the end will redefine its whole concept, largely due to the destructive impacts caused by piracy. While record sales are plunging, the majority of people involved in this business, from artists to management, realized that right now the only way to make ends meet is to tour as much as possible. Live entertainment was affected by the economic recession; however, unlike other, this sector of music industry is still actively functioning. Music events become bigger and more intricate theatrical performances that aim to surprise, please and entertain the jaded public. This thesis report is dedicated to the process of organizing a large scale music event, concentrated on the stages of planning and production. The objective of this work is to pick out the most important steps to be taken during the planning and production stages and compare the theoretical and practical approaches to them. The core of this thesis is based on a 5-phase project management approach (Allen, O‟Toole, Harris & McDonnell, 2008, 163). It describes the planning and production activities passing through these 5 phases: initiation, planning, implementation, event, and shutdown. The purpose of this work is to answer the following questions: 1. How to successfully plan, promote and produce a large-scale music event? 2. How do the “book approach” and the practical approach differ from each other? The practical approach is based on the interviews