What is an Event?

An event can be described as a public assembly for the purpose of celebration, education,
marketing or reunion. Events can be classified on the basis of their size, type and context.

An event can be:

1) Social / life–cycle events

Events like Birthday party, Hen/Stag party, Graduation day, Bachelor's party, Engagement,
Wedding, Anniversary, Retirement day, Funeral etc.

2) Education and career events

Events like education fair, job fair, workshop, seminar, debate, contest, competition etc.

3) Sports events

Events like Olympics, World Cup, marathons, Wimbledon, wrestling matches etc.

4) Entertainment events

Events like music concerts, fairs, festivals, fashion shows, award functions, celebrity nights,
beauty peagents, flash mob, jewellery shows, stage shows etc.

5) Political events

Events like political procession, demonstration, rally, political functions etc.

6) Corporate events

Events like MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions), product launches, road
shows, buyer-seller meet etc.

7) Religious events

Events like religious festivals / fairs, religious procession, Katha, Pravachan, Diwali fair,
Dusherra fair etc.

8) Fund raising/ cause related events

Any event can be turned into a fund raising or cause related event e.g. auctions.

What is Event Management?

Event Management is the process of analyzing, planning, marketing,

producing and evaluating an event. It is a different way of promoting a
product, service or idea. If an event is managed efficiently and effectively, it
can be used as a very powerful promotional tool to launch or market a product
or service. Events Management requires certain core values to be deployed to
every element, process and decision to justify professional approach and achieve effective and
efficient results.

People Involved in Organizing an Event

The number of people involved in organizing an event
depends upon the size and scale of the event. While
organizing a small party may require only one or two
people, organizing a very large event like olympics may
require several thousand people.

An event management company can have following event

professionals:
1) Event Manager/Event Planner

He has following responsibilities:

1. He is responsible for planning and producing the whole event.

2. He is responsible for procurement management and resource management.

3. He formulates, prepares and implement risk management plan (risks related to event planning
and production).

2) Event Coordinator

He is responsible for coordinating with all event professionals and ensures that business
operations are efficient and effective.

3) Information Manager

He has following responsibilities:

1. He manages the information acquired through different sources.

2. He is responsible for the documentation of all business operations carried out pre-event, at-
event and post-event.

3. He maintains database of service providers, delegates, guests, organizers, sponsors, partners,

clients, target audience, media people and various govt. departments officials.

4. He formulates, prepares and implements the risk management plan. (risks related to
information management like loss of data)

4) Logistic Manager

He has following responsibilities:

1. Responsible for custom clearances and other clearances.

2. Responsible for warehousing of cargo

3. Cargo Insurance
4. He is expected to move goods and merchandise from one destination to the other in the most
efficient manner.

5. He is responsible for procurement management and resource management.

6. He formulates, prepares and implements the risk management plan. (risks related to logistic
management like cargo theft etc.)

5) Security Manager

He has following responsibilities:

1. He is responsible for formulating, preparing and implementing the security plan and strategies.
i.e. how to protect delegates, guests, service providers, organizers, sponsors, partners, clients,
target audience, goods and merchandise etc.

2. He does procurement management and resource management.

3. He formulates, prepares and implements the risk management plan. (risks related to security
like stampede, brawl etc)

6) Infrastructure Manager

He has following responsibilities:

1. He does procurement management and resource management.

2. He is responsible for setting up and dismantling the infrastructure for the whole event like:

a. Construction of boundary walls, entrance and exit gates, driveways, walkways and parking
lots

b. Construction of AC/Non AC hangers/ halls, seating arrangement, stage design/ set up.

c. Construction of green rooms, staff rooms, storage rooms, power rooms, toilets, sewage
systems, stalls, counters, booths and kiosks.

d. He is responsible for setting up electricity, water and phone connections.

e. He is responsible for conservancy (i.e. cleanliness).

3. He formulates, prepares and implements the risk management plan. (risks related to
infrastructure management like sudden shortage of workers, materials, power failure etc)

People Involved in Sponsoring an Event

The following people are involved in supporting an event:

 - Organizers
 - Sponsors
 - Partners
 - Clients
 - Supporting Agencies

These people can either be an individual or a company.

They either finance the whole event or some of its part or
provide some service either at subsidized rate or for free.

Organizers

An Organizer finances maximum amount of money in an event. Therefore he has maximum

control over the event. Among sponsors, principal sponsor finances maximum amount of money.
Depending on the amount of money financed, a sponsor can be a principal sponsor, co-sponsor
or associate sponsor.

Sponsors

Similarly, depending on the type of service financed, a sponsor can be: a venue sponsor, gift
sponsor, crown and jewellery sponsor, catering sponsor, badge sponsor, banner sponsor etc.

Partners

Partners generally provide services either at subsidized rate or for free like media partners (which
provide ad space), promotional partners (which do publicity), logistic partners (which move
goods and merchandise from one destination to the other in the most efficient manner).

Media partners can be: a newspaper partner, magazine partner, TV partner, Radio partner, Phone
partner, Online partner or Outdoor partner. Any college, institute or publication can become: a
knowledge partner, Research Partner, Scholistic partner, Holistic partner or Academic Partner to
support an event.
Supporting Agencies

Supporting Agencies (either goverment or private) can also support an event by either financing
the event or donating some service.

Career in Event Management

Event management is a multi million dollar industry
which is growing at the rate of 150% per annum with
events being hosted almost daily. So making a career in
event management is a good choice.

Organzing a perfectly synchronized, well planned, well

conducted and memorable event, requires the supervision
and services of well trained and experienced event
professionals. Therefore event management companies
are always on a look out for event professionals.

The success of an event manger depends upon how well he organized the event and up to which
extent he is able to achieve event and marketing objectives.

The salary of an event manager depends upon his qualification, amount of exposure to events,
media and corporate contacts. Working as an entrepreneur after two or three years of work
experience is strongly recommended. If you can give value for money to your sponsors than sky
is the limit for your income.

vent Manager Skills

Event management is a career which demands lot of hard work, high degree of energy, flexibility
and motivation, good communication skills, strong networking, excellent PR (Public Relation)
skills, eye for detail, strong organizational skills, leadership qualities, diplomacy, patience,
market awareness and tons of creativity.

Event Manager Qualifications

There is no minimum qualification requirement to become an

event manager for non-corporate events. Any person with strong
organizational skills and excellent PR Skills can organize non-
corporate events.

However for organizing corporate events a degree/diploma in

event management, PR, tourism, hospitality management, business administration or marketing
is a must. This is because corporate events are organized to promote and sell company's products
or services or to build/enhance its brand image.

A person with 2-3 years of work experience in the field of sales/marketing can also organize
corporate events without any formal education in event management or business administration.

How to become Event Planner

You can start your career in the event management field either by joining any event management
company as a trainee/apprentice or by joining an event management institute as a student.

The advantage of the latter is that you can learn things quickly and become a certified event
professional too. What other people learn over several years through work experience, you can
learn in 6 to 12 months through certified event management courses. Although such certification
is not mandatory to work in an event company but one from a reputed institute can be a head
start for you if you want to excel in this field at a faster pace.

By being certified you can demonstrate competitive distinction, and that you have the
knowledge, training, experience, judgment and ability to plan and manage a successful event.
Event management companies and media houses are slowly but gradually recognizing the value
of certified event professionals and in the near future they will be given priorities in event jobs.

Keep one thing in mind. No event management company organizes all type of events. There are
some companies which organize only corporate events; some organize only trade shows while
some other may organize only fashions shows, concerts or wedding. Therefore first decide the
event which you like the most and then join the company which is specialized in organizing that
event. For example if you like music concerts then you can join the company which is
specialized in organizing music concerts.

Life of an Event Manager

Life of an event manager is very hard. This is certainly one of the

hardest jobs on the planet. You may have to work under the
blazing; scorching sun throughout the day. You may have to stay
away from your family for several months.

If you are not very social and flexible then event management is
not for you. By flexibility I mean, you must be ready to
work/travel 24/7. There are no fixed working hours in this field. You may have to work 36 hours
in one stretch. You may have to report for duty at 4' o clock in the morning or you may have to
stay at the venue (your workplace) for several days.
Organizing exhibitions/trade shows is one of the toughest job in event management. You should
go in the exhibition management field only when you are physically fit and can bear great
amount of physical exertion.

Remember the real money in event management is only for the entrepreneurs. So if you lack
leadership qualities and entrepreneur skills or don't have any plan to start your own businesses
later then don’t waste your time here. Mark my words "There is either very little or absolutely no
possibility of growth for those who don't want to become entrepreneurs or those who are not
MBAs/sales/marketing professionals." If you are looking for 9 to 5 job in an AC environment
with higher pay scales, higher possibility of growth and 5 working days then go to IT field.

How to Form an Event Management Company

Are You Ready?

Want to start an event management company? Wish to earn those

great bucks? First make sure you know where you are

You are heading into event planning business where you will
need solid social networking and business development skills to
survive. Your success in this business will depend upon, not only
on your experience and knowledge level but also on your contacts
(public relations), negotiating, marketing and entrepreneur skills.

Here I should assume that you have been working in the event
industry (or sales or marketing industry) for the last couple of
years (at least 2 years) and that now you are confident you can
find clients for yourself.

Just like in any other business, there are certain skills which you
must have in you, if you wish to succeed in the event planning business:

1. -You manage people effectively and get the job done.

2. - You know how to manage time and prioritize your tasks.
3. - You can find new and innovative ways to solve problems.
4. - You are good in decision making. You first evaluate your options and then decide.
5. - You know how to talk to clients and close sales.
6. - You have the ability to sell your ideas.
7. - You have the ability to market your services.
8. - You know how to manage cash flows and keep track of financial transactions.
9. - You understand team formation.
10. - You have leadership qualities.
11. - You know how to motivate yourself and others.
12. - You have strong analytical ability and eye for detail.
If you wish to excel in the event management field at as faster pace, then get certified. There are
many event planning certification which can prove helpful in becoming a certified event planner.
Such event management certificates demonstrate competitive distinction and that you have the
skills, knowledge, experience and ability to plan and manage a successful event.

Good ideas for starting an event management company:

Step 1: Decide the services you wish to sell

A service is something which is intangible like: wedding planning, party planning, organizing
music concerts, fashion shows, conducting MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and
exhibitions) etc.

Choose those services in which you have a strong hold, in which you have majority of your
experience and expertise and which can generate maximum revenue for you. Don't try to be jack
of all trades and sell all event planning services one can think of. If majority of your experience
is in wedding planning, then wedding planning is best for you.

Don't try to get into corporate meetings, just because the market is better. Corporate meetings are
different from the weddings in terms of planning, implementation and evaluation. In fact every
event is planned, executed and evaluated differently and therefore you can't organize all type of
events.

Step 2: Do market research, competitor's analysis and SWOT analysis.

Market Research for Event Management Company

Market means your target audience i.e. people who may

be interested in your events. It also includes those clients
who may be interested in hiring your event management
services.

If your target audience are least interested in the type of

event you organize, then you won't get any audience. Say
you want to organize a rock concert in the country of
Oman. But people there are least interested in such type
of events. It means there is no market for your event in that country. If you organize the event
there, it will fail for sure. Similarly if you wish to organize a Christmas Carnival in an area where
majority of people are Muslims, then you can't expect many footsteps.

Therefore it is very important that you find out in advance who are your target audience (i.e.
their age group, sex, qualification, profession, lifestyle, income, liking, disliking, customs,
religions, traditions etc), where there live and what are their desires and expectations from your
event. To do market research you will have to do survey in the area (town/city/state/country)
where you wish to organize the event. If you wish to open a wedding planning company and
there are hardly two or three weddings in a year in your area, then selling such type of services is
not commercially viable.

Competitors' Analysis

Find out:

 - who are your competitors

 - Where they live?
 - What are their employee base (i.e. number of employees)
 - Client base (i.e. number of clients)
 - Market value (i.e. what is their reputation in the market)
 - Market share (i.e. how much business they have occupied)
 - Turnover (i.e. annual sales)?
 - How many events they organize in a year?
 - Why people attend their events?
 - What is so special about their events?
 - How do they get clients and sponsors for their events?

All this will help you in developing a better business plan for your event management company.

SWOT Analysis for Event Management Company

SWOT analysis is used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved
in your event planning venture. In SWOT: 's' stands for strengths, 'w' stands for weaknesses, 'o'
stands for opportunities and 'T' stands for threats.

Strengths
Determine your resources and capabilities and how they can be used against your competition
and in favour of your target audience. What advantages do you have? What you can do better
than the others?

Weaknesses
Determine the resources you lack. Determine the advantages your competitors have. What could
you improve? What you should avoid?
Opportunities
Look at your strengths and determine which opportunities are opened for you. Determine how
you can open up even more opportunities by eliminating some of your weaknesses.

Threats
Changes in external environment (like changes in economy or market trends) or any
unfavourable situation can pose threat to your company or business. Determine all present and
possible threats to your business venture. It can be the presence of a very powerful competitor or
new or innovative ways of organizing events or a heavy tax on entertainment.

Step 3: Prepare business plan for your event management company

You will develop your business plan on the basis of market research, competitors' analysis and
SWOT analysis of your event management company. Before developing your business plan, you
should keep some points in mind:

1. Be realistic and avoid optimism while estimating capital requirements, sales and profits.

2. Don't ignore developing strategies which may come handy in case of adversities in your
business.

Following steps can be adopted for developing a business plan for your event management
company:

1. Outline your business objectives.

What do you want to achieve in short term and in long term i.e. what is the mission and vision of
your event planning company? However don't stick too much with long term objectives as they
may become meaningless after a long time or changes in market situation.

2. Determine your staffing needs and what should be their skill sets.
Develop the organizational structure of your event management company. Outline your own
skills, knowledge and experience and determine how they can be used to achieve business
success. Prepare resume of yourself and all of the people who will be involved in your business.
These resumes will come handy when you will look for partners/investors later on.

3. Determine how exactly you will find clients?

How you will approach them and how you will sell your services. How you will expand your
business? What will be your rules, regulations, policies and procedures regarding payments,
reimbursement, penalties, cancellation and behaviour?

4. Estimate your capital requirements for one whole year.

How you will manage the cash flow?
5. Prepare a contingency plan
i.e. what strategies you will adopt in case of capital loss, economic crisis or market downturn.

Step 4: On the basis of your business plan determine your operating cost

i.e. the cost to run the business.

Step 5: On the basis of the operating cost, decide your own fees and the staff
salary.

Step 6: Get investors/ business partners for your event management company

on the basis of market research, competitors' analysis, SWOT analysis and your business plan.

Step 7: Decide name and logo of your company and its status

i.e. whether organization will be a company, firm or establishment.

Step 8: Premises, recruitment and marketing your business

Hire office. Buy office stationary and recruit staff. Launch a new flashy website which
effectively describes your business and services in great detail. Hire an internet marketing
professional to promote it.

If you won't promote your website, then nobody will visit your website. So in that case your
website will be as good as nothing. Through your website, your business will get global
presence, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. You can also expect to get lot of clients once, your
website becomes popular.

Step 9: Register your Company

If you have opened a company then get it registered under the Company's Act'. If you have
opened a firm in India then get it registered under the 'Indian Partnership Act'. If you have
opened an establishment in India, then get it registered under the 'Shops and Establishment
Act'.An event management company is just like any other company. So whatever rules and
procedures are required to start a company in your country, also applies to an event management
company.

Step 10: Register to pay tax

Following taxes are to be paid by an event management company. Income Tax, TDS (Tax
deducted at source), service tax, entertainment tax and taxes related to moving goods and
merchandise from one destination to others. Get PAN card to file Income Tax return. TAN card
to file TDS return. Get registration for service tax. The service tax on event management
companies in India is 12.36%

Event Analysis:

Market Research in Event Planning

Market Research

Before organizing an event, find out whether there is a market (i.e. audience) for your
intended event or not. For e.g. you want to organize a fashion show in Oman. If people
there have little or no interest in fashion shows, then it is not a good idea to organize such event
there. The event will fail for sure.

Market Analysis

If there is a market for your intended event, then do market analysis. Market Analysis means
finding information about your target audience. Find out who are your target audience i.e. there
age group, sex, qualification, profession, knowledge level, income, status, likings, disliking,
personality, customs, traditions, religion, lifestyle etc.

Knowing your target audience's customs, traditions and religion is very important so that we
don’t hurt there customs and religion unknowingly through our event. For e.g. if you organize a
Hindu wedding and serve beef there, then u will be in mortal danger as cow is considered as a
sacred animal in Hindu religion. Similarly serving pork in a Muslim function can bring havoc.
Find out where majority of your target audience live so that you can direct your marketing efforts
towards them.

There is no point in advertising across US if your target audience belongs only to New Jersey. In
this way you can cut down your advertising and marketing cost tremendously. Find out what are
the desires and expectations of target audience from your intended event. Find out when (i.e. date
and time) and where (i.e. venue) they want the intended event to take place .For this you will
have to do survey. All this information will help you in developing a better event plan.

Competitors' Analysis

It means finding information about your competitors. Find out who are your competitors .i.e.
their age, sex, qualifications, knowledge level, experience in organizing events, turnover, market
value, PR (media and corporate contacts) and market share.

Find out how they promote and execute there events. What they do in there events? Why people
come to there events? For this you will have to attend each and every event organized by your
competitors and then create an event report. The event report will contain things like

 - seating and light arrangements

 - promotional materials used
 - blueprint of the whole venue
 - program and food menu
 - contact details of sponsors, partners, clients (for whom the event is organized)
 - service providers like DJs, Anchors, Make up artist, Performers, photographers,
videographers, decorator, florist etc.

SWOT Analysis in Event Planning

Products/Services Research

If you are organizing a corporate event then it is necessary for you as an event manager to
do research of the products/ services promoted and sold by your corporate client.

 - Find out how the company promotes its products

 - How the company wants to build/enhance the image associated with its product (also
known as the brand image)?
 - What is the market value and market share of the company and its products?
 - Who are the customers of the product?
 - What are the features of the product?
 - What are the advantages and disadvantages of the product in comparison to competitors'
products?

All this research will later help you in making an effecting promotional campaign for your
corporate event.

SWOT Analysis
In SWOT Analysis:

'S' stands for Strengths

'W' stands for Weaknesses
'O' stands for Opportunities
'T' stands for Threats

It is a strategic planning tool which is used to identify and analyze the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats involved in your project. SWOT analysis can also be done on your
organization.

Strengths:
These are the attributes of your project/organization which are helpful in achieving project's
objectives. For e.g.: experienced event team, high motivation level, excellent PR, good market
share etc.

Weaknesses:
These are those attributes of your project/organization which are harmful in achieving project's
objectives. For e.g.: social loafing, lack of funds, inexperienced event team, low energy level,
lack of media and corporate contacts etc.

Opportunities:
These are those external factors which are helpful in achieving the project's objectives. For e.g.:
little competition, favorable economic conditions, support from the local authorities, availability
of the state of the art infrastructure etc.

Threats:
These are those external factors which are harmful in achieving the project's objectives. For e.g.:
high competition, little or no support from local authorities, bad weather, poor infrastructure,
high lab our rate, unavailability of raw material etc. It is very important that you conduct SWOT
analysis before developing an event plan to develop a strategy which maximizes the potential of
strengths and opportunities of your project and at the same time, minimizes the impact of the
weaknesses and threats.

Analysis Report

After conducting market, competitors, product/service research and SWOT analysis, create a
report which contain details of all the research work done by you. Documentation of your
research work is important, later for event evaluation. Your analysis report will also help you in
getting sponsorship for your event.

Event Planning Tips

We follow 5 'W's (i.e. Why, What, When, Where, Who) and 1 H' (i.e.How) principle to create an
event plan.

Why

'Why' means, why you want to organize the event

i.e. event objective.

What do you want to get from the event? For eg:

do you want to organize the event to enhance your
company's brand image, to increase company's
sales, to promote your client's products/services or
to promote a social cause etc.

Defining event objectives at the very start of event

planning is very important as it gives you the
direction in which you should proceed to
accomplish your objectives. Organizing an event
without clear objectives is a huge waste of both time and resources.

What

'What' means what you are going to do in the event i.e. what will be the:

Event Name
What will be the name of the event? For eg: 'Auto Expo 2007".

Food and Beverage Menu

It contains the list of food items and beverages you will serve during the event to guests and
target audience. Always consult a caterer while deciding your food and beverage menu as he
knows the best which wine is served with a particular course (i.e. meal).

Keep event theme, preferences and religion of target audience and guests in mind while deciding
the menu. If majority of your target audience are vegetarian, then it is not a good idea to serve
non-veg in the event. Similarly if majority of your guests are very health conscious then there
should also be some low calories food items in your menu. You don't want them to go back with
an empty stomach.

Also keep climatic conditions into account. Don't serve out of season food items and beverages.
Like serving ice cream/cold drink in winter, food (like spicy food) that provides warmth during
summer or food that provides coolness during winter.
Event Profile
What the event is all about? For eg: This event is an International exhibition on new models of
Cars and its accessories

Guests Profile
Who will be your chief guest and other guests? Your guest list must include organizers,
sponsors, partners, clients and specially media people. Use your imagination to create good titles
to woo your guests. Like 'Guest of honor', star guest etc. Never give special treatment to one
particular guest or guests' group.

Event Theme
Theme means subject. An event can be based on a particular theme like : hollywood, hawaaian,
egyptian, balloon, clock, red, white etc. Theme based events are generally parties or wedding.
Like we can have party based on flowers theme. Such type of parties are known as theme parties.
In a theme party, everything from dress code, decoration, games, music, gifts, favors to food and
beverages are based on a particular theme.

Service Providers
Who will be your service providers? Any professional providing any type of service in lieu of
money is a service provider. For e.g.: DJ, anchor, florist, videographer, photographer, make up
artist, performers, decorator, models, technicians, usher etc.

Obligations
These are the compulsions on the guests like dress code or the knowledge of salsa dance.

Type of Entry
Decide how will be the entry. Entry will be by ticket, pass or through invitation only.

Favors
These are the gifts given to guests. We can give gifts to guests when they enter a party, when
they win a game or when they leave the party.

Entry fees
What will be the entry fees? If you are going to charge entry fees, then be prepared to pay
entertainment tax. Your entry fees should be according to your target audience's status. If you
overcharge you won�t get any audience.

Event Highlights
These are those activities which you do to catch your taget audience and media's attention. Like
inagrauation of your fashion show by Tom Cruise, performance by Latin singer Shakira or
display of the world most expensive car etc.

Promotional Campaign
How you are going to promote your event, organizers, sponsors, partners and clients pre-event,
at-event and post-event.
Programe Menu
It is the list of various activities that will occur as a part of the event. Sample Programe Menu of
a Conference.

Event Budget
To determine your event budget find out what will be the cost for producing and marketing the
event. To determine production cost, create a list of logistics used in the event and then sum up
there hiring/usage cost. You can determine marketing cost on the basis of historical data like past
advertising expenditure for same or similar events.If you are a first timer, then take help from an
ad agency. On the basis of production and marketing cost, determine your operating cost (i.e.
cost to run the business). On the basis of operating cost decide your own fees and the staff salary.

If you are organizing event for a client, then the client will bear the production and marketing
cost of the event. If you are organizing your own event then you will bear the production and
marketing cost. As an event manager, you must be able to recover your production, marketing
and operating costs plus you must be able to make considerable profit also. Developing event
budget and managing cash flow pre-event, at-event and post event is quite difficult and requires
help from an experienced professional. Better leave this job to an Accountant if you are
organizing

When

When you are going to organize the event (i.e. date and time)? Keep following things in mind
while selecting date and time for the event:

1) Select date and time according to target audience convenience and availability. For e.g.: don't
organize events during work days, examination days or festival times. The best time to organize
events is during weekends like Saturday or Sunday.

2) Make sure that your event's date and time, don't clash with other event's date and time
specially bigger event's date and time. For e.g.: it is not a good idea to organize your music
concert on a day when there is Bon Jovi concert.

3) Keep climatic conditions into mind while selecting date and time for your event. It can be
disastrous to organize event outdoor on a day when the weather is stormy or heavy rain is
expected. Here you can take help of your own experience if you are familiar with the climatic
conditions of the region where you intend to organize the event or you can take the help of the
meteorological department for the weather forecast. Find out how the weather will be on the day
of your event.

Where

Where you are going to organize the event (i.e. venue)? Check out the venue selection tips.
Who

Who will be your organizers, sponsors, partners, clients and target audience? How many target
audience you are expecting to visit the event and why? You must have very good reason to this
'Why' as you will have to convince your prospective organizers and sponsors that why particular
number of people will attend the event.

How

How exactly are you going to market and produce the event.

http://www.eventeducation.com/event-planning.php