BBC Music Weekend: Analysis Of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities And Threats (SWOT)

Introduction to BBC Music Weekend

The chosen music festival is the BBC Music Weekend. This is one of the renowned music festivals in Britain. The festival is judged by renowned figures from music fraternities all over the world who also evaluate the best music across the globe. The festival has been a productive platform since 2007 that helps in enlightening the undiscovered, underrated and unsigned music talents (Bbc.co.uk 2018). The introduction session of the event always remained a challenge for the new artists, as they had to bear the pressure of performing well for showing their talent to the entire world. The festival already had 190,000 registered artists’ along with 450,000 uploaded tracks in their website that helped in highlighting the magnificence of the event. Thus, the event management policy and parameters needed to be strong for maintaining such a grand event on which the world focuses its attention.

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Strengths

· The major strength of this event lay in its reputation of providing a platform for the upcoming artists in the world.

· The platform provides an edge for the new singers who consider themselves lucky on being a part of such an event (Atkins and Moyer 2013).

· The advanced marketing strategies of BBC are new and updated. This is the reason why all the broadcasters ties up with BBC for this particular event that transforms the performers into an overnight sensation.

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· The company has a strong brand image in the market that is the reason why people have good faith in the quality of the show and the singers.

Weaknesses

· Biased view is the weaker part of their publicity and promotion. There are certain circumstantial aspects that lead to negative review amongst the people.

· The operating cost of the event is comparatively higher than any other event. The accumulation of cost always acts as a challenge for the company.

· Promotional activities are good in case of highlighting this kind of music but in most of the cases, the company promotes controversies that act eyewash for the people in creating a touch of sensitiveness in attending the event (Yeoman et al. 2012). This is considered a weakness.  

Opportunities

· Participants have the  opportunity of setting a level for them thereby creating a huge fan base

· The event has great business marketing and advertisements. Most of the advertisements of the events are funded by the finance section of BBC.

· The rate of increase in revenue is another opportunity that delivers a great event for the organizer and participants.

Threats

· Competition is the most significant threat confronted by BBC. The BBC competes in pulling the maximum crowd with some bigger music events. However, there are times when the promotional activity does not take place at such momentum for ensuring a grand event (Ziakas and Boukas2014).

· For advancing the event, it is necessary for BBC to take permission from not only the government but also the administration and the other local channels. This possess as a threat to the event.

The BBC Music Festival took place in Perth, Australia. Like every country, Australia to has its event management process. Therefore, it is necessary for BBC to mould their sectional operation and put forward certain flexible legislation and rules for Australia so that they are able to continue with the process in an ethical manner. The government has different rules and regulations for the BBC event hence its promotional activities are undertaken by the BBC executives in Australia (Bbc.co.uk 2018). Most of the tickets for the event get pre booked which makes the event special to the BBC and the Australian people. The participants of the program represent an important aspect of the program. The event allows the young talents to share the common platform with the eminent personalities. However, there are also special performance acts hosted especially in Australia. Participants from different countries take part in the event whose grandeur is experienced by the music lovers in Australia.   The event also takes place in four different locations.

The Porter five forces analyze the five aspects main of the event and showcases the penetrative nature of the business in the aspect of expansion and business competency. BBC has a very good range of business allocation through their television and radio channel. These channels also help BBC in implementing their promotional and marketing strategies. Thus, the porters’ five forces help in determining the position of a company in accelerating the event.

Competitive rivalry is high for any kind of event, as there is no understatement in case of the best event. Other events may have the crown of the best event due to a more organized approach of presenting the situation and expansion strategies for accessing more celebrity performance (Jones 2014). These includes Didmarton Bluegrass festival, Glyndebourne Opera festival, Harrogate International festival, Southern cathedrals festival, Bunk fest, Hop farm festival, Damnation festival, Download festival, Summer Sundae festival. They represent a bigger festival along with representation of potential competitive atmosphere. Thus, the presence of high competition makes the event better with time.

Analysis of Strengths

Organizing a festival on a grand scale is no cakewalk. Thus, it is a costly process for the other companies to come up and present a show like this grandeur. Therefore, threats from new entrant are lower due to the strict rules and regulation of the government (Yu, Wang and Seo 2012). Customer loyalty and the trust factor is not present for the newer entrants and hence considered a threat.

However, for formatting an event, presence of suppliers in domestic and international market is necessary. Cost rationing along with the accessibility of suppliers’ is a concerning matter of event. For planning an event, organizers’ have to take care of the place of event and volume of supplying material for the company. Therefore, medium bargaining powers of suppliers are present in this scenario. BBC however follows a medium structural demand from its suppliers.

Bargaining power of buyers is high in terms of ticket pricing status of Australia. The event of music organized by BBC is one of the prestigious events of Australia with higher ticket price and accessibility (Quinn 2013). Moreover, most of the tickets for the event get booked before the show. The concerning aspect determines the craze amongst the buyers. However, the emotional attachment of the buyers can be justified through the process of bargaining.

Threats of the substitutes’ remain quite high in case of such events. The reason being the presence of other music festivals in Australia that includes Falls festival, Splendour in the grass, Groovin the Moo, Soundwave, Big Day Out, Pyramid Rock festival and Festival of the sun. These represent bigger music festival in Australia that poses as a threat to BBC. Therefore, it is important for BBC to strengthen the event plan for the extra-ordinary formulation and execution of the event (Ferdinand and Kitchin 2012).

PESTEL analysis represents the potential possibilities of the country in executing such kind of event. The very first aspect is political which focus on updated and current legislation thereby implying the advancement of the Australian government. The presence of transparent legal framework and political environment determines the flow of the event issues in promoting the effectiveness of the event. Organizers however experience a homely atmosphere in Australia (Hudson et al. 2015). Moreover, the event management team embraces the situation in UK which places the music event of BBC in the right manner.

Economic growths and trends are the most promising aspect for a country. Australia is one of the developed nations in terms of exchange, inflation rates and the choice of the music events. The country however earns a good amount of revenue through the sale of the tickets (Giampaolo et al. 2013). The International economic factor and the situation of local tax imposition represents a situation that pointing towards the industry trends and declining markets.

Analysis of Weaknesses

On the other hand, consumer trends and attitudes remain the concerning aspects of the social trends of Australia. Music events are very much associated with the Australian culture since they seem to represent good culture and music (Gibson and Connell 2012). The country also has a higher media option that helps in highlighting the major events in an effective manner. Australia also faces ethical issues and the mindsets of the people are formulated in a similar manner as in most of the cases. The advertisement, brand image and the value of music programs are considered as unique presentation for the nation and BBC takes advantage of the situation.

Technological innovation and the opportunities for research and development is a factor common to every nation. The magnificence of the event ensures the usage of the automation technologies. However, the implementation of such technological change is quite affordable and hence renowned event organizers can not only adopt but also easily afford such kind of technology.

Environmental factors like climate change did have an impact on an event. Therefore, with the help of the Environment Protection Act of 1974, the event management organization tried to take care of the sound and place of the event (Andersson, Armbrecht and Lundberg 2012). BBC will thus try to control any kind of environmental hazard situation along with limiting the pollution level.

The legal factor consists of all the legal aspects that are necessary for delivering a grand show. These legal aspects include the legal permits, protection issues relating to the event. However, BBC has to abide by certain government rules for maintaining their position in Australia. The legal aspects of the event had to be controlled in a proper manner since it was one of the biggest festivals taking place.

There are seven facets of event design and through these facets event understanding and successful completion of an event is sustained. The facets include Catering, Content, Entertainment, Environment, Production, Program, and Theme.

In case of catering taste of the cuisine and flavour is associated with theme and design of the event. With the initiation of food and drink prohibition, the organizer had to design the catering in a manner so that the event has an enhancing outcome and the catering become a profane character of that event.

In case of content, events can be organized for different purposes like music, culture, education, art, business or sports and these events represents social gathering of  people for the purpose of enjoyment. On the other hand, the promotional aspect refers to the rich contents that needs showcasing in a manner so that it acts as a core attraction for the event’s development.

Analysis of Opportunities

However, entertainment is the most attractive part of an event. Attendees accumulate in a place to get some entertainment although the form of entertainment varies in different states. There are four genres of entertainment like dance, storytelling or theatre, singing or music events, athletes and their sports events. Such events are organized solely for the entertainment of the people.

The environment is another facet of the event and has two significant parts, décor and venue. Décor reflects the thematic overview innovatively aligned with the setting whereas the venue represents a selected place where the event will take place. Core designing of the event and the event backdrop is related to the venue and hence it is an important factor to be considered by the organizer.

The staging quality of the performance and the event performance is considered as production. The tenting process, flooring process or the stage and performance from the professionals represents the permanent structure of the staging.

The next facet is program and incorporation of theme with the agenda of the event design. Some of the incorporated principles and structural engaging provides better event engagement in that case.

The theme represents the last facet of the event. The entire event is associated with the theme so it acts as a supportive matter for the event and ensures its alignment with the theme. Neon garden Love boats, Classic China are event themes that have created an impact on the audiences and people love to experience these kinds of innovative themes.

In case of BBC Music Festival, the stage, light, makeup and the overall looks are not only glorious but also stunning. This kind of thematic presentation is quite applicable in Venice but in case of Australia, the situation and cost along with other desired things needs to be considered. In Australia, audiovisual service requires a high-quality box along with multi-screen multimedia presentations. The atmosphere is made dramatic with the reflection of light on the stage and hence light technician play a vital role for an event-taking place in Australia.

Market planning depends on specific aspects of the business. Market research is a crucial part of the market planning that analyzes the market size, industry habits, and current growth and current trends in the market. The target market for the event is the people of all ages and classes. The music performed in the BBC Weekend Music Program is suitable to the audience of all ages. Positioning refers to the creation of the perception of customers about a particular brand, product or service in relation to the rival brands or products (Danaher et al. 2014). It helps in providing a competitive advantage to the event, such as the BBC Weekend Music Program. In many cases, the events are organized within a very short period of time, making some of them overlap. In those cases, the choice of the events by the people corresponds to the successful positioning strategy implemented by the event organizers. The event organizers must adopt relevant marketing strategies, as a part of the market plan to make it successful and popular among the audience. The management should also do the budget planning efficiently o maintain the profitability.

Analysis of Threats

7P’s of marketing is the tool for marketing mix, used by the organizations to analyze the influencing factors for launching the brand, product or service and formulate the strategies accordingly (Armstrong et al. 2015). The 7P’s are Product, place, price, promotion, people, processes and physical evidences.

People are the first aspect of the marketing mix and their initiation and involvement are the most important factors to evaluate the event. If people are not interested in the show, then a huge loss is expected for the management of the event (BlEšI? et al. 2013). Process refers to the steps through which a product or service is delivered to the customers. In case of the BBC music event, it is a service and entire event planning was done to make it perfect.  All segments have a supervisor to flow the event in a correct manner. Physical evidence of this service is the entertainment for which the customers are paying. This is intangible but the customers are deriving pleasure for this, and pay a price. The product of the event is the music show, meant for entertainment of the people. Place of the event is also important. The right place can gather more people in the event. Price of the ticket of the event is the matter of concern for the organizers as the audience would want an affordable ticket. The organizers must put a price, which will be at the breakeven point of the cost-benefit analysis (Hede and Kellett 2012). Promotional strategy is another important aspect in this kind of event as only promotional strategies can attract the audience. This will involve the television and radio media of BBC.

In Australia, there are different communities of people having very different economic profiles. Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has provided the census report and it shows the wide range of communal difference in Australia (Ziakas and Boukas 2014). Through the reports of the Australian Taxation Office, the turnovers in small and medium businesses have been identified and this statistics highlights the financial condition of the Australian people. The economic conditions of the people of the particular region of the venue as well as that of the people who are interested to attend the show are important for the business while choosing the target audience. The sociological impact is long lasting in Australia and that is the reason music events have a significant impact on the culture in Australia. The love for music and their open mindset with music and cultural event showcase the diverse mentality of the people belonging to different age groups and income classes of Australia. Hence, the organizers of the event have chosen people of all ages and all income classes as their target audience.

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

Power distance measures how the people of a culture view the power relationships, that is, superior and subordinate relationships between the people. A high power distance score of a country indicates that in that country the less powerful people accept the power that is spread unequally. According to the country comparison score, Australia and UK both are in almost same position with similar score, which means the power distribution and acceptance during the anevent management process will be more or less similar in both the countries. In case of individualism score, this indicates whether the emphasis is put on encouraging individuality rather than on the collective society. Australia and the UK both have almost similar high score in individualism and both the countries place high value to the individulaity and prefrences. The Australians have the similar individualistic mentality as in the UK and that is the reason BBC has set the place in Perth, Australia. The masculinity score depicts the competitiveness of the country along with preference for achievement, assertiveness, material rewards and heroism. It is seen that although both the countries have moderate scores, with both the traits of femininity and masculinity present in the society, UK is little more masculine than Australia. In case of organizing a cultural event, the attitude of cooperation and caring for the wellbeing of the society is reflected in Australia compared to in UK. Uncertainty avoidance score reflects the level of uncomforting feeling of the country or society in case of ambiguity, risks and uncertainty. This is the risk factors of the events and in this case, BBC will confront more challenges as the music event will make their mark in the international music arena. UK has more relaxed attitude towards uncertainty than Australia (Knight et al. 2013). Hence, the Australians are more rigid towards the uncertain factors of the events. The long-term orientation score of Australia is quite low than the UK. Hence, it can be said that, normative culture is present in Australia and that gives high value to the traditional cultural events. The indulgence score is slightly higher in Australia than in the UK. This means that the Australians prefer to enjoy life more and have fun. This attitude helped the event to gain popularity.

There are many barriers in a sustainable event operation and execution, especially in case of overseas events. Environmental issues are the most common barriers for this type of events. Government permission is needed in such cases along with the permission from Go Green operation team to use the venue in a way so that there is no further damage. Safety of the audience is another challenge that needs to be taken care by the management. Ensuring the safety and security of the audience is the responsibility of the event organizers. Political barriers are mitigated by the management of the event and Australian government has cooperated with BBC to execute the show without any political barrier (Hudson and Hudson 2013). From the point of view of socio-demographical context, the Australians encourage such international events, as those provide a platform for new talents and also provide entertainment to a large section of the society. Some legal barriers also arise regarding the terms and conditions of the event, which can be handle through proper legal advice and steps taken accordingly.

PESTEL Analysis

Following are the recommendations needed for mitigating the barriers and problem situations of the event, especially in the implementation of the marketing mix. Since, people are the most important factor for such kind of events, the promotional strategy must incorporate the activities that can draw maximum number of audience. Using hoardings, billboards, digital and print media are the most convenient options for promotional activities, which can help in generating interest about the music event among the target audience. Some discount offers should be given to the audience, if they buy more than one ticket to the music show. The event organizers, that is, BBC can engage some popular Australian celebrities to draw some audience. Apart from that, BBC should encash its reputation across the world, that is, the brand image to create an interest or loyalty towards the music show among the audience.

Conclusion

From all the facts and findings stated earlier, it can be concluded that, BBC can make their mark in Australia, but there are certain barriers and obstacles, which arise during organization of the music event. Through the PESTEL analysis, the opportunities and challenges of hosting an international event in Australia were analyzed. According to the HOFSTEDE dimensions analysis, almost all the scores are relatively similar between UK and Australia, and that suggests that BBC will face similar situations while organizing the music show in Australia as in the UK. All the facets of event management are quite similar and that helps in execution of the program. Technological factors, social acceptability, political and legal support and economic aspects are addressed by BBC while hosting the music event in Perth, Australia and this makes the BBC music show an international weekend festival in Australia.

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