The Importance of Event Management

Discuss about the Resident Valuation of Planned Events.

Event management and event studies are an important discipline of study as it informs and equips the aspiring event manger to learn the various aspects of an event. Organizing an event is not an easy task and involves intense brainstorming. This paper is concerned with the establishment of a small business in Barrie that would specialize in authentic Indian chicken recipes. The highlight of the restaurant will butter chicken. To create awareness about the brand and generate excitement the brand has hosted a launch event in the Georgian College as it would attract the potential customers who can easily visit the event owing to the strategic geographical location. The paper discusses on the risk managements and risk assessments, SWOT analysis of the business, marketing plan and marketing the business, critical path, evaluation form, meeting room requirements, assessment from the evaluation form and a discussion on the chosen geographical location.

Events may be leisure for some and workplace for another group. It may be entertainment parks, musical events, firework displays and carnivals (Bhatt, Manadhata, & Zomlot, 2014). The event manager has the responsibility of coordinating with different groups, allocating tasks to each of the teams and ensuring risk assessment and risk management framework is present. According to Razin, (2017), the task of the event manger also is to understand the feasibility of the event. Organizing a multicultural event can be a daunting and industrious task for the event manager (Gration, Raciti, Getz  & Andersson, 2016). Event studies enable to evaluate the asset prices that includes the price of the stocks, CDs or bonds. Event management in concerned with the strategy of efficient capital markets. Event study can be defined as a systematic examination of the impact of an event on the price of reaction.

For the purpose of the event, the brand plans to serve chicken in functions and other festivals. Therefore, the brand will contact the organization that host functions and events on food in the Barrie area are CGT Management and Admiral Live

The term risk management refers to the identification of risks, assessment of risks and formulating strategies that would help in managing the risks (Bull et al., 2016). Risk management plan and business impact analysis are important for the creating a business plan. A thorough understanding of risks associated with business enables to understand the problem areas and thereby act on the risks. A perusal of the risks  helps in recovering the business in case of potential loss. The risk management plan comprises of a detailed and step-by-step strategy that comprises of the blueprint to deal with risks.

Strength- The strength of the brand lies in its zeal to provide authentic Indian flavors to the immigrant population especially the students who have migrated to Canada and are desperately in lookout for taste that reminds them of their home. Since the brand is planning to begin its venture through the festivals and functions, the brand will be able to collect feedback and improve its recipes and strategies accordingly. This will enable the brand to conquer a greater market and expand its potential customer base. The brand will have its in-house ingredients and secret recipe for the preparation of chicken. This will give the brand an edge above others. To retain the authenticity of home-made chicken, we will use equipments and instruments used at home.

Risk Management and Business Impact Analysis

Weakness- One weakness of the brand may be that there will be competition from other brands. People who are vegetarians will not feel enthusiastic about the venture as they will feel alienated from the consumption of chicken. People who are health conscious will feel disinterested in the brand as the brand is known for weaving up spicy and rich Indian recipes.

Opportunity- We are planning to make extensive use of technology to promote our new business venture. The company will be promoted via social media. The brand is planning to expand its business to other parts of the city. Once the brand reaches to a wider audience, the brand can expand itself to different places in Canada. A range of grocery stores have cropped up in Barrie and therefore, it would be sensible to sell the products in those grocery store before expanding our base as a stand-alone store.

Threats- the business might be prone to competition from other established brands and this might encroach the market of the brand. Some of the rivals in the business are Taj Bistro, Tara Indian Cuisine and Twisted Indian.          

The term marketing plan refers to a document that comprises of a marketing strategy and techniques ( Dilek & Kesgingöz, 2016). The marketing plan is concentrated on a specific period. It addresses a range of market related details that include the goals, cost and the action steps. The market plan acts as the roadmap by providing directions and guidelines regarding the establishment of business. The purpose of market plan is that it needs to be referred to and results generated should be put through continuous assessment. Experts in the field of business studies recommend that there should be an elaborate and comprehensive market plan. According to Magnan, (2015), marketing is equally crucial just like the products and service being provided by the company. According to Mäenpää & Brandt,(2016), marketing is imperative as without marketing consumers and clients would not be able to know about the brand or seek service from the brand. Some of the features of the marketing plan is that it provides clarity to the market about the goal of the brand, this makes it easier for the interested clients to find the brand (Jones & Jones, 2014). Marketing plan also helps to formulate marketing messages to reach a target market. The messages formulated need to speak directly to the market. Another important feature of the marketing plan is that provides direction about the business. This includes emails, blogging, publicity and advertising. There needs to be a plan for the determination of the best course of plan for business.

Details about the current situation- the objective of Chicken World will be to provide chicken cooked in different styles with a special emphasis on the Indian style. In Canada, there is a dearth of restaurants that serve chicken prepared in Indian style. This is especially a concern for the immigrant population who miss the taste of home-made chicken. Therefore, the restaurant business comprising of Indian ethnic food will definitely make a mark in the market (mission statement). Another aim would be to expand the market and open new chains across the globe (mission statement). The highlight of the restaurant will be butter chicken. The larger aim is to provide premium-quality chicken available across the world. The target market- The target audience will be the immigrant student population in Canada, non-vegetarians and the natives of Canada who are interested to get a flavor of Indian cuisine. The goal is to provide them a slice of their home at an affordable price. Another, target audience will be millenials who love exploring new food. These generation are fond of trying out new food and enjoys experimenting with the culinary style of different culture. They always love experimenting something new. Goals for the period of plan- Firstly, we would establish our business in the Georgian College as it would provide an opportunity to serve the chicken to an international audience. Marketing tactics to be used to reach the market. Once the business is established, different chains of the brand will be opened all over Canada and the there would also be a hike in the criteria of business.

SWOT Analysis

Cost of marketing- The estimated marketing cost will be $120. To market the product popular food blogger of the country will be invited. On the launch day, the venue will be decorated with balloons, festoons and ribbons. To generate excitement about the event, promotion can be done through the channels of lifestyle vloggers and create awareness about the brand. On the day of the event, there will be selfie with the food contest. The best 5 selfie will be provided attractive gift hampers. Our brand will have a logo and there will be the distribution of interesting merchandise.

The term critical path refers to longest sequence of activities in relation to the project plan that must be completed on time. Identification of critical path is crucial for the progress to understand the different aspects that the business need to focus and the areas that cannot be compromised.

• Initiate- This stage involves assessment on the current state of business. We have a new brand and we are motivated to offer authentic Indian taste to the teeming immigrant population in Barrie.
• Discover- This is the stage of business impact analysis. We are aware that our brand may face stiff competition from the established brands in the market.
• Plan and Practice- In this stage, we have researched on the market and the venue to launch the brand.
• Scan and respond- This is the evaluation stage where we will collect feedback from the customers.
• Resume- In this stage we will review the feedback form, examine the problems and work on the potentialities to emerge as the key player in the restaurant business

We will need a large conference sized room where we are going to serve the customers our in-house chicken.

Meeting Evaluation Form

1. Site
2. Location 1 2 3 4 5
3. Food 1 2 3 4 5
4. Service 1 2 3 4 5
5. Meeting room 1 2 3 4 5

Comments and suggestions

1. Meeting 1 2 3 4 5
2. Topic 1 2 3 4 5      
3. Usefulness 1 2 3 4 5
4. Length of meeting 1 2 3 4 5   
5. Interactivity

Comments and suggestions

1. Was the scheduling appropriate?
2. Was there enough time for the people to enjoy the event?

The total budget allotted for the event is $ 500.

PARTICIPANT/TRAINEE SUPPORT COSTS	Amount ($)
Total costs	500
OTHER DIRECT COSTS
Questionnaire	15
Travel	30
Food (ingredients, kitchen cost and labour cost)	350
Venue	195
TOTAL	500

The event enabled us to understand and gauge the audience response to our food. The audience really loved our different preparations like chicken kebab, chicken bharta and especially our specialty butter chicken. However, we realized that we need to tone down the level of the spice as it might not be suitable for the customers who are non-Indians. We are planning to introduce a less spicy version of the butter chicken so that our non-immigrant audience do not feel left out. We are also planning to provide mint and mango chutney as complimentary as we found that the customers were open to such idea.

The selected location for the event will be the Georgian College. The reason behind the selection of this venue is that it is always brimming with the student population and therefore, it will easier to penetrate the target market. The selection of the correct location determines the roadmap of the business. According to McKenzie,  (2017), choosing the wrong location might not cater to the target audience and therefore, would lead to the failure of the business project. The expected attendees of the launch day event will be the residents who live in close proximity to the college. They would prefer to visit this event keeping in mind the location is barely walking distance from their area of residence. Another important reason for choosing this location is that the plaza is located near the highway and therefore, it would boost the customer growth. It would be difficult to alter the exterior of the store and therefore, the emphasis will be on the interior that would be decorated in proper ethnic style. Barrie is a strategic location for the business to flourish. We are planning to participate in tradeshow as it would give boost to our business venture, enable us to know the market trend and also understand the strategies of our rival brands.

Marketing Plan

Conclusion

We are going to contact the CGT Management and Admiral Live who specialize in conducting events throughout the Barrie area. Based on the SWOT analysis it was found that the strength of the brand lies in its specialty of butter chicken prepared authentic ingredients and kitchen equipments that are also used in India.  We believe that it will be popular among the immigrant students who come to Canada for further studies but are unable to find the time to cook for themselves. We expect threats from the rival brands in the market who are already established and may have a loyal customer base. To neutralize the competition we are planning to introduce other varieties of chicken and complimentary chutney that would appeal to the taste of the customers. At the same time, there are plans to come up with an alternative version of butter chicken for those who would prefer less spicy food. We will generously make use of social media platforms and food bloggers to promote the brand and communicate our mission and vision statement. We organized an event in Georgia College to give an opportunity to the target customers to taste our food. The event was well received and the venue was beautifully decorated. Venue has been understood crucial for the success or failure of the business. The feedback collected from the event would enable us to understand the areas we need to improve. We are also planning to approach the local stores to sell our products so that it reaches to a wider market.

Reference

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