Unit 4: Managing an Event
Assignment 3 of 3: Staging an event and reflecting
on its success
1
,Beginning note
Hi guys and welcome to the final paper in Unit 4. You are going to find that this paper might be very
different to the others as you can’t necessarily ‘copy’ my work (if that’s what you have been doing).
Instead approach this essay and use the framework of how I laid things out to create your
assignment. By all means you can copy things such as definitions but make sure you are giving credit
to original sources! Hope you enjoy the paper, Easy.
Staging an Event
Contracts – A contract is a legally-binding agreement between two parties usually where one party
will receive payment in exchange for their services or products 1. Although a contract is not
necessarily needed since the transaction can still go ahead, it does provide legal liability and
accountability for both parties. In the case of event organisers, it provides them with a sense of
security and safety since a contract helps to cover up any misconceptions about what they want
since their supplier understands exactly what they need to do to fulfill the contract otherwise they
could face legal action. However, an event organiser must also uphold this contact and it is very
important for them to do so since they are also susceptible to any legal actions if they do not uphold
it.
Marketing – Marketing is an activity to help distribute information towards potential consumers 2
which would be very beneficial for event organisers since they need to have guests that attend their
event in order to fuel and help their aims and overall goals. Event organisers will usually plan a
marketing campaign month in advance and will perform some form of market research to help
attract a specific audience. An example of this could be online marketing on social media apps such
as Facebook or Instagram where adverts are usually going to focus on younger people. The reason
why marketing is so important is because an event organiser needs to attract larger quantities of
people to their event, since this usually provides greater funding, and some even need marketing to
help attract specific demographics since that is their event’s aim.
Event sponsorship – An event sponsorship is a way of a brand being able to advertise themselves by
sponsoring an event or individual through financial payments or rewards 3. It is usually in an event
organisers interests to have their event being sponsored by another brand for two main reasons.
Firstly, having your event sponsored can drastically cut down expenses which can either just be
saved or used in different aspects of the event in order to make it much more entertaining/
enjoyable for guests. The other reason has to lie with the security that a sponsorship has. As I
previously mentioned, sponsors provide money which can provide strong security to the event
managers. For example, if the budget was planned incorrectly either through an accounting error or
additional costs were added, then event sponsors would usually be able to provide the cash
necessary in order to cover the excess. Consequently, the event would then be to carry on as usual
without any major interference.
Customer Service – Customer service is the way in which you support potential or existing
customers before and after your event has taken place. The main concept behind customer service is
to help retain current customers and expand your business/event. Customer service can take shape
in a wide variety of different ways such as: email, web, text message, and social media and it is done
for the convenience of the customers 4. There are also basic gestures that show customer service,
1
https://study.com/academy/lesson/elements-of-a-contract-for-event-conference-planning.html
2
https://www.ama.org/the-definition-of-marketing-what-is-marketing/
3
https://www.theleadershipinstitute.com.au/2020/02/what-is-event-sponsorship-and-why-it-matters-to-your-marketing/
4
https://www.salesforce.com/products/service-cloud/what-is-customer-service/
2
, and they can have huge impacts upon your guests. This can include things such as smiling, making
your guests feel welcome, be polite and use appropriate language when necessary, and other similar
things. A study conducted by ‘Guusje Nagels’ from Tilburg University discovered the psychological
impact that good manners have on individuals and during her thesis, she explains the direct
emotional link between politeness and happiness 5. If good customer service can be presented to the
attendees, then the event is more likely to become a success since a higher positive mood will yield
more motivation and overall enjoyment.
Security – Security is one of the most important things event managers need to ensure is done
correctly before their event takes place. Having good security allows for your attendee’s safety since
you are taking responsibility for them so checking guests for items such as drugs or weapons is a
must since they can inflict huge amounts of harm for individuals. Security can be done in many
different ways ranging from, removing problematic guests, controlling large crowds in a live festival,
and ensuring that the event is a safe place for guests and there is minimal risk of them getting hurt.
Procedures to ensure tasks are completed – Planning ahead is a key concept into ensuring that an
event can be ran the way it is intended to be but making sure those tasks are completed is a
different matter. Putting procedures into place to help the probability of those tasks be completing is
a very important tool that event managers need to account for, especially since they cannot predict
what is going to happen in the future. Keeping a log or database of any issues that occur will help the
event planning become much smoother since it allows for readjustment and can delegate staff to
deal with them rather assuming it will fix itself. Regular team meetings are another great way into
making sure that tasks are completed since this not only allows the staff to know whether they are
on track, but it also reviews that all the staff know and fully understand what their roles are.
Health and Safety – Health and Safety is a term that usually covers the main legal requirements that
are found within the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974 6 with points such as protecting
individuals from any potential hazards. When event managers are planning their event, it is critical
for them to evaluate the potential hazards that could occur during their event which is why they
usually complete and adhere to a risk assessment. In addition to this, managers and staff will always
be monitoring the event and deal with problems before they become a greater issue and disturb the
attendees and the event itself.
Communication – The final key aspect event managers need to plan their event is communication. In
communication, you need to know how many staff you need for your event before starting since this
will drastically alter the overall fluidity of planning. A wide variety of factors are included within this
process such as the number of guests attending, the size of the venue, the duration of the event and
then it is up to the event manager to analyse and come to a rational conclusion 7. There are multiple
forms of communicating with your staff, but some are much more effective than others. Verbal
communication such as presentations or group meetings are very useful in delivering information to
your staff and it allows for discussions in the case that people do not understand what their roles are
or what they need to do later. Non-verbal communication refers to actions such as facial
expressions, tone of voice, body language etc. and the reason this is needed is because it can directly
impact the overall effectiveness and motivation of a group. An event manager who sulks and does
not exhibit confidence cannot spark any sort of motivation in a group unlike someone who is
energetic and is confident in the way they speak and look. The final main way to communicate with
staff is through written communication. When organising an event, you are not always going to be
5
http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=146999#:~:text=The%20results%20showed%20a%20significant,neutral%20mood%20of%20the%20receiver
6
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents
7
https://www.nosh.co.nz/articles/how-many-event-staff-should-i-have
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