EVENT MARKETING MIX (8Ps)

There is a total of 8Ps in the event marketing mix: Product, Place, Promotion (Communication), Partnerships, Packaging and Distribution, Programming, People and Price. However, I will be elaborating more on what I’ve have chosen which is Product, Promotion Place and People. 

Product:

It is important to know what the potential customers need, want and what they are willing to pay for so, a product is seen as an item to satisfy them. A product has 4 levels: Core Product, Facilitating Products, Supporting Products and Augmented Product.

Core product refers to what the buyer is really buying. The Singapore Arts Festival’s core product is the entertainment and experience that the visitors gain when they attend the arts festival. The main reason why the visitors attend the Singapore Arts Festival is simply because they want to appreciate and know more about the arts and culture. So the core product can also be education.

Facilitating products refers to goods or services that must be present for the guest to use the core product. In other words, facilitating products help to facilitate the core product. The Singapore Arts Festival’s facilitating products is the programmes (The Flight of the Jade Bird, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Vertical Road, FLUX etc), workshops/master class (music writing, unleash the beast, the delicious moving body etc), performances and music.

Supporting products refers to additional products offered to add value to the core product. The supporting product for the Singapore Arts Festival would be café, bar, brochures, information and ticketing counter, festive village calender, festive village map, directory sign and the ambassador.   

Augmented product includes accessibility, atmosphere, customer interaction with the service organisation, customer participation and customers’ interaction with each other. The augmented product for the Singapore Arts Festival would be transport such as the Esplanade MRT station, the relaxing atmosphere and service provided by the ambassador such as guiding. 

Promotion:

Promotion refers to the full range of “communication mix” including advertising, sales promotions, public relations, personal selling and direct marketing.

The Singapore Arts Festival provides information for the public through advertisement mainly at the MRT stations. Posters about Singapore Arts Festival 2012 can be seen everywhere especially at Esplanade MRT station. In addition, there is a short advertisement being shown on the television that can be found in the MRT station. Advertisement on MRT stations can reach out to people who always take train as their transport. So the people can read and watch the advertisement while waiting for the train. 

There are also other forms of advertising such as brochures and online social networking. There are many different types of brochures can be found at the information counter. Online social networking such as Facebook and Twitter are used to reach out to people especially teenagers because these people spend most of their time using internet. The Singapore Arts Festival has its own webpage too. (http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/). There are also videos being uploaded on Singapore Arts Festival’s YouTube channel. As many people are using iPhone gadget nowadays, Singapore Arts Festival created an application for iPhone users so they can easily access it. Details about Singapore Arts Festival 2012 can be found in the Singapore Arts Festival application. Also, iPhone users can check out what is happening new at the Singapore Arts Festival. There is also QR reader inside the application so people can just simply use their phone to scan the QR code.

Singapore Arts Festival also come up with sales promotion. They have 3 different types of sales – Pre - Sales, Early Bird Sales and General Sales. They can enjoy up to 20% discount off tickets with terms and conditions apply. In addition, full – time students, NSFs and senior citizens also can get 20% discount off tickets. 

Place:

Singapore Arts Festival 2012 is held at Esplanade Park which is located near the Esplanade. It is very convenience for visitors to visit as there is Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations, bus stop and taxi stand nearby. The nearest MRT station is Esplanade MRT station. It is just a few minutes walk from the station to the Esplanade Park. In addition, Esplanade Park is located in the central area of Singapore. Singapore most popular tourist attractions such as Singapore River and Singapore Flyer are located near to the Esplanade Park. Also, buildings such as Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade – Theatre on the Bay and Fullerton Hotel are around its surrounding. It is a great location because many people, be it locals or tourists, will be around the area. So, it can attract the people to come for the event.

The Esplanade Park turns into Festival Village for this arts festival. Here is a map of the Festival Village. 

As you can see from the map, the area is being organised into different sections such as Main Stage, Kids Arts Village, Black Box, Festival Café, Festival Bar, Ticketing & Information Booth and others. Visitors can go to the different section without getting confuse and mix up because all the sections are separated and there are directory sign to guide the visitors. The main stage is a place where the village music shows are performed at there. The layout of the main stage is huge as performances such as FLUX needs spaces to perform. Kids Arts Village is an area for children. The activities such as Tangle are designed in a colourful way where children love the most. Also, one of their programme, Spooky Stories by Children, make use of the park efficiently as many historical landmark such as Tan Kim Seng Fountain, Lim Bo Seng Memorial are located there. So this can actually add to the atmosphere of the environment. The Ticketing & Information Booth is set up at the main entrance of the event. This makes it easy for the visitors to view the various programmes they want to join and to make any purchase of the tickets to the ticketed programmes.

People:

The people you can find in Singapore Arts Festival are the staffs, ambassadors, performers, surveyors, visitors and the café waiters. All of them play an important role in representing the Singapore Arts Festival. Without them, Singapore Arts Festival will not be successful. The role of staff is to provide training for the ambassadors to make sure that all of them are well-equipped. There are many different roles of ambassadors. Some ambassadors are in charge of giving direction to the visitors, controlling the crowds, distribution of brochures, providing information about the shows while others are in charge of helping out the various activities. There is a form of interaction given between the ambassadors and the visitors because visitors will approach the ambassadors for help in giving directions. Many ambassadors are scattered around the festival so that visitors can reach out to them easily. They can be easily spotted because all of them are wearing the bright pink official festival ambassadors T-Shirt. As for the performers, their role is to entertain the audiences. They must get the audiences to be engaged and involved. This can be considered a form of interaction too. The visitors play an important role in this festival. Without the visitors, nobody will be able to play their various roles in helping the festival. For example, the performers won't have anyone to see their performances, the cafe waiters won't have anyone to serve etc. So the role of visitors is to bring in fun, joy and laughter. All the people must be enthusiastic about their role in order for festival to be successful. 

Overall, I think that the event marketing mix that had been adopted in the Singapore Arts Festival is very effective in contributing towards the success of this festival. The product really satisfy the needs and wants of the consumer. I can see that most of the visitors especially the children are enjoying themselves in this festival. The promotions are successful as it can be reach to many people through advertisement on MRT station, online social networking, brochures, online videos and iPhone application that Singapore Arts Festival used. Also, sales promotion such as Pre-Sales, Early Bird Sales and General Sales are used. The place that this festival is held is quite convenient to many people as different transports available nearby. Furthermore, it is situated in a place where surroundings are all the Singapore most popular tourist attractions. So, it can attract more visitors to attend this festival. Singapore Arts Festival made up of people that play an important role in contributing to the success of this festival. Hence, I think all the components used are effective in contributing to the success of this festival. 

Reference:

Temasek Polytechnic. Festive and Events Lecture 4: Marketing Part 1

Temasek Polytechnic: Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism Lecture 6: Designing & Managing Products

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix