Similarities and Differences in Perspectives of Various Authors
Event management is the process that involves overseeing the logistics, which is leading up to an event. Event managers execute the plans of the events by managing vendor relationships, finances, staff, and so on. Event management includes various functions to execute large events that might include conventions, trade shows, ceremonies, festivals, concerts, or conferences. This also involves handling the logistics of the event conducting project management and working with the staff of the event (Jones 2017). Additional tasks will also be included in event management such as managing the event budget. This study will discuss the similarities and differences between the views or perspectives of various authors of the articles chosen for this study. This study will also select a case study related to event management, which will be analyzed in this study. This study will also identify whether the chosen case study related to event management has the WOW factor or not.
The similarity of the chosen articles is event management. The authors of the articles have expressed their perspectives related to events and the management of various events. Another similarity of these studies is all the studies are based on qualitative research, where, secondary sources have been used for collecting the data and conducting the studies. However, few differences can be found in all the studies such as different types of events, different situations, and different management. The study conducted by Berridge (2012) talks about the differences between the way in which one event planner plans the event and the way in which the clients receive the event experience. This study is quite different from the other study, where the studies discuss any single context, this study provides the view of both sides, which helps in understanding the nature of the planned event experience by investing the differences. This study has also another uniqueness in that is this study is based on the experiential theory for demonstrating various types of experiences of the guests.
The studies conducted by Goldblatt (2008) and Brown and James (2004) are quite similar to others as both the studies discuss the events related to festivals and ceremonies. From the perspectives of both authors, event management encompasses risk management and financial management, bidding and proposal, protocol and publicity, marketing, environmental, access, legal issues, site, and production management. Another similarity of both the studies is that both the studies discuss the history of event management.
The research carried out by Richards, Marques & Mein (2014) discusses the design of events, where multiple different approaches have been taken to design the event and this can be approached as the simple physical act of arranging and managing the event elements. This study is different from the other studies as this study provides the fundamental information on event design and management, whereas the other studies have focused on the various others elements of event management. However, this study is a little similar to the study conducted by Berridge (2012) as both the studies apply theory and approaches to supporting the context of event management.
The Chosen Case Study
On the other hand, the study conducted by Brown (2019) is different from the other studies because this study discusses the distinctive visual identity of the events like games. This study has included information related to the instruction of the event design feature. In this study, the author has used EventScapes as the analytical framework for examining the relationship between environment and events. Because of this, the study became complex. While considering the complexity of the study, another study can be mentioned as similar to this study that is conducted by Brown and James (2004). The study conducted by Event Scotland (2014) also has a similar part to the study done by Brown (2019) which is the event of games and sports. This study by Event Scotland (2014) is based on two types of events such as an athletics/running festival and a mid-scale multi-arts festival.
The chosen case study for this study is the company summer festival in West Sussex. The aim of this event was to plan an event for the employees of a company and for their families too. In this event, the event manager needed plenty of outdoor space for about 600 guests and the event manager selected Tulley’s Farm in Crawley, which was perfect for the office festival that they were planning (mgnevents.co.uk 2022). The event manager of this event used some outhouse spaces so that they can offer the guests shelter in that event if rain occurs at any time. However, the outhouse provided shade to the guests from the Sun. The event manager has also created the outside stage area, which is covered by the open-ended marquee. Giant bean bags, deck chairs, and straw bales were provided to the guests for seating so that the guests can enjoy the impressive line-up of the six brands. The event had food, lighting, a marquee, DJ, dancefloor, venue map, and other fun machinery for the employees and their families. This study is also somehow unique from the other studies as the author of this study has listed down some questions, which must be considered while making up any event or program as this will provide the solid base from which the event manager will be able to form the event. This is the key point, which is making the study different from other studies but one. The study by Brown and (mgnevents.co.uk 2022) also listed some questions for the reference of the event planner or manager so that they can have the answers to the questions that can lead to successful event planning and management.
According to Richards, Marques and Mein (2014), the design thinking, Imagineering, and service design theory are related to the design of the above-discussed event. Design thinking theory in event design and management will bring the direction and structure to the planner and the guests by deconstructing the design process of the event, which will lead to better alignment of the business goals and objectives, evolving demands of attendance and technology platform. The goal of the design thinking theory will be to create communities of committed people with like-minded interests. Design thinking theory will require to get at the forefront of the thinking of all the people (Bjögvinsson, Ehn and Hillgren 2012). While applying the design thinking approach, some stages might be considered like empathizing that will allow the team members to gain the insight into the needs of the guests, define the key needs as well as challenges needing a new solution, ideate for accomplishing the collaborative environment, a prototype for producing the scaled-down versions of various new ideas and lastly test for getting feedback.
Design Thinking Theory in Event Design and Management
Imagineering theory can play a vital role in event design strategy. This approach will entail value innovation and value creation from the experience perspective. This approach will fit with various ideas closely and will also help in securing the positive output of the events. The process of Imagineering can be organized by creating as well ss managing the experiences of the guests based on the internal values of the target group (Richards 2014). This theory aims to create the emotional involvement of the stakeholders for getting multiple ideas related to event design. Imagineering theory will help in developing innovative and creative ideas as well as event planners can plan and design the event in a unique way.
Service design theory or approach in event design can establish itself as the academic and practice discourse. This is the multi-disciplinary domain, with which the workers from various domains can work properly. The key to the service design theory is the interaction, which can occur from effective communication. With this approach, all the stakeholders need to acknowledge the existence of other stakeholders and should give respect to their perspectives related to event design. This approach will also help in mapping out the journey of the customers by identifying the processes, which constitute the service, establishing the time schedule of the journey, and isolating the possible failed parts (Miettinen and Valtonen 2014). The service design approach will highlight the strengths and will help in differentiating one event from others, will develop the experience of the customers, will also develop the event for matching a better understanding of the needs of the users and improve the usability and functionality.
The goal of the Sussex event for a company was to plan an event for the employees of a company and for their families too. In this event, the event manager needed plenty of outdoor space for about 600 guests and the event manager selected Tulley’s Farm in Crawley, which was perfect for the office festival that they were planning. The event planner also set up a funfair for the families, who were involved in the event. Several WOW factors were there in the event. WOW factor in an event includes quality space, mood lighting, hiring a marquee, dancefloor with DJ, special effects machinery, colors, and so on. All these things can be seen in the Sussex company event. The funfair included excellent helter-skelter and ferries wheels for keeping people of all ages happy and entertained. There were activities like face painting along with other fun activities mainly for children. There were also informal street foods, which was one of the perfect catering choices and the guests of the event enjoyed mac’n’cheese, noodles, and burritos. Other foods were there like candyfloss, ice cream, and others and the event planner planned everything so well by ensuring that there was plenty of food for the guests. Occupying the large land of the venue, various elements were there, which were tied together with a huge number of bunting, festoon lights, and festival flags (mgnevents.co.uk 2022). Another WOW factor of the event is the map for the venue. The event planner also had the site map for the guests so that the guests can explore the venue on their own without any assistance. In the evening, the event manager created the club area inside the outhouse, where the DJ kept all the guests dancing and singing for hours. This also comes under the WOW factor of an event. All of the time, the guests of the company enjoyed themselves a lot and also gave good feedback about the event planner, which will help them to get more guests in the future. Therefore, considering the solution to the Sussex event, this can be said that the chosen case study has several WOW factors, which indicates that the event was a successful and fun event for them as their guests as well.
Conclusion
This can be concluded from this study that an event is a live multimedia package with a modified, customized or preconceived concept, where one event management company plans and designs an event for the guests to give them happiness and fun. Event management is the process of planning, organizing, and designing various events like ceremonies, festivals, concerts, virtual events, birthdays, charitable events, and so on. In event managing, the team members along with the planner and manager need to perform various tasks at the time as well as they need to ensure that everything is going as per the plan. Event management is utilized as the most useful tool for marketing any company and its products for attracting more customers. This study has discussed the similarities and differences of six provided articles, where the paper has highlighted the view and perspectives of the authors. This study has also chosen a case study related to event management that is the company summer festival in West Sussex. The aim of this event was to plan an event for the employees of a company and for their families as well. This paper has also identified three theories for supporting the event design process such as design thinking, service design, and Imagineering. This study has also identified all the WOW factors of the case study effectively.
References
Berridge, G. 2012. Event Experience: A Case Study of Differences Between the Way in Which Organizers Plan an Event Experience and the Way in Which Guests Receive the Experience. Journal Of Park & Recreation Administration, 30(3), 7-23.
Bjögvinsson, E., Ehn, P. and Hillgren, P.A., 2012. Design things and design thinking: Contemporary participatory design challenges. Design issues, 28(3), pp.101-116. Brown, G. 2019. Eventscapes: Transforming Place, Space and Experiences. Routledge.
Brown, S. and James, J. 2004, ‘Event design and management: ritual sacrifice?’ in Festival and Event Management: An international arts and culture perspective, Yoeman, Ian; Robertson, Martin; Ali-Knight, Jane; Drummond, Siobhan & McMahon-Beattie, Una (eds.), Routledge, London.
Event Scotland 2014, ‘Chapter 6: The programme’ in Event Management: A practical guide, retrieved 09 April 2022, https://www.visitscotland.org/binaries/content/assets/dot- org/pdf/events/event-management-guide/chapter-06—the-programme.pdf
Goldblatt J. 2008, Chapter 2 ‘Models of Global Event Leadership’ in Special Events: The Roots And Wings Of Celebration [e-book]. Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
Jones, M., 2017. Sustainable event management: A practical guide. Routledge.
mgnevents.co.uk, 2022. Company Summer festival in West Sussex – MGN Events. [online] MGN Events. Available at: <https://www.mgnevents.co.uk/corporate-case-study/company-summer-festival-in-west-sussex/> [Accessed 9 April 2022].
Miettinen, S. and Valtonen, A., 2014. Service design methods in event design. In Event Design (pp. 41-52). Routledge.
Richards, G., 2014. Imagineering events as interaction ritual chains. Event design, social perspectives and practices, pp.30-40.
Richards, G., Marques, L. and Mein, K., 2014. Introduction: Designing events, events as a design strategy. In Event Design (pp. 17-29). Routledge.
Richards, G., Marques, L., & Mein, K. (Eds.). (2014). Event design: Social perspectives and practices. Routledge.