Event Marketing Mix adopted in Singapore Arts Festival 2012
For an event to be successful, marketing plays a pivotal role in "creating value for customers and other stakeholders". (Temasek Polytechnic, 2001, Festivals and Events Marketing Lecture 4 Part 1) There are eight components to focus on when marketing an event and this includes:
- Product
- Place
- Partnerships
- Promotion
- Price
- Packaging and Distribution
- Programming
- People
Promotion
Promotion is whereby the organisation communicates and update its consumers everything about them. For promotion, the Singapore Arts Festival 2012 has cleverly engaged SMRT Outdoor Media as one of their promotional tool.
Eye catching posters were put up in concept trains where they were easily seen and read! With over millions of passengers travelling by trains daily, the information that the event wants to bring across will be able to reach out to the young and mature adults. Not forgetting the iVIEWSMRT (which I spotted at Boon Lay MRT Station) whereby the LCD screen shows a sixty seconds digital poster of Singapore Arts Festival at intervals along with other advertisements.
Promotion is whereby the organisation communicates and update its consumers everything about them. For promotion, the Singapore Arts Festival 2012 has cleverly engaged SMRT Outdoor Media as one of their promotional tool.
Eye catching posters were put up in concept trains where they were easily seen and read! With over millions of passengers travelling by trains daily, the information that the event wants to bring across will be able to reach out to the young and mature adults. Not forgetting the iVIEWSMRT (which I spotted at Boon Lay MRT Station) whereby the LCD screen shows a sixty seconds digital poster of Singapore Arts Festival at intervals along with other advertisements.
Banners hanging on lamp posts were also spotted in Orchard Road to inform the locals and tourists of the event. There was a banner at almost all the lamp posts down Orchard Road, so it was really hard not to miss the advertisement.
Other than above the line publicity, non paid advertisement was also used to promote the event. Social media networking has become an integral part of our lives. Using social media such as Facebook and Twitter, the Singapore Arts Festival reaches out to masses!
Not only that, more than 120,000 copies of the Festival Guide were also distributed and placed at the information counter of shopping malls and even museums. A soft copy of the Festival Guide can also be downloaded from its website. Its official website also has a whopping number of 115,824 unique visitors recorded from March to June 2010. Also on the website, there are webisodes where Singapore Arts Festival has engaged Don Richmond to host interviews and showcase various activities at the event.
Here is the first webisode!
Word of mouth plays an important part as well! When asked about how he knew about Singapore Arts Festival 2012, Glenn, a fresh graduate from Temasek Polytechnic answered, "My friends told me about this event. It is my first time here!"
The significant number of people that the Singapore Arts Festival has reached out to, have helped to contribute to its success.The awareness of this event was high and many people knew about the Singapore Arts Festival 2012.
Figures from: Singapore Arts Festival 2012
Partnerships
For partnerships, it is where there is a joint marketing with major stakeholders in producing the event. (Temasek Polytechnic, 2001, Festivals and events Marketing Lecture 4 Part 1) Partnerships allow the organisation to tap on its sponsors' database and reach out to specific target markets.
For instance, discounts were given to card members with the following cards:
- Kinokuniya Privilege Card
- NTUC U Card
- NTUC Plus! Visa Card
- OCBC Credit and Debit Card
- PAssion Card
- SAFRA Card
Working with these sponsors and partners, Singapore Arts Festival provides a platform for them to participate in and at the same time, to meet their organisational goals.
One such significant example would be the Centaur (Manolo Bez and his horse) spotted at a few locations in Singapore. If without supporting partners, the Centaur might not even be able to make its appearances in public!
Price
This year, the Singapore Arts Festival offers more than thirty ticketed and non ticketed programs, ranging from workshops, master classes, dance, music, theatre, experiential and other types of programs such as film screenings. I am sure there is at least a program that will be of interest to you!
Those who are not members also get to benefit during the early bird sales where they were given 20% discount off their tickets to two or more performances. At this juncture, the Friends and Family Package was introduced, offering a similar 20% discount for a minimum purchase of four tickets per show.
Discounts were also given for full time students, National Servicemen, senior citizens and school bookings. The prices for ticketed programs ranges from $12 to $100, and with further discounts, Singapore Arts Festival is here with affordable prices!
Free programs on the other hand, even though they come with no price tag, they are only available at specific timings. Nevertheless, the free programs were as engaging and interesting as well! I really enjoyed myself at the Festival Village and I am sure many others did too.
People
This year, the Singapore Arts Festival offers more than thirty ticketed and non ticketed programs, ranging from workshops, master classes, dance, music, theatre, experiential and other types of programs such as film screenings. I am sure there is at least a program that will be of interest to you!
Pre-sales started in mid-March where a discount of 30% was given exclusively to ArtsFest Club members when they purchase tickets to two or more performances! With over 10,000 ArtsFest Club members to date, Singapore Arts Festival engages directly and creates awareness for its members about the event.
Those who are not members also get to benefit during the early bird sales where they were given 20% discount off their tickets to two or more performances. At this juncture, the Friends and Family Package was introduced, offering a similar 20% discount for a minimum purchase of four tickets per show.
Discounts were also given for full time students, National Servicemen, senior citizens and school bookings. The prices for ticketed programs ranges from $12 to $100, and with further discounts, Singapore Arts Festival is here with affordable prices!
Free programs on the other hand, even though they come with no price tag, they are only available at specific timings. Nevertheless, the free programs were as engaging and interesting as well! I really enjoyed myself at the Festival Village and I am sure many others did too.
People
What will affect our experience at the Singapore Arts Festival? Is it the weather or the programs? Well, they may play a part in making it a wonderful or bad experience but most importantly, the people whom interact with us at the event play a bigger role.
The staff and volunteers who are helping out at the event are the ones who come in contact with the visitors. "The interaction between customers, the setting and the staff constitute a large part of the event experience". (Temasek Polytechnic, 2001, Festivals and Events Management Lecture 4 Part 1)
Lynette, a fresh graduate from Singapore Polytechnic was a volunteer as an Artist Liaison I met at Tangle in Festival Village. She shared with me interesting facts about Tangle and even informed me that at about 8.30pm that night, there was going to be a performance by Flux and told me to standby at the river to "get a good seat".
Another instance was when I was lingering outside the Festival Cafe, looking at the performance that had started inside. One of the staff gestured to me to go in and join them. Immediately, I felt very happy!
Yes, people are very important. They are vital to the success of an event.
Changes
In the previous year, there
had been a stage in the village where one of the productions staged its play.
As compared to the one this year, the stage in 2011 looked more grand as it was
elevated. There was even a pathway built to lead to the outdoor theatre. There were more free programs this year, which also means that more people get to enjoy art!
The poster this year also took to a minimalist look without any photographs. It looks better this way!
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