Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival - Case Study Example

EVENT MANAGEMENT: ANALYTICAL REPORT Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival: Mexico Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival is an annual event in the Mexican calendar. The event usually makes an annual expose at the Dallas guitar festival, a famous festivity in the US marking 35th year in 2012. It is no doubt among the largest guitar experience in North America. The guitar trade show brings on board many music fans, attendees, guitarists and manufacturers of guitars to the three days event (Lougheed 2008). It is characterized by pomp and zeal of live night music and attended by well known Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Texas blues legend and Carolyn wonderland among others (Damm S 2011). This festival is governed by the non-profit civil association of Mexico. The activities involve raising funds to perform arts and cultural projects within the community. The Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival of March 5-11, 2012 had over 1450 people attending, a gala dinner, cocktail party and 8 bar shows. Also performed were a children’s concert of over 500 school children and Zihuatanejo International Guitar public presentation to over 3,000 music lovers (Lougheed 2008). Event theory The event is held in March every year with increasing popularity and pomp. The Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival is a favorite to artists, locals and tourists who love the pacific coast setting. For the event to be livelier, it has grown to adopt certain features and organization characterized by elaborate publicity, event design and presentation and scheduling (Kilkenny, S 2011). With growing popularity the event organizers have utilized impacts and evaluation, event public policy and management to ensure that each year is appreciated from strength to strength. The theory of these aspects will be discussed below (Mallen & Adams 2008). Event Impact and Evaluation The impact of any event is measured by evaluating the levels of influence on economic, social and environmental discourse (Carter, L 2007). Economic impact of any event is identified by looking at the total expenditures generated in an area and entails a more conspicuous result of hosting the event. Economic determination is all time powerful technique to capture and depict any financial benefits arising from hosting an event such as Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival. Economic impact measurement allows the event planners and shareholders to carry out a credible evaluation on the returns to the investment. In addition, it shows how the events steer economic benefits by allowing the event organizers adopt good practices which tend to maximize the benefits In many events, the visitor expenditure on local hotel and accommodation is the greatest economic impact though expenditure relating to event organizers requires consideration too.. In several instances, an event may have some negative consequences on the environment since some event organizers may be interested in minimization of scarce resources employed in the event which results to jeopardizing event management practices to show commitment of how well they can reduce on expenses (Kilkenny, S 2011). Other organizers will look for more positive impacts to environment by developing a strategy. Environmental effects can be in the form of sustainable event management, waste and transport management. Other considerations are noise pollution, carbon waste streams, CO2 emissions and event energy consumption. The social impact of any event is an important aspect to consider and by no means incomparable. Most event organizers have shown maturity in the capability to have positive results on people and communities within the sphere of influence. Media impact is important in justification for event sponsorship, through shifting or perception enhancement of host destination to increase levels of tourism and investment (Kilkenny, S 2011). Assessment and evaluation of media impact is still in evolution but no means significant. The concerned areas are fit with message, volume, type and the tone. Zihuatanejo international guitar festival: Public policy Every event must comply with health and safety regulations and it should inform the choice of venue and equal access. The aim of the policy is to create safer events and increase safety to communities. The policies must consider adherence to rules and regulations stipulated in various public bodies such as police and local authority. The specific policies should include notification of police, reasons for selection of venue, ages of attendees, security and post-event transport plan. The policy advises on implementation of risk assessment to execute precautions. The precaution list necessitates decision making whether to open the event to the public or not. Licenses ensures that tax and other issues are cleared with the local authority to guarantee use of; alcohol, entertainment, lottery, public collection and signs. License allows permission to use rights of say music, film and TV. Insurance covers the risks assessed while first aid will involve combination of license, risk assessment and insurance. The authorities required to know the presence of the event are the police, fire service, local authority and St. John ambulance. The owner of the property to be used should give permission in writing to avoid any queries and suspicion. Guitar Festival Event Management Management of events involves use of project management tools and techniques to create and develop festivals and events. It entails studying critically the brand, knowing target audience, developing the concept of the event and arranging logistics plans as well as coordinating technical aspects required in executing the modes of the tentative event (Kilkenny 2011). Management also constitutes post-event analysis to enable return to investment determination. Event management comprises devising a marketing and communication tools to target audience through media coverage. Event management companies include hosting corporate and special corporate hospitality events. The event manager has the responsibility of identifying processes, materials, human resources, finances and scheduling techniques (Kilkenny 2011). Event management is therefore a popular and growing industry offering diverse career opportunities for any individual or entities with passion of event organization and management. Event analysis The event is analyzed by considering application of theory on impacts and evaluation, public policy and event management of Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival (Mallen & Adams 2008). Impacts and evaluation of Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival Over the past few years, the festival has promoted community efforts and fundraising activities. More aid through the festival has gone to development of needy schools and educational facilities. The basic economic impacts include the high spectator numbers, non-spectators, the numbers of visiting spectators and attendees and the duration of the event which have brought in much needed funds for cultural and educational objectives in areas like Netzahualcoyotl and Casa de la Cultura (Mallen & Adams 2008). The importance of economic impact is basically to explore the ultimate change in the host economy through establishment of net income in the cash inflows and outflows. The festival helped to raise funds to support the cultural and art projects in Ixtapa- Zihuatanejo like workshops, concerts and exhibitions. On environmental effects, it is increasingly becoming crucial that the organizers of Ixtapa- Zihuatanejo guitar festival event comprehend the impacts of the event to the environment. This should interest the sustainability, effectiveness of cost, sound management and sponsorship funds maximization. There is empirical evidence that delivery and outcomes could be presented in qualitative and quantitative methods. Measurements of social impacts are often aligned to aims and objectives of sponsors (O'Toole & Mikolaitis 2002). By fulfilling the objectives of a given stakeholder is should not form a basis of conclusion of social impact measurement. The event organizer should determine impact by directly or indirectly understanding perceptions and behavior of the people. The impacts are unlikely to take place by chance and usually managed at the instance of occurrence. The event will have aims and objectives if it intends to deliver on specific social indicators. The social impacts are described as satisfaction, identity, image, place and participation. The variables listed are important in evaluation of both pre-event and post event assessment judgment of success (O'Toole & Mikolaitis 2002). The impact in short term is the short-term media coverage while attitudinal behavior coverage runs to the long-term. Fit with message relays objectives of the event by establish strong relationships with the specific events. The message is important to determine the effectiveness and value of media coverage. The fit assesses the goodness of the message in selling the desired information. The fit runs on a number of facets and a strategy. Volume and type indicates event coverage achievement in every target territory while type shows the expected coverage which is closely associated with audience (O'Toole & Mikolaitis 2002). Events of greater magnitude have the ability to marshal large numbers of people and help to develop credible impacts on their livelihoods in a number of ways. There is a possible enjoyment and pleasure from the spectators. At a greater level, creation of opportunity which will change people’s behavior in the long-term is a credit. Social impacts usually are not measured by fixed or numerical ways. Public policy of Zihuatanejo International Guitar festival Ixtapa-zihuatanejo authority has commitment to the support of public event is the area either owned or controlled by the council. The events should be seen to benefit the community and should conform to the values and expectations of residents of Zihuatanejo. Events are policy implications which influence enjoyment, resident and visitors’ safety, the impact of such on the physical and social environment (Lougheed 2008). In addition, there are financial implications of hosting the event and whether there are resources good enough to see the event through. The local authority in Ixtapa-zihuatanejo allows the use of public reserves and halls for any public festivals only if they meet the required criteria. The events are only sanctioned if the public reserves available are used for public interest and to the advantage of local community. Ultimately it reflects the purpose unto which the public reserves were formed. A public festival is an annual event to promote the coastal area (Mallen & Adams 2008). The event organizers are the residents of Ixtapa-zihuatanejo or their organization called non-profit civil association of Mexico. The revenue derived from it is supposed to be used in building schools and handicapped centers. Where possible, the goods and services that are used or sold at the event should be from within Ixtapa-zihuatanejo and to the advantage of local businesses. There should be public event license issued for any annual festival held (Lougheed 2008). Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival Event Management The event involved selection of a committee to oversee development of a program, design and schedule. Other plans included drafting a budget, risks plan, resource plans, communication plans and work break down structure (Oliver 2005). The committee had to seek financial backing from sponsors and authorities which was over $12,000. The residents of Ixtapa-zihuatanejo have been enjoying the festival since 2004 with the presence of Mexican and international musicians. The event was not scheduled to benefit from the winter tourist season. The festival annually brings many musicians to the streets and venues of Zihuatanejo which includes classical, jazz, blues, rock, traditional Mexican folk and flamenco. This guitar festivity is a fully sponsored event in which organizers seek for advertisers and sponsors to support it (Oliver 2005). The event of 5-11 March 2012 was arranged to start with a summer promotion tour which started at Dallas, Texas. The 6 day event involved teamwork of Zihuatanejo festival guitarists, Texas blues legend and Carolyn wonderland. The participants were; president of the festival Catherine Krantz; committee member Heidi Nygaard who graced the opening concert and promotional videos of Ixtapa-zihuatanejo. The event involved assembling resources; musicians, guitar manufacturers, event tools suppliers, food and snacks vendors, ticketing among others. Over 1450 people attended the event which started on 5th March 2012 with a festival kickoff event at the rosy bar and restaurant, an opening concert at the Gian Frank centre was on Tuesday 6th March. Three bar shows were on Wednesday 7th March. In addition, a free children’s’ concert preceded the gala dinner show which was charging between 100 to 250 pesos. The remaining days had bar shows, closing concert and guitar festival presentation events in Zocalo. The events final afternoon enabled downtown streets to be converted into open to the public guitar and street fairs. The vendors were able to sell crafts, luthiers, handmade guitars and those from further afield to display and sell high quality instruments. The musician were from brazil, turkey, Mexico, US and Canada to cover music genres like blues, classical, flamenco, rockabilly, rock and gypsy jazz. The event was a fabulous destination for the entire family by provision of events like sail fishing, accommodation in a five star hotel, traditional and culinary delights. Conclusion The festival can be rated as highly popular in Mexico and abroad with increasing enthusiasm among fans and audience. The event has been known for showcasing music of world class type in seaside locations. Majority of the musicians hail from Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and abroad come to perform in a week of concerts and live shows for a whole week. The events have been able to generate tourism revenues as well as promoting arts and culture in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo with resulting money being used to fund charity projects (Wolf & Levine 2005). The event has been able to borrow from the Dallas international guitar festival by attending the Texas event to no fail. The event has also benefited from event management methods employed which includes planning, implementation and control (Wolf & Levine 2005). Planning an event of this magnitude requires selection of a committee to allocate roles and resources to teams as well as drafting scheduling methods for the entire events. The organizers are also keen to put in elements of quality and satisfaction of attendees by adding sub-events which are deemed to increase fun and create a big enthusiasm. The festival is unequalled by many in Mexico and will continue to be famous from the pomp of activity, attraction of international musicians and tourists who flock to the seaside location to get entertained. The event is therefore critical considering its impacts on local community and economy, whether local laws and regulations are observed and if the event management practices are adhered to the latter. References Read More