Origins and Importance, Legal Risk and Management of Winter Wine Weekend - Case Study Example

Winter Wine Weekend [Client’s Name] June 6, 2009 Australians are wine-loving people and their love for wine does not only constitute a big part of its culture but has become a major source of its economic activity as well in the recent years. This can be easily noticed on the effort Australia has made to draw people from within Australia and from various parts of the world to take part in its numerous festivities that features Australian wine and dining. The primary goal of festivities, which was once largely cultural, has shifted into more economic form as it aid in stimulating local tourism during the off-seasons of the year (Lee & Crompton 2003; Macionis 2007). By creating festivals during off-season, local and national governments can draw people to spend their money, especially those who would not have want to spend their money under normal circumstances (Hoffman, Beverland & Rasmussen, 2007; Hall et al 2000). Because festivities go beyond the usual promotion of culture, tradition, and the local attractions as it evolves to affairs that have economic focus behind them, the need to analyze strategic management processes involved in the festivities becomes necessary (Taylor & Shanka 2002). Like businesses, sometimes the results of the extensive planning could be off-tangent to what the organizers initially desired (Lade & Jackson 2004). Thus, it is necessary to subject festivities and other cultural celebrations on an evaluation typically done on for-profit businesses in order to come up with the best future strategic steps. One of its most anticipated and widely acclaimed festivals is the Winter Wine Weekend, a three day regional event that occur annually featuring Australia’s unique selection of food, wine, and songs as a welcome to the Queen’s Birthday weekend in June and as a celebration for the sign that a new season for wines has come. This paper will evaluate the capability of the management behind Winter Wine Weekend to meet its goals and objectives by evaluating the internal and external factors that play integral roles to the organization’s strategic processes. Origins and Importance of Winter Wine Weekend Winter Wine Weekend is celebrated in Mornington Peninsula Wine Region every weekend of the Queen’s Birthday. The festivity starts with a wine-tasting exhibition called the Winter Wine Fest, which is typically done on a Saturday featuring more than 200 of the region’s best wines from more than 50 of its most popular wineries. The festival is celebrated for the rest of the weekend with activities that include visiting the vineyards and tasting the vintages, tasting original Australian food and cuisine prepared by the locals, enjoying good brands over friendly conversations, and weeknights of partying. The very first Winter Wine Festival was held in Arthur’s Restaurant in 1987 and was held in various other locations since then (Weiler, Troung & Griffiths 2004). The importance of this festival, like any other wine festival, is not only about the event’s ability to draw crowd and make people happy and feel festive but also in the ability of the event to make people aware of good wine brands in the region which eventually help the wine region establish a good name in the industry (Hoffman, Beverland & Rasmussen 2007). Similar goals are increasingly pursued by various wine regions in Australia in the recent years as the importance of wine tourism in the country becomes more apparent (Macionis 2007; Yuan et al 2005). More than the need to promote its wineries and brands, Mornington wanted to promote the beauty of its region, the uniqueness of its food and cuisines, and the warmth of its people to the local and international tourists (Weiler, Troung & Griffiths 2004). Winter Wine Weekend served as the main wine tourist attraction in the Mornington Peninsula and its importance in the region is immense. The region’s winery association MPVA (Mornington Peninsula Vigneron’s Association) was among the very first organizations that determined the importance of wine tourism in the country through its local wine producers and thus they formed an organization. This organization later teamed up with various government agencies in order to promote a strong branding and market presence for their wine by embarking on various activities which then evolved into the Winter Wine Weekend (MPVA n.d). Planning MPVA’s management committee is created to establish and maintain policies and provide direction to the association. It is also the main body responsible for the development and the achievement of the region’s wineries’ goals and objectives expressed in broader terms. The objectives of the Winter Wine Weekend are reflected in the objectives of MPVA’s management committee. The main objectives of MPVA falls into four broad categories which are (a) to promote an image of the peninsula as a leading producer of high quality, maritime, and cool-climate wines, (b) to facilitate training and instruction in order to make the industry competitive, (c) become the body that would represent the region to local, national, and international tourism, and (d) to ensure that production and promotion of the region’s wine mirror each other (MPVA, n.d). These objectives are specifically articulated which would give organizations the opportunity to measure how close, or how far, it has come to achieve its goals. Human Resource There are three types of membership programs to MPVA and to the Winter Wine Weekend which are full membership, associate membership, and professional associate. Full members are those who have wineries that are more than 1.6 hectares and holds a liquor license to sell Mornington Peninsula Wines; Associate members are those that have wineries less than 1.6 hectares who does not hold a liquor license; and professional associates needs only be business partners of MPVA members or those who have expressed interest in the Winter Wine Weekend (MPVA n.d.). MPVA offers free promotions and exposure for its members as well as the free technical and commercial trainings they initiate periodically. All members of MPVA will also be listed to the organization’s list of networks in other wine events in Australia and aborad for better advertising. Currently MPVA has 160 members. Sponsorship The main sources of the organization’s funds for operations are the annual membership fees from all types of members, the entrance membership fee that the organization requires its new members, the proceeds of the Winter Wine Weekend, and funds coming from various sponsors. While there is no mention of the detailed list of the benefits sponsors get when they sponsor for the wine weekend, or about the minimum amount sponsors need to shed in order to receive exposure during the activity, it can be safely assumed from the general rule that sponsors that contribute more significant amounts get larger exposure during the whole three-day activity. Although there is no sufficient data available to discuss the financial status of MPVA and where it spends its funds, it is best to assume that the major constitution of the expense incurred for the activity lies in its marketing and promotions, the expenses for the activity itself is assumed to constitute the second largest budget, and the day to day operations of the organization as the third. It is possible that the organization’s main issues in budgeting are: how to appropriate their funds to handle all the expenses incurred by the company; how to get sponsors for the three day festival; and how much to spend for promotion and advertisement for every period. Marketing The success of marketing wine products and wineries lies in the experience of the people on the products (Carlsen & Dowling 2007; Bruwer 2008). If the experience with the one does not elicit something personal in the consumer, chances are the wine will just be another product in the shelf. The main marketing struggle of MPVA is to meet its required number of people to attend the Winter Wine Weekend. Currently, MPVA uses all form of media to promote and advertise its events. One of the main marketing issues that this paper identifies is the lack of interactive interfacing to be found in MPVA website which should provide online markets with a better idea of how the festivities would look like. Weiler, Troung, & Griffiths (2007) have also suggested that MPVA must focus its marketing efforts in each market segments to increase the profitability of the Winter Wine Weekend festival. Legal Risk and Management MPVA has existed for more than two decades already with its Winter Wine Weekend. It can be assumed from this that MPVA is well-versed with the legal aspects of the event, particularly when it comes to entering contracts with sponsors, members, and other third-parties that have interests in the festival. Also, it is good to assume that MPVA is quite aware of its duties of care towards the safety of each attendee in the festival from various previous cases. Because festivals typically draws large number of crowd and more often than not, crowd control becomes an issue for organizers (Pedersen 2004). To avoid public disturbances arising from the large number of gathering crowd, which could result in legal issues brought against the organizers of the Winter Wine Weekend, MPVA has employed various police forces in keeping and maintaining the crowd and the crowd’s activity during the event itself. Evaluation of the Festival Evaluating how the festival’s management plan for the affair and how close the management is in meeting the goals and objectives set out in their plans will determine the future success of the festival. This will at the same time expose weaknesses in the planning process which the management can look at and address appropriately. The effectiveness and the efficiency of any organization in implementing the plan it has created will determine the success of the event being planned (Tzelepi & Quick 2002). Thus it is necessary to evaluate effectiveness and the efficiency of an organization when it comes to how it implements programs through how the organization uses available and existing capabilities. A SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely) analysis of MPVA’s Winter Wine Festival (WWFest) is discussed below to explore how close the organization is in meeting its goals and objectives with whatever capabilities it has at the moment. A SWOT Analysis will also be used to evaluate how effective MPVA is in dealing present and future opportunities and threats in order to fortify its strength as an organization and reinforce its weaknesses. Any increase or subsequent decrease in the demand for the wine products during and every after the festival is held is a way to measure the success of the event in meeting one of its goal. This is because Winter Wine Weekend is supposed to attract local and international tourists to the region and to encourage them to spend their money for the wine the festival offers. In other words, the attraction impact of Winter Wine Weekend should reflect in its spending impact (Lee & Crompton 2003; Sharpley & Vass 2005). Two other indicators for the success of the event are the volume of crowd it gathers and the increase in the economic activities of the region for a specific period which can be attributed to the Winter Wine Weekend. These objectives are very much attainable, even though these are challenging to attain given the global economic issues. It can be argued that the objectives are relevant and timely. As a region that is known for its wine products and its wineries, MPVA’s aim which is to provide a larger market for their region’s products is very relevant to the needs of its members. Although Winter Wine Weekend occurs only at the early part of winter, the impact of its significance in the region is felt all over the year and so the timeliness of its goals and objectives are acceptable. In addition to that, the planning and preparation required to meet the objectives typically takes the whole year to finish which makes the timeliness of the organization’s objectives acceptable. Central to the planning and organizing of the Winter Wine Weekend, or to any other wine festival, is the general characteristics of its target and captured markets (Hall 2004). By knowing what type of people visits the wineries and by understanding what they want their wines to taste and feel like, MPVA was able to refine and develop their wines and wineries, introduce food that goes better with the wine, develop more contextually meaningful activities, and make full use of this information to have their tourists keep on coming back for more of the festivity and the peninsula’s wine products. In order to assess the strength and weaknesses of the festivities in meeting its goals, it is necessary to discuss in part the results of one of the most recent research on Winter Wine Festival which mirrors the characteristics of the people that will be attending the Winter Wine Weekend. Weiler, Troung, & Griffiths (2007) found out that the average attendees of Winter Wine Festival are full-time working females aged between 45-64 years old, earning an income of about $78,000 to $104,000 in a year. Next in terms of age group is the 25-44 year old segment which comprises about 42% of the researchers’ respondents. The average attendees of the Winter Wine Weekend are first timers who have heard about the event from their contacts; wanting to be there primarily to expand their knowledge about wines and wineries and secondly to experience the region’s culture and to socialize with other people. The social demographics of the people who attend the Winter Wine Weekend can be summed up in the following: they visit with friends (48%), they are couples (33%), visiting with families (15%), and those who attend solo (4%). Based on this information, the strength of the Winter Wine Weekend’s planning lies in its ability to spark the interests of those who are not yet familiar with the festival, to draw the attention of a broader market segment particularly because it was able to bring families into its major events, and its capacity to contain the interests of those who have already experienced the event. Winter Wine Weekend needs to establish two things in the general market: it needs to create an impression that people joining the event would be looking forward for the next year’s events and people that have joined the event should develop loyalty to the wine products it has presented during the whole activity. As shown in the results of the Weiler, Troung, & Griffith’s research, MPVA through the Winter Wine Weekend’s goals and objectives were met by the steps it has employed to draw the attention of the people who has never been to the festival and of the people who has been to the festival in the previous years. By drawing significant number of people from the middle income type from all age group, the association is assured that it will be profitable for the rest of the year using the large number of potential orders that restaurants and bars where their visitors frequent for the rest of the year. This research was able to show one significant weakness of the event (among the many) which is the inability of the festivities to capture the more desirable demographic characteristic of its consumers which is the people coming from high-income groups. The research has identified this social group as the determining factor of the success of the Mornington’s wine industry for the rest of the year. Having these people attend the Winter Wine Festival, especially if the products offered during the event will suit their tastes, the rest of the year for the peninsula’s wineries would sure see significant increases in their product’s demands. Middle income individuals typically do not consume wine on a frequent basis unlike those that have higher incomes as various researches suggest. By capturing a significant percentage of the high-income market segment, the goals of the event will be achieved at an even faster rate. The good thing about the research made by Weiler, Troung, & Griffiths is that it is able to point out which direction should MPVA focus on given that its brands do not permeate the bigger and the can-afford market segment. The knowledge that MPVA needs to intensify its efforts to increase its presence in the more important market segment serves as an eye opener for individual members to produce highly competitive wine products that would cater the taste of the well-to-do market. The most prevalent issue that Winter Wine Weekend has to face will be the adverse effects of the global economic slowdown on the production and demands of its wines. Conclusion and Recommendation Winter Wine Festival is among the earliest wine festivals in Australia and it has already built solid reputation over the years. As the paper identified, its major issues include expanding to a more consistent and reliable market segment which previous data indicate it has not been able to do so, yet. However, massive expansion to this segment is challenged by the pressing economic condition of the global community. The volatility of the global economy may prove to be the biggest wall that MPVA and Winter Wine Weekend would face to increase the earning potential of its members yet it does not mean that MPVA should not do anything at all. Given the circumstances, it is highly recommended that MPVA enter the market dominated by expensive high quality wines by introducing wines of the same quality offered at significantly lesser price. This move may see long-term results but the implication of this action in the long run may prove favorable for the Mornington Peninsula Wineries. References Bruwer, Johan. (2008). The Importance of the Origin of Wine as a Marketing Vehicle. Uncorked Grape and Wine Industry Conference. Accessed on June 13, 2009 from http://www.uncorked.info/documents/Bruwer.pdf Carlsen, J. & Dowling, R. (2007). Wine Tourism Marketing Issues in Australia. Emerald Backfiles 2007. Hall, John. (2007). An Empirical Confirmation of Segments in the Australian Wine Market. Emerald Backfiles. 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