Event Management - the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival - Case Study Example

Table of contents Executive Summary 2 1. Introduction 3 2. Presentation of findings and analysis 4 3. Conclusion and recommendation 7 References 9 Executive Summary Event management and organisation is usually an important aspect of human existence because it usually envelopes most of their activities. This report is aimed at analysing my experience with Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival, both of which are held in Adelaide city. The purpose of the report is to analyse the experience that one has with events that are usually organised on a wider scale, in this case the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival. In order to fully address the events experience, I divided the report into three parts; an introduction, presentation of the findings and analysis and the conclusion and recommendations. In order to come up with a well researched report, a triangulated approach was employed and it comprised of observation, interviewing and literature review. This approach led to the realisation that events usually had greater good than bad to the human population and the societies in which they are held. At the end of the report, I have outlined two recommendations that will ensure that future event experiences will be improved. 1. Introduction Events industry can be described as a multifaceted and dynamic industry, one that requires a constant updating of the available pool of knowledge in order to ensure that the industry has the required professionalism in the events planning perspective (Beloviene et al. 2009, p. 6). In the general sense, the events industry has been lauded as a forum that has over the years brought diverse individuals and communities together with the aim of enabling them to share aspirations and experiences that in the long run contribute to their diverse economies and also adds to the available pool of knowledge regarding the aims and purposes of the event in question. Such events, as the Hillary Commission (2001, p. 2) claims, remain unforgettable to those who were involved. Seen as an essential aspect of human life, a report about an events experience is a milestone towards the realisation of the human goal of sharing information, culture and on a more wider scale, the attainment of societal needs because events can be used to solicit funds for the completion of societal facilities. The report is a part of an event management course and is aimed at fulfilling a two events assessment report that was requested by the course tutor as a course assessment in order to determine the students understanding. Report aims and scope This report explores two events; the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival; and the event experiences that students get after attending them. The report is a reflective experience of the student and thus intends to cover the entire event experience that the student had with reference to the course objectives. Some of the issues that the report will touch on despite personal experience are event tourism, the destination of an event and how it affects marketing, the creation of communal capacities through events and the general event organising strategy. In the investigation of the report, three methods were employed. Observation, interviewing and a review of the available literature approaches were used. Since I attended the two events, direct observation could not be avoided. Interviewing some of the spectators and event organisers was also an aspect of widening my experience of the event. A review of the literature provided more building blocks to the information that the observation and the interviewing had provided. To effectively explore the events experience, the report has been divided into three segments; an introduction, presentation of the findings and an analysis and conclusions and recommendations. 2. Presentation of the findings and analysis Report approach For there to be any meaningful report, the research plan has to be one that will adequately address the issues that are to be analysed in the report (Kimberly, 2008). To adequately explore a personal experience of the events, I undertook a triangulated approach that had observation, interviewing and a review of the available literature as the report’s pillars. Olsen (2004) is of the view that triangulation is usually an essential approach in research work for the reason that it not only authenticates the findings but also intensifies and broadens an individual’s understanding of the issues that are being studied. Observation In the expression of an event experience, observation was an essential mode of collecting data that would best explain the experience that I had. While attending the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival, through observation I was able to have an outstanding experience. Watching the comedies, dances, puppetry, films, music, the visual arts and the circus were a part of the performances that made the Adelaide Fringe an outstanding event. Watching the .launching night festival in the cool and dry weather was fulfilling and a great experience because the previous events had either been halted by heavy rains or freezing temperatures. The event turnout was another watchable spectacle that created a great ambience around the two events. Watching the Beautiful Stu and Gabez perform epitomised the height of a great performance because these groups gave performances that exceeded the great repute that they enjoyed. The staging of culturally diverse performances and arts was unforgettable because I was able to get a touch and feel of what the other cultures, for instance the English and Japanese, were made of through their music, dances, comedies and literary writings. The major setback with this approach was that since some of the performances were staged in the performers’ native dialects, it was a little bit tedious trying to relate to some of the symbols that they were employing. This issue was partly solved by the few individuals I interviewed and found out that they were familiar with some of the representations. Interviewing To ensure that the little gaps that I had after the observation process and in order to ensure that my events experience was heightened, I interacted with some of the spectators and event organisers using unstructured interview questions so as to ensure a wholesome experience. Through the interviews, I was able to interviews some of the culturally diverse spectators and thus got the true meaning and implications of some of the performances, for instance dances, films, comedies and the literary materials that were being staged. Moreover, through the interviewing I realised that Adelaide city had greatly sold herself to the spectators because they were talking of the enjoyable moments that they had had. Some of the event organisers that I got the opportunity of interviewing informed me that the entire event experience was aimed at branding Adelaide as a major destination for those who were after a great time and at the same time promoting the artists by selling them out to their spectators. The setback with this approach was that language barrier was an issue because of the cultural diversity amongst the spectators thus making it hard to get the experience or the drive behind some of the performances. This setback was partially overcome in cases where I some of the culturally diverse individuals partially conversed in English as a second language. Some of the interviewees claimed that they had had more to enjoy than just the events but also the serene environment that Adelaide was providing. Literature review The final approach was the appraisal of the available literatures that had been published regarding the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival because they were intended to fill up the little remaining gaps. The review involved the published and the unpublished material because both had vital information that was going to improve on the already attained experience, thus guaranteeing a transparent report, one that would clearly address the issues that had been sought after in order to maximise the events experience (Tranfield, Denyer, & Smart 2003, pp. 210-216). The literatures that were reviewed showed that the two festivals had greatly marketed Adelaide as a tourist destination and thus during the events, the spectators get a chance of revelling in Adelaide’s serene environment and culture. Moreover, the literatures further claimed that these events provided a marketing platform for some of the companies that had partnered in staging the two events. Further, the reviews asserted that a considerable human resource had been created from the lessons learnt during the events and thus there is always a professional Adelaide population to volunteer in both the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival. Findings and Implications Through observation, interviewing and a review of the literatures, I realised that the Adelaide fringe and the Adelaide Festival provided a great events experience. The huge spectator turnout that was experienced during the two events meant that the great experience of the events had sold itself and thus Adelaide City was a destination that people loved visiting in order to get an experience of both the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide festival. I realised that the huge turnout could only imply that both the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival had made Adelaide city a unique destination because the two were only unique to it (Jago et al, 2003, pp.5-6). I second Jago’s assertion that Adelaide had become an ideal destination for the two festivals because I too partook of the same experiences. The use of themes and messages that I could easily relate to and at the same time using others that created a different but new experience was essential in creating the communal aptitudes that were essential in creating meaning amongst the spectators (Ziakas 2010, pp. 144-150). Such were the experiences that fascinated the multitudes of spectators who turned out in order to revel in the cultural event. The huge turnout also implied that the event had gained a popularity that would be essential for the cultural heritage of Adelaide because through the two events, it was fast become a tourist destination. Since the two events are often held annually, this has amplified the visiting crowds because the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival have become events that they can easily relate Adelaide to. The two events created a special experience because they have become synonymous with Adelaide, because whenever I think of Adelaide Fringe or Adelaide Festival, the Adelaide City often comes to mind because of the unforgettable experience that is offered (Jago et al, 2003, pp.5-6). This scenario adequately explains the positive feedbacks from the interviewees regarding their experience in Adelaide, an experience that they were going to carry back to whenever they were headed thus continuing the marketability of Adelaide through its events. The availability of a capable workforce to provide services during the events proves that the events have equipped the local populace with the relevant knowledge in event organisation thus empowering their capabilities. The staging of performances with diverse cultural backgrounds has been essential in ensuring that the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival continue to enjoy overwhelming crowd turnout that has always been experienced. Sleeter (2001, p.5) asserts that the crowds revel in the cultural diversity that the events envelope because they are cultural systems that they can easily relate to and thus value. From the review, I learnt that events, and in this case the Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival, were not just events but marketing forums because some of the event sponsors usually branded their products and services through the events (Allen et al, 2011, p. 20-30). As the spectators enjoyed the events, they knowingly or unknowingly had an experienced with the packaged products and services thus marketing them. Such marketing avenues occur with situations such as one that I had to purchase a bottle of water while enjoying a dance, and in so doing a water company was doing business at the festival. 3. Conclusion and recommendations In conclusion, the two events provided me with an event experience that is unmatched as compared to the other events that I had attended earlier. Both events were essential because they enabled me to have an experience of other world cultures because the two events pooled together activities and performances that saw to that. Through the two events, I learnt that the events had greatly influenced the lives of the Adelaide population because it had over the years empowered them and thus the human resource came from within the city thus improving it economically because the money circulated within it. Although the events were a success it was necessary to ensure that for educational purposes, the services of interpreters of interpreters be sort in order to ensure that the event experience was whole some because the cultural diversity was creating a few issues on language. Moreover, educators who could assist in the unification of the themes and messages into symbols were easily understandable were needed because some performances were entertaining although I found it hard to relate to what they were attempting to propagate. References Allen, J, O'Toole, W, Harris, R & McDonnell, I 2011, Festival & special event management, 5th ed., Wiley: Milton, Beloviene, A, Kinderis, R, Williamson, P, Ivanov, T & Ortin, C 2009, Event Management Handbook, Viewed 27 May 2013 http://eventi.vfu.bg/files/Event_management_handbook.pdf Hillary Commission 2001, Event Management, Viewed 27 May 2013, http://fulltext.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1997/hillary/rs8.pdf Jago, L, Chalip, L, Brown, G, Mules, T & Ali, S 2003, ‘Building events into destination branding: Insights from experts’, Event Management, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 3-14. Kimberly, A 2008, Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Approaches to Research and Inquiry, Viewed 27 May 2013, http://spahp2.creighton.edu/OfficeOfResearch/share/sharedfiles/UserFiles/file/Galt_SPAHP_Methods_Presentation_082609.pdf Olsen, W 2004, Triangulation in Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods Can Really Be Mixed, Causeway Press: Ormskirk. Sleeter, E 2001, Culture, Difference and Power: Instructors Manual, Teachers College Press: New York. Tranfield, D, Denyer, D & Smart, P 2003, ‘Towards a Methodology for DevelopiEvidence-Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review’, British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207-222. doi: 10.1111/1467- 8551.00375. Ziakas, V 2010, ‘Understanding an event portfolio: the uncovering of interrelationships, synergies, and leveraging opportunities’, Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 144-164. Read More