Contingency planning in event management
Hi there,
I
hope everyone is going well with their internships, I'm definitely feeling the
stress of end of semester. How is everyone’s progress with your internship
report?
In
my last blog post I reflected on the role PR had in the promotion and
communication of the 2015 Perth Garden Festival event. I also mentioned
that I would be working on another event that Corporate Sports Australia (CSA) have
been contracted to operate – The Big Campout. Unfortunately the event
had to be postponed as it was scheduled to be held outdoors at the WACA during the
previous weekend’s treacherous weather conditions.
After some debate about
whether the event should go forward, the Event Director made the executive
decision based on the information we had with weather forecasts to postpone the
event. As the event is owned by a NFP foundation called The Fathering Project, the purpose of the event was for fathers to connect with their
children by camping overnight on the prestigious WACA ground. The cricket
ground provides little shelter for weather and as dangerous weather warnings
were issued, the team at CSA absolutely saw the need to reschedule the event
for a later date, benefiting all stakeholders.
The decision was made only
three days before the event was set to take place which presented CSA with the
issue of ensuring that all ticket holders were notified about the cancellation
of the event on that weekend. As the event had to be rescheduled due to
unforseen weather conditions, ticketholders have been given the option to
request a full refund of the ticket purchase or use the ticket later at the
rescheduled event for which the date has yet to be set.
We were able to utilise
their electronic database to issue a newsletter/eDM (electronic/email Direct
Marketing) communicating the changes of the event information. As we were also
concerned with the timing of the cancellation, I was responsible for sending
SMS messages to all ticket purchasers, further informing them of the changes.
The communication of the
message was successful as no ticketholders went to the venue on the original
scheduled day of the event. CSA now have the challenge of liaising with WACA
representatives to organise another appropriate time to hold the event and then
once again make contact with ticketholders to notify them of the updated event
time.
Moving forward, I have
only two days left of my internship - I can’t believe how fast time has gone! Working
mainly on the communication in relation to events, I have been busy assisting
with the creation of the post event report for the Perth Garden Festival which
will be released shortly. The report analyses all aspects of the event to
determine the success of the event measured against the key goals and outcomes
determined in the early planning stages of the event. Sponsors are particularly
interested in this information to determine their return on investment.
For the remainder of my internship
my role will now be centralised around preparation for the upcoming Chevron
City to Surf to Activ marathon series – CSA’s largest events. I have been
working with the marketing and media coordinator to map out the public
relations and marketing timeline, as well as reviewing the many sponsorship
contracts to ensure all the agreed communication terms are met.
If anyone has any friends
who are completing the PR Internship unit next semester, CSA are currently
looking for six interns to work exclusively on the City to Surf. I can absolutely
recommend this organisation for completing an internship – I have learnt so
much from them and my experience has been invaluable. For more information
comment below, or you can view the official advertisement here through
Curtin CareerHub.
Wishing everyone luck with
their reports and end of semester – we’re nearly there!
Until next time,
Megan
