EVENT MANAGEMENT BRE209

Develop knowledge and skills in the planning and management of special events including gallery openings, festivals, exhibitions and sporting events.

This is a huge and rapidly growing industry with many career opportunities!

You may decide to start your own event management (eg. Wedding Planner, Corporate Event Manager, Conference Organiser, Exhibition Company), or seek employment with an event management company or in a government authority or marketing department of some other organisation. Opportunities in this industry are only limited by your imagination and initiative.

 

Study at Home, Learn online, Work in Event Management

  • 100 hour, self paced course
    • Start your own event management (eg. Wedding Planner, Corporate Event Manager, Conference Organiser, Exhibition Company), or
    • Seek employment with an event management company or in a government authority or marketing department of some other organisation.


COURSE STRUCTURE
There are 9 lessons as follows:

1. Scope and Nature of Event Management

What is Event Management

  • Planning an Event or Conference
  • When to Run an Event
  • Other factors
  • Where to Hold an Event
  • Event Management Companies
  • Planning Example -A Christmas Party

2. Developing the Concept

  • Naturally Occurring Events
  • Creating New & Original Events
  • Planning a Party in a Home
  • Making Decisions
  • Contingencies
  • Hiring Equipment
  • Fire at Events (BBQ's, Bonfires, Fire Pits, Braziers, Torches, Fireworks)
  • Safety
  • Planning a Public Event
  • Evaluation Checklist

3. Physical and Human Resources

  • Volunteers
  • Managing Staff
  • Leadership
  • Giving Orders and Instructions
  • Communicating Change
  • Forming a Team
  • Types of Team Members
  • Elements of a Team
  • Dealing with Problems in Teams
  • Nurturing a Team
  • Committees
  • Guidelines for Planning a Show or Exhibition
  • Hiring Tradesmen
  • Choosing an Event Location
  • Decor
  • Equipment
  • Entertainment
  • Choosing a User Friendly Site
  • Lighting
  • Car Parking and Transport

4. Project Logistics

  • Contingencies
  • Traffic Management
  • Toilets and Locker Rooms
  • Security Lighting
  • Legal Liability
  • Understanding Legal Requirements and Controls
  • Negligence
  • Local Government and Liability
  • Minimising Risk

5. Marketing an Event

  • Target Audience
  • Publicity
  • Public Relations
  • Sponsorship
  • Developing a Business Plan
  • Key Strategy
  • Business Priority
  • Action Plan
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Business Reviews
  • Marketing
  • Advertising

6. Financial Management

  • Types of Budgets
  • Budgeting an Event
  • Cash Flow
  • Controlling Cash
  • Cash Cycle
  • Liquidity
  • Financial Decisions
  • Budget Performance Reports
  • Improving Profit
  • Reducing Costs
  • Controlling Expenditure

7. Risk Management

  • Risk Reduction
  • Managing Risk
  • Sensitivity Analysis
  • Quality Systems
  • Contingency Planning
  • Catering for People Overload
  • Managing Slippery Surfaces
  • Identifying Risk
  • Workplace Policy
  • Risk Control Methods
  • Business Law
  • Legal Rights and Obligations
  • Consumer Protection
  • The Law and Employees
  • Dispute Management
  • Duty of Care

8. Staging the Event

  • Theme of an Event
  • Venue Choice
  • Audience and Guests
  • Ticketing
  • The Stage
  • Power, Lights, Sound
  • Catering
  • Performers
  • Crew
  • Hospitality
  • Recording an Event
  • Contingencies
  • Crowd Control

9. After the Event

  • Measuring Success
  • Dealing with Complaints
  • Cleaning Up
  • Repairing Lawns
  • Evaluation Checklist

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

 

Aims
On successful completion of the course you should be able to do the following:

  • Identify the various tasks which are involved in the management of a variety of different types of events.
  • Explain how a range of different types of events are initiated and planned.
  • Determine the human and physical resources required to deliver different types of events.
  • Determine how physical and human resources will be organised in preparation for staging an event, in order that needs are appropriately catered for.
  • Develop a marketing plan for an event.
  • Develop a Financial Management Plan for an Event.
  • Develop a series of Risk management procedures to minimize the impact of different types of problems including financial, legal, marketing, crowd control, food services, and hygiene.
  • Describe the way in which facilities and services are managed during the actual delivery of an event.
  • Review an event after it's delivery.


WHAT THE COURSE COVERS
Here are just some of the things you may be doing:

  • Research to find out what events are taking place in your locality.
  • Study and compare different events.
  • Review marketing of various real life events.
  • List sources of potential financial support for an event.
  • Interview someone who has managed an event.
  • Explain the different legal and ethical responsibilities with respect to risk management of an event.
  • Explain two methods of reducing liability, which could be used by the organisers of any event.
  • Compile a stage plan, contact responsibility list, & production scheduler, with relevant run sheets for a one day seminar.
  • Write a procedure (step by step) for choosing a venue for staging an event.
  • List reasons why an evaluation would be undertaken after an event.
  • Prepare a report to evaluate the event you attended.


WHAT IS AN EVENT WORTH? 

Major events can become very expensive.  Benefits may be tangible and intangible; long term and short term.

It is often useful to be able to put a monetary value on benefits where possible, so that it is easier to understand what the relative benefit is. That way we can judge if an event is worth staging, and how beneficial it is to stage it, or to not stage it. We can judge who benefits from the event and how. This process is called “Cost-Benefit Analysis”.

Cost-benefit analysis measures the cost or benefit of an event by comparing intangible and tangible expenses and income. 

  • Intangible costs or gains may be environmental or social: they may include non-economic inputs by individuals, corporations, groups or the community or government. For example, an intangible cost may be traffic and noise pollution caused by an event. A gain might be an increased awareness of environmental issues, due to an event designed to raise awareness of the environment.
  • Tangible costs may be economic: they may include assets provided for the event that can later benefit the community, or they may be the economic inputs by individuals or corporations or government.  The tangible costs of an event are obviously the costs involved, such as paying wages, paying for tents, marquees, vendors, food, hiring a venue and so on. Whilst the gains will be the profit made from the event and perhaps even from future business that arises due to the event and the publicity around it.


So, cost benefit may be measured in an economic, environmental or social sense – it is a rational (but sometimes complex) approach to decision making. Cost-benefit analysis usually tries to place a monetary value on each of the units that are part of the analysis – this makes it easier to compare the total gain (expected benefits) against the total cost.  It is important for the event manager to not make these decisions solely based on money. There are also other factors to take into account. For example, say a health food company decides to have a fundraising event. They run a music festival, where lots of alcohol and drugs are consumed. This becomes a big story in the media, and the name of the health food company becomes associated with the taking of drugs and alcohol. As a result the company begins to lose business. Any event manager must carefully consider the financial costs and benefits of an event, but also the other factors, such as bad and good publicity. Bad publicity can obviously have a major impact on a company’s future finances, whilst good publicity can also improve their profile and hopefully their finances. 

Decisions can then be made as to the viability of the project or event. Sometimes though, an event may not have a direct or immediate financial benefit, but it will still be run because organisers see a long term gain. For example, increase in future tourism or a social benefit to the community, or, for a company, an increase in exposure which may increase future business. 

When conducting a cost-benefit analysis therefore:

  • All costs or potential costs associated with the project should be identified and quantified. This means you need to devise a list of all quantifiable costs such as: materials, wages, fees (licenses etc.) rent, travel and so on. Also non-monetary costs that may occur e.g. possible impact on the environment (it is often difficult to place a monetary value on intangible costs or benefits). 
  • Identify, record and quantify all the anticipated benefits associated with the project. 
  • Take the costs away from the benefits to determine if there is a disparity between the two.