Festivals & Events Management

Individual Field Trip Report

Objective
The objective of this report is to provide me with a greater understanding of the event marketing mix and how the various components contribute to the success of an event. It also helps me to determine the role that events or festivals play to the host country as well as contribute to its tourism economy.

For this project, I have chosen to visit Singapore Biennale 2008. Before making the visit, I researched about the event through newspapers, brouchers and also online sources like facebook.com and the official event website, www.singaporebiennale.org To gain an understanding of the project, I read up on the pre-assignment readings about the marketing of events.


Background
Singapore Biennale 2008 is Singapore's largest international contemporary visual arts exhibition. This event is not just for the art world, but is one that engages all sectors of society and people across different sectors as it continues to break new grounds for creative expression for both its artists and audiences. The theme for this year's exhibition is "wonder". All of the exhibitions are located in the city and are within walking distance of each other. These locations were best able to present the artworks and engage visitors in a meaningful way.

THE 8P'S

1. Product

The core product of this event is the event itself as a whole as well as the experience that viewers get from viewing the various artworks. These people are willing to pay to view the artworks in the hope of satisfying their needs. These needs could be to boost creativity, achieve a deeper understanding in art, or just to enjoy the beauty of the art pieces. People are part of the product too as they ensure that they get the most out of the event.

Additionally, there are the tangible products that the customer expects, for example, art pieces, historic sites and services. Finally, there are the augmented products, which are additional features that differentiate Singapore Biennale 2008 from other art exhibitions. These are the famed artists, past recognition (Singapore Biennale 2006), unique locations as well as a creative theme (wonder).

I believe that they have used the product in an interesting way.

2. Price

One example of the price of this event is the $10 entry fee required for three exhibition areas, namely, City Hall, South Beach Development as well as Singapore Flyer. These three areas require the customers to purchase an entry ticket before they are allowed to view the art works.

There is a discount of 30% for Passion Card holders, 20% for a purchase of McCafe wonder set and 50% for senior citizens and students off the $10 admission fee. If a tour is held for schools, the students are only required to pay $5 for a tour lasting approximately one hour. Pricing was used very effectively here, as they have different prices for different markets. By charging different prices, they can attract certain markets like the students or senior citizens to the event. Singapore Flyer has formed 3 packages for customers. They are:

1. $31 for entry to Singapore Flyer and Singapore Biennale (City Hall and South Beach Development) with one guidebook
2. $25.65 for children (above 3) and students (with student pass)
3. $23.60 for Senior Citizens

• If they purchase the flights alone, customers will still get entry to the other locations, but not the guidebook.
• However, if they purchase tickets from the other locations (costing $10), they are not allowed to gain entry into Singapore Flyer.

Additionally, there are public Biennale exhibitions nearby to these three areas (shopping centres and marina bay) that do not require any entry fee. These are the smaller and open exhibitions that the customers can see when they travel from one exhibition to another. The price that they pay for these free exhibitions is then the time, travel costs and lost opportunities. These costs are very low to customers who have paid for the main exhibitions as they are along the way, saving time, travel costs and creating more opportunities for them to view more art along the way.

3. Place

This event takes place in many sites throughout the city area. At these places, there will be areas or rooms to house the art pieces and their supporting equipment (like signs, lights and screens). Place includes locations where tickets are purchased; in the case of Biennale, tickets are purchased at the door of the locations where tickets are required, namely City Hall, South Beach Development and Singapore Flyer.

The City Hall and South Beach Development sites, the two largest spaces of the event, were chosen for their historical value, as well as their ability to present the artworks and engage the visitors in a meaningful way. By using these non-gallery spaces to showcase the artwork, instead of just highlighting the works, the spaces themselves will be enhanced. The sites themselves then become a part of the art. Along the way, connecting these two spaces is Suntec City and Raffles City Shopping Centre, which house a few public displays that can attract more people to the event or keep event-goers interested as they travel from one place to another.

Besides these sites, Singapore Biennale has managed to use the marina bay area as a whole to be a place to display art in Singapore. As part of Singapore Biennale @ Marina Bay, various sites around Marina Bay will be used to install public artworks. In addition to these, Shigeru Ban’s Containart Pavilion, an artistic architectural structure which doubles as a unique gallery space for six artworks has been erected at the Central Promontory Site along Marina Bay. Having the event at Marina Bay, a prime land for development extending from the Central Business District allows people to rethink the spaces where art and culture can be experienced. The sites along Marina Bay are the Central Promontory Site, the Esplanade Bridge, One Raffles Quay and Singapore Flyer.

Cilfford Pier, which is part of The Fullerton Heritage, will be used to hold two large-scale public art projects, to be left there permanently. This means creating history in the city through art, and changing the city’s boundaries and aesthetics through art.

There may be too many locations used and visitors might not want to walk everywhere, or miss out on some locations. Therefore I would suggest that they reduce the number of locations, if not organise a shuttle service or even a bus tour around these locations.

4. Promotions

The communications mix of Singapore Biennale consists of publicity through press, advertising through the internet, public banners, outdoor displays and sales promotions.

Press publicity gives credibility and reaches to a large audience. Internet advertising consists of the event’s official website (http://www.singaporebiennale.org) and blog (http://www.singaporebiennale.org/blog). There is also a group created on a social networking website (www.facebook.com) where interested members can join to find out more information about the event. Through these, the event organisers can post messages to these people and form a mailing list. This can be very cost effective as there is little wastage generated. There are also outdoor banners and public displays along the city to generate awareness of the event.

Besides all these, they have also come up with sales promotions like the discounts stated in pricing and the packages stated under packaging above and packaging below. These promotions help to generate sales and revenue for the event.


5. People

The people linked to the event are the stakeholders. They can be anyone who holds an interest in the event, for example volunteers, staff, event attendees, residential community (country), artists, government, and partners.

Under event attendees, the target markets are included. These are specific groups of people who the event management targets their marketing on. For example, passion card holders, students and senior citizens. Other market groups are also included but they might not be the target market.

Singapore Biennale has many volunteers that helped out at their counters and as ushers. They also have staffs like management, guides, volunteers and officials that help to facilitate the movement and operations of the event. During my trip to the event, I found these people to be very helpful to me. They were able to answer my questions regarding the event, the artworks and also gave me accurate directions to the different event locations (The counter staff even gave me a map and recommended an efficient route for us to view all the art works.) I happened to overhear a group with a guide and found that the guides were well trained in information about the various works. This shows that the people do contribute effective to the success of the event.

There were many different artists that took part and gave their support for this event. Among them, many were local artists and this shows that not only does Singapore Biennale support local talent, they also gain support from the local people. Another example of local community is that many of the volunteers come from local polytechnics like Republic Polytechnic.

6. Programme

The main programme for the event is the viewing and experiencing the different art works on display at the customer’s own leisure. This makes the customer in control and he/she may alter the programme as he/she wishes. The total experience however requires programme planning by the artistic director and producers.

I feel that they were successful in enhancing the programme for the customers by use of a distinguishing theme, historic locations and selecting wonderful artists whose works were strategically placed around the galleries. The programme was compatible with the market in the sense that the needs (enjoying the experience) of the market were fulfilled.

The programme is brought out by different means, to enable the different artists to convey their thoughts. This also keeps the viewers’ interests by providing them with more variety. Examples of the mediums used are channel videos, installations, photographs, digital prints, stickers, video stills, films, sculptures, paintings, lights, sounds, drawings as well as public art.

Another programme that was provided was the guided tours around the main locations where the guides would bring groups around and introduce the various art works to them. These groups can be pre-arranged (school/other organisations) or individual visitors joining the scheduled tours coming in three different languages to cater to the different market groups. Groups would then be given explanations to the works and also ask them questions about their ideas on the works to stimulate their thinking on the issues involved. This will give them a deeper understanding on the works, as well as the event as a whole. For the independent visitor, there are also self guided (audio) tours available, provided by Bloomberg.

There are some key events held by Singapore Biennale like a vernissage (preview days consisting of gala dinner and press conference) before the official opening, a launch party, wonder club, artists talks, book launch and talk, artistic director’s tour, 2 curator’s tours, and kids’ days out that help to make the event more interesting for both the organisers and the event goers. This can even attract some repeat visitors who wish to know more about the works or take part in a particular event. Click here for a list of all their programmes and events!

Having so many events definitely enhances the experience and I feel that Singapore Biennale has used the programmes to their advantage.

7. Partnership

Partnerships usually begin on the basis of goodwill and relationships. These goodwill are provided by a number of people and corporations and are vital to the competitive potential of the event. Usually, a sense of sharing a common vision exists within these partnerships.

Singapore Biennale has formed many partnerships through sponsors. They can be grouped into government, venue, institutes, travel agents, communications, freight, media, magazine, community as well as other corporate sponsors. Examples are Bloomberg which provided audio help, Republic Polytechnic which provided student volunteers, Raffles City which sponsored location space and Land Transport Authority and Urban Redevelopment Authority which gave government support. Other events have formed partnerships with them and have helped to include it in their promotional efforts. In response, Singapore Biennale has a Parallel Events section in their brochure and website (http://www.singaporebiennale.org/parallelevents.html) promoting these events.

Partnering with the Singapore Tourism Board can help increase tourists coming into Singapore for them, but also help to promote the event overseas. To take a step further, partnerships and packages can also be formed with the other sectors of tourism to increase tourist drawing powers. This shows that having partnerships works both ways to the benefit of both parties. Partnerships with Tradewinds have helped to form an art compass, where bookings can be made to destinations where Biennale is held including Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Gwangju and Yokohama.

The forming of partnerships can lead to the formation of packages. These packages can help to promote the event but the partners might also steal away the attention. As a result, event managers might have to modify their prices and even their products to make the packages more attractive.

Having too many partners might cause problems too, due to clash of interests. However, Singapore Biennale has managed to group their partners into different categories and there are not too many sponsors in simillar groups. Main and preferred sponsors are also mentioned to reduce this problem. Therefore, I believe that they have handled their partnerships well and effectively.

8. Packaging & Distribution

Packaging provides opportunities for the event to better position themselves in their current markets. Packaging includes service bundles, where different types of merchandise and entertainment are packaged together as a single market offer. Prices may also be altered in the bundle.

For example, paying for a ticket at the city hall venue enables the buyer to enter the south beach development for free, and vice versa. In addition, the guide book, which costs $5 normally, is given to the buyers as part of the package.

Packaging can also be done with its partners, for example, holding discounts with passion card holders and having school tours with education and outreach partners like Little Art Bug Workshop and The Substation. These school tours cost about $5per student and last for about one hour. If a tour is booked by a group, the prices can be negotiated to form a package.

Singapore Flyer has a package allowing one-time entry to the main Biennale sites and a ride on the Singapore Flyer to listen to spell#7 and Evan Tan’s audio artwork, Sky Duet, two artworks of the Singapore Biennale. McCafe has a package where customers who purchase a McCafe wonder set can get a 20% discount on Biennale tickets. Not only these, follow this link for a whole list of their packages and promotions!

The parallel events mentioned under partnership have formed packages with them to ensure that people visit both events. For example, the event No Wonder, by students of LASALLE College of the Arts, is an art exhibition of its own, responding to Singapore Biennale’s theme of Wonder in a humorous way. This requires viewers to have been to Singapore Biennale to gain an understanding to some of the references there. Singapore Tourism Board may provide packages of tourism related events for the Singapore Biennale to attract tourists.

There is also a package with the various biennales around the world called art compass. This allows people to book tickets for all the other biennales worldwide and travel accommodations to these destinations.

As for the distribution network, intermediaries of various types help to contribute to the revenue and experience. For example, besides selling tickets at the door, Singapore Biennale also provides school and other guided tours where tickets can be sold separately to these people. Corporate functions at their locations can also be discussed with the organisers.

I think that the distribution network of this event is not wide enough, as they may want to limit or control their customers. An individual is only able to purchase tickets at the door, and might be to much of a hassle. I believe that they should expand their ticketing services online, especially since the website is already so impressive. Another suggested methods is having ticket booths at the public locations or having the tourism agency(for tourists) to sell the tickets to them.

TOURISM ROLES

Place Marketing

This event helps to market the place which is not only the locations but also the country as a destination to tourists. This is done by using its past recognition as well as fame overseas. This creates positive images about Singapore's beautiful locations, cityscape and public sculptures. Having such arts events in Singapore helps to improve the quality of life for the people as art is usually accompanied with high standards of living or the upper class. Also, through this event, they hope to portray that Singapore is a good city to stay and invest in, so as to attract residents and investors from overseas.

Tourist Attraction

This event hopes that it can attract quality tourists to view the event. Tourists who are wiling to spend and stay for a longer time which will add more money to our tourism receipts. Also, demand for this event can be spread to tourists so that they will come to Singapore and this event to spend and add to our tourism receipts.

Image Maker

This event can be used as an image maker for Singapore as a tourist destination, as well as for the city hall supreme court which is going to become an art gallery. More awareness is generated about these places and a general image of being "arty" is created about these places. This can help to combat negative imagery about he places also, for example, Singapore was thought to be crowded and rushed, supreme court thought to be a boring place but this event will change those images.

Catalyst

After this event, locations like south beach development and the supreme court at city hall will be renovated and persevered, then transformed into new buildings serving new purposes that will enhance the city life. In a way, the event has acted as a catalyst for stimulating infrastructure (public displays) and assisting in urban renewal to support the tourism industry and country. This will help to stimulate business and trade in the long run, and contribute to the Singapore economy. With the new upcoming gallery at supreme court, more events can be held and there is a cycle of upgrading and events. These new infrastructure and supporting facilities will act as support for other attractions around the area that will come in handy to the tourism industry.

Animator

The event acts as an animator, encouraging first hand visits to the destination as the event garners the interest of the tourist. If not for the event, the tourist might not have come. Those who have already visited Singapore might not find much to do again if they were to return, but because of the event, it might attract repeat visitors.

ECONOMIC VALUES

There are many economic values that the Singapore Biennale 2008 can bring to the country. The most important would be the revenue that it brings in, particularly the tourism revenues. This not only includes ticket sales, but also their shopping and food & beverage expenditure in Singapore. Through the event, visitors might extend their length of stay and therefore increasing revenue by each day that they stay. During their stay, they would also use other facilities and visit other attractions as well.

Another economic value of the event is the business opportunities that it brings up. For example, Singapore Biennale provides Singapore with a strong platform for showcasing their expertise, hosting potential investors(from overseas) and promoting new business opportunities for the economy. This event promotes Singapore as an arts hub, which will attract many new opportunities in the future relating to the arts, as well as bring in art interested tourists, all in all boosting the revenue and adding value to the economy.

Other economic values would be increased commercial activity through the event directly or indirectly as there are many transactions to be made. There is tax payable for some of these transactions that would add to the tax revenue and also there is job creation for the event itself, as well as the tourism industry. Indirectly, the event's boost in tourism would expand the industry which will open up more jobs in the industry.

Appendices

All information were taken from these websites:

• Singapore Biennale 2008 Official Website
• Singapore Biennale 2008 blog
• Facebook

as well as brochure and guide book














Proof of visit can be found in my earlier post dated 23 November 2008 tittled "Pictures".

Here are some pictures and a video that we took at the Singapore Biennale 2008!