Events MarketingWeek 2 – The Marketing Environment

Today’s session

• Introduce the concept of environmental analysis• Demonstrate the application of the concept to the

events industry • Discuss the challenges and opportunities in defining

the environment for events marketing

Marketing Environment

What is your understanding of the term ‘environment’?What types of marketing environments can you identify?

Marketing Environment

Internal vs External environmentExternal environment:

– Micro– Macro

Event Marketing Landscape

Event Micro environment

Macro environment

Internal Environment

Major forces in the Macro Environment

LegalPolitical

Technological

Environmental/NaturalEconomic

Socio–Cultural/Demographic

Company

(Adapted from Kotler & Armstrong 2013:96)

Political/Legal FactorsOverall government strategic direction / political climate & government power

Specific governmental policies and regulations affecting businesses particularly in relation to licensing for events – e.g. music festivals, or the bidding processes for mega-events, e.g. Commonwealth or Olympic Games

Political Factors

1. Purchasing policies for the public sector2. Fiscal policies and taxation regulations3. Constraints posed by international

regulations (most notably the EU)4. Incentives, grants, supporting job

creation

Political Factors

Which political factors in the UK today are relevant for the events industry?How can these be utilized to benefit the event organisers and organisations?

Economic factorsState of the local/national/international economy and economic cycles; impacts on general mind-set related to spending on events as leisurely activities

Practical impacts on the amount of personal disposable income and propensity of people to save

Wealth concentration

Socio-cultural factorsDemographics

– Age/ethnicity– Income distribution amongst

population– Immigration/Emigration (e.g.

EU vs non-EU)Culture

– Shared beliefs, behaviours, customs, backgrounds, attitudes and beliefs

Ethics– Beliefs about what is right and

wrongCommercialisaton

Technological factors

What is the technological footprint within society today? Which general changes in technology are affecting the society?In what ways is technology affecting events marketing?

Legal factors

Legislation (created by governments)

Legal disputes & issues – interpretation of the law (through courts)

Industry regulation created by associations and trade bodies

Environmental factors

Use and conservation of natural resources

Pollution and waste management (3Rs)https://youtu.be/oi2m2V5L46k

Activist groups Greening

Actors in the Micro Environment

The Company/Event

Publics

CompetitorsMarketing Intermediaries

Suppliers

CustomersMarketing

(Kotler & Armstrong 2013:93)

Internal Marketing Environment

Internal environment:

– Staff (relationships, formal vs. informal structure)

• Volunteers – particularly important with events

– Corporate culture (“the way we do things”)

• Systems and processes

– Resources (financial, technical, expertise, etc.)

Influencing the environment

Which aspects of the environment are under the influence of an event organiser/marketer?

– Macro?– Micro?– Internal?

Can they be managed? Why/why not?

Implications for events managers

What is the difference between PESTLE and SWOT analyses?

What are the practicalities of conducting the two? When would you do them? How? What is their relevance to marketers?

Integrating internal and external environment analyses

• SWOT analysis

– Strengths

– Weaknesses

– Opportunities

– Threats

• What is the role of SWOT analysis?

PESTLE - SWOT

Political

Social

Economic

Technical

Legal

Environmental

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Integrating internal and external environment analysesSTRENGTHS• Strong attendee base• Positive image in the community• Expertise of staff delivering arts

sessions

WEAKNESSES• Lack of continuity in the organising

team• Outdated technology (comms

systems)• Lack of knowledge in marketing• Limited funds available

OPPORTUNITIES• Local council is committed to

supporting youth participation in the arts

• Large pool of existing and prospective creative talent in the community

THREATS• Limited grants available from local

government – competing with other types of activities offered by other providers

• Local schools running similar youth arts programmes

Example: SWOT analysis for an annual community arts festival

Enhanced SWOT analysisTranslate into tasks for the project plan

List of STRENGTHS List of WEAKNESSES

List of OPPORTUNITIES How do we use these strengths to take advantage of this opportunities

How do we overcome the weaknesses that prevent us taking advantage of these opportunities

List of THREATS How do we use our strengths to reduce the likelihood and impact these threats?

How do we overcome the weaknesses that will make these threats a reality?

What about Porter’s 5 Forces?

Rivalry amongst existing

competitors

Bargaining power of suppliers

Bargaining power of buyers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-festivals/11560934/Have-we-finally-hit-peak-festival.html

Summary

1. The marketing landscape has several horizons

- Internal vs External environment

- Micro vs Macro environment

2. Using SWOT, PESTLE and Five Forces analysis can help

to keep up to date on these environments

3. Managing your responses to your environment

is an on-going process