In this essay, I will be exploring an area of the music industry that greatly interests me. I will be mentioning a particular job role within that area, talking about all the qualities, responsibilities, and education you would need to have for this certain job role. The area in which I will be talking about, is event organisation and management. This interests me, because I have many people around me who put on, and are part of, a lot of events. Not only that, but also the fact that I love being included in group projects, something that brings other like-minded individuals together. I am aways admirable of how much effort individuals put into event organising, sometimes for an event that isn’t even that well-known. It’s very intriguing to me to learn about all the little details which are 100% necessary, but most of the time go unnoticed. I imagine it must be rewarding. So, what is event organisation? What does it include? It blankets the planning, production, execution, supervision, and logistics of an event. From when it’s an idea from scratch, to when it’s a full-fledged themed performance. For example, an art exhibition, a business convention, a career fair, or a concert. To pull that off, you would need an array of skills that keeps everything under control.
I would suggest a degree in hospitality or business would set a person up with the skills they would need to have to organise an event. This would give the person aspiring for this job grounding skills and introduce them to what sort of environment they would be surrounded by. A degree like this would take either three or four years, depending on whether they take the professional placement or the foundation year. As well as academic knowledge, this would give a person many great contacts and gain practical experience too, which would help in the long run. Although, if someone wanted to learn on the job, they could start with an apprenticeship, which would be part time studying, along with part time work as well. A big difference between this and a standard 3 year undergraduate course, is that your employer would pay for the course, not you. A level 4 apprenticeship is comparable to the first year of an undergraduate course, and a level 6 apprenticeship is equivalent to the final year of an undergraduate degree.
Specific personal skills I would assume necessary for this profession would include leadership, creativity, time management, budget/money management, communication skills, attention to detail, networking, multitasking, decision-making, and problem solving skills. You would also need to have a great deal of confidence, in yourself and in the vision, you have for said event. You also would need the ability to keep up with constant changes within the industry in order to keep people intrigued. People are always interested in new trends and will easily get bored if all the events you organise always include the same qualities. This means you must get creative with different ways to keep your targeted audience entertained. Depending on what the targeted audience is, the way in which you advertise the event is extremely important. If it were for a younger audience, say 16-25, you would want to keep most advertisement online, seeing as most young adults spend a lot of their time on social media, and I would assume that’s where you would most likely be successful in reaching them. If the audience you are trying to reach is an older age group, say 35+, you would have more success reaching out them personally. This could include putting up posters, handing out business cards, sponsoring a local team or group, running an ad in the newspaper, TV, or radio advertising. Working and keeping to a tight deadline is necessary, for example, you might schedule when a new piece of information about said event gets released to the public. Take Leeds Fest as an example. Tickets for this event always go on sale the previous year, usually during autumn. But what’s interesting, is that the full line-up doesn’t get announced until roughly March/April. Therefore, this keeps the audience engaged because even after they’ve bought their ticket, almost a year in advance, there is still suspense on who will be part of the line-up. I think this is a successful marketing strategy because it encourages more people to buy tickets because of the potential they could see an artist that they really like.
A typical day in the life of an event organiser would include a lot of communication with clients, making sure everyone is clear on their role within the event, and confirming that they would have everything necessary for the event to be successful. Speaking with clients could be over the phone, or via email, which could mean spending a lot of time in an office, which one could assume to be quite repetitive, but the amount of diversity within clients would keep the day interesting. A day’s work could also include a large amount of research, research for an appropriate venue, which I would assume to be quite time-consuming. Outside of office hours, an event organiser could be meeting with potential partners for the event; a photographer, a florist, caterers, musicians etc. An experienced event planner would already have made connections and relationships with their partners, considering that they would be appropriate for the event, they would potentially reach out to the same people, knowing that they would be reliable and suitable for this project. An event organiser will also take time out of the office for “idea development”. This would involve eating at new restaurants, checking out new spaces, looking at new decorations to add to the event. As I mentioned previously, an event organiser would need the credibility to keep their clients interested – so it is necessary to be constantly checking out new venues for potential hire. A good event organiser will avoid using the same venue for different clients. Using different ideas/twists for each event will give each client an individualistic experience, which is something only a credible event organiser can achieve.
Being your own independent business, there are a lot of legal issues which can easily sprout within your career. These can include getting a business license, a liquor license, making sure you have a child protection policy, always paying your business taxes, making sure the name of your business isn’t too like anyone else’s, and having a secure commercial general liability insurance. If you don’t have your own tax advisor, it can be easy to fall into incorrect payments. For example, if you haven’t had a great deal of clients over the past year or so, you stop paying quarterly taxes. At the end of the year, your tax preparer informs you that the business was responsible for quarterly IRS payments. You can avoid this by setting up your own tax advisor and confirming that you and your business are all up to date with proper payments. Most events will include alcohol, so having your own liquor license is pretty much a necessity. Venues can sometimes lose their liquor license, or not even have one in the first place, but an open bar would be an easy fix which is possible if you have your own liquor license. Speaking of alcohol, having a child protection policy may cover you if any lawsuits. This policy ensures a safe space and entertainment for children, plus a search coordination if a child goes missing.
Researching your target audience is a great way to start understanding how to market and promote your business. It can help you decide what kind of clientele you want to build up, along with how to secure positive relationships within that clientele. Creating a target audience persona, like a fictional profile, can help your business achieve more accurately targeted approaches, with a more successful reach. Things to consider would include identity, occupation, interests, motivations, common pain points, and most importantly, what they are expecting from the event. Email marketing is a very successful strategy to engage clients. Sending emails consists of the same, easy-to-consume content one would find on social media but sending it directly to a client acclimates a personal, individual foundation to which you can build on. Emails could include guidance concerning the event, background information or context about the event or its purpose, key information on what the attendee must know beforehand, or stories and content related to the event.
Event promotion and marketing could also include pop-up shops. This gives the public a chance to understand the general theme of the event without being committed. For example, in 2019, the Rainbow Room offered a pop-up shop tiki bar to an iconic dining venue in New York City. They offered snacks, drinks, along with festive tiki cocktails to everyone who attended the event. the rainbow room stayed true to their colours, by offering oysters topped with pink peppercorns, cotton candy, and rose sorbet.
There are still many common problems and challengers an event organiser might have to face and overcome. Intellectual and practical problems could include understaffing the event, overspending the budget, no weather backup plan, lack of experience, or simply just too many guests. Doing proper research and receiving appropriate feedback from colleagues will give a good helping hand to anyone who is slightly inexperienced with event organising. Personal problems could include getting too attached to a certain theme or vision of the event. There is a high chance that an event may never turn out exactly how you envisioned it to be, and it must be something that should be accepted. If an event organiser is too high strung, they might become impossible to work with, and that could be very off-putting to potential future clients. Another personal challenge could be lack of creativity. If you have no vision or inspiration for the event, there would be a lack of theme, which will easily be confusing and misleading to partners of the event. No one would know how to prepare themselves for the event, which again, is off-putting for any sort of potential future clients. Inspiration can derive from many things, music, a book, research, personal experience. A good and reliable event organiser will always know how to take something significant to them, and turn it into a successful, beautiful project.
Event organisers are commonly very expressive and creative individuals, who want their hard work to be appreciated by the public eye. A massive pro for this career is that it is never repetitive. You are always meeting new clients, making new connections, constantly using your creativity, and gaining a new experience from each project. Making positive business connections is always good for career growth and personal growth. You also can give someone the best experience possible, which they would likely remember for the rest of their lives. Plus, if you’re also personally interested in the same things, it would mean you are constantly surrounded by things you enjoy. If you have not yet decided what events you most enjoy doing, plenty of experience can help you decide. Being an event organiser with a particular niche can help you with getting hired for projects you most enjoy doing. This makes the job even more enjoyable.
To conclude, I think event organising is a brilliant career to involve yourself in. You have endless amounts of opportunities and every door possible open to you. It introduces you to the music/entertainment industry, without making yourself bend over backwards to fit certain expectations or rules. It is a great way to make connections and meet other individuals with like-minded interests, plus a productive outlet for people with great passion for creativity.
Cvent Guest
2nd March 2023
12 Event Planning Skills You Need for Success
https://www.cvent.com/uk/blog/events/12-event-planning-skills-you-need-success
Jennifer Mancuso
1st November 2007
The Everything Guide to Being an Event Planner: Insider Advice on Turning Your Creative Energy into a Rewarding Career
Meaghan Messler
8th November 2023
8 Event Marketing Examples to Inspire Your Campaign
https://www.constantcontact.com/blog/8-event-marketing-examples-to-inspire-your-campaign
