Rationale

Time-management  

Our pre-planned timeline for the event is structured within a 12-week time frame of the show’s date. Giving ourselves this frame allows us the appropriate timing for planning and to stay on schedule. In the initial weeks, twelve to ten the artist and venue booking was our priority. Weeks nine to eight were focused on the events budget, advance and risk assessment. We were able to make sure all our financial and operational requirements were clearly planned beforehand, so we were able to stay within our budget. In weeks seven to four our marketing and publicity campaign started to roll out, as well as our press release distribution and our social media promotion. Hospitality requirements, staffing and final production details will be confirmed in weeks three to two, in the final week the schedules and contingency plans will be confirmed as well as any final checks finalised. 

Time management within the group proved to be more difficult than we originally anticipated due to colliding commitments, illness, and the group taking a little longer than expected to demonstrate effective communication methods. After an initial adjustment period, the group worked out an effective workflow method by allocating tasks with deadlines to maximise our productivity. This reflects research by Nordahl-Pedersen and Heggholmen (2022), who have outlined the idea that structured planning, early organisation, and the effectiveness of communication collectively contribute to success, specifically in student-led event projects. Our main way to communicate outside of our lectures was via Instagram, where we would keep each other updated on our progress. To utilise our time, the group used our scheduled lectures to discuss initial ideas, which we reviewed later via messages to determine the verdict of the ideas. Meetings were also held to review some more specific tasks; during these we could raise any issues, allowing them to be resolved collaboratively. During these meetings, we discussed subjects such as artist photography, marketing strategies, the aesthetic of the poster (see *Appendix 1*) and general support in completing our assigned tasks. By taking this approach, Willow & Oak successfully remained on track with our agreed deadlines. To meet all of the final deadlines, the group’s organisational skills were tested thoroughly, and in the end, we completed outstanding tasks within the required timeframe.

Production 

Event planning also requires careful coordination of technical and logistical operations for live music performances. As promoters, we are responsible for making the necessary arrangements for performers, making sure the venue specifications, as well as the artist specifications, work in a way that avoids technical or operational clashes. Having our event take place at The Lending Room supports us with the technical requirements. As seen on the venue specification, the venue provides a PA system along with microphones, mic stands, DI boxes and a drum kit, leaving performers responsible for bringing their own instruments. Acting both as the promoter and the performers of the event, Willow & Oak have had organisational and communication methods made much simpler as there isn’t a need for a middleman. This positively affected our communication processes and improved our overall time management. There was also the question of having our own lighting engineer, but ultimately we decided to use the venue’s in-house lights and lighting engineer, as outlined in the advance. The event will also be documented through professional photography. To add to this, a channel and input list which was designed for our lineup and shows the compatibility for the venue’s engineers. This thorough preparation makes sure the technical requirements of our artists are met, and overall, helps the event run smoothly. For the most part, we had to take into account some logistical considerations; our performers are local to Leeds, therefore we have had no issues with paid travel, but we have had to take into consideration how we will transport gear such as guitars. Our resolution was for group members with access to transportation, such as cars, to provide the travel to the event; this also is the safest transportation for equipment, and contributed to effectively saving money on travel expenses. As hospitality goes, there’s been a request for crisps, water, and beers to be provided in the dressing room for performers before their performances; as a bonus comfort.

Contingency plans

It’s important to have backup options if anything were to go wrong. By creating a detailed contingency plan, we have been able to reduce stress caused by potential crises. Eriksson and McConnell (2011) state that “limits of our knowledge of what the future holds may be instinctively obvious” but carry on to write about how we can never truly know what the future holds. The point of this is that a successful contingency plan depends on more than just the planning; those responsible for the delivery of the event have just as much responsibility and need to be able to demonstrate flexibility and the capacity to adapt to high-stress environments. With this in mind, as a team, we have communicated methods for potential crises and how we are prepared for crises. We feel that if we are prepared for anything, we will be able to keep in control of any situation.

As a team, we have taken into consideration areas such as operational, performance, and technical issues. When thinking of technical risks, we discussed what we can do in the event of sound system failures, power outages, monitor issues, and feedback. By using the venue’s in-house engineers, we are eliminating further technical risks and by keeping in contact with the venue prior to the event, making sure these risks are effectively managed. We know that by sound-checking earlier, we can eliminate part of the risk. As the performers, we will make sure we have spare equipment if needed (such as cables, mics and strings). Where there are artist-related risks, such as illness, absent band members or forgotten equipment. We have measures in place to keep the night going. These include preparing shorter or more stripped-back sets, having potential backing tracks ready and rehearsing alternative arrangements. Being ready for different scenarios will reduce the likelihood of disruption. Lastly, when looking into the operational risks such as changeover delays, late audience entry/low attendance and potentially breaching the venue curfew, there were extra efforts to fit in buffer periods. The set times have been clearly discussed, but as a precaution these have been added as ‘extra’ time so we can stick to our schedule in case of any unforeseen delays. By researching as a team and as the artists, we have been able to set ourselves up to be ready for anything. As of now, our work has helped us to organise each technical and logistical aspect of the event, including the venue, artists, equipment, and promotional materials needed to make it a successful indie/folk night.

Finance

When arranging a live music event, Shone and Parry (2019, p. 125) state, “Financial planning and good financial control are important aspects of the event management process”. In relation to Willow & Oak, budgeting decisions have been made to ensure the controlled and responsible financial decisions of the event. After deciding the type of event we will be holding, as well as establishing that we will be the performers. We started researching venues that would be suitable, places such as Left Bank, Hyde Park Book Club and The Wardrobe were all taken into consideration but ultimately we decided on The Lending Room – set at a price suitable to our budget (£130 with staff included), it was ultimately the best option. When looking into financial risks, this was something that concerned us. We worked out that if we split the cost equally among the five members of Willow & Oak, we would reduce the potential risk of individuals facing financial exposure. Especially taking into consideration the risk of ticket sales not meeting expectations. Deciding our ticket pricing was relatively simple; taking “willingness and ability to pay is vital” (Kitchen, 2012, Financing Events) into consideration was key. Referencing gigs we have been to in the past, while also reflecting on informal primary market research we gathered through word of mouth, we figured ADV £5 & MOTD £7-£10 (seen on costings) was the most feasible and reasonable price range. Having a flexible pricing approach leaves us with room to adjust the door prices. In the case that there’s low advance on ticket sales, we will bump up prices (£9–10) OTD. This method reduces the likelihood of financial risks. Based on projected ticket pricing, we are expected to break even by selling 20-30 tickets. This is considered a relatively low number of sales required to break even, which reduces our likelihood of financial loss (See *Appendix 2* for ticket revenue). 

If the event were to sell out online at full venue capacity (200people), financial projections show a possible return of approximately 667% on the initial £150 spent, resulting in a projected profit of £1000. This equation was made by using the calculation for ROI; aka “Return of Investment” (*Appendix 3*) as seen by Beatie, Investopedia, 2025. This has not included the hold spaces we have saved for us (Willow & Oak group) and 3 guest spots for potential press or photography. Given the group-based arrangement, we agreed collectively that any profit made will be equally split. We will be using TicketLab to sell and manage our tickets; they charge 20p as well as up to 6% from the buyer, which reduces overall costs for us compared to competing sites. We have been able to mitigate transportation issues by managing it internally, Thomas and I will drive equipment, performers, and other essentials to the venue; eliminating the extra costs of external travel. To keep being cost-efficient, we’ve arranged photography through close friends. This allows our event to be captured without any extra finances. Using this method, we’re being as practical as possible while still providing great quality photography. By removing the cost of a photographer as a financial choice, it allows us to put our money on more essential things, such as the venue hire and marketing choices. After researching how much it would be to have a poster made, we found the prices ranged from as low as £4 to £100+, depending on the artist. Having one of our group members make our poster was the most cost-efficient option. We put aside a total of £20 to go towards advertising. These choices contribute to our overall budget control and reflect our management while staying professional.

Marketing and Promotion

When planning, we wanted to make sure we incorporated our ‘roots’ into our marketing. This idea of our ‘roots’ is a reflection of Willow & Oak as a company, and our goal of bringing the intimacy of events back to life. To do this, we used stylistic choices such as the wooden backing to our poster and the grain effect. As well as this, the Scrabble tiles seen came from an idea one of our members had when playing the game with loved ones. This concept reflects the idea Willow & Oak want to project; we believe it will appeal to our target audience. With our night’s themes of indie folk music, we knew it was important to incorporate our vision of the night into our promotion and marketing. To do this, we looked back to week 6 of the event management slides, where Beddoe (2025) states, “All marketing ideas should be explored through brainstorming”. Beddoe’s slides follow this point by suggesting the idea of listing the promotional routes possible to go down. This was where we started our process of promoting the night.

After discussing our options, we chose our main method of promotion to be via social media. Using Willow & Oaks ‘ Instagram and TikTok, we’re able to create content for our target audience to engage with. By using social-media-based marketing, we can have “fast and wide assess to target consumers” (Ravi, Kumar, 2021). There are ways to control how the algorithms work, which is by relevance. You don’t see posts that are not relevant to you because everyone’s social media feed is tailored to their own satisfaction. This is how we will reach our target audience and drive up our ticket sales. By incorporating relevant hashtags and creating engaging content, the event can increase audience reach. Some of the other ideas we have for our socials are mock videos; humour-based promotion, to bring more traction, as well as posting out artwork and any previous videos of our artists.  Finally, our poster will be printed out by us using our credit (no expenses lost). These will be posted around the uni, town and local shops that will be willing to help. We will begin marketing between weeks 7-4 (as previously mentioned).

Technical Specifications

Press Release