100 Marks Brand Building

BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Over the last few years, the number of entertainment and community events subsidized by enthusiastic advertisers has increased. They apparently recognize this as a new media form possessing the unique ability to breakthrough the clutter of thousands of commercial messages that bombard customers daily. An event can enhance and link other elements of a promotional mix – advertising, public relations, sales promotion and direct marketing – to create a singular; high visibility experience for the consumer. Traditional ways of marketing communication such as advertising and sales promotion are losing their effectiveness day by day because of the exponentially increasing clutter in all types of media. The result is reduced reach and impact. In the new millennium, events are proving to be the best media for enhancing the effectiveness of advertising and sales promotions since events take marketing phrase Customer is the King/Queen literally and endeavor to actually treat the customers to experience hitherto reserved for the royalty. Events can now be positioned not as a subsidiary effort to advertising but as an equally important independent marketing communication tool. Events enhance the effectiveness of the traditional modes of communication as they can be more focused on a particular target market. They can also act as a logical and impactful end to an advertising campaign as and when there is a need to shift to a new campaign involving a different promotional mix. The coming age of the events industry can be seen from the fact that a rough conservative estimate involved in events is Rs.500 crores in the year 2000-2001. The growth rate forecast for the same being 50 to 100% per annum. A cursory glance through a daily newspaper revealed astounding statistics. Total number of events on that particular day: 136, number of sports events: 12, number of entertainment related events: 56, number of general events: 44, and so on. Taking a conservatively low value of Rs.1, 00,000 per event, we get a daily turnover of Rs.13.6 crores!!! Now it would be easier for the size of the events industry.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Rs.500 crores is the estimated chunk of the market that is available for professional event organizers to exploit, given the fact that most events get done in- house by either corporations or other institutions. In fact, some more ad hoc calculations would reveal that family events especially marriages also involve enormous money. Assuming that 1000 weddings and other family ceremonies at an average expenditure of Rs.2, 00,000 take place in India every day, we would get a whopping figure of Rs.20 crores spent per day! College festivals form another major area and such college festivals are invariably totally in control of the youngsters in the 17 to 21 years age group. The number crunching done here was just to explain the enormity of the industry and the opportunities therein.

Generally speaking sponsored events fall into five major categories: sports, entertainments, fairs & festivals the arts &cause-related. Clearly, event marketing has rapidly become a significant element within the marketing mix. It’s strategic enable marketers to communicate with consumers in a personal & relevant manner to fully “experience” their brands. It also provides a framework for an integrated marketing plan that can support a number of corporate, brand & trade objectives.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 2 :BRAND AND BRAND BUILDING Branding is a major issue in product strategy. Creating a brand loyal market is the main aim of any marketer. At the same time, developing a branded product requires a great deal of long-term investment, especially for advertising & promotion. 9 WHAT IS A BRAND? Perhaps the most distinctive skill of professional marketers is their ability to create, maintain, protect & enhance brands. Branding is the art & cornerstone of marketing. The American Marketing Association {AMA} defines a brand as; “a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, Intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers to differentiate them from those of competitors”. Thus a brand identifies the seller or maker. Brands differ from other assets such as patents, copyrights that have expiration dates. According to Kevin Keller “what distinguishes a brand from its unbranded commodity counterparts is the consumer’s perceptions & feelings about the product’s attributes & how they perform. Ultimately, a brand resides in the minds of consumers.” Marketers must decide at which level(s) to anchor the brand’s identity. Scott Davis suggests visualizing a brand pyramid in constructing the events of a brand. At the lowest level are the brand attributes, at the next level are the brand’s benefits, and at the top are the brand’s beliefs & values. Example: Thus marketers of dove soap can talk about its attribute of one- quarter cleansing cream; or its benefit of softer skin; or its value, being more attractive. The attribute is the least desirable level. First, the buyer more interested in benefits. Second, competitors can easily copy attributes. Third, the current attributes may become less desirable.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS A brand can be better positioned by associating its name with a desirable benefit. Some successful brand positioning examples are Volvo (safety), hallmark (caring), Harley-Davidson (adventure), Nike (performance) & Lexus (quality). If the brand evokes a strong set of beliefs & values, the company must be careful not to stray from this. Thus Mercedes stands for high technology, performance & success. Mercedes must project these qualities in its brand strategy. 9 BRAND ESSENCE AND ATTRIBUTES There must be some link or fit with the property's offering and the sponsor's offering They should share similar attributes, such as high quality, well built, expensive, high prestige Complementary Values must exist between sponsor's product(s) and property. An example is, prestige, quality and expensiveness would be present in an event associated with Mercedes or BMW. You would not expect to find both supporting an event associated with Kmart. 9 BRAND BUIDING IDENTITY Building brand identity requires additional decisions on brand‘s name, logo, colors, tagline & symbol. At the same time, a brand is much more than a name, logo, colors, and tagline of symbol. These are marketing tools & tactics. A brand is essentially a marketer’s promise to deliver a specific set of features, benefits & services consistently to the buyers. The marketer must establish a mission for the brand & a vision of what the brand must be & do. The marketer must think that he is offering a contract to customer regarding how the brand will perform. The brand contract must honest.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS 9 BRAND EQUITY Brands vary in the amount of power & value they have in the market place. At one extreme there are brands that are not known by most buyers. Then there are brands for which buyers have a fairly high degree of brand awareness. Beyond this are brands with a high degree of brand acceptability. Then there are brands that enjoy or high degree of brand preference. Finally, there are brands that command or high degree of brand loyalty. High brand equity provides a number of competitive advantages. i. The company will have more trade leverage in bargaining with distributors & retailers because customers expect them to carry the brand. ii.The company can charge on higher price than its competitors because the brand has higher perceived quality. iii. The company can more easily launch extensions because the brand name carries high creditability. iv.The brand offers the company, some defense against price competitive.

9 MANAGING BRAND EQUITY A brand needs to be carefully managed so that its equity does not depreciate. This requires maintaining or improving brand awareness, perceived quality & functionality, & positive associations. These tasks require continuous research & development investment, skillful advertising & excellent trade & consumer service.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS 9 BRAND BUIDING TOOLS A common misconception is that brands are basically built by advertising. It is true that TV stations & people watched the comedies, dramas, & ads with almost equal interest. Now, viewers may be watching one of the dozens of TV stations & many are zapping or ignoring the commercials. In fact many more are simply not watching TV. They are busy on their computers or engaged in recreational activities. Marketers are therefore turning to other tools for attracting attention to their brands. Among the most important are:i.Public relations & press releases: Brands can gain a lot of attention from well-placed newspapers & magazine stories, etc. ii.Sponsorship: Brands are frequently promoted in sponsored events such as world famous bicycle & car races. iii.Clubs & consumer communities: Brands can form the center of a customer community, such as Harley-Davidson motorcycle owners or Bradford plate collectors. iv.Factory visits: Hershey’s & Cadbury’s, two candy companies, have built theme parks at their factories & they invite visitors to spend a day. v.Trade shows: trade show creates a great opportunity to built brand awareness, knowledge & interest. vi.Event marketing: Many automobile companies make an event out of introducing their new car models. vii. Public facilities: Perrier, the bottled water company, etched its identity in the public parks to promote healthful lifestyles. viii.Social cause marketing: Brands can achieve a following by donating money to charitable causes. Ben & jerry‘s ice cream turns over 7% of its profits to charity. ix.High value for the money: Some brand creates positive word of mouth by offering exceptional value for the money. Examples include IKEA & southwest airlines. x.Founders or celebrity personality: A colorful founder, such as Richard Branson, or a celebrity personality, such as Michael Jordan, can create positive affect for a brand.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS 9 BRAND ASSET MANAGEMENT Although print and broadcast advertising have played a large role in building strong brands, other forces are now playing an increasing role. Customers come to know a brand through a range of contacts & touch points: personal observation & use, word of mouth, meeting company personnel, telephone experience, seeing a web page, receiving invoices, live events & so on. Any of these experiences can be positive or negative. Companies must balance their communication expenditures among the main communication media these include the following seven communications vehicles: advertising, public relations, trade and sales promotion, consumer promotions, direct marketing, event marketing & internal employee communications. Companies are increasingly moving their brand building budgets to public relations, direct marketing, event marketing & employee training. 9 BRAND BUIDING A PART OF EVENT MARKETING Event marketing’s popularity is a relatively recent phenomenon, which evolved to reach an increasingly cynical consumer activity. Events overwhelmed by media clutter and promotional activity. Events offered marketers close, personal contact with consumers. Like traditional advertising and promotions, events can be selected to fit demographic requirements. Events offer the opportunity to connect with consumers one-on-one. When event marketing is done properly, it can generate sales and increase traffic. Even alter brand personality trades through association with the qualities of the event; associate companies with customer lifestyles; create opportunities to build personal relationships with customers that many eventually positively affect sales; create an imprint, not just an impression; extend impact through advertising media coverage and outreach to people attracted to the event because of personal interests; allow for niche marketing because the marketer can manage demographics, psychographics, time and location; extend the value of advertising campaigns by creating a dynamic, interactive environment that makes key messages more relevant and personal.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Associate a company(brand, product) with the qualities of the event itself while simultaneously projecting the company’s personality, values and style; position a company to be in touch with people’s interests and responsive to their preferences, lifestyles and attitudes. Event marketing is an important part of any integrated communications plan because it extends the impact of other elements (advertising promotion, etc.) in an environment where consumers are more open and receptive. Event marketing involves canvassing for clients and arranging feedback for the creative concepts during and after the concept initiation so as to arrive at a customized package for the client, keeping the brand values and target audience in mind. Marketing plays an important role in pricing and negotiation as well as identifying opportunities to define and retain event properties by gathering marketing intelligence with regard to pricing, timing, etc. In fact, ideally, event marketing involves simultaneous canvassing and studying the brands prints; understanding what the brand stands for, its positing and values, identifying the target audience and liaison with the creative conceptualizes to create an event for a perfect mesh with the brand’s personality. Events literally bring products to participants in an innovative and personally involving manner. For example, when Camlin was interested in introducing active school students to its new product line of Artoons sketch pens, in addition to advertising in the expected magazines and TV options; it sponsored drawing competitions at premier city schools. It offered product giveaways and demonstrated the product’s features and benefits through a huge float and effectively, reinforces the brand image of the product or service in the interest of the consumer through an event association using celebrities, locations and/or acknowledged industry leaders. In 1998, soft drinks manufacturer Coca-Cola India acted as the title sponsor of part of the Asha Bhonsle Live Concert Tour organized by UNIRAPPORT Events, a division of UTV. The concert was an elaborate tour of 10 cities. The audience had the opportunity to watch Asha Bhonsle live in concert. Coke obtained the opportunity to present the event and use tickets for the show as giveaways, thus effectively tying a brand building exercise with increasing customer traffic in its retail outlets as well as a sales promotion campaign. Events therefore offer innumerable opportunities for the sponsors to extract every possible mileage available in the marketing lexicon. -8-

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Though sponsoring of a big event like a rock show, an Olympic Games or a cricket tournament invariably means sharing the limelight with other companies and other brands, the customization of events totally serves the communication agenda of a company. Communication through live media integrates the functions of advertising, sales promotions and public relations. Events vie for a very small share of the marketing budget pie as of now. But as the importance of events as a marketing tool builds up, it will eat into a larger portion of the marketing budget pie vis-à-vis other currently popular modes of marketing communication such as television advertising and Internet banner ads. It will thus become a part and parcel of the integrated campaign. This is so because events help in addressing the diverse marketing needs of a company.

9 BUILDING LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS Value creation is paramount in building long term relationship. The sponsorship that was created is a mutual exchange between you and the sponsor. Both are expected to benefit simultaneously. To ensure this you need to manage the relationship. This calls for a plan strategy, an action or implementation process and a feedback, check or evaluation process. Your sponsor should be in agreement with the procedures outlined in obtaining the objectives of the sponsorship. The check or evaluation process calls for some form of measurement of results on a time line basis. Here is one last tip. When you are making your objectives make sure they are not arbitrary. Make sure they are specific, quantitative, realistic, measurable and attainable. Marketing involves sales, costs of sales, and sales and marketing expenses, all of which affect profitability and cash flow. Financial objectives are different from marketing objectives and are in most cases easier to measure. Marketing objectives are mostly based on sales revenue and market

share

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awareness

level

depending

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the

visibility

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the

sponsor.

Sales are much easier to measure and track. Market share and awareness are more difficult because it may require research to determine these accurately. As you develop objectives it is much better to develop the measuring system within the objectives itself. -9-

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS 9 BUILDING A BRAND AND LOOSING YOUR SHIRT Brand building has long been the rage in industrialized countries and now the buzz has reached Asia. Gurus are preaching to Asian entrepreneurs that they should build their own brand names rather than copy someone else’s ideas. Innovate rather than imitate seems to be the thing to do. Great examples are offered: Sony, Nike, and Orange. All prime examples of profitable products made successful through brand building. Through years of advertising these brands have become recognizable symbols to nearly everyone on the planet. In countries where competition, individual achievement and standing out from the rest are not among the most important values, there are typically few well known brands. Still, Asian marketers have always understood the need to persuade and compete in their advertising messages. So in the past decades, where strong brands have proven to be money makers, the Asian business scene has naturally started taking notice. At the same time advertising agencies and consultants in the region have been keen on stressing on advertising as the only way to truly create a brand. The role of advertising itself is changing rapidly, due to emerging media technology such as mobile phones, the internet and point of purchase advertising. Ad agencies are desperately trying to catch up with the new media. Starbucks as an example of how a brand can be established without massive spending. In some product categories in South East Asia, spending on brand building is already established. One example is the lucrative energy drink market in Thailand. In a bid for market share several advertisers are spending heavily on traditional media such as TV and billboards. This particular market has switched from being use oriented to being user-oriented, and linking a well known spokesperson to the brand has been the preferred method. Presenters, mostly rock stars, are promoting new brands or old brands that have been revamped. The question now is whether producers with smaller budgets can try to promote innovative products to consumers through brand building and not loose their shirts. There is hope for Asian entrepreneurs who want to build a unique brand without taking huge financial risks. -10-

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Since the global trend is shifting from excessive spending on mass media to more focused promotional activities the companies can look in their own back yard for the answers. Demonstrations using skilled demonstrators are a way to create short term product trial as well as promoting the brand. Point of purchase marketing can communicate branding now at bus stations, malls, train stations, inside taxis outside taxis, etc. These are relatively inexpensive ways of communicating a message that could build a brand. Nobody says the building of a brand has to happen overnight. The cheaper options will take longer time for the brand to be built – that has to be admitted. But the point is that brands require innovation not only in the product development stage but also in methods of finding low cost media. Of course the choice of media will always depend on the target customer. Finally, another important issue besides the execution or choice of media channel is the original idea for the brand and how that idea is perceived by the target audience.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 3 :EVENTS 9 AGE OF EVENTS Events arise out of an individual’s pleasure instinct. The ever-increasing human need for new mediums of entertainment captured the fancy of Indians. Thus the previously unorganized sector of events made way for amore professional approach to event management. The success of any event can be measured by the smiles, satisfaction, awe, inspiration and exhilaration that it generates. To arrive at the correct chemical formulae of a successful event, there are no fixed parameters. Trial and error was the basic approach followed by the event professionals until recently. Although

there is no concrete formulae for the eventual success of an event, it

can, however, be said with some amount of confidence that a structured and organized outlook can work wonders for any new industry. By doing this, the chances of success of an event are greatly increased.

9 WHAT ARE EVENTS? An event in its universal and literal form would be any occasion when sometimes happens or sometimes needs to be done to organize the same. The Pushkar Mela has the distinction of being the biggest attended fair anywhere in India, if not the entire world, making it the biggest event of its kind. As per the article in Business Today of December 7 – 21, 1993, every year an estimate audience of 3 crore attends the fair in Rajasthan. India has roughly 5000 such fairs and festival. These represent the biggest organized events from ancient times. Originated on religious lines, this Mela- which literally means fair—have always been a meeting ground for big and small traders, across Indian subcontinent. Traditional games and entertainment have always been part of such events.

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The euphoria generated in the fair was not only good for the participants and audience but also for the economy for the region as a whole. Ancient events such as Indian fairs and festivals with their visually spectacular depiction of epic themes interwoven with singing, dancing and emotion were a means of expression of the spiritual and cultural tradition of a community. Rural India comprises of 75000 villages and the T.V. penetration here barely crosses 11% and the internet effect is infinitesimally small. Therefore, to obtain reach for their communication campaigns, various corporate have resorted to events as a strategic alternative. Having made a humble beginning, event has now come a long way in terms of classification and specialization that are possible in this field. In fact, in this new millennium, events as a medium will be catering to all demographic segments of the population. Events have proved to be a versatile marketing communications tools since they can easily customized to cater to the communication needs of the industry; be it pharmaceutical, financial services or any other. To add to the benefits s that an events offers, live media integrate the three traditional model of marketing communication, viz. advertising, sales promotion and public relations. An event can actually act as a focus for specific company and help in giving a guideline to media- related decision making such as when to change, stop or introduce new campaign. 9 EVENT DEFINED Marketing guru, Philip Kotler, defines events as occurrences designed to communicate particular message to target audience. Sureh Pillai. Managing Director, Events Management, considers events as an additional media whereby two-way (or active) communication is possible. Deepak Gattani, Director, Unirapport Events, one of the India’s foremost events agencies define event as something noteworthy which happens according to a set plan involving network of multi media package, thereby achieving the client objectives and justifying their needs for associating with event.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS 9 A COMPREHENSIVE NEW DEFINITION An event is a live –multimedia package carried out with preconceived concepts, customized or modified to achieve the clients’ objectives of reaching out and suitably influencing the sharply defined, specially gathered target audience by providing a complete sensual experience and an avenue for two-way interaction. The following figure is the graphical representation of the above definition. It is evident from the model that an event is a package so organized as to provide, reach and live interaction between the target audience and the client to achieve the desired impact. The population of the target audience that the event is exposed to is called the reach for the event. The live interaction process facilitates communication between the clients and the audience. This process strengthens the possibilities of mutually beneficial transactions occurring in tune with the desired objectives for the event. Events have therefore also been termed as experiential marketing.

Events

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Right communication from the Client

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9 HIERARCHY OF EVENTS The hierarchy of effects normally follows a gradual pattern:

What makes it complicated, however, are the other competing communication:

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Therefore it is important to keep a healthy share of voice for the event-specific communication to achieve the desired objectives. The need increases if there are multiple sponsors of the event, or if there is any chance of an ambush marketer breaking-in.

9 AN IDEAL EVENT-ASSOCIATION PROCESS:

Objectives: This would include clarity on the marketing objective, target audience for the specific communication, and a measurable communication-objective. An increase in off-take is normally the end result of any element of a marketing communication-mix. However, the short-term measurable objectives may vary. a] Brand awareness b] Creating excitement around the brand c] Association with the cause of the event to find acceptance within the TG d] Trial of the brand

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Rest of the decisions would follow from the current objective of the brand: Consumer insights: A truly great event idea is one that moves far beyond the questions about what people want and starts looking at what they care about. If an event with good brandproposition/target-audience fit is not available, it may necessitate creation of a new event with elements controlled by the consumer insight. Evaluating various media choices: Multiple media options were evaluated along all the parameters given above. The noise-level around cricket on any medium was just deafening, especially at a time when the World Cup was around the corner. At the price-value equilibriumpoint and given brand need, the best option came to be an event around cricket, targeting the particular consumer insight Contact innovation: "Race for Pace" - This unique grassroots event was aimed at finding and nurturing potential fast bowlers. It would enable the brand to associate itself with a sport that's next to religion in India and with a cause that few have identified their brands with. This event gives an opportunity to the brand to strengthen its bond with the Mumbai community as well. Value-creation: The event led to an association of the brand with some of the most respected names in Indian and world cricket. It involved cricketers like Dennis Lillee, Nari Contractor, Karsan Ghavri, Balwinder Singh, and Ajit Wadekar. More importantly, this association was to promote the game and not only to convey the commercial message of the brand. The event generated an unprecedented response. It is important to note that this was pre-exam period and therefore it was rather difficult to get a large participation. However, the number of registrations during the event surpassed all the expectations - it was 25 per cent higher than the maximum expected number! Besides, the kind of visibility and appeal this association created for the brand was formidable.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Some of the key factors to be looked at while associating with an event:

Sustainability: Sponsorships take time and sustained support to build high recall for the association. Fortunately, sponsorship decay-rate is also normally quite low and therefore a good association takes a lot of time to erode from popular memory. An event should be associated with on a long-term perspective and not as a one-off fling. Ghost awareness: The stronger the brand, higher is the chance of its being recalled as associated with a certain event. However, fairly unknown brands can also build good quality awareness, if the association is right, provided they sustain the sponsorship for a long enough time. Sell-through rights: It gives the title sponsor a right to sell the rest of the sponsorships of the event. It helps the promoters of the event as it offsets their up-front cost, while it lets the title sponsor decide the clutter level around the event. Promotional partnership: A marketer's contribution to the event is a factor of the sales the event generates for the brand. Performance assurance: It ensures the promoters of the event share the risk with the marketer in terms of success of the event. Some of these developments would make it easier for marketers and media planners to make sponsorship-investment decisions. However, keeping a focus on the brand and association objectives and regularly monitoring the delivery of any sponsorship on these parameters would always be important.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS 9 WHY EVENTS Events help in brand building by: [ Creating awareness about the launch of new brands/products A random survey of marketing and other management magazines including newspapers would reveal the enormous number of brand/product launches that happen every month. For example, a compilation of new products launched in just a month can vary between 6 to 21, the number being higher in the summer months. Similarly, innumerable new music albums, films, etc. get released periodically. Hence, there tends to be a clutter of product launches too and these may not necessarily be confusion among the same product category. The enormous number of launches also leads to the need to overcome the "oh-yet-another-product" syndrome. The need to therefore catch the attention of the target audience, at the time of launch, becomes all the more important. An especially interesting example that can be cited here is that of the launch of an audio cassette label by the name of Wings. The launch event was organized with select celebrities gracing the occasion on board a hired aircraft, literally taking the brand name by its meaning! Such events seldom fail to catch the attention of the target audience. [ Presentation of brand description to highlight the added features of product/ service Sometimes technological changes or policy changes pave the way for manufacturers or service providers to augment their products/brands. To convey this via traditional modes of communication to the existing and potential customer base may sometimes be futile or ineffective. Special service camps or exhibitions are the perfect events that provide the opportunity for a two-way interaction and error-free communication. IMTEX, the Industrial Machine Tools Exhibition, is an event used by most machine tool manufacturers to explain and highlight the new and improved features of their products. The rapid pace with which computer specifications change and that too with drastic effects on their prices, it becomes imperative that dealers and retailers take part in exhibitions to educate the customers on the changes that have taken place and how they will benefit more.

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[ Helping in rejuvenating brands during the different stages of the product life cycle The massive amount of money that is spent during the introduction stage of products gets drastically reduced over time. By the time the product reaches its maturity/decline stage, the need for cutting down the budgets associated with the media campaigns, while at the same time maintaining the customer base is felt. And events offer the best medium for such a focused approach. It helps in generating feelings of brand loyalty in the products' end user by treating them as royally as possible.

[ Helping in communicating the repositioning of brands/products By organizing or associating with events targeted at a particular group of target audience, it becomes possible for the repositioning exercise to be carried out successfully. In other words, one can also say that events can be designed to assist in changing beliefs about firms/products/services. [ Associating the brand personality of clients with the personality of target market Citibank is an elite bank where people do banking with pride. Hence, other premium brands would like to associate themselves with the same audience as those addressed by Citibank, so as to benefit from the rub-off effect. Thus, through an event like The Great Escape—an exhibition-cum-sale event organized exclusively for Citibank credit card holders, small merchandisers like jewelry shops, white goods retailers and others get to do business with the Citibank customers, as well as build and maintain a premium image for themselves. Therefore, here Citibank acts as the event organizer and such merchandisers, who cannot by themselves arrange for premium events on a large scale, participate as clients to associate the personality of their products and brands with the personality of Citibank customers.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS [ Creating and maintaining brand identity According to newspaper reports, the $ 4 billion, Australia-based Foster's Brewing Group's Asian subsidiary in its plan to launch its beer brand Foster's Lager in India, chose the sports arena for building its brand identity. Reputed for its aggressive marketing thrusts worldwide, Foster's identifies itself with Australia's climate, landscape, people and culture of youthful exuberance. Therefore, with 'Australian ness' as the core of its brand identity, Foster's chose the game of cricket—in which the Aussies are known as the best team in the world—to identify with. By becoming the official sponsors of the Australian cricket team on its India tour, Foster's hoped to achieve its goals of brand identity building and positioning itself at the premium end of the market. Foster's plan for using events for marketing communication goes beyond sports. They plan to sponsor cultural and local events as well as use promotional schemes along with its trade partners involving giveaways of expensive gifts, tickets to watch cricket in Australia or horse-racing, etc. [ Image building Over and above the brand identity that a company encourages, events such as the Great Escape conceived by Mahindra & Mahindra, exclusively for the owners of their four wheel drive vehicle, the Armada, are an attempt to build a specific image of not only the corporate, but also the product. In its seventh edition and being hosted for the second year in succession by Goa, the offbeat drive event organized by Sports craft and cosponsored by Tidewater Oil Company attracted over 250 participants and 85 vehicles for the grueling 90 km drive. To let owners experience the thrill of four-wheel driving, M&M charts out an offbeat route that emphasizes the difference between normal and four-wheel driving and lets the participants experience the high, one feels when steering and navigating an Armada. The trip also creates a bond between the company, the customer and the product as well as amongst the participants themselves. One of the event savvy companies, Mahindra is very much into sports, in that it has its own active soccer team and also sponsors the World Squash Championship to establish a world-class image worldwide. -21-

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Sponsoring events such as the Olympic Games helps in establishing the identities of these sponsors as truly global players. According to the Atlanta Olympics organizers, 10,700 athletes from 197 countries competed at the 1996 Summer Games, and over 2 million people went to Atlanta to see them. The number of people who tuned in to any part of the TV coverage was predicted to reach around 3.5 billion. With such a large audience, the biggest international event in the world is a natural arena for image building.

[ Relationship building

Events help in relationship building by: ™ Giving relationship management a proactive feel Sony and Aiwa have offered free service camps for their music systems and other products. Similarly, free service camps for Maruti and Daewoo car owners have also been held. Events such as these help in not only building up a rapport with the customers, but also help in reducing the cognitive dissonance, which is very common in purchase of such type of products.

™ Creating a forum for bringing together key corporate influencers, decision makers and businessmen The main objective of the 12 city IBM Solutions Forum 98 organized by Tata IBM Ltd. And spread over a few months was to bring to the doorsteps of key people in the industry the wide range of IBM Technologies and cost effective solutions available for all sizes of business.

™ Creating a forum for career match making One of the more frequently held career fairs is the Brassring Career Event, held in the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California by www. Brassring.com. one such event was in August 2000 to facilitate a friendly and face-toface interaction between software professionals looking for career opportunities with recruiters looking to hire the best talent. -22-

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 4 :EVENT MARKETING Event marketing involves canvassing for clients and arranging feedback for the creative concepts during and after the concept initiation so as to arrive at a customized package for the client, keeping the brand values and target audience in mind. Marketing plays an important role in pricing and negotiation as well as identifying opportunities to define and retain event properties by gathering marketing intelligence with regard to pricing, timing, etc. Event marketing has been defined as a state of focused event strategy managed consistently over a period of time to reinforce aspects of brand character. There are further definitions wherein the focus has been more on the reasons why events are being used as a marketing tool. For instance, according to Richard R. Alford, International Vice President and General Manager-India of International Management Group (IMG) event marketing is a rifle shot approach to one’s audience where there is very little wastage. In fact, ideally, event marketing involves simultaneous canvassing and studying the brand prints; understanding what the brand stands for, it’s positioning and values, identifying the target audience and liaison with the creative conceptualizes to create an event for a perfect mesh with the brand’s personality. 9 5 C’S OF EVENTS The activities required marketing and managing events require certain steps to be followed that can be called the five C’s of events. The first is Conceptualisation of the creative idea/ambience followed by Costing i.e. calculation of cost of production and margins on the event. Canvassing, for clients/sponsors, customers/ audience and networking is the next step. Depending on the customers’ needs and marketing objectives, Customization of the concept is required. Finally, the most important part event management is the execution of the event as planned. This activity is termed as Carrying- out the event.

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Initial Concept Canvassing

Costing

Conceptualization

Customization

Final concept

Carry out

Event

5 C’s OF EVENTS

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 5 :REALTIVE IMORTANCE OF EVENTS AS A MARKETING COMMUNICATION TOOL The matrix shown in the figure positions events and other modes of marketing communication in a two-dimensional matrix. The horizontal axis represents the life cycle stage and the vertical axis represents the relative position of the tools. Relative position and life cycle stages can be judged on the basis of the characteristics of the industry. The demand and popularity of the various media help determine the life cycle stage of the media as well as their relative positions vis-à-vis other media. The graphical representation clearly indicates the growing importance of events. With regard to the competitive position of events as a medium and the life cycle stage it is in vis-à-vis other marketing communications media, it is clear that: [ Traditional ways of most popular modes of marketing communication a denoted in the figure are moving from the growth phase into the maturity stage. Their effectiveness is lost due to the cut- throat competition which is leading to undesirable clutter in all kinds of media including internet. [ An event as a medium is in a tentative/ favorable position now and will continue to remain so in the near future and tend towards becoming stronger. Event organizing as an industry is still in the nascent or introductory stage when seen in the light of commercialization or corporatisation of events as a business proposition. Events as a strategic marketing communications tool would gain significant followers and will bite into a much larger portion of the marketing budget.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Dominant Strong Favorable Tentative Weak Introduction

Growth

Mature

Decline

LIFE CYCLE STAGE EVENTS TRADITIONAL MODES OF COMMUNICATION

[ Problems associated with the traditional media The problems associated with traditional media that has been used for satisfying marketing needs discussed in the previous section are listed below:

™ Too many advertisements have lead to a cluttering on TV, print and other media. This has given rise to a need for avenues which provide exclusivity to the sponsor while not sacrificing the benefits of reach and impact. ™ The increasing number of TV channels and the greater no. of programmes have led to fragmentation of the viewership. Hence, the need for narrow-casting of campaigns to the sharply defined target audience. ™ Proliferation of low intensity television viewers who view a little of each channel leads to the need for capturing the full attention of the target audience.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS ™ Media cost inflation; i.e., due to rise in inflation, which has been eroding the advertising budgets, advertisers are demanding the best return from every ad-rupee spent. Media planning has become more complex and therefore the need for increased effectiveness in terms of tangible impact which can be instantly evaluated has risen.

™ Proliferation of various media channels, therefore the requirement for intelligent media buying.

[ Advantages offered by events As is clear from the preceding section use of events as a marketing communication tool not only takes care of the problems associated with traditional media but also offer certain advantages because of which events are gaining importance over them. Some of these advantages are detailed below:

™ Events have the ability to bring together sharply defined participants since the capacity for a particular event is usually limited. A specific number of the target audience could be invited or enticed to buy tickets for a show specially created for a particular profile of the target audience.

™ Since the audience is actively targeted, the option of controlled reach can be exercised and ideal audiences for narrow- casting of information can be gathered. This leads to lowering of the media networking budgets and focused communication with the specially gathered audience. The audience that has been specially invited invariably is an ideal audience.

™ An event carried out professionally and cleanly is invariably a memorable experience. The word of mouth publicity that this generates is an advantage that lingers on a long time after the event has actually been carried out. This provides an advantage of a higher brand recall to the client.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS ™ The involvement of all the senses in experiencing the event is one of the greatest advantages that events can offer. Events can be designed such that the audience is actively involved in every part of the event and made to feel good. Thus, events as a live media offer a certain amount of immediacy to the experience- of being there while its happening. For the audience it is undoubtedly a thrilling situation.

™ Live media also enables interactive communication. Live media scores over conventional advertising in terms of reach, impact and tangible immediacy of measurement. Live media communication is a complete sensual experience as compared to a press advertisement or TV/radio commercial. This is so because a press ad is basically a flat piece of paper and a commercial is just an audio visual experience. The high recall value of live media communication is also a major factor.

™ No other media can boast of the ability to provide such massive collection of feedback instantly as events. Being a live media, it is possible to feel and deduce the reactions of the audience to the aim or objective that the event was conceived for.

™ The easily customizable nature of events, mean that specific trades of the local inhabitants can be incorporated in the big picture to ensure that the event is socially and culturally in tune with the local culture. Thus, the localization of events is very easy.

™ The advantage in terms of post event publicity that events can offer over and above the paid or bartered media is the benefit associated with the reports of the event in the newspaper and the news on the electronic media. For such reports there is no extra cost to be borne- neither by the sponsor nor by the event organizer. This is a double edged sword because, in case the event is not upto the mark or is dogged by controversies, then, the same is also reported impartially.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS ™ The conversion of good events into television software for future use either by the sponsors for their commercials or by the media houses for programming is also a unique benefit that events offer. Such software become products by themselves and can be used profitably in the future.

Apart from the above, there are some other important reasons for using events because they provide the solution to deal with the legal restrictions pertaining to marketing communication. Cigarette, liquor, guthka and other tobacco related products are officially banned from being advertised on the Government controlled media and hence are focused to use events with a mass base as a marketing tool. Examples include the launch of 555 cigarettes, a Benson and Hegdes product. This product launch held at the Turf Club, Mahalakshmi Race Course grounds, Mumbai, involved a lot of hype and hoopla. This event other than aiding in the brand launch also provided for the first contact with the actual consumer who got to try the product free of charge, giving an instant feedback on the quality and the post event brand recall. Thus, it provided Benson and Hedges with an alternative media with an equal, if not a better capability to create the desired impact. In fact, for decades, liquor and cigarette manufactures, unable to advertise through the mass media, have been sponsoring car rallies, horse races, film premiers and cricket matches to earn mileage. The Mc Dowell’s Derby and Wills Made-forEach-Other contest represent the earliest attempts at the corporatization of commercial public events.

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CHAPTER 6 :WHY DOES A COMPANY NEED A CONSISTENT IDENTITY? Imagine you belong to a monthly networking group and there is one business owner who shows up looking different every time you meet. One month she has wind–tossed hair, a flamboyant red dress, and stiletto–heeled shoes. A month later, she is back in a conservative navy pants suit, low–heeled oxfords, and sleek brown hair. And so it goes. Everyone keeps mistaking her for someone else. You can not get a fix on who she is, what she represents, or whether working with her would be beneficial. In fact, she is a successful real estate agent and exactly the person you need to find the office you want. But you keep ignoring her because she appears unreliable. The point? Consider the implications: [ Critical financial judgments are based on packaging, looks and image, regardless of skills or expertise. [ Public perception influences the course of business. [ An inconsistent identity kills the customer relationship. That look–at–me red dress is accepted style for an outgoing salesperson. You don't need to look drab to be taken seriously. It is the constant change that works against trust. 9 Connect with customers Customers evaluate your business in similar encounters. How you dress your firm expresses the core of the company. Your company's dress is the brand message. If your message is clothed in rebellious red one day and conventional blue the next, your brand is confusing. Consumers today are skeptical and knowledgeable. They are not likely to trust products or services that change — if, in fact, they even remember you. Your message must have staying power. And that comes from a brand strategy. -30-

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9 Build trust with a brand strategy Your brand consists of the promise you make to customers and customer perceptions of how well you fulfill that promise. Too often, companies equate their name or tagline with the brand identity. But, "Just Do It!" resonates with consumers not because it is cool or authoritative. Nike must deliver products and services that make that catch phrase work. When consumers can depend on that experience — consistently — the tagline evokes emotional buy-in. 9 Identify your firm's personality Don't reach for that logo design just yet. There is some brand-building homework to do first. Before you invest a pound in marketing, you must be able to communicate your brand — your promise to customers — in 10 words or less. What is the heart and soul of what you sell? You may manufacture balloons but what you are really selling is the joy of celebration. That means your tagline jumps from, "Get a lot of hot air!" to, "It's time to party!" Be clear about what you offer. Once you are clear about who you are as a firm and which customers are best to target, all efforts become more focused. You will save time and money. Think of branding as the personality of your enterprise. Define that and the logo follows. 9 Create consistency Another challenge is to reinforce brand trust and build business awareness at every moment and in every channel of customer contact—what marketers like to call customer touch points. Each customer must receive a consistent message that represents your brand at every point, from word-of-mouth to the final sale. Your corporate identity is communicated and represented by individual graphic designs and words: logos, taglines, letterhead, brochures, business cards, Web sites, posters, direct–mail fliers and postcards, press releases, word of mouth, TV or radio ads, CD promotions or billboards. In short, the entire range of advertising and promotional options.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 7 :EVENTS & SPONSORSHIPS A company can build its brand image through creating or sponsoring various events. Event marketers have favored sports events & are now using other venues such as art museums, zoos, or ice shows to entertain clients & employees. AT&T & IBM sponsor symphony performances & art exhibits, in Visa is an active sponsor of the Olympics; Harley – Davidson sponsors annual motor cycle’s rallies, & Perrier sponsors sports events. Companies are searching for better ways to quantify the benefits of sponsorship & they are demanding greater accountability from event owners & organizers. Companies can also create events designed to surprise the public & create a buzz. Many amount to guerrilla marketing tactics. Here are some examples; -Driver 2, a new car- chase video game, arranged for a convoy of 20 car wrecks, with smoke pouring from their engines to crawl through Manhattan & LosAngeles to attract attention of the new game. -Ask Jeeves, the Internet search engine, sent 35 actors in British butler’s outfit to guide visitors to their seats & answer tennis trivia questions at the U.S open tennis tournament. -Kibu.com pays hundreds of school girls to do “peer marketing” by hanging around with their peers, handling out free lip gloss, & talking about kibu’s cosmetic site. The increase use of attention-getting events in a response to the fragmentation of media: Consumers can turn to hundreds of cable channels, thousands of magazine titles, & millions of internet pages. Events can create attention, although whether they have a lasting effect on brand awareness, knowledge, or preference will vary considerably, depending on the quality of the product, the event itself, & its execution. Event creation is a particularly important skill in publishing fund- raising drives for non-profit organizations. Fund raisers have developed a repertoire of special events, including anniversary celebrations, art exhibits, auctions, benefit evenings, bingo games, book sales, cake sales, contests, dances, dinners, fairs, fashion shows, parties in unusual places, phonathons, rummage sales, tours and walkathons. No sooner is one type of event created, such as a walkathon, then competitor’s spacon new versions, such as readathons, bikathons and jogathons. -32-

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS For profit organizations also use events to call attention to products and services. Fuji photo Film Company flew its blimp over renovated statue of liberty during the reopening celebration, out doing its rival Kodak, which has mounted a permanent photo exhibit at the site. Anheuser- Busch sponsored a Black World championship, Rodeo in Brooklyn that attracted more 5,000 spectators.

9 SPONSORSHIP There are numerous definitions of sponsorship. The one that caught my attention was in the sponsorship seekers toolkit book. "Sponsorship is an investment in sports, the arts, a community event, individual, venue, institution, program or cause which yields a commercial return for the sponsor". It’s a mutual exchange between the entities and corporations. The exchange obviously means that both the sponsor and the sponsee can simultaneously receive benefits. Sponsorship is really how much value the event can provide to a corporate sponsor. Major areas of sponsorship spending Sports

68% - $5.9 billion

Entertainment

9% - $817 million

Festival & Fairs 9% - $740 million Cause Marketing 8% - $700 million Arts

6% - $548 million

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[ CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP FOR HEALTH PROMOTION EVENTS AND PROGRAMS

9 \INTRODUCTION Corporate sponsorship can be a great way to fund health promotion events and programs that you otherwise would not be able to run. But, it can also be a long and time consuming process if done without considering all of the issues or the proper research. It can even harm your image if you are not strategic about the corporations that you partner with. This article is an introduction to corporate sponsorship as a means of fundraising and explains the difference between corporate sponsorship and corporate giving, the issues that should be considered before soliciting sponsors and what corporate sponsors are looking for from a relationship with you. It will also discuss the research process, the important elements of a sponsorship proposal, issues to consider in closing the deal and how to nurture your new corporate relationship. 9 WHAT IS CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP? In order to be successful at securing corporate sponsors, you must make sure that it is sponsorship that you are actually requesting. Corporate sponsorship and corporate giving are often used interchangeably but are actually two completely separate acts; the money comes from separate sources, you will deal with separate departments and the goals, objectives and the proposal will all be different. Corporate giving (or corporate donation) is a philanthropic activity. A corporation will donate money or products and the only acknowledgement they will expect is a tax receipt and a thank you corporate sponsorship, on the other hand, is a business relationship. Corporations look for marketing and community relations opportunities in exchange for money, products or services, and they want corporate recognition for their involvement.

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There are generally three types of corporate sponsorship: [ Event Marketing (sponsorship of a specific event) [ Partner Sponsorship (a long-term partnership with an organization or program) [ Cause Related Marketing (corporate sponsor promotes a specific cause through the purchase of their product or service).

9 ISSUES TO CONSIDER There are many issues that organizations should consider before leaping into the world of corporate sponsorship. There are many concerns within health promotion about partnering with corporations and it is important to consider all of the implications corporate sponsorship could have on your clients, volunteers, donors and board members. For example, how would a woman at an eating disorder event feel if Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers sponsored the event? You will probably want to create a corporate sponsorship policy to guide you. This policy could include a statement of principle, screening criteria for sponsors and an administrative process. There is also an enormous amount of work involved in the research, soliciting and maintaining of corporate sponsorship relationships and it is important for you to have the time and energy to be able to fulfill your promises to the sponsors. Ask yourself the following questions before you decide to solicit corporate sponsors: •

What are the benefits for our organization?

•

What risks will there be?

•

Will associating our organizations with certain corporations affect our credibility?

•

Is corporate sponsorship appropriate for the nature of the event or program?

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9 WHAT ARE CORPORATE SPONSORS LOOKING FOR? Remember that this is a marketing opportunity for corporations and that you need to have something to offer them in return. Not only do they want to increase the awareness of their brand or product but they also want to enhance their image. When deciding to sponsor your event or program, corporations will ask themselves "What's in it for us?" •

Will sponsoring this event or program increase our sales?

•

Is there a way for our employees to get involved?

•

Is there an opportunity for business to business marketing (e.g. a reception)?

•

Is there a target audience and product fit?

•

Is there a solid PR campaign in place?

•

Do we have flexibility?

•

Are there complimentary tickets or items available?

•

How much do we have to do? (Sponsors want to be able to just show up and have no additional responsibilities)

•

Does this organization have a good reputation with other sponsors?

•

Is this a once off or is it annual? (Most sponsors like to build long-term relationships)

•

What risks are involved in sponsoring this event or program?

•

Are we being offered industry exclusivity so that we have a competitive edge?

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9 RESEARCHING PROSPECTIVE SPONSORS The amount and depth of the research that you will need to do will vary depending on how much money you are requesting and the size and types of corporations you plan on soliciting. If you are soliciting sponsors for an expensive nation-wide program, you will have considerably more research to do than if you are soliciting sponsors for an inexpensive local awareness event. The first step is to develop a list of prospective sponsors. Think about the nature of your event or program and consider the following: •

Who is going to be attending the event or involved in the program?

•

What is the age of these participants?

•

Which gender is more involved?

•

What is the geographic location of the event or program?

•

What are the ethnic and economic backgrounds of the participants?

•

What does this group of people do, buy, read, and watch?

•

What are their interests?

Consider which corporations might have the same target market as your event or program. For example, if you are planning a health fair in a rural community for seniors, you would not solicit corporations like Sony, HMV, or NIKE. But if you were organizing a basketball tournament for teenage boys and girls in an urban setting, these would be excellent corporations to include on your solicitation list. The second step is to qualify your prospective sponsors. You need to determine if the corporation you are considering has the financial capabilities to engage in sponsorship at all or at the level you are interested in. You can do this by contacting organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade. It is also important to confirm that the marketing plan of the potential sponsor is a "good fit" with your event or program.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Review the sponsor's past marketing efforts, by reviewing their annual report and studying their advertisements, to see if there is a match. As well, talk to marketing executives to determine if your event or program would be of interest to them. The last part of your research it to determine the appropriate person to send your proposal to and how long it will take them to review and consider your proposal. 9 THE SPONSORSHIP PROPOSAL The sponsorship proposal must convince a potential sponsor that your event or program is going to meet their business needs. It needs to be visually appealing and easy to comprehend. Mail your proposal to the individual that you have already confirmed as being the appropriate contact. Follow up with that individual every two days from the date of receipt. Be persistent but very pleasant. Your sponsorship proposal should include the following: •

A description of the organization that is holding the event or program

•

A description of previous events or similar programs

•

An overview of the event or program for which sponsorship is being solicited

•

A description of who will be attending the event or involved in the program, how many and their demographics

•

Quotes/testimonials from past sponsors and participants from previous events

•

An explanation for the prospective sponsor of how they will benefit from becoming a sponsor

•

A detailed media plan for your event or program

•

An explanation of sponsorship opportunities (what's in it for them). For example: where their logo and name will be seen and how big will their logo and name be (on posters, tickets, banners, brochures, booklets, invitations, etc.), if there will be verbal recognition at the event, on television spots or at a press conference, opportunities for on-site sampling -38-

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•

A list of what the sponsor will be required to provide (either financially or with products) as well as items such as their logo, banners, signs, booths, staff members

•

A separate page of contact information so that the corporation can easily find the appropriate person to get in touch with if they are interested in pursuing the relationship.

9 CLOSING THE DEAL Once a corporation has expressed interest in sponsoring your event or program, you will need to move into the negotiation phase. This type of negotiation can be intense and often will take place face-to-face. (If you are asking your local bakery to sponsor the dessert of your fundraising dinner, a phone call may be enough to close the deal.) When in negotiations, the potential sponsor may be asking for space for a larger logo or they may want the right to veto other sponsors. You will have to decide if you are willing or able to provide them with what they are requesting. Once a deal has been reached, make sure that you get it down in writing, even if it is your local bakery. If the negotiations are not working, do not be afraid to walk away. 9 NURTURING THE RELATIONSHIP Prior to the start of the event or program, keep your sponsor abreast of any changes that you are making that will affect their role as a sponsor. It's essential to keep the lines of communication open and address any concerns that they might have. The most important way to maintain a good relationship with your sponsor is to make sure you deliver on everything you have promised them. If you do not, you are not only jeopardizing the relationship with this sponsor but with all of your future sponsors. After the event or program has ended, evaluate the partnership. Were participants receptive towards your choice of sponsor? Did your sponsor's display fit with the atmosphere of your event? Did you distribute as many programs as promised? Was the group of participants a good match for the sponsor's product? Were there as many media spots as promised? -39-

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Be sure to thank your sponsor for their involvement in your event or program and keep in touch after the event or program has ended. Invite them to other events such as an open house, put them on your newsletter distribution list or drop them a line to update them on upcoming events that may require further sponsorship. It is cost efficient for sponsors to maintain a relationship with you if they received a good return on their investment, and a lot less work for you. 9 CONCLUSION Corporate sponsorship can be a valuable source of funding for health promotion events and programs provided it is done correctly. This means taking the time and resources to first understand how sponsorship will fit with the objectives and policies of your organization and your event or program. And secondly, spending the time, energy and resources to do the necessary research, to write a professional proposal and to make sure that you deliver on every promise you have made. If you are new to the sponsorship world, consider starting small. Solicit one sponsor for a local event and then work your way up. Be professional and remember that you are entering a business relationship, which may be a different way of thinking.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 8 : WHERE DOES THE EVENT INDUSTRY STANDS TODAY ?

In today’s frenetic, time-chasing world, more than 200 companies have forayed into events and event management. This industry has mammoth scope for young and ambitious entrepreneurs. According to industry sources the total billings for the year 2002 were estimated at Rs. 1950 crores with domestic events accounting for Rs. 1150 crores and international events accounting for Rs. 800 crores. Events are fast becoming an integral part of the marketing strategy of companies. Live Entertainment events, especially international events are drawing people in large numbers. Television channels are looking for driver programmes to boost viewership and events offer a unique genre of programming. On account of these factors the

industry

is

expected to grow at an astounding rate of 30 % per annum over the next 5 years to a size of Rs. 5600 crores in 2006. The industry, however, lacks the structural requirements and an organized infrastructure in terms of skill management and its development. If explored properly, the Event Management Industry has the potential of being one of the forerunners in building the Indian economy. A distinct gap was perceived by corporate in the personnel recruited or appointed by them for handling events. Specialized event managers are now widely sought after, being absorbed in event management firms, media firms, advertisement firms, hotels, or by corporate houses themselves.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 9 : EVENTS AND THE ECONOMY

Over and above the marketing angle, the economic benefits to the region hosting the event are also a positive aspect. Countries like India should be not only investing in information technology but also other communication infrastructure to be ready in this millennium to host similar mega-events. The singular importance of mega events in driving an economy into a growth phase has already been emphasized earlier. And India needs events like these. The 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi gave an impetus to the Indian economy with the setting up of an Asian Games Village for the participants with all modern facilities essentially in transportation and infrastructure.

The buses which were introduced during the games to transport athletes are infact still in operation and are plying between various cities such as Mumbai and Pune, 18 years later! Similarly, in 1996 Cenetennian Olympics held in Atlanta gave an impetus to the local economy and helped in giving a face lift to the entire city with new free ways and attractions added to places as The Underground, the World of Coca-Cola and the Olympic Village. These were build in anticipation of the influx of thousands of athletes and millions of fans of the games. The local infrastructure thus got a boost and Atlanta is now amongst one of the most modern and fastest growing cities in the USA. So far, the above mentioned needs have been satisfied using traditional media such as television, radio, print, etc. in the future though, events will be in a position to fulfill the above marketing needs as compared to other tourists. Exports have cited reasons for the advent of events as a major marketing tool.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 10 : HOW COMPANIES CAN BUILD BRANDS?

9 SELECTION OF AN EVENT- IS IT THE RIGHT EVENT?

While answering this question, clients have to think whether the event being sponsored or co-sponsored by them is in tune with their image and personality. The decision criteria should always be based on the fact that unless it pays to be at the event in reasonably tangible and measurable terms it is better not to sponsor. An event is worth sponsoring only if it is in the position to offer you the benefits that you have decided to derive.

9 CREATING YOUR OWN EVENT You can also create your own event. One of the more obvious advantages is that it gives your complete control over: 1) How your company is positioned; 2) How your customers are treated; 3) How much you spend; 4) The number and type of sponsors; 5) The quality of the event; Whether you buy into an existing event or create your own, work closely with everyone involved; they must all know what hope to achieve. Make sure your plan is realistic and that you are prepared to measure results.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS 9 SETTING

STRATEGIES

AND

TACTICS-

TAKING

EVENTS

AS

YOUR

PLATFORM From the objectives, develop strategies and tactics to leverage your sponsorships. For instance: 1) Reinforce, enhance or alter a brand’s image; 2) Strengthen corporate image through community and public relations specially in cities where your company has a large employee base; 3) Offer an opportunity for product trial through sampling; 4) Offer hospitality for your key business contacts; 5) Provide a platform to increase sales and market share; 6) Demonstrate category leadership (to your distributor); 7) Communicate product or service capabilities; 8) Focus marketing efforts or provide a platform for a comprehensive marketing program; 9) Open new channels of distribution; 10) Forge new links with opinion leaders; 11) Improve morale; 12) Neutralize competition; 13) Launch a new product or service; 14) Make sure that your objectives are clearly articulated and understood by everyone involved, both internally and externally.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS BEFORE THE COMPANY CHOOSES AN EVENT FOR ITS BRAND BUILDING EXERCISE, IT HAS TO CHOOSE THE EVENT AS PER THAT PART OF THE SOCIETY ONTO WHICH IT WANTS TO CONCENTRATE. EG: GROUP SOCIO-

OCCUPATIONAL

ECONOMICGROUP GROUP

TYPES

APPROXIMATE

OF

PERCENTAGE

EVENTS

OF

GROUP

POPULATION

LIKELY TO ATTEND A

Upper Middle Class

3

Higher managerial or Cultural administrative,

events

as

professional: lawyers, funddentists, raisers for

doctors,

captains of industry, the opera, senior public servants, classical senior B

Middle Class

military music

officers, professors

festivals.

Intermediate

Cultural

managerial,

events,

administrative

or food

professional:

and

beverage

university

lectures, festivals.

head

teachers,

pharmacists,

15

middle

managers, journalists. -45-

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C

Lower middle class

BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Supervisory clerical, Most 24 junior managerial or popular administrative: clerks, cultural sales representatives, events, nurses, teachers, shop some managers.

sporting events, community festivals.

D

Skilled working class

Skilled workers:

builders, vehicle

filters,

waterside, festivals, police sporting

workers,

self- events,

constables, employed

trades- community

person. E

Working class

Semi-

28

blue-collar Motor

festivals. skilled

and Some

17

unskilled

workers: sporting

builders,

laborers, festival,

factory

workers, ethnic

cleaners,

delivery festivals

drivers F

Social security

Those at the lowest Very

13

level of subsistence: little, pensioners, casual and except part-time workers

occasiona lly

free

communit y events. -46-

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 11 : SUNNY DAYS AHEAD FOR EVENT MANAGEMENT It looked like any other fax message lying on my table, one working day in endDecember last year. There was nothing unusual or attractive about it. On closer scrutiny however, I found that the message was an invite to attend a function organized by Balaji Telefilms, a company floated by Bollywood heart throb of yesteryears, Jeetendra and his glamorous daughter, Ekta. The function was a press conference to announce the fact that Balaji Telefilms was foraying into "event programming". Balaji Telefilms has not been the first to do so. With the plethora of television channels in the country, programming houses have been on the rise. What is new, however, is the trend of these high-flying programming houses to venture into the arena of programming for events, a task hitherto handled by a cluster of event-management companies. Earlier, media mogul, Mr. Subhash Chandra, had already entered this segment through group companies, Zee Event and Zee Telefilms. They recently managed a music awards ceremony for which the former managed the event and the latter did the programming. Australian media mogul, Mr. Kerry Packer, had his company Channel 9 tie up with stateowned television channel, Doordarshan, to telecast a special event, where leading Bollywood heroines were asked to dance to songs of the dancing queen of yesteryears, Helen. This was an event that took the television ratings of the state-owned channel to dizzying heights. While event management companies like Wizcraft Entertainment, GS Entertainment, J&M Events, DNA Networks, Cineyug, Fountainhead, Showbiz and Showtime have been around for some time, the entry of leading software programming houses into this segment is a recent trend.

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9 WHY THE BIG RUSH? So why is there such a big rush for event management? Is it because there is big business potential? The answer is a big YES! A very nascent segment of big ticket entertainment business, the live entertainment and event management industry has the potential to gross more than Rs 3,350 crore in less than five years from now, says a report prepared by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Almost a decade ago the industry was estimated at only Rs.20 crore in size, but has grown to become a Rs.200 - 250 crore industry today. It continues to grow exponentially, with increasing number of companies coming forward to sponsor events, shows and programs. Points out Mr. Jitendra Mirwani of J&M Event, "At last event management has come to be recognized as an industry by companies and individuals alike. The dynamics of organizing an event are so high that people have begun investing in it." Says Mr. B. R. Jaju, executive president finance, who has been asked to overlook Zee Events division, "The whole dimension of events will undergo a change. Event programming helps us to improve content quality and generate additional viewership. This activity remains a major focus area for the company." Adds Ms. Gopi Shah, general manager-events, Zee Network, "Organizing and successfully managing large programs and events enables us to not only improve upon our TRP ratings but also in keeping in touch with the film industry." So bullish is Zee on events that it has established a separate division, Zee Events, to work on not only programming but also on the physical part of managing events. It has transferred Ms. Shah, who was earlier in London managing the network’s UK operations, to India to manage the division.

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Added Ms. Shah, "I have come in to plan and create events for various Zee Network channels, which will enable us to increase company’s revenues." She further said that handling the physical part of events helps the company to not only save on costs but also exercise better control on the show. Zee, since 1998, has been organizing important and very popular events and programs such as the Zee Cine Awards and Zee IMI - Sangeet Awards among others. The network is gearing up to organize at least one mega event every month, if not more, exclusively for its channels. The division is already contributing about 20 per cent to the revenues of Zee Telefilms. Due to increased globalization, the number of international performers visiting India to promote their albums and films has increased. Big and small companies in India also view such events as means of reaching out to large and selected audience and promote their products. In recent years, with the increase in the number of satellite channels, the awareness and interest in international and domestic artists has got enhanced, resulting in rapid growth in live entertainment and event management industry. There has been a flurry of activity, and event management agencies are mushrooming. Advertising and marketing opportunities have opened up for event management companies, primarily as a result of satellite channels increasing awareness of the various events being held within the country.

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9 THE DYNAMICS Event management companies involve themselves in the planning, organising and execution of an event, which could include a product or a brand launch, an exhibition, a concert or even a conference. Events are basically an extended form of advertising, allowing brands to associate directly with the consumer. Says Mr. Mirwani of J&M Events, "It is a form of interactive advertising. There is a very clear trend of promoting products and brands through live events." This novel way of packaging entertainment has its roots firmly embedded in advertising and public relations. Corporate houses consider sponsoring events featuring popular artists as a means of reaching their target consumers. Therefore corporate sponsorship of events to promote products has also seen a big spurt. A recent trend amongst multinational companies, especially the fast moving consumer goods companies entering India, is to promote their products through a tailor made event. In 1998 Coca-Cola alone sponsored 70 music related events across the country. Suffice to say that this industry is primed for a big boom in corporate sponsorship. Reasons Mr. Mirwani, " Advertising through live events creates an instant response in the audience and hits the target immediately." 9 THE MULTINATIONAL EFFECT "It was liberalization of the economy and its opening up way back in 1992, which gave the much desired impetus to the event management industry", pointed out Mr. Brian Tellis, director and founder member of Fountainhead Promotions & Events.Fountainhead is a leading name in the industry and is known for organising events for the Times of India group, including the Smirnoff war of DJs and the Brand Equity Quiz. The company also provides "event support" to two of the most well recognised events in the country - the Femina Miss India contest and the Filmfare Awards function. Events like Femina Miss India and its male equivalent Graviera Mr. India contests have started pulling in larger than ever crowds and corporate sponsorships. -50-

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Reminiscing, he pointed out that, as the economy began opening up, a lot of multinationals came into the country and brought with them the culture of promoting their products and brands through events and programs. "Product managers for Indian brands looked around and followed suit. The trend truly caught on. A positive fallout of this has been the fact that the approach to events and programs became more structured, something which was missing earlier", explained Mr. Tellis. As it usually happens with most sunrise industries, the influx of new people in the sector has simmered down substantially with time and the present players can be truly addressed as survivors. Points out Mr. Mirwani, "In 1995-96, almost 15 new companies were being formed everyday. However, most of them have downed their shutters. Today the numbers are low. The industry is looked upon as a serious business venture, where gross returns are in the order of anything between 15 per cent to 20 per cent Projects are not of long term nature and returns as well as results are almost instantaneous." 9 THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENT The live concert circuit is probably the fastest growing segment of the business. As per industry estimates, it has grown more than 200 per cent between 1995 and 1999. The last three years have witnessed a spate of international artists coming to India to perform in live events. With Indian films and film celebrities always being close to the heart of Indians, wherever they may be located, there is a huge potential for the event management industry to organize live shows abroad. The last few years have seen a plethora of such shows held in countries like the US, UAE, UK and South Africa, where there is a large non-resident Indian presence. These shows have evoked tremendous response not only from the Indians settled there but also from Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and UAE residents. Shows already organized in the US featuring leading film artists have been a complete sell-out, with people craving for more. -51-

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The UAE with a large concentration of South Indian population has been a favourite stop over for South Indian film artists who have always performed to a full house. Moreover, with the growing expatriate population in countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand, there is a huge untapped potential for shows/events to be organized abroad with Indian "stars". Organizing international artists to perform in India is very expensive. Accordingly, many companies now prefer organizing promotional events featuring domestic artists thereby adding a new dimension to the event management industry. However there are companies which still prefer to have international artists perform in India. For example, Pepsi aims to bring at least two internationally renowned performers to India each year. 9 THE FUTURE If the projections made by FICCI is true, the biggest gainer in all this would be the government, which collects taxes on such events. According to FICCI, from Rs 100 crore collected in 1999, the tax revenue can rise to about Rs 1,007 crore in the year 2005. Industry experts, however, feel that if this growth is to happen, certain anomalies are to be cleared: •

Entertainment tax rates, which forms a big chunk, needs to be rationalized across the country. Presently different states levy different tax rates, with southern states levying lower taxes. Funds thus saved can then be reinvested in more "Events", which will help generate more revenues for the government.

•

Apart from the tax rates, the payment of entertainment tax also poses a major problem to the organizers. Currently the tax has to be paid before the tickets for the event are sold and the relevant department stamps the tickets for the tax paid. This means that if the amount of tax paid is lost if the tickets remain unsold. The government should only levy tax on the exact number of tickets sold.

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•

In addition to the entertainment tax, an event management company is also required to pay service tax. A clear case of double taxation, the service tax element should be withdrawn.

•

For holding such events a large number of permissions need to be sought. These include permissions from the police departments (for use of loudspeakers, traffic etc.), customs (in the event of foreign artists being used), local municipal corporation and central government among others. This imposes unusual hardship on event management companies as well as the artists. The industry feels that instead the government should introduce the facility of single window clearance, which will expedite matters and reduce the time taken for such permissions from the current one month to a few days.

•

Professional charges by organizations like Indian Performers Right Society or IPRS and Indian Music Industry or IMI are unjustified and arbitrary, almost amounting to dual form of taxation, allege industry sources. But, despite these hurdles the industry is poised for significant growth. Says Mr. Tellis, "I

see phenomenal growth ahead. More and more brands are coming into the country and more and more are realizing the potential of exposing and promoting their products through events on a 1:1 basis with target audiences. Brand custodians are realizing that if they have Rs 100 in their kitty to promote their products, then some part of it must be earmarked for events in addition to the print and the television media." According to Mr. Tellis as compared to advertising in the print or television media, events tend to hit the target audience spot on. "Here the conversion rate is much higher and, therefore, to that extent, return on rupee is also much higher." However, industry players are unanimous that promoting brands through events is definitely not a replacement for the print and the electronic medium. They can at best supplement the two streams. That in any case is good enough!

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 12: OBJECTIVES BEHIND SPONSORING [ COCA-COLA AND OLYMPICS INTRODUCTION The world eagerly anticipates each summer and summer winter Olympic Games. A supporter of the Olympic Movement beginning in 1928, The Coca-Cola Company has sponsors each Olympic Games since then, something no other company anywhere in the world has done. Their worldwide partnership with the International Olympic Committee has been extended through 2008, demonstrating their commitment to the Olympic Movement many Coca-Cola divisions around the world sponsor individual athletes or teams as well. REASONS FOR SPONSORSHIP The company knows how important the Olympic Movement and the Olympic spirit of unity and competition are to its consumers. That’s why they have always pushed themselves to find ways to make their connection to the Olympic Games more meaningful. The Olympic Games are truly global events that provide an opportunity to bond with consumers all over the world through activities and promotion they appreciate and understand. Special programs like the Company’s presenting sponsorship of the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Torch Relay, give Coca-Cola the opportunity to share the Olympic Spirit with people around the world. The Company was proud to give local citizens the chance to carry the Olympic Flame on its journey to the site of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. They selected 2,500 torchbearers who had demonstrated courage, dedication, passion or a deep concern for others.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS They’ve also created original popular activities at the Games themselves, like the Pin Trading Center, where people can trade pins with other fans from all over the world, and CocaCola Radio, which gives popular DJs a chance to share the excitement of the Olympic Games with their home town fans. Olympic Spirit is a registered trademark of the United States Olympic Committee. EVENTS SPONSORED IN RECENT PAST 9 The FIFA World Cup 9 The Olympic Games 9 Special Olympic Games 9 Art of Harmony 9 Boys And Girls Club of America 9 NASCAR 9 Tiger Woods Foundation 9 Children’s Miracle Network 9 Ruby World Cup, 2003 9 Australian Football League (AFL) 9 The Australian Netball team 9 A unique national radio program for women called “The HER Show” (Health Education and Recreation) 9 A one-day “Mother and Child Health district Mela” in Ghaziabad (India) The Coca-Cola Company is a founding sponsor of Special Olympics, and has been involved since 1968. in 2002, they renewed their partnership through 2005 which covers the 2003 Special Olympics World summer Games in Dublin, Ireland, and the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS They support Special Olympics because of the positive impact the organization has on everyone who comes in contact with it. They applaud its ongoing dedication to empowering individuals with mental retardation in more than 150 countries to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society. OBJECTIVES The main objective of the company for sponsoring the events is to create goodwill for the company. They believe in supporting the organizations that customer care about. All around the world, people are passionate about sports. That’s why they have been involved with the Olympic Games since 1928 and sponsor the FIFA World Cup. And that’s why they support hundreds of sports activities in local markets around the world. Sports and Coca- Cola is a great match. But their sponsorships extend beyond the playing fields into other areas that captivate their consumers. As a Global Partner, they work closely with Special Olympics to create and execute grassroots promotions and marketing activities designed to raise awareness and support for the organization. At the 2003 World Games, Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centers – and refreshed the athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers with over 1.5 million servings of soft drinks, juices and waters. Their objective for sponsoring the events remains the same, i.e., to increase their sales and profitability and the goodwill of the company. Also they have been more or less successful in achieving their expectations or their objectives. The events sponsored by them are mostly on large scale involving great amount of money or higher cost. But it pays to do so because their aim is to reach the masses.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS \ SAMSUNG SYDNEY OLYMPICS 2000

OLYMPIC SPONSORSHIP Samsung Electronics have been providing Wireless Telecommunications Equipment to each Olympic since the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games to 2000 Sydney Games. Samsung is involved in diverse sporting events around the world. The reason Samsung sponsors the Olympic Games are that these games involve the same values that we have as a company. These values include at like world class competitiveness, global presence, excellence, fairness, and peacefulness. Samsung is proud to play a role in organizing and successfully operating the biggest and most complex event in the world. Also the Olympic Games provide us a powerful marketing platform to raise brand awareness and showcase our products and technologies. In sponsoring the Olympic Games, Samsung receives an unparalleled opportunity to demonstrate its commitment and passion towards sports and to share in this passion with people in many parts of the world thus lasting emotional and intellectual bonds. Samsung’s contribution to the Olympic Games is not merely financial. Samsung’s wireless communication digital technology expertise and service play a vital role in the successful operation of events that bring enjoyment to people all around the world.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS SAMSUNG AT SYDNEY As in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games, Samsung will supply all the wireless communications equipment needed to operate the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Samsung will provide approximately 25 units of wireless communications equipment including mobile phones and technical experts. Providing athletes, staff, volunteers and visitors with fast and reliable communication, Samsung will contribute the success of the games and its ultimate mission: fostering the unity among the global community. Also, by sponsoring the National Olympic Committees and National Olympic Teams in many countries including the US, China, Brazil, and Australia, Samsung contributes toward helping athletes becoming prepared for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

EVENTS IN RECENT PAST SAMSUNG been sponsoring a range of events in the recent past... these include not just the famous Olympics 6ut also some smalltime events. Because of the Brand name and the image the company has established, sponsoring an event definitely adds to the company image and not to forget, the profits! List of some of the events sponsored 6y Samsung in the recent past:-

SAMSUNG RUNNING FESTIVAL The SUMSUNG (Running Festival represents people wish for peace and for a better global society the borders -geographical, spiritual or otherwise. The first festival was hosted by Hungary SAMSUNG Electronics Magyar Rt.. (SEH) in 1995. 80,000 all over the country turned up to run together, while a radio Broadcast connected the venues and National sport leaders, local personalities, famous athletes, and celebrities participated or cheered on the event, which was designed partly to celebrate SEH's fifth anniversary, has turned into a national festival.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS The Running Festival is a 5-kmfun run for peace and ninth in Central Europe, and all over the world, limits to age or ability as it is not a competition. Every participant, regardless of how he or she completes the run, is a winner. Now the Running Festival has become one of the largest sporting events in Central Europe.

SUMSUNG NATIONS CUP Since 1997SAMSUNG, the Korean global company, one of the Biggest companies in the world has Been the title sponsor of the Nations Cup in co-operation with the International Equestrian federation (IEF), the ruling Body of the world-wide equestrian sport. The history of the Nations Cup dates back to 1909, when the first team competition for military officers was held in London's Olympia Hall, now the annual site of a 'World Cup competition. In the 92 years since a total of 1,131 Nations Cups has Been held in 37 countries. 32 countries have won at least one Nations Cup - the ones with the most wins are Germany (182), Great Britain (167), France (142) and the United States (137). Each Nations Cup Brings about an extra dimension of national pride and official status as riding for your country in a team competition means something very special for every rider. 'With this sponsorship SUMSUNG wants to promote the equestrian sport on a world-wide Basis, .fit the same time it is also SUMSUNG intention to strengthen the global attitude for a Better understanding, Bringing harmony, peace and prosperity.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS SALT LAKE 2002 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES Samsung has served as a Worldwide Partner for the Nagano 1998 "Winter Olympics, Sydney 2000 Olympic Game and Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Game and will and will continue supporting the Olympic Movement as part of the Top (The Olympic Partner) program. As the official sponsor in the wireless Communications Equipment Category, Samsung has supplied mobile phone and other wireless hardware to the athletes and officials at the games.

Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games mascots-Powder, Copper, and Coal-were the first ever to be created by ordinary citizens. In May 2002, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee accepted mascot drawings from more than 4000 elementary schoolchildren from around the state of Utah. The SLOC narrowed the list of entries to just three and asked the general public to submit names for them via the telephone, Internet and Postal Service in July. Power, Copper and Coal respectively symbolize a hare, wolf and black bear. SLOC President Mitt Romney explains these animals represent the natural scenery of Utah as well as the main characters in American children’s tales. The hare, wolf and black bear also share a common thread with Citius, Altius , and Fortius, who embody the Olympic spirit of “Faster, Higher and Stronger.”

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS SPONSORED BY SAMSUNG

WORLD CYBER GAMES Opening of the world cyber games 2003 Samsung extends Sponsorship of the WCG into 2003 ™ The WCG 2003 will be held at the Seoul Olympic Park from Oct. 12 to 18, 2003. ™ The focus is to provide gamers with an enjoyable experience as well as the general public with great “fun to watch” spectator facilities and events. ™ A total of eight official games were selected ™ 50 countries across the world are anticipated to participate in the event. ™ Samsung has been a worldwide sponsor of the WCG since 2000.

ATHENS 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES

Samsung Electronic proudly continues its worldwide Olympic sponsorship with the International Olympic Committee to be official wireless communication equipment partner for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. During the games, Samsung will provide wireless telecommunication equipment together with technical support in key arrears to the 2004 Athens Organizing Committee, keeping official, media, staff and volunteers in close contact. For Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Samsung will also provide key wireless solution to the organizing committee that will enable Olympic Family to access Olympic Games information via Samsung’s mobile phone.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Such expertise in digital wireless telecommunication technology will play a vital role in contributing to the successful operation of the game but the most importantly, keep our fans, athletes and everyone attending the game share the exciting moments of the Olympic game. Samsung’s extensive support of sports is based on the company-wide belied that sports play a unique role in unifying people regardless of age, race, or gender. The company believes that sports promote cooperation among individuals, companies and nations. Based on this belief, Samsung became one of the International Olympic committee’s Worldwide Partners in 1997 and have extended the partnership trough 2008 Beijing.

OBJECTIVES Samsung has already established itself as a well known brand all over the world. Achieving the position they are in now and maintaining the same has never been an easy task; especially in today’s competitive world. Samsung emerged from a challenging period in the previous decade as a much stronger company today: one that is now more globally-focused restructured and streamlined, and more committed that ever to true innovation. Samsung is well-positioned to take on this important global leadership role. They now have the global resources in place and certainly have the technological capability; SAMSUNG has clearly established itself as a global market leader in many interrelated high- tech categories. But perhaps more important, they also have the “heart and soul” needed to be a trailblazer in this new digital landscape. All around the world, the ”heart” of SAMSUNG has listened, cared and reached out to all the people-to try to understand what these people truly need and desire in order to live a better, richer, more value-added life.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Across the globe, people are hungry for the same thing-freedom. Freedom from limitations of time and space. Freedom to access information and entertainment’ or to communicate, anytime and anywhere, using products that are simple to handle, accessible, and regardless of age, culture, or geography. This is what SAMSUNG understands and believes, truly, in our “heart”. But it is one thing to listen and understand-and another to respond. SAMSUNG has time and again demonstrated-and another to respond to people needs and dreams with products that are easy to use and affordable, while also being revolutionary and empowering. Such products can only come from people who are passionate about design, who care deeply about quality, and who always push the boundaries of what is new and possible. This wealth of creativity, passion, and innovative spirit that resides inside our company-this is the “ soul” of SAMSUNG.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 13 : CASE STUDY The ‘brand personality’ is what people think and feel consciously and subconsciously about a company identity or product and is described the same way as you would a person.

9 THE 'COCA-COLA' BRAND AND SPONSORSHIP If ‘Coca-Cola’ were the name of a person, how would you describe that person? How does that person make you feel? Consumers often prefer products that have a strong, positive image. An important ingredient of this image will be the associations that are evoked in the mind of the consumer. The ‘brand personality’ is what people think and feel, consciously and subconsciously, about a company identity or product and is described the same way as you would a person. It is necessary to create the right image i.e. one that

closely

matches

consumers’

feelings

and

expectations of what the product should be like. Marketing managers try to build on associations between products and other aspects of life. Sponsorship is one way of building these brand associations. Sponsorship involves providing financial support, creative input, media support, and experience to an important event or activity organized by another party. In return, the company receives a public opportunity to be seen to support and be associated with an event, activity or person. Sponsorship is a crucial part of a public relations strategy because it is possible to reach a target audience with a specific message.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS [ 'COCA-COLA' SPORTS SPONSORSHIP TOP ‘Coca-Cola’ is one of the top global sponsors of sport. The rationale for sponsoring international and local sporting events is that it is "a natural fit". By matching the brand with world standard events ‘Coca-Cola’ benefits from the exposure and the associations made between it and the event being sponsored. Equally by ensuring that local events are sponsored the brand is exposed exclusively to a local market and will thus be seen as a local brand. By devising innovative and tailored marketing programmes based on local consumer insights, sales can be increased in the ready-to-drink nonalcoholic beverage market. Local offices around the world ensure that the company participates and supports local communities. ‘Coca-Cola’ is aware of what is relevant in the lives of its target market such as sport, music and fashion. Life experiences are created around these interests. By getting involved in these daily experiences ‘Coca-Cola’ meets its sponsorship objectives • To connect with teens in an interesting and fun way. • To create unforgettable teen moments linked to ‘Coca-Cola’. • To ensure ‘Coca-Cola’ is viewed as making everyday life more interesting and fun. • To communicate the dynamic and leading attributes of the brand. • To be seen as a national sponsor at a local level and global sponsor on an international level.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS By capturing the pace and vitality of the ‘Coca-Cola’ brand and by referring to the refreshing nature of the drink, a strong message is sent to the consumer about how the product is being positioned in the market place. Attributes of the product suitable to sports sponsorship are highlighted. By positioning ‘Coca-Cola’ as an icon and leading brand that mentally and physically boosts consumers, associations with major sporting events are reinforced.

[ BRAND POSITIONING ‘Coca-Cola’s’ brand personality reflects the positioning of its brand. The process of positioning a brand or product is a complex managerial task and must be done over time using all the elements of the marketing mix. Positioning is in the mind of the consumer and can be described as how the product is considered by that consumer. When researching the positioning of a product, consumers are often asked how they would describe that product if it were a person. The purpose of this is to develop a character statement.

This can ensure that consumers have a clear view of the brand values that make up the brand personality, just like the values and beliefs that make up a person. Many people see ‘CocaCola’ as a part of their daily life. This affinity between the brand and the consumer leads to a high degree of loyalty and makes the purchasing decision easier. Brand positioning guides ‘what’ will be communicated in the company’s advertising, while the character statement guides ‘how’ a message should be delivered or put across.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS [ SPONSORSHIP AND THE MARKETING MIX TOP The Marketing Mix is the name placed on the ‘4Ps’ of marketing: Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. It is this fourth element, Promotion, which is focused on in this case study. This involves communicating the benefits of a product to increase sales and ultimately profits. There are four main methods of promoting the benefits of a brand. • Advertising • Personal Selling • Public Relations & Sponsorship (PR) • Sales Promotion The combination of these four methods constitutes the Promotion Mix. Public Relations is about communicating with the media to create good publicity for a firm or its products. The media then communicate these activities to the public. [ PUBLIC RELATIONS One of the marketing department’s functions is to manage public relations and maintain a positive and beneficial image of the firm’s policies and products. The aims of the Public Relations Manager liaising with the marketing function are to: • Make the public aware of the existence of the firm and maintain the good name and image of ‘Coca-Cola’ by issuing press releases, organizing news conferences and informing the public about the firm’s activities. • Maintain goodwill amongst the public for the company. Goodwill is the likelihood that the existing customer will return and can be equated with brand loyalty. Brand loyalty occurs when customer’s repeat-purchase a particular branded product on a regular basis. ‘Coca-Cola’ has a high level of brand loyalty. When you want a drink do you automatically pick up a bottle of ‘Coca-Cola’? -67-

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS [ INTERNATIONAL SPONSORSHIP TOP ‘Coca-Cola’s’ powerful brand personality has become a vehicle for promotion in its own right, sponsoring many events both on a global and local level. The company has long been associated with global events such as The Olympic Games, The FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup and Special Olympics. Coke has also been linked to world fairs and national exhibitions since 1905. With the Olympics blossoming in popularity and complexity, increased attention has been turned to serving the growing crowds and to supplying the needs of the athletes and organizing committees. In many countries where Olympic associations lack full government sponsorship local bottlers of ‘Coca-Cola’ donate funds to aid potential Olympians as the partnership of ‘Coca-Cola’ and the Olympics continues to grow.

‘Coca-Cola’ was the official sponsor of the Olympics 2000 Games held in Sydney maintaining an unbroken presence at the games since 1928. The company has already contracted to sponsor both the Summer and Winter Games through to 2008.

‘Coca-Cola’ will be the official global sponsor of the Special Olympics to be held in Ireland in 2003 (this is the first time the games will be hosted outside the US). As the Olympic Movement’s longest-standing corporate partner, ‘Coca-Cola’ has aided the evolution of games together with more than 190 National Olympic Committees assisting thousands of athletes in their training.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS ™ FOOTBALL ‘Coca-Cola’ also sets out to support football at every level of the sport. On a global basis ‘Coca-Cola’ has been a sponsor of the World Cup since the 1978 tournament in Argentina through to France in 1998 and into the new millennium. In Europe, ‘Coca-Cola’ is involved with the European Championship and plays a prominent part in making the event such a success. The global popularity of football makes it an ideal sport for ‘Coca-Cola’ to build on the life experiences of their target group. At these events ‘Coca-Cola’ has exclusive product availability in the non-alcoholic beverage category. To support ‘Coca-Cola’ ’s association with football, ‘Coca-Cola’ created the very successful ‘Eat football, sleep football, drink ‘Coca-Cola’ campaign and the ‘World Cup for fans’ campaign. These campaigns highlight the natural link between having a ‘Coca-Cola’ and enjoying the experience of watching a football game. ™ RUGBY ‘Coca-Cola’ has also become the long-term sports sponsor of the Rugby World Cup. The Company has been a sponsor since 1995. This is the first time for a sponsor to commit to more than one Rugby World Cup. The Company wants to communicate that ‘Coca-Cola’ is the refreshment that stimulates and revitalizes rugby fans, and enhances the group experience and enjoyment of watching the game.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS [ NATIONAL SPORTS SPONSORSHIP TOP In addition to sponsoring sporting events, their involvement extends to many community and education programmes in Ireland.‘Coca-Cola’ is a local business as much as a global one. It takes its responsibilities as a supporter of local community events seriously. ™ FOOTBALL As football is about fun, excitement, passion, pride and shared enjoyment ‘Coca-Cola’ tries to match this feeling within its brand. The company supports local football because it matches its customers’ interests. This market driven approach involves listening to what people say and giving them what they need and want. ‘Coca-Cola’ is also the official soft drink sponsor of GAA providing strong support for the International Rules football series. The Association President Joe McDonagh stressed the importance of this sponsorship as it ensured a successful series. Locally ‘Coca-Cola’ supports and is present at all the national hurling and football games. The brand is also present at GAA schools level matches i.e. Leinster Secondary Schools Hurling and Football Championships, Feile na nGeal, Feile Peile and under 14 Hurling and Football. [ FORM AND FUSION DESIGN AWARDS TOP Life experiences are created for customers around interests. By getting involved in the daily experiences and by being aware of what is relevant in the lives of local target markets, such as music and fashion, ‘Coca-Cola’ can build on these brand associations. The ‘Coca-Cola’ ‘Form and Fusion Design Awards’ is a cutting edge, visually exciting and highly educational competition developed for students in transition or senior year in secondary schools in Ireland.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Students are encouraged to work in groups, using their own skills and imagination, to design and create futuristic costumes created solely from recycled materials . On completion the students organize a fashion show where six outstanding designs make their debut. The ‘Coca-Cola’ Form and Fusion design awards is a unique opportunity that allows ‘Coca-Cola’ to enhance and provide teens with an opportunity to express and learn about their own artistic skills. The competition provides a platform for learning through fun and enhancing interpersonal skills. The potential for the competition to grow and sub-divide into a variety of educational disciplines is enormous. The competition began at a local level in 1998 when Aidine O’Reilly a schoolteacher in Ballincollig Community School in Co Cork, wanted to set up an exciting challenge for her transition year students. In 1999, Aidine, with the support of the ‘Art Teachers Association of Ireland’ brought the competition to Munster where 9 schools made 38 costumes and the competition received both national and regional media coverage. In 2000,‘Coca-Cola’ Ireland came on board as ‘sole’ sponsors of the event having identified a unique opportunity to connect with Irish teenagers in a way that creates fun and excitement in schools and on the ground. With ‘CocaCola’s’ involvement, the competition took off and 1,700 students participated from 88 different schools across the country. Three preliminary heats were hosted in Dublin, Cork and Ballina with the final event in Ballincollig Community School in Cork on Friday March 31 2000. Each of the 33 shortlisted costumes was showcased in a two-minute performance in front of a 700 strong audience. Then Minister for Education, Micheál Martin opened the event.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS In 2001 the competition more than doubled in size with 192 schools participating. This number represented 2,400 students making a total of 365 designs. The final event was hosted in Millstreet in Cork, which was the venue for the 1993 Eurovision Contest (Munster’s largest venue) to an audience of 2,500 people. ‘Coca-Cola’ Ireland is delighted to be involved with this unique competition for the second year running. "The originality of the concepts, the enthusiasm of the students and the way in which the event has captured the imagination of the entire country have all combined to create something truly memorable in addition to the long-term educational value. We are privileged to be associated with this competition which is endorsed by several curriculum support services within the Department of Education and Science". [ BRIAN KEATING, SENIOR BRAND MANGER, ‘COCA-COLA’ IRELAND. This event was visually spectacular. ‘Coca-Cola’ achieving huge press and television coverage all over the Republic of Ireland. Coverage included exposure on the Lata Show, Nationwide and TV3 News. [ CONCLUSION It is necessary to create the right brand image that closely matches consumers’ life experiences and feelings. Sponsorship is one way of building these associations. Through events such as ‘Coca-Cola’s’ Form and Fusion Design Awards and sporting events a brand manager can ensure that its product image is made relevant to the target audience.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 14 : EVENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY

In concern with this project a major player in the event industry was visited “WIZCRAFT INTERNATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT PVT. LTD.”.

[ COMPANY PROFILE

Wizcraft is India’s #1 Entertainment and Events Management Company. As a company we delight in taking on the most difficult of assignments and executing it perfectly. In time, every time. They pioneered Event Management in India, established it as an industry, and created new trails in brand communication.

Wizcraft was instrumental in the inclusion of event budgets in corporate advertising and marketing communications plans in India. They introduced international experience and worldclass laser and lighting technology in India. Today, their client portfolio represents the whose who of corporate India.

[ SERVICES

Wizcraft specializes in Event Management. Their services include conceptualization, strategy development, designing, decor, technical infrastructure, and planning, execution and lateral integration for execution for optimum performance arid efficiency.

At Wizcraft, Event Management is a structured, collaborative exercise designed to yield results for their clients.

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Their Specialty activities include: 9 Corporate Events 9 Special Events 9 Television 9 Artist Management 9 Events Management 9 Lighting & Lasers

• CORPORATE EVENTS

9 Brand/ Corporate launches and promotions 9 Dealer! Trade meets 9 Customer! Dealer interaction programs 9 Brand extension exercises 9 Annual Celebrations 9 Seminars 9 Staff Programs 9 Exhibitions 9 AGMs 9 Conferences

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS • SPECIAL EVENTS 9 Concerts 9 Entertainment extravaganzas 9 Awards functions 9 High profile events and parties 9 Weddings 9 Nightclubs 9 Entertainment and Leisure complexes • Television events 9 Award nights 9 Film fare awards 9 Zee Cine awards 9 Channel V Music awards 9 MTV VJ hunt 9 Femina Miss India Pageant 9 Coca-cola 9 Channel [ V ] live • ARTIST MANAGEMENT 9 Artist management 9 Talent development 9 Ready made platform for performing artists 9 Artist banks

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 15 : BRAND EVENT ASSOCIATION

[ EXAMPLES OF COMPANIES WHO HAVE ESTABLISH BRAND- EVENT ASSOCIATION

9 CEAT CRICKET RATING AWARDS.

Sony Entertainment Television Asia Exclusively Presents the 7 th Annual CEAT Cricket Rating Awards. Premium South Asian TV channel brings its global audience a unique awards ceremony fusing international cricket and Bollywood together. London, England (24 th February 2003) – With much of the globe in the grip of cricket World Cup fever, Sony Entertainment Television Asia (SET Asia) is set to raise its viewers temperatures even higher with the exclusive screening of the 7 th Annual CEAT Cricket Ratings Awards, it was announced today. SET Asia is the international feed for Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Indias leading cable and satellite TV channel. This unique awards ceremony combines South Asias twin passions of cricket and Bollywood to create a star-studded event that leaves viewers gasping for more. In making todays announcement, Rajan Singh, Executive Vice-President for International Business commented, “Our exclusive coverage of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards is yet another example of our commitment to cricket related programming. It promises to be a fabulously entertaining show for all the family – and one that both cricket followers and Bollywood fans will thoroughly enjoy.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Alongside our regular cricket shows such as Kapil Dil Se, we look forward to bringing our viewers lots more live and exclusive international cricket coverage throughout 2003. This years ceremony, presented by VJ Cyrus Broacha and the beautiful Malika Arora Khan, include cricket celebrities such as Clive Lloyd, Kapil Dev and Rahul Dravid, to name but a few. The vivacious Bollywood starlet, Shilpa Shetty and singers Saif Ali Khan and Shankar Mahadevan provide entertainment on the night. The studio audience is also packed full with some of the biggest names in Bollywood including Aamir Khan, Anil Kapoor, Raveena Tandon and Sunil Shetty. Twelve awards will be given including Best Performance in the Game of Cricket, CEAT Best Coach, CEAT Best Sports Media Personality, CEAT Lifetime Achievement Award and the CEAT International Team of the Year Award.

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9 IIFA The International Indian Film Academy Awards has been established to honor the achievements of the Indian film industry and of Asians in the arena of World Cinema. The Samsung IIFA awards celebrate the single most powerful and popular form of entertainment, which is a community binder for Indians across the world - Indian Cinema. Immense thought, effort and care has gone into the creation of the Samsung IIFA awards, to make it truly appealing to a global Indian audience who has been constantly supportive of entertainment from India. Samsung IIFA awards stand strong on a foundation, which adheres to international parameters. Be it in terms of procedures or technicalities, international guidelines have been followed to arrive at a system, which is comprehensive and credible.

Decisions are taken under the aegis of the Management Committee and The Advisory Board comprising respectable and eminent figures from the Indian Film industry. An independent audit firm ensures strict monitoring and absolute credibility of all judging and voting procedures. Proposed to be held annually at the world's most celebrated venues, the Samsung IIFA awards are specially conceptualized and designed to be spectacular extravaganzas combining the best of Indian and International entertainment and world class event technology, reaching out to a vast audience through multiple channels of delivery.

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9 Femina Miss India.

9 Coke V Popstars.

9 Samsung IIFA Awards.

9 Manikchand FilmFare Awards.

9 Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt Contest.

9 Lakme India Fashion Week

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 16 : RECENT ARTICLES [ TOYOTA TO SELL CAMRY THROUGH `EVENTS' Our Bureau BANGALORE, April 24 TOYOTA Kirloskar Motor Ltd has put together a multi-pronged strategy to market their mid-class luxury Camry here. Mr K.K. Swamy, Deputy Managing Director of Toyota-Kirloskar Motor Company, told newspersons today that several major events to market Camry would be organized during the year. These include a golf tournament called, `tee in the dark.' A fashion show was held earlier, proceeds of which went to a NGO. Around 100 chief executive officers from Bangalore will be invited to participate in the golf tournament which will be held in the night. Similar events will be organised in Delhi and Mumbai, Mr Swamy said. "We plan to associate Camry with premium events," Mr Swamy added. The model is primarily marketed through the direct marketing route. He said the company plans to sell over 1,000 Camry cars during the current calendar year. Since its launch in October, around 500 cars have been sold. The company expects to have a market share of 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the segment. The total market size of the mid-size luxury sedan is around 5,000. This segment registered a 40 per cent to 45 per cent growth in 2002. The company plans to offer newer models of Camry in India whenever they are launched internationally. The costlier version of the car, V3, which is priced at around Rs 18.5 lakh, constitutes around 90 per cent of the total sales. The V1 model is priced at around Rs 18 lakh. The V3 model has leather upholstery, while V1 has fabric upholstery. The completely built unit (CBU) car is being imported from its Japanese facility and the various taxes on the car are around 100 per cent. . -80-

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Toyota Motor Corporation has sold over 8 million units of Camry since its launch in 1983. According to the company, Camry has been the best-selling car in the US for the last four years and is sold in more than 100 countries. It is currently manufactured in eight countries. Mr Swamy said the company has reopened its factory though the production has not been restored fully. Toyota closed down its factory on April 21 and April 22 because of a truckers' strike which paralysed the supply chain of several automobile companies. He said the company has targeted a sale of 34,000 units of its largest selling vehicle, the Qualis.In 2002, the company sold 25,000 units of Qualis. The company plans to sell 9,000 units of its another model, Corolla during the current calendar year. [ BRAND BUILDING BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF WORLD FAMOUS EVENTS LIKE WORLD CUP (CRICKET) In this article, Surf Excel’s advertising during the world cup was talked about. The brief was to link Surf Excel with cricket and at the same time bring out the brand’s functions and benefits like stain removing. “The advertising highlighted the core benefit of the brand -- removal of stains”, says an HLL spokesperson. “That is why the client bought the idea immediately, even though the idea was not typically Lever.” This ad. campaign is an example of how a company can build its brand image by keeping a close watch on events taking place all around the world. Ref.: A&M.; 31st July, 1999

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\ BELOW- THE – LINE HELP FOR BRAND BUILDING Remember The Britannia Khao, World Cup Jao! Contest? The one at started the 'scratch card' promo fever. The promo received a merit award at the International Promo Conference Chicago. Though simple, the concept was novel enough have garnered the interest its target audience with unerring precision. Each Britannia product wrapper had a run count printed on it. The consumer had to collect 100 runs and visit, or mail it, to a prize center. The center gave a World up book in exchange for every 100 runs (from a series of nine books). The consumer then scratched the "Scratch off portion" on the book which revealed a "Try again" or a prize label. The prizes included a huge number of low-value items like Britannia biscuits, or those of medium value like watches, TV sets or cricket bats, and a few of high value like World Cup tickets. The campaign was a runaway success and suited in a 20 per cent increase in sales for Britannia, high top-of-mind awareness, and wide press coverage. The Britannia gambit was not exactly freak promotional campaign that suddenly made good. It is part of a growing realization that advertising can only get your information across to the consumer, but you may probably have to back that up with ground-level activities that enable you to make a direct grab for the customer. Marketers are realizing that a 30-second ad spot is not enough to sell a product and one needs to reach out to consumers on a one-to-one basis. Enter below-the-line marketing, which covers direct marketing, promotions, events, loyalty programmers - all activities that do not involve the mass media (TV, radio, press, outdoors, etc). Broadly speaking, below-the-line promos are differentiated from above-the-line activity by the simple fact that no commissions are paid. In mainline advertising, the advertising agency is paid a commission for getting ads inserted in the press or for releasing TV spots. Not so for promos. The reason why many marketers are now beginning to put more money into below-the-line communication is because it's closer to the sale and more accountable. The growth rates for above-the-line communications have been much, lower compared to below-the-line.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS Promotional activities are important components of marketing strategy, and must mesh well with long-term objectives. While the need for advertising to disseminate information is unquestionable, companies also need to reach out to the consumer directly to manage the relationship better. Synchronization of advertising with other promotional events like road shows and sponsorships offers companies a multiplier effect in terms of customer impact. With the frequency of promos going up, so too has its share of corporate spend (as a percentage of total marketing budgets). Generally, consumer promotions are tactical and short-term as compared to advertising, which is considered more strategic and long-term. Promotions either increase penetration within the market (more people buy) or increase the depth of consumption (people buy more). Not surprisingly, in the last two years almost every major ad agency has created a promotions group (HTA's Thompson Connect, Leo Burnett's Leo Activation, and Lowe Lintas' Advent, to name a few). If below-the-line spending is gaining more followers, it is partly because of some assumed benefits. Among them: \ Promos finally drive the consumer to buy by providing a tangible incentive (in the form of a freebie, discount). They generate trials by incentivising immediate purchases and help break brand loyalties. \ Promotions can push up sales dramatically by inducing one to buy more than what one does in a normal purchase cycle. \ Promotions can help a brand cut through the clutter more effectively. Lack of brand differentiation is most evident in advertising or brand communication across categories. Very few ads manage to cut through the clutter. Only the most innovative ads get remembered enough to generate brand trials. \ The impact of promotions is measurable within a short time. It is quite possible to agree in advance on the objectives in numerical terms: how much will be sold, how much should the market share increase and what the impact of a brand's width and depth of consumption within a given market should be.

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS \ Since results can be quantified more easily in promos than in advertising, it makes promos the most cost-effective method of reaching out to target audiences with minimal waste. They can be more focused (executives with two wheelers, teenagers using contact lenses).Unique, innovative and low-budget solutions too are feasible. Given its cost-effectiveness, smaller players tend to appreciate the power of below-theline

communication

more

than

the

bigger

ones.

Also,

below-the-line

communications work well in a depressed economy. With the significant increase in mass media rates making TV and print advertising relatively more expensive, this avenue seems a better option. Even specific events and festivals (like Diwali, Christmas) can be cashed in on with time-bound promotions. \ PROMOTING PROMOS Promotion Marketing Awards Of Asia (PMAA) is the only award programme which recognize promotion marketing excellence and mastery throughout the Asian marketing industry (in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan & Thailand) every year. Since 2002, Kidstuff Promos & Events - the agency coordinating entries from India -has been calling for entries from promotion marketing, advertising, internet and direct response agencies and clients with in-house marketing departments. Gold, silver and bronze trophies are awarded in each of the 16 entry categories. Some interesting categories are: best multi-disciplined promotion campaign, awarded to the campaign best utilizing a minimum of three marketing disciplines - such as broadcasting, direct marketing, advertising, public relations, instore merchandising and internet; best campaign generating brand loyalty, best use of innovative communication strategy, best effective long-term promotion marketing campaign, and best small-budget (costing under $25,000) campaign. In 2002, Kwality Walls' Ek Din Ka Raja promo for Hindustan Lever India won the Best Campaign by Country award. This promotion had 10 top prizes and each prize allowed a family to shop for items worth Rs 10 lakh in a single day in Mumbai. Apart from this, there were several low and medium-value prizes. -84-

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS There had been scope for a large promotion in the ice-cream category, as most consumer offers in this category tend to be either free ice creams or a priceoff . In this context, to break clutter, it was thought that a big promotion would achieve brand equity. The promo was base on consumer insight like the fact that there is a strong aspiration to get rich quick and that today shopping is more of a passion. Two other promos in recent years that have been noted for their success are Wiz-craft's launch of the Honda Accord, and Lowe Lintas's event for Hindustan Lever's Axe Voodoo 'Call of the dark' party. Consumer promotions are no longer considered as tactical exercises merely to increase sales. In most product categories they now play an active role in brandbuilding. However, advertising professionals may tend to associate above-the- line with all that is good and wholesome. They sometimes see above-the-line activity as more in tune with the goal of making long-term profit, while below-the-line efforts are dismissed as efforts to bring in short-term cash but long-term losses. On the other hand, promotion agencies believe that belowthe-line efforts tend to create more interaction between the customer and a company, creating powerful, long-term loyalties and profit. The truth lies somewhere in between with mass media advertising and below-the-line promotions increasingly complementing each other. Take the example of a new brand of cooking stove. The concept of the product would have to be sold before a promotion could be announced. A new brand would do well to involve consumers at retail outlets through product demos. While promotional aspects would build up traffic at retail outlets, point- of- purchase posters several outlets explaining usage of the product would also help. TV commercials will be the best way to create awareness. Advertisements could also reassure consumer based on the assurances associated with the brand. The consumers’ attention can only be caught by delivering ‘brand experience’ using integrated communication involving a mix of media, both above and below the line.

Source: Indian Management, August’ 2003………….Author: Deepak Halan

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EXAMPLE OF A RECENT EVENT NATIONAL GO- KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP SPONSORED BY JK TYRES -86-

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BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS CHAPTER 17 : SNAPSHOT: WHO’S SPONSORING WHAT AND WHERE? SR.NO.

COMPANY

PRODUCTS/BRANDS

EVENT CATEGORY

1.

BPL

Home Theatre System

Technofest, Cricket.

2.

Coca-Cola India

Soft Drinks

Sports, music, films.

3.

Reliance

Various

Cricket.

4.

Ceat

Tyres

Cricket.

5.

MRF

Tyres

Cricket.

6.

Hero Group

Motor Bikes

Hero Cup.

7.

Pepsi

Soft Drinks

Sports, music, film.

8.

Lakhani Shoes

Shoes

Sports.

9.

Action Shoes

Shoes

Sports.

10.

Mc Donald

Food

Polo, Horse racing.

11.

SAIL

Steel Manufacturing

Football, Cricket.

12.

Mahindra & Mahindra

Automobile

Squash.

13.

Standard Chartered Bank

Banking

Tennis.

14.

HLL

Various

Music, Festivals.

15.

Colgate

Dental Care Products

Kite- Festivals.

16.

TVS

Various

Navaratri Festivals.

17.

Phillips

Consumer Electronics

Fairs and Festivals.

18.

Asian Paints

Paints

Fairs and Festivals.

19.

American Express

Credit Cards

Martha Graham Dance.

20.

Citibank

Bank

Special events.

21.

Baskin Robbins

Ice-Cream

Sports Derby.

22.

McDowells

Soda

Sports Derby.

23.

Pfizer

Pharmaceuticals

Special Launches.

24.

Lee

Jeans

Special Launches.

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NOTHING WORTHWHILE IS ACHIEVED WITHOUT DEEP THOUGHT AND HARD WORK!!!!!!!!! -88-

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