case study about event management

Case Studies: Successful Events Using Event Software

Introduction.

In the evolving realm of event planning, success hinges on adapting to the target audience’s demands and creating memorable experiences. This compilation of case studies uncovers the success stories of prominent organizations such as GE Healthcare, leveraging modern platforms in the information technology sector. These stories illuminate the transformative power of event software in orchestrating successful product launches, virtual and hybrid events, and esports competitions across the United States and beyond. They highlight amplified customer satisfaction, enhanced security, significant cost savings, and insightful analytics, offering valuable lessons for event planners on the path to success. Delve into these customer stories to discover how the right platform can elevate your event planning strategies.

5 Event Case Studies

Case study 1: product launch by ge healthcare.

GE Healthcare leveraged a top-tier platform in the information technology sector to successfully launch a groundbreaking product. This case study emphasizes the crucial role of analytics in understanding the target audience, leading to a memorable experience and amplified customer satisfaction.

Case Study 2: Virtual Event In The United States

As the demand for virtual events surged, a prominent firm triumphed in hosting a large-scale virtual event using advanced event software. The event offered attendees an interactive experience and demonstrated impressive cost savings, making it a success story worth noting.

Case Study 3: Hybrid Event In The Information Technology Sector

In this customer story, an IT company adeptly bridged the gap between physical and digital spaces, setting up a hybrid event that attracted a broad audience. The event showcased the platform’s security features, underscoring the importance of safety in memorable experiences.

Case Study 4: Esports Competition

This case study recounts how a leading Esports organization used an event software platform to deliver an exceptional experience for attendees, from live streaming to real-time social media integration. This success story encapsulates the power of creating memorable experiences for a specific target audience.

Case Study 5: United Nations Conference

The United Nations harnessed event software to enhance the attendee experience at a crucial conference. With robust analytics, seamless security, and improved customer satisfaction, this case study is an example of how event planners can utilize technology for successful and impactful events.

The Skift Take: These case studies demonstrate the powerful role of event software platforms in facilitating successful events, from product launches to large-scale conferences. Leveraging technology, organizations like GE Healthcare and the United Nations have improved attendee experience, enhanced security, saved costs, and gained valuable insights. These success stories serve as a testament to the transformative potential of information technology in event planning.

Why Event Badges Will Never Be The Same Again [Case Study]

The digital revolution has forever changed the face of event badges. In our case study, we delve into how technology-driven badges have enhanced the event experience, providing not just identity verification, but also serving as a tool for networking, data collection, and improving overall attendee engagement.

How To Increase Engagement With Your Event App By 350% [Case Study]

In this case study, we unravel the strategy behind a staggering 350% increase in event app engagement. Through a blend of user-friendly design, interactive features, and personalized content, the case underlines the power of a well-implemented event app in boosting attendee interaction and enhancing the overall event experience.

How To Meet Green [Case Study]

This case study explores the concept of sustainable event planning. It illustrates how a platform’s features can facilitate ‘green’ events, thereby reducing environmental impact while ensuring a memorable attendee experience. Such initiatives highlight the potential for event software to contribute meaningfully towards global sustainability goals.

How To Increase Attendance By 100+% [Case Study]

This case study explores the tactics employed by an organization which led to a remarkable doubling of event attendance. The successful campaign, powered by a robust event software platform, offered personalized communication, early bird incentives, and an appealing event agenda, demonstrating the potential of effective marketing strategies in boosting event turnout.

How This Event Boosted Their Success [Case Study]

This case study unravels the success journey of an event that significantly boosted their success using a comprehensive event software platform. The strategic use of interactive features, data insights, and exceptional planning led to a remarkable rise in attendee satisfaction and engagement, underlining the game-changing potential of technology in event management.

In the dynamic field of event planning. The power of leveraging advanced platforms in information technology, as demonstrated in the case studies, is clear. Success stories from esteemed organizations such as GE Healthcare. Underscore the invaluable role of event software in facilitating triumphant product launches, virtual and hybrid events, and even esports competitions. The benefits are manifold, including enhanced customer satisfaction, improved security, substantial cost savings, and the generation of valuable analytics to guide future strategies. These case studies serve as tangible proof that the right technology can significantly elevate the success of your event.

If these success stories inspire you to embrace the transformative power of event software. We invite you to experience the difference firsthand. Orderific is ready to demonstrate how our platform can elevate your event planning process. Book a demo with us today and begin your journey towards unprecedented event success.

What role do event case studies play in the event planning and management process?

Event case studies offer real-world examples of successful planning and management strategies, providing valuable insights and lessons.

How can event professionals benefit from studying real-world success stories in the industry?

They can gain practical knowledge, tactics, and inspiration to implement successful strategies in their own events.

What types of insights can event case studies provide for improving future events?

Event case studies provide actionable insights into effective planning strategies, attendee engagement, and ROI optimization.

Are there specific industries or event types that are commonly featured in case studies?

Yes, industries often featured include tech, healthcare, and entertainment, and event types range from corporate events to music festivals.

How can event planners effectively apply lessons learned from case studies to their own projects?

They can apply these lessons by tailoring the strategies highlighted in case studies. Which aligns with their event’s unique needs and goals.

Introduction Enhancing a new employee's onboarding experience is crucial in an increasingly digital world. Through our advanced onboarding software, we Read more

Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the event planning industry, offering event planners innovative tools to craft immersive, personalized experiences. Read more

Introduction Event technology is rapidly evolving, presenting opportunities and challenges for event planners. The adoption of event tech can significantly Read more

Introduction The era of big data has ushered in an unprecedented opportunity for event organizers. The wealth of event data Read more

You might also like

15 fun cinco de mayo activities for kids, savor the best of culinary at boston restaurant week, sweet treats in san diego: nothing bundt cakes, event branding with event management software, event marketing strategies using software, why event management software is essential, get a free demo now, turn your food business into a smart restaurant for free with orderific pay at the table software.

Successful Event Planning Case Studies: How These Entrepreneurs Nailed it

Starting an event planning business can be both exciting and daunting. Have you ever wondered what sets apart successful event planners from the rest? The answer lies in learning from real-world experiences and understanding the nuances of successful event planning case studies.  These select case studies showcase how entrepreneurs nailed the art of event planning, and explore the lessons that can shape your own path towards success.

Download the Ultimate Business Plan Template

Case Study 1: A 200-Guest Corporate Gala Done Right

Overview of the corporate gala event.

The successful event planning case study focuses on a high-profile corporate gala that aimed to host 200 guests. The event was designed to embody the company’s brand image and provide a sophisticated and memorable experience for all attendees.

Key Challenges Faced in Planning and Execution

• Securing the ideal venue within budget constraints
• Coordinating with multiple vendors for catering, decor, and entertainment
• Managing RSVPs and guest communications effectively

Strategies Employed to Ensure a Seamless Event

• Thorough vendor selection process based on reputation and previous work
• Detailed event timeline and contingency plans for unforeseen circumstances
• Regular communication and updates to the client to ensure alignment with expectations

Positive Outcomes and Attendee Feedback

The corporate gala achieved its objectives, receiving positive feedback from attendees and the client. The event’s success was measured through increased brand engagement, meaningful networking opportunities, and overall guest satisfaction.

This case study highlights the importance of meticulous planning, vendor management, and client collaboration in executing a successful corporate event.

Case Study 2: Transforming a Dream Wedding into Reality

Personalization and customization in wedding event planning.

When delving into successful event planning case studies, the focus on a dream wedding illustrates the significance of personalized experiences. The case study reflects the journey of fulfilling the couple’s unique vision while ensuring a seamless and unforgettable celebration.

Dealing with Last-Minute Changes and Unforeseen Circumstances

• Flexibility in adapting to sudden changes in weather or venue availability
• Quick decision-making and effective communication with vendors and the couple
• Maintaining the overall ambiance and experience despite unexpected challenges

Emphasizing the Emotional Impact of a Successful Wedding Event

The case study unveils how the attention to detail and emotional resonance can elevate a wedding into an extraordinary and cherished memory. By understanding the couple’s preferences and translating them into a cohesive event, the planners demonstrated their expertise in creating an unforgettable experience.

This successful event planning case study exemplifies the emotional significance and meticulous coordination required to execute a flawless wedding event.

Case Study 3: Engaging Community with a Local Charity Fundraiser

Importance of community involvement in event planning.

This case study shines a spotlight on the successful integration of the local community in a charity fundraiser event. It emphasizes the significance of fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose to create meaningful experiences.

Balancing Entertainment and Purpose for Fundraising Events

• Curating engaging activities and entertainment to foster a lively atmosphere
• Incorporating storytelling and impactful presentations to connect attendees with the cause
• Ensuring a seamless flow of the event program to maintain guest engagement

Showcasing the Impact of the Event on the Community and the Cause

The case study illustrates how a well-executed charity fundraiser can both uplift the community spirit and generate substantial contributions towards the cause. It exemplifies the positive outcomes that can be achieved through purpose-driven event planning.

This successful event planning case study underscores the potential for community-centric events to make a lasting impact beyond the event itself.

Lessons Learned and Best Practices

The exploration of these successful event planning case studies reveals several recurrent best practices and valuable insights for aspiring event planners aiming for success in similar events.

Key Takeaways for Aspiring Event Planners

• Prioritize meticulous planning and attention to detail in every aspect of the event
• Build strong vendor relationships to ensure seamless execution and quality delivery
• Embrace flexibility and adaptability to effectively manage unexpected challenges

Tips for Adapting the Lessons to Different Event Types and Sizes

• Tailoring the event planning approach to suit the specific needs and objectives of diverse events
• Implementing creative solutions and personalized touches to enhance the overall event experience
• Scaling strategies and best practices to align with varying event scales and audience demographics

Conclusion: Empower Your Event Planning Journey with Insightful Case Studies

The journey through these compelling event planning case studies underscores the vital role of leveraging real-life successes to fuel one’s own event planning ventures. These stories serve as a wellspring of inspiration and wisdom for both budding and experienced event planners alike.

We urge you to glean insights from these successful event planning case studies and infuse your own event planning endeavors with the learnings and best practices encapsulated in these narratives. Embrace the evolving landscape of event planning with the confidence and knowledge derived from these impactful case studies.

Q: Why are successful event planning case studies important for aspiring event planners?

A: Successful event planning case studies offer real-life examples of effective strategies, challenges, and outcomes, serving as valuable learning resources for aspiring event planners to understand and apply best practices in their own ventures.

Q: How can event planners leverage insights from case studies in their own projects?

A: By analyzing successful event planning case studies, event planners can extract actionable insights, innovative approaches, and proven methods, which can be adapted to enhance their own event planning projects.

Q: What types of events are typically covered in successful event planning case studies?

A: Successful event planning case studies may cover a wide range of events, including corporate galas, weddings, charity fundraisers, product launches, and community events, showcasing diverse planning approaches and outcomes.

Q: Are there common challenges addressed in successful event planning case studies?

A: Yes, successful event planning case studies often highlight common challenges such as budget management, vendor coordination, unexpected changes, and maintaining the overall guest experience.

Q: Where can event planners find more detailed case studies and resources?

A: Event planners can access detailed case studies and additional resources from reputable event planning organizations, industry publications, and professional associations with valuable insights and best practices for successful event planning.  

• Skift Meetings
• Airline Weekly
• Daily Lodging Report
• Skift Research

Event Management

5 Event Case Studies

Skift Meetings Studio Team

January 13th, 2017 at 10:00 AM EST

Event planners are creating effective and successful events every single day, but on the whole we could do better with sharing event data and best practice. Here are 5 event case studies we can all learn from.

• LinkedIn icon
• facebook icon

Whether it is down to time, client confidentiality or protecting our ideas and ways of working eventprofs seem to struggle with shouting about our achievements and letting others benefit from our successes (or failures).

When a project is over we brainstorm and analyze internally within our team and with our clients but very few of us publish meaningful data and outcomes from our events for others to learn from and be inspired by. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why some executives struggle to appreciate the results and return that events can bring and why we still battle to protect event budgets in times of austerity?

As an industry we should work harder to crystallize the Return on Investment and Return on Objectives so there can be no doubt about the importance and relevance of events to the marketing mix. We need to demonstrate more clearly exactly how we added or created value through our events to prove that they are essential.

These 5 case studies from 2016 focus on events that achieved their objectives and share top tips on their learnings and data.

Why Event Badges Will Never Be the Same Again [Case Study]

The 2016 Seattle GeekWire Startup Day used technology to help attendees get more from networking opportunities at the event and improve the experience. Through smart event badges they were able to create a total of 9,459 positive matches between participants with shared interests and analyze more closely the supply and demand.

How to Increase Engagement with your Event App by 350% [Case Study]

If you invest in a mobile app for your event you want to be sure that people will download and use it. This case study outlines how the MAISON&OBJET exhibition increased engagement with their event app by 350%

How To Meet Green [Case Study]

One of the objectives of the Canadian Medical Association Annual Meeting was to create the greenest event going. Focusing on three main areas, this is how they did it and the difference they made.

How to Increase Attendance by 100+% [Case Study]

Streamlining the registration process can have a big impact on workload and numbers. This case study shares how the Colorado Judicial Branch doubled the number of attendees for their largest conference and saved countless hours of administration time.

How This Event Boosted Their Success [Case Study]

Running regional events as part of a country-wide tour has plenty of challenges. This case study looks at how The Get Fit and Thick tour streamlined their processes for event success across the US.

In Conclusion

As these 5 case studies demonstrate, events can make a difference at a micro and macro level. As an industry let’s make a pledge to share our learnings, both positive and negative. By taking this bold step we can educate and support each other to run more effective events and further professionalize the event industry and spend event budget where they will yield the greatest results. We know the importance of events, and event technology , we need to do more to prove it to those that still need convincing.  

Portland’s Destination Appeal Beyond the Meeting Room

Meeting planners are often challenged to provide exceptional experiences on limited budgets. A city with ample leisure appeal, such as Portland, Oregon, can give people a compelling reason to attend. Add in sector-specific field trips and strong EDI credentials, and this “Silicon Forest” is a meeting destination on the rise.

Across the Country: How Immersive Experiences Shine Throughout the U.S.

Attendees are craving much more than education sessions and networking receptions. As event organizers try to cook up a recipe for elevated engagement, the key is finding a place that can lay the foundation for a truly immersive experience. Skift Meetings worked with Brand USA to find the country’s best-in-class immersive experiences. Here are five destinations that can redefine your next event.

5 Ways to Plan Life Sciences Events for the Tech-Driven Age

Life sciences events are more important than ever as face-to-face meetings return in force. Here’s how event planners can keep pace with rapid change in the industry, take advantage of accelerating tech innovation, and support the professionals tackling the top health challenges of the day.

RIMS Enhances Security Measures for RISKWORLD in San Diego

Extra security precautions were put in place at this year’s RIMS RISKWORLD conference in San Diego after an active shooter situation shut down the final day of the 2023 conference in Atlanta.

Maritz Reveals Trade Show Registration Trends

Maritz takes a closer look at new attendee behavior and shares insights on how to optimize revenue and attendance.

Get the Skift Meetings Standup Newsletter

Our biweekly newsletter delivers fresh, original content – straight to your inbox, every Tuesday and Thursday.

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

• Latest News
• Business Anniversaries
• Conference and Meeting Management
• Destination Management – Detroit
• Special Events
• Trade Show Support
• Testimonials

Case Studies

• Why Choose Detroit?
• Sustainability
• Free Resources
• 248-336-8600
• Groundbreakings, Grand Openings and Open House Events

Home > Case Studies

scroll to view

Virtual Event

Leadership Conference

Foundation Convening

Tech Company Conference

Health Care Industry Event

Meet Some Of Our Clients

Event and festival research: a review and research directions

International Journal of Event and Festival Management

ISSN : 1758-2954

Article publication date: 19 November 2019

Issue publication date: 19 November 2019

Mair, J. and Weber, K. (2019), "Event and festival research: a review and research directions", International Journal of Event and Festival Management , Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 209-216. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEFM-10-2019-080

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

Events and festivals are key elements of the tourism product in many destinations ( Getz and Page, 2016 ). The ability of festivals and events to attract visitors to a host region, and to contribute to its economic and social well-being explains the significance afforded to them in many tourism policies and strategies ( Mair and Whitford, 2013 ). This contribution is a strong justification for public funding of events and festivals ( Felsenstein and Fleischer, 2003 ; O’Hagan, 1992 ). Thus, in conjunction with tourism, they are becoming a realistic policy option for regional development ( Moscardo, 2007 ; Robinson et al. , 2004 ). However, the rapid growth of the events/festival industry in the past few decades has not always been matched with the level of research devoted to investigating it. Additionally, the fragmented nature of the research that exists poses challenges for researchers and practitioners trying to identify both the existing knowledge and any research gaps. Nonetheless, the interest of the academic community in event and festival research has increased significantly, particularly in the past decade. This has broadly aligned with the time that the International Journal of Event and Festival Management has been in existence. Here we look back on the general direction of research in our field and provide some potential avenues for future research to strengthen and enrich event and festival research.

To date, several reviews have examined the state of research relating to festivals and events. Getz (2010) reviewed the literature on festivals, identifying three major discourses – a classical discourse, concerning the roles, meanings and impacts of festivals in society and culture; an instrumentalist discourse, where festivals are viewed as tools to be used in economic development, particularly in relation to tourism and place marketing; and an event management discourse, which focuses on the production and marketing of festivals and the management of festival organisations ( Getz, 2010 ). Getz and Page (2016) also reviewed the event tourism literature. According to Getz (2013), there are five core propositions of event tourism: events can attract visitors who may not otherwise visit the area; events can create a positive destination image and branding; events contribute to place marketing by making destinations more attractive; events animate cities, resorts and parks; and event tourism is a catalyst for other forms of development. A more recent review of trends in event management research was published in 2017, highlighting the themes which appeared to represent the most popular research topics over the period from 1998 until 2013 in studies published in leading hospitality and tourism as well as event-focused academic journals ( Park and Park, 2017 ). A total of 698 articles were analysed and results showed that the most popular research topics were marketing, events and destinations and management. Planning and evaluation of events along with the use of technology in events were also well represented in this sample. However, events education and human resources in events appeared to be less well researched ( Park and Park, 2017 ). Other reviews have been completed in the area of festivals, but they have been limited by a focus on papers published in journals associated with one discipline or field of study only. For example, Cudny (2014) took a geographical perspective and Frost (2015) reviewed anthropological studies of festivals, which broadly position festivals as sites of cultural practice and experience. However, neither addressed festival management issues.

The literature on events and festivals has been approached from a number of theoretical perspectives. Initially, cultural and social research predominated. However, more recently far more research has taken a business orientation, focusing on themes such as management, marketing and tourism, as noted by Park and Park (2017) .

Festivals/events and tourism

The links between events (particularly festivals) and tourism have been a fertile area for research. Increasing tourism is one of the key reasons why local governments support and stage festivals ( Mayfield and Crompton, 1995 ), and according to Anderssen and Getz (2009), many destinations view festivals as attractions and use them as part of their destination marketing strategy. There are clear benefits to hosting festivals, primarily in terms of economic but also social benefits. In relation to economic benefits, increasing visitor numbers, supporting job creation and underpinning economic development appear to be the main positive impacts of festivals; however, the extent of such positive impacts is disputed in relation to whether festivals actually attract visitors ( McKercher et al. , 2006 ); whether visitors are even aware of festivals when they make their destination decision ( Oh and Lee, 2012 ); and whether festival visitors, many of whom camp and eat on the festival site, are actually making much economic contribution at all (Saleh and Ryan, 2003). Further, in relation to social benefits such as community cohesion, sense of place, belonging and identity, the literature appears somewhat contrary. While there is plenty of evidence to suggest that these are the objectives of festival organisers, funding bodies and local authorities, there appears to be less evidence of whether festivals are successful in achieving these objectives, and through which mechanisms this may be facilitated. Further, while festivals have unique features and cultural dimensions which are also important factors for attracting tourists, the importance of exercising caution when using tangible or intangible historic and cultural resources for festival activities seems to be less acknowledged. Therefore, while the potential benefits of festivals have been clearly outlined, research appears to be lacking in terms of truly comprehending how best to achieve these desired benefits.

Festivals/events and marketing

There is also a significant body of work that examines events/festivals and marketing, with this topic representing the most widely researched theme identified by Park and Park (2017) . Drawing on initial work by Crompton and McKay (1997) , who proposed six key motivational dimensions to explain festival attendance, researchers have examined attendance motivations in a multitude of contexts, yet for the most part, few significant differences have been found. Existing reviews have already ascertained that attendance motivations have been thoroughly researched ( Getz, 2010 ); yet, studies continue to be published in this topic. For example, while there have been some minor differences to the original Crompton and McKay (1997) motivation framework, the underlying dimensions appear to be relatively stable over time and across a variety of contexts. Nonetheless, each year more studies appear testing these dimensions in yet more contexts.

Similarly, an established body of research has concluded that good quality festivals result in attendee satisfaction, which then leads to increased loyalty in the form of future re-purchase intentions (see for example, Anil, 2012 ; Cole and Illum, 2006 ; Cole and Chancellor, 2009 ; Lee et al. , 2007 ; Son and Lee, 2011 ; Mason and Nassivera, 2013 ). Nevertheless, despite this literature, studies examining the relationship between satisfaction, quality and loyalty continue to be published. Finally, market segmentation studies occur frequently in the festival literature, yet as most are case study based, they are failing to make generalisable contributions to our knowledge of this area. In summary, it appears that in these areas, researchers have simply been making only small, incremental contributions.

Several issues have arisen in relation to festival marketing and consumer behaviour which would present useful opportunities for further study. For example, the decision-making process of festival goers requires more research, as much of this research to date has been undertaken in case study contexts, without further generalisation (e.g. Kruger and Saayman, 2012 ). Further, there is a noticeable lack of research in areas of marketing that more recently gained greater popularity, including experiential marketing, and very little research on the role of social media and events. Experiential marketing focuses primarily on helping consumers to experience a brand, with the goal of forming a memorable connection and an expected outcome of future purchases and brand loyalty. Festivals offer an unrivalled opportunity for organisations to showcase their brands and build a connection in the mind of the consumer between the festival experience and the brand experience, as noted by Chen et al. (2011) , yet this is a relatively unexplored area where future research should be carried out.

Social media has also been the focus of surprisingly few festival studies thus far. This is particularly unexpected given the widespread use of various types of social media and its obvious links with marketing. In a case study of music festivals, Hudson and Hudson (2013) carried out some pioneering work to understand how festival organisers are engaging with both social media and their consumers. Their findings suggest that music festival organisers are proactive in using social media. In a subsequent study, Hudson et al. (2015) developed a conceptual model that was subsequently tested with music festival attendees. Study findings provided evidence that social media do indeed have a significant influence on emotions and attachments to festival brands, and that social media-based relationships lead to desired outcomes such as positive word of mouth. Montanari et al. (2013) examine an Italian photography festival, and revealed how using social media and Web 2.0 technology enhanced the way the festival was able to communicate with its audience. Social media is also changing the way potential attendees make their attendance decision. Lee et al. (2012) investigated whether engagement with a festival “event” page on Facebook was linked with actual attendance at the festival. They found some evidence to suggest that the event Facebook page stimulated emotions and a desire to attend the actual festival. Research by Williams et al. (2015) suggests that festivals are both generators and animators of electronic word of mouth, but the authors acknowledge the exploratory nature of their research. Sigala (2018a, b) has advanced our conceptual knowledge of social media as it relates to both festival management and marketing, creating a typology of the way that social media is being used in festival management and organisation. She also drew attention to the use and influence of social media on both attendee experiences and decision making and festival marketing strategies. In view of the omnipresent nature of social media, this is an area where there is a considerable need for further research in the festival context; there is ample room for new studies relating to social media to bring theory development and practical implications.

Technology mediated experiences are changing the festivalscape as events and festivals integrate hardware, software, netware and humanware into the attendee experience ( Neuhofer et al. , 2014 ; Robertson et al. , 2015 ; Van Winkle et al. , 2018 ). ICT has been used at events and festivals for utilitarian and hedonic purposes yet little is known about the implications for the events, attendees, volunteers and other stakeholders. Thus, research into the integration of ICT into the administration, design, marketing, operations and risk management of events and festivals is essential. An upcoming special issue of IJEFM will focus on these key issues.

Festivals/events and management

Three key aspects of strategic festival management have received significant attention from researchers – stakeholder management; festival success factors and conversely, festival failures; and festivals and environmental sustainability. The importance of understanding and managing stakeholders is widely acknowledged (e.g. Reid, 2007 ), and it may very well be that further research will simply underline this. However, in relation to other aspects of management, there are certainly areas where more research is required. For example, whilst knowledge transfer appears to be taking place in successful festivals ( Stadler et al. , 2014 ), transfer of knowledge is not well defined, or even explicitly acknowledged. Interestingly, festival failure has apparently been the subject of more research than festival success but further areas for useful contributions remain. These include succession planning and risk management. In addition, differences in strategic management planning and operations between festivals under different types of ownership appear significantly under-researched (Andersson and Getz, 2009; Carlsen and Andersson 2011 ). Despite a few studies (e.g. Robertson and Yeoman, 2014; Yeoman, 2013 ), there have also been few attempts to foresee future trends and issues that are likely to affect festivals and their management.

Getz and Page (2016) also argue for further research to better understand the role that festivals play in bringing together disparate groups such as visitors and residents. Complex relationships between communal identity and place emerge as people have various sets of connections to multiple notions of “place” and “home”. This is an area where social science research could play an important role, bringing together the business aspects of tourism and festival management with the issues of place, space and people researched by geographers and social scientists.

There is also a small but growing body of knowledge on festivals and sustainability; however, this topical area offers considerable potential for future research, and ample room for further theoretical and practical contributions. Research attention may be placed on issues such as the triple bottom line, links between festivals and social sustainability, and even the opportunities for festivals to play an education and behaviour change role in relation to pro-environmental behaviour. For example, Andersson and Lundberg (2013) considered the notion of commensurability and proposed a framework for assessing the overall TBL sustainability of a festival by allocating a monetary value to each component. This is done using market values of emission rights, the shadow costs of environmental resources, contingent valuation analysis of (willingness to pay for) socio-cultural impacts and estimates of direct expenditure and opportunity cost. However, the authors acknowledge that there are aspects of their framework which are subjective, and they note that future research is needed to clarify the generalisability of their framework. Duran et al. (2014) also propose a framework – the Sustainable Festival Management Model – which highlights that stakeholder participation, especially non-governmental organisations, the tourism sector and local people who might be impacted by the festival, is vital for the development of a sustainable festival. Van Niekerk and Coetzee (2011) used the VICE model (visitor, industry community and environment) to assess the sustainability of an arts festival in South Africa and suggest that this framework can help to identify critical issues relating to a festival and its sustainability. However, they also note that research using this model is somewhat limited in the events context and that further research on the efficacy and usefulness of the model is required ( Van Niekerk and Coetzee, 2011 ).

Implications for future festival/event research

There are several implications for future festival/event research resulting from the brief overview provided. These can be classified as opportunities for interdisciplinary research, a reliance on the western perspective and a corresponding lack of different cultural perspectives, an absence of research into the pedagogy of festival/event studies and finally, an array of limitations associated with the current body of knowledge.

First, there is a lack of interdisciplinary work that incorporates business and social and/or spatial perspectives. In his review, Getz (2010) highlighted that the classical discourse was under-acknowledged in extant festival studies, and that more connections should be made between festival studies and other disciplines such as sociology and anthropology. Further, Cudny (2014) called for more theoretical research to underpin the development of festival studies in future. Much of the work that has taken a business perspective, perhaps not surprisingly, has focused inwards on the festival – how to market, manage, stage it and provide a good quality service and experience (see Park and Park, 2017 ). However, very little of the festival research appearing in the business literature has been outwardly focused – considering how festivals may be mechanisms for achieving other aims – social, cultural, political, behavioural, etc. Clearly, in order to survive, festivals have to be successful business products, but in order to achieve other objectives, managers need to be aware of some of the issues that are explored in the social sciences and humanities literature, such as inclusion vs exclusion at festivals, festivals and authenticity/tradition, and festivals as spaces of protest, counterculture and self-expression, to name but a few. Interdisciplinary work, using theories and concepts from beyond business disciplines (e.g. social capital, affect and emotion theories and Florida’s (2002, 2003) creative industries framework) would inform festival research, and while the majority of recent work being published on festivals has appeared in journals associated with tourism, events and business more broadly, applying other disciplinary theories and frameworks would bring these to a new audience and thus, help to make a greater contribution.

Second, there is a dearth of different cultural perspectives in festival and event research. While already highlighted by Getz (2010) , it appears that researchers have not paid much heed to his call for comparative and cross-cultural studies. There is a need to move away from Western paradigms when examining non-Western phenomena. For example, Pine (2002) suggested that the development policy of hotel groups or chains established in China needs to consider the Chinese socio-economic context, thus implying that a research model should be developed specifically for China hotel development. China’s hotel industry is different from that of other countries due to fierce competition, multiform ownership and management systems, and coupled with China’s unique culture society might require a different research approach. Similar considerations would be of value in relation to festivals research in other non-western contexts. In a similar vein, the number of countries with resident populations that are culturally diverse has led to an awareness of the importance of building well-organised, multicultural societies ( Chin, 1992 ; Lee et al. , 2012 ; Parekh, 2006 ). Festivals can play a significant role in this. Multicultural festivals are especially important for minority groups seeking to maintain cultural traditions ( Lee et al. , 2012 ). However, despite some initial research in this area, further detailed study of the nature of festivals in a multicultural society would be of tremendous value.

Third, there are no pedagogical articles specifically related to festival studies. There is a relatively limited body of knowledge relating to teaching event management. For example Getz (2010) highlights that events students should learn and be able to apply both event specific knowledge (such as understanding the meaning, importance and impacts of festivals and events, and in addition their limited duration and episodic nature) as well as management specific knowledge including marketing, finance and accounting. Additionally, initiatives such as the development of the International Event Management Body of Knowledge seek to define research and understand the parameters of events and the knowledge, understanding and skills required in order to succeed in a contemporary environment ( Silvers et al. , 2005 ). Nonetheless, the pedagogy of festival and event studies remains an important, yet significantly under-researched area.

Finally, there are a number of limitations relating to the existing body of festival/event literature. Reminiscent of other review papers in the broader tourism and hospitality context, and beyond (e.g. Denizci Guillet and Mohammed, 2015 ; Kong and Cheung, 2009 ; Mattila, 2004 ; Yoo and Weber, 2005 ), the vast majority of papers relating to festival/event research are empirical rather than conceptual and theoretical in nature. In addition, as has been noted already, much of the research in the field of festivals has taken a case study approach. This has arguably limited the scope and scale of our knowledge of festivals. More sophisticated methods, both qualitative and quantitative, would provide a more nuanced study of particular festivals and places, yet at the same time contribute further to advancing our theoretical and practical knowledge of festivals.

Given this, a call for greater theory development and testing within the festival context appears timely. This is in line with Oh et al. (2004 , p. 441) who note that “[…] applications are not a wrong effort to make; what is needed is a stronger conceptual rigour and meaningful contribution [to] back to the mainstream theoretical thought through creative application and domain-specific theory development activities.”

Judith Mair and Karin Weber

Andersson , T.D. and Lundberg , E. ( 2013 ), “ Commensurability and sustainability: triple impact assessments of a tourism event ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 37 , pp. 99 - 109 .

Anil , N.K. ( 2012 ), “ Festival visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty: an example of small, local, and municipality organized festival ”, Turizam , Vol. 60 No. 3 , pp. 255 - 271 .

Carlsen , J. and Andersson , T.D. ( 2011 ), “ Strategic SWOT analysis of public, private and not-for-profit festival organisations ”, International Journal of Event and Festival Management , Vol. 2 No. 1 , pp. 83 - 97 .

Chen , C.C. , Tseng , M.L. and Lin , Y.H. ( 2011 ), “ Recreation demand of consumer with experiential marketing in festival ”, Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences , Vol. 25 , pp. 447 - 453 .

Chin , D. ( 1992 ), “ Multiculturalism and its masks: the art of identity politics ”, Performing Arts Journal , Vol. 14 No. 1 , pp. 1 - 15 .

Cole , S.T. and Chancellor , H.C. ( 2009 ), “ Examining the festival attributes that impact visitor experience, satisfaction and re-visit intention ”, Journal of Vacation Marketing , Vol. 15 No. 4 , pp. 323 - 333 .

Cole , S.T. and Illum , S.F. ( 2006 ), “ Examining the mediating role of festival visitors’ satisfaction in the relationship between service quality and behavioral intentions ”, Journal of Vacation Marketing , Vol. 12 No. 2 , pp. 160 - 173 .

Crompton , J.L. and McKay , S.L. ( 1997 ), “ Motives of visitors attending festival events ”, Annals of Tourism Research , Vol. 24 No. 2 , pp. 425 - 439 .

Cudny , W. ( 2014 ), “ Festivals as a subject for geographical research ”, Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography , Vol. 114 No. 2 , pp. 132 - 142 .

Denizci Guillet , B. and Mohammed , I. ( 2015 ), “ Revenue management research in hospitality and tourism: a critical review of current literature and suggestions for future research ”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , Vol. 27 No. 4 , pp. 526 - 556 .

Duran , E. , Hamarat , B. and Özkul , E. ( 2014 ), “ A sustainable festival management model: the case of International Troia festival ”, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research , Vol. 8 No. 2 , pp. 173 - 193 .

Felsenstein , D. and Fleischer , A. ( 2003 ), “ Local festivals and tourism promotion: the role of public assistance and visitor expenditure ”, Journal of Travel Research , Vol. 41 No. 4 , pp. 385 - 392 .

Florida , R. ( 2002 ), The Rise of the Creative Class , Basic Books , New York, NY .

Florida , R. ( 2003 ), “ Cities and the creative class ”, City & Community , Vol. 2 No. 1 , pp. 3 - 19 .

Frost , N. ( 2015 ), “ Anthropology and festivals: festival ecologies ”, Ethnos , pp. 1 - 15 .

Getz , D. and Page , S.J. ( 2016 ), “ Progress and prospects for event tourism research ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 52 , pp. 593 - 631 .

Getz , D. ( 2010 ), “ The nature and scope of festival studies ”, International Journal of Event Management Research , Vol. 5 No. 1 , pp. 1 - 47 .

Hudson , S. and Hudson , R. ( 2013 ), “ Engaging with consumers using social media: a case study of music festivals ”, International Journal of Event and Festival Management , Vol. 4 No. 3 , pp. 206 - 223 .

Kong , H. and Cheung , C. ( 2009 ), “ Hotel development in China: a review of the English language literature ”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , Vol. 21 No. 3 , pp. 341 - 355 .

Kruger , M. and Saayman , M. ( 2012 ), “ When do festinos decide to attend an arts festival? An analysis of the innibos national arts festival ”, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing , Vol. 29 No. 2 , pp. 147 - 162 .

Lee , I.S. , Arcodia , C. and Lee , T.J. ( 2012 ), “ Multicultural festivals: a niche tourism product in South Korea ”, Tourism Review , Vol. 67 No. 1 , pp. 34 - 41 .

Lee , S.Y. , Petrick , J.F. and Crompton , J. ( 2007 ), “ The roles of quality and intermediary constructs in determining festival attendees’ behavioral intention ”, Journal of Travel Research , Vol. 45 No. 4 , pp. 402 - 412 .

Lee , W. , Xiong , L. and Hu , C. ( 2012 ), “ The effect of Facebook users’ arousal and valence on intention to go to the festival: applying an extension of the technology acceptance model ”, International Journal of Hospitality Management , Vol. 31 , pp. 819 - 827 .

McKercher , B. , Mei , W.S. and Tse , T.S.M. ( 2006 ), “ Are short duration cultural festivals tourist attractions? ”, Journal of Sustainable Tourism , Vol. 14 No. 1 , pp. 55 - 66 .

Mair , J. and Whitford , M. ( 2013 ), “ An exploration of events research: event topics, themes and emerging trends ”, International Journal of Event and Festival Management , Vol. 4 No. 1 , pp. 6 - 30 .

Mason , M.C. and Nassivera , F. ( 2013 ), “ A conceptualization of the relationships between quality, satisfaction, behavioral intention, and awareness of a festival ”, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management , Vol. 22 No. 2 , pp. 162 - 182 .

Mattila , A.S. ( 2004 ), “ Consumer behavior research in hospitality and tourism journals ”, International Journal of Hospitality Management , Vol. 23 No. 5 , pp. 449 - 457 .

Mayfield , T.L. and Crompton , J.L. ( 1995 ), “ Development of an instrument for identifying community reasons for staging a festival ”, Journal of Travel Research , Vol. 33 No. 3 , pp. 37 - 44 .

Montanari , F. , Scapolan , A. and Codeluppi , E. ( 2013 ), “ Identity and social media in an art festivals ”, Tourism Social Media: Transformations in Identity, Community and Culture , Emerald , pp. 207 - 225 .

Moscardo , G. ( 2007 ), “Analyzing the role of festivals and events in regional development ”, Event Management , Vol. 11 Nos 1-2 , pp. 23 - 32 .

Neuhofer , B. , Buhalis , D. and Ladkin , A. ( 2014 ), “ A typology of technology-enhanced tourism experiences ”, International Journal of Tourism Research , Vol. 16 No. 4 , pp. 340 - 350 .

O’Hagan , J.W. ( 1992 ), “ The Wexford opera festival: a case for public funding? ”, Cultural Economics , Springer , Berlin and Heidelberg , pp. 61 - 66 .

Oh , M.-J. and Lee , T.J. ( 2012 ), “ How local festivals affect the destination choice of tourists ”, Event Management , Vol. 16 No. 1 , pp. 1 - 9 .

Oh , H. , Kim , B.-Y. and Shin , J.-H. ( 2004 ), “ Hospitality and tourism marketing: recent developments in research and future directions ”, International Journal of Hospitality Management , Vol. 23 No. 5 , pp. 425 - 447 .

Parekh , B. ( 2006 ), Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory , 2nd ed. , Palgrave Macmillan , New York, NY .

Park , S.B. and Park , K. ( 2017 ), “ Thematic trends in event management research ”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , Vol. 29 No. 3 , pp. 848 - 861 .

Pine , R. ( 2002 ), “ China’s hotel industry: serving a massive market ”, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly , Vol. 43 No. 3 , p. 61 .

Reid , S. ( 2007 ), “ Identifying social consequences of rural events ”, Event Management , Vol. 11 Nos 1-2 , pp. 89 - 98 .

Robertson , M. , Yeoman , I. , Smith , K.A. and McMahon-Beattie , U. ( 2015 ), “ Technology, society, and visioning the future of music festivals ”, Event Management , Vol. 19 No. 4 , pp. 567 - 587 .

Robinson , M. , Picard , D. and Long , P. ( 2004 ), “ Festival tourism: producing, translating, and consuming expressions of culture(s) ”, Event Management , Vol. 8 No. 4 , pp. 187 - 242 .

Sigala , M. ( 2018a ), “ Festivals and social media: a co-created transformation of attendees and organisers ”, in Mair , J. (Ed.), The Handbook of Festivals , Routledge , Abingdon .

Sigala , M. ( 2018b ), “ Social media and the transformation of the festival industry: a typology of festivals and the formation of new markets ”, in Mair , J. (Ed.), The Handbook of Festivals , Routledge , Abingdon .

Silvers , J.R. , Bowdin , G.A. , O’Toole , W.J. and Nelson , K.B. ( 2005 ), “ Towards an international event management body of knowledge (EMBOK) ”, Event Management , Vol. 9 No. 4 , pp. 185 - 198 .

Son , S.M. and Lee , K.M. ( 2011 ), “ Assessing the influences of festival quality and satisfaction on visitor behavioral intentions ”, Event Management , Vol. 15 No. 3 , pp. 293 - 303 .

Stadler , R. , Fullagar , S. and Reid , S. ( 2014 ), “ The professionalization of festival organizations: a relational approach to knowledge management ”, Event Management , Vol. 18 No. 1 , pp. 39 - 52 .

Van Niekerk , M. and Coetzee , W.J.L. ( 2011 ), “ Utilizing the VICE model for the sustainable development of the Innibos Arts Festival ”, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management , Vol. 20 Nos 3-4 , pp. 347 - 365 .

Van Winkle , C.M. , Halpenny , E. and MacKay , K. ( 2018 ), “ Information and communication technology and the festival experience ”, in Mair , J. (Ed.), The Handbook of Festivals , Routledge , Abingdon .

Williams , N.L. , Inversini , A. , Buhalis , D. and Ferdinand , N. ( 2015 ), “ Community crosstalk: an exploratory analysis of destination and festival eWOM on Twitter ”, Journal of Marketing Management , Vol. 31 Nos 9-10 , pp. 1113 - 1140 .

Yeoman , I. ( 2013 ), “ A futurist’s thoughts on consumer trends shaping future festivals and events ”, International Journal of Event and Festival Management , Vol. 4 No. 3 , pp. 249 - 260 .

Yoo , J.J.E. and Weber , K. ( 2005 ), “ Progress in convention tourism research ”, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research , Vol. 29 No. 2 , pp. 194 - 222 .

Further reading

Andersson , T.D. and Getz , D. ( 2008 ), “ Stakeholder management strategies of festivals ”, Journal of Convention & Event Tourism , Vol. 9 No. 3 , pp. 199 - 220 .

Chang , J. ( 2006 ), “ Segmenting tourists to aboriginal cultural festivals: an example in the Rukai tribal area, Taiwan ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 27 No. 6 , pp. 1224 - 1234 .

Lee , J. ( 2014 ), “ Visitors’ emotional responses to the festival environment ”, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing , Vol. 31 No. 1 , pp. 114 - 131 .

Saleh , F. and Ryan , C. ( 1993 ), “ Jazz and knitwear: factors that attract tourists to festivals ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 14 No. 4 , pp. 289 - 297 .

Related articles

All feedback is valuable.

Please share your general feedback

Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questions

Contact Customer Support

• Product overview
• All features
• App integrations

CAPABILITIES

• project icon Project management
• Project views
• Custom fields
• Status updates
• goal icon Goals and reporting
• Reporting dashboards
• workflow icon Workflows and automation
• portfolio icon Resource management
• Time tracking
• my-task icon Admin and security
• Admin console
• asana-intelligence icon Asana AI
• list icon Personal
• premium icon Starter
• briefcase icon Advanced
• Goal management
• Organizational planning
• Campaign management
• Creative production
• Content calendars
• Marketing strategic planning
• Resource planning
• Project intake
• Product launches
• Employee onboarding
• View all uses arrow-right icon
• Project plans
• Team goals & objectives
• Team continuity
• Meeting agenda
• View all templates arrow-right icon
• Work management resources Discover best practices, watch webinars, get insights
• What's new Learn about the latest and greatest from Asana
• Customer stories See how the world's best organizations drive work innovation with Asana
• Help Center Get lots of tips, tricks, and advice to get the most from Asana
• Asana Academy Sign up for interactive courses and webinars to learn Asana
• Developers Learn more about building apps on the Asana platform
• Community programs Connect with and learn from Asana customers around the world
• Events Find out about upcoming events near you
• Partners Learn more about our partner programs
• Support Need help? Contact the Asana support team
• Asana for nonprofits Get more information on our nonprofit discount program, and apply.

Featured Reads

G2 produces 2X more global events with Asana

Expanding events program.

Events program has grown 2X year over year

Reduced planning time

Cut down event planning time by 80%

40+ hours saved per quarter on event check-in meetings

G2 is a B2B software and services review platform that millions of buyers and vendors rely on around the world. Events are a key channel the marketing team uses to engage these two audiences. Led by Adam Goyette, Vice President of Demand Generation, the events team produces 150+ events every year, from paid review booths for their clients to major conference sponsorships and demand generation dinners to build pipeline for their sales team.

To ensure all of these events go off without a hitch, Adam has a team of four full-time employees, 30+ contractors, and countless cross-functional partners to coordinate logistics, creative production, sales materials, and promotion. To support G2’s growing event needs, Adam knew he had to put processes and tools in place that would allow the team to scale.

As he looked to scale the team, Adam faced some common operational challenges:

Event plans were scattered across spreadsheets, emails, and meeting notes so there was no way to organize and track everything in one place or hold people accountable for tasks and deadlines.

Past event plans and vendor information were siloed in separate tools, making knowledge sharing a struggle when onboarding new teammates.

Event plans and processes weren’t standardized, so the team had to plan from scratch every time, resulting in missed steps and no way to continually optimize their processes.

The team struggled to delegate and assign work to others because they were used to managing every detail themselves. And since processes weren’t documented, it was difficult for cross-functional partners to jump into projects when needed.

Adam realized they needed to develop standard event processes to scale the program successfully. Additionally, their event plans needed to be accessible by everyone so they could coordinate with contractors, cross-functional partners, and vendors.

We’ve created templates for events we do often, which cuts down our planning time by 80%. Now the time we do spend on each event is used to customize it and improve it. ”

Centralizing event work and processes in one view

While the G2 marketing team had tried other work management tools in the past, none of them stuck. Then Ryan Bonnici joined the company as its Chief Marketing Officer and introduced the team to Asana, which he’d used with his teams at previous companies. Compared to other tools, Adam found Asana to be the most intuitive, flexible, and powerful solution for managing different event workflows and collaborating with cross-functional teammates.

As our team expanded, we needed a tool that allowed us to coordinate complex events and provide visibility into how plans were progressing without having to rely on email and meetings. Asana has made it easy to track every task and deadline in one place, which saves us 40+ hours a quarter in meetings. ”

To ensure adoption, the marketing team developed conventions and best practices to create event management processes at G2—all of which are standardized. The team then began planning, assigning, and tracking event work only in Asana. With a centralized system of record, work is no longer scattered across email, spreadsheets, and meetings notes. This ensures that event plans are trackable and accessible to the entire team for easier knowledge sharing and collaboration. Adam also invited contractors into Asana and then to relevant events they were supporting so they could coordinate logistics with the internal team in one place.

Successfully scaling the event program with Asana

Adam’s team has now centralized all of their event plans—vendor contracts, day-of checklists, creative production, and more—in Asana so everyone has visibility, and they’ve also created project templates with detailed workback schedules to reduce planning time. Additionally, the team has integrated Asana with Slack so they can turn messages into tasks—or take action on tasks right from Slack—when they’re on site at events. This helps them keep everything connected and allows them to work seamlessly, whether they’re in the office or on site.

Now that we’re managing events in Asana, we’ve been able to double the number of events we host, which has helped us generate more customer reviews for our vendors and create new sales pipeline for the company. ”

By centralizing and standardizing their event plans in Asana, the team has been able to scale successfully, reduce their planning time by 80%, and produce twice as many events across three continents to generate software reviews, drive sales pipeline, and hit revenue targets. They continue to optimize their event processes based on new learnings, and with ambitious plans to accelerate their growth, they’re ready to manage even more events with the help of Asana.

Read related customer stories

Zoom saves 133 work weeks per year with Asana

Coupa scales to support customers with Asana

Spotify teams drive programs forward with Asana

iCHEF supercharge productivity and collaboration with Asana

Get connected and scale your work

Empower your entire organization to do their best work with Asana.

Event Management

(Previously published as Festival Management & Event Tourism)

Editor-in-Chief: Mike Duignan www.MikeDuignan.com Volume 28, 2024

ISSN: 1525-9951; E-ISSN: 1943-4308 Softbound 8 numbers per volume

Journal Impact Factor: 2022 (2023 data) – 1.3 Journal Citation Indicator: 2022 (2023 data) – 0.33 CiteScore 2023: 2.1 View CiteScore for Event Management

Go to previously published journal, Festival Management & Event Tourism

A welcome to the journal by Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Mike Duignan.

Journal Activity

Items viewed per month for this Journal through Ingenta Connect: May 2024

Table of Contents: 2,875 Abstracts: 37,831 Full Text Downloads: 1,470

Get Periodic Updates

Email (required) *

Yes, I would like to receive emails from Cognizant Communication Corporation. (You can unsubscribe anytime)

Aims & Scope

Event Management is the leading peer-reviewed international journal for the study and analysis of events and festivals, meeting the research and educational needs of this rapidly growing industry for more than 20 years.

• Publish high-quality interdisciplinary event studies work and therefore promote a broad spectrum of theoretical perspectives from management and organizational studies to sociology and social science.
• Encourage the study of all kinds of physical, digital, and hybrid events from small- to large-scale cultural and sporting events, festivals, meetings, conventions, exhibitions, to expositions, across a range of geographical and cultural contexts.
• Actively support authors to take a critical perspective concerning the power and potential of events as a force for social, economic, and environmental good, while challenging where events can do better and make a positive contribution to society.
• Promote bold, interesting, relevant research problems and questions. Examples include why events play a key role for individual and collective transformational experiences; how social movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #Metoo can be advanced by attaching to events like the Academy Awards; through to the way large-scale events are leveraged for urban regeneration and community development.
• Believe research insights are integral to high-quality learning and teaching and we encourage all authors to transform manuscript into a set of Event Management branded PowerPoint slides for colleagues to integrate into research informed and hybrid teaching approaches. Where provided by authors, slides will feature alongside each published manuscript for ease. All subscribing organizations and authors will have access to this library of learning and teaching content.

We offer authors four routes to publication, with simple submission guideline (see “Submission guidelines” tab).

• Research article – a traditional submission route of up to 10,000 words focused on contributing to theory.
• Research note – a short note of up to 2,000 words focused on providing novel and/or innovative insights to contribute to our body of theory and/or empirical knowledge. These can also include debates and/or commentaries.
• Event case study – a new route of up to 10,000 words providing in-depth empirical insights and application of existing theoretical ideas to a specific event or series of events.
• Event education – a new route of up to 10,000 words providing in-depth insights into events-related education policy and/or practice for colleagues to support high-quality international learning and teaching experiences.

Event Management is governed by a high-quality editorial board consisting of international leading experts across a range of disciplines and fields, including events, tourism, sport, hospitality, to business studies (see “ Editorial board ” tab).

Our double-blind peer review process is rigorous and supportive.

STEP 1: All manuscripts submitted to Event Management will go through a rigorous screening process by either the Editor-in-Chief or Deputy Editors to be desk rejected or progressed to one of 40+ Associate Editors who handle the review process.

STEP 2: An Associate Editor reviews the manuscript and decides whether to progress or rejected. If progressed, 2-3 members of the Editorial Advisory Board or those with appropriate expertise are invited to review with an average 2-3 rounds of peer review. Authors have 8 weeks to revise and resubmit for each round of peer review.

STEP 3: Toward the end of peer review the Associate Editor recommends a final decision to the Editor-in-Chief or Deputy Editor who makes the final decision and provides final constructive feedback where appropriate.

STEP 4: Manuscripts accepted are swiftly uploaded to our “Fast Track” system with a DOI while our editorial assistants work with authors to deal with author queries before final manuscripts are made available. FINAL PUBLISHED ARTICLES WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE AS FREE ACCESS (at no charge) ON INGENTA CONNECT FOR A PERIOD OF 15 DAYS and will be actively promoted by our Social Media Editor who works with authors to create a short tweet and author video alongside free links to promote colleagues’ work, across our Twitter and LinkedIn sites. (After the 15 days manuscripts will only be available to subscribers, unless the author has paid for the Open Access option.)

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mike Duignan Professeur University of Paris 1 (Pantheon-Sorbonne) Paris, France [email protected] www.mikeduignan.com Deputy Editors Leonie Lockstone-Binney , Griffith University, Australia James Kennell , University of Surrey, UK David McGillivray , University West of Scotland, UK Milena Parent , University of Ottawa, Canada Luke Potwarka , University of Waterloo, Canada Emma Wood , Leeds Beckett, UK Editorial Managing Editor Aaron Tkaczynski , University of Queensland, Australia

Regional Development Editor Ubaldino Couto , Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, China – [email protected]

Regional Editors

Australia and New Zealand Clifford Lewis , Charles Sturt University, Australia – [email protected] Effie Steriopoulos , William Angliss Institute, Australia – [email protected]

Canada Christine Van Winkle , University of Manitoba, Canada – [email protected]

Central, Western, and South Asia Jeetesh Kumar , Taylor’s University, Malaysia – [email protected]

China Chris Chen , University of Canterbury, New Zealand – [email protected] Shushu Chen , University of Birmingham, UK – [email protected] Zengxian (Jason) Liang , Sun Yat-sen University, China – [email protected] Ying (Tracy) Lu , University of Kentucky, USA – [email protected]

East Asia Meng Qu , Hokkaido University, Japan – [email protected] Europe Krzysztof Celuch , Nicolas Copernicus University, Poland – [email protected] Kristin Hallman , German Sport University Cologne, Germany – [email protected] Martin Schnitzer , University of Innsbruck, Austria – [email protected] Raphaela Stadler, Management Center Innsbruck, Austria – [email protected] North Africa and Middle East Majd Megheirkouni , Leeds Trinity University, UK – [email protected]

Southeast Asia Supina Supina , Bunda Mulia University, Jakarta – [email protected]

South, Western, Eastern, and Central Africa Kayode Aleshinloye , University of Central Florida, USA – [email protected] Brendon Knott, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa – [email protected]

United Kingdom Marcus Hansen , Liverpool John Moores University, UK – [email protected] Ian Lamond , Leeds Beckett University, UK – [email protected] Jonathan Moss, Leeds Beckett University, UK – [email protected] Giulia Rossetti , Oxford Brookes University, UK – [email protected] Brianna Wyatt , Oxford Brookes University, UK – [email protected]

United States Ken Tsai , Iowa State University, USA – [email protected] Nicholas Wise , Arizona State University, USA – [email protected]

Social Media Editor Meg Hibbins , University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Podcasting Editors Alan Fyall , University of Central Florida, USA James Kennell , University of Surrey, UK

Awards Editor Leonie Lockstone-Binney , Griffith University, Australia

Curated Collections Editor Vacant position

Special Advisors Laurence Chalip , George Mason University, USA Alan Fyall, University of Central Florida, USA Leo Jago , University of Surrey, UK Adele Ladkin , Bournemouth University, UK Stephen Page , University of Hertfordshire, UK Holger Preuss , University of Mainz, Germany Richard Shipway , Bournemouth University, UK

Thought Leaders James Bulley OBE, CEO, Trivandi, UK Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, VisitScotland, UK Sarah de Carvalho MBE, CEO, It’s a Penalty, UK Iain Edmondson , Event Host Evaluation, UK Gary Grimmer , Founder and Chairman, Gaining Edge, Canada Alun James , 53NG, UK Ruth Hollis , CEO, Spirit of 2012, UK Richard Lapchick , Director, Institute for Sport and Social Justice, UK Genevieve Leclerc , CEO, #Meet4Impact, Canada Shona McCarthy , CEO, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, UK Bill Morris , Edinburgh Military Tattoo, UK John Siner, Founder, WhySportMatters, USA Lucy Spokes , Head of Public Engagement and former Director of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, University of Cambridge, UK John Tasker , Founder, Massive, UK

Co-Founding Editors Donald Getz , University of Calgary, Canada Bruce Wicks , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

Associate Editors Tom Fletcher , Leeds Beckett University, UK ( Chair of the Associate Editors Board ) Kayode Aleshinloye , University of Central Florida, USA Jane Ali-Knight , Edinburgh Napier University, UK Charles Arcodia , Griffith University, Australia Sandro Carnicelli , University of the West of Scotland, UK Krzysztof Celuch , Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland Monica Cerdan Chiscano , Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Spain Willem Coetzee , Western Sydney University, Australia Alba Colombo , Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain Simon Darcy , University Technology Sydney, Australia Kate Dashper , Leeds Beckett University, UK Tracey Dickson , University of Canberra, Australia Sally Everett , Kings College London, UK Sheranne Fairley , The University of Queensland, Australia Kevin Filo , Griffith University, Australia Rebecca Finkel , Queen Margaret University, UK Chris Gaffney , New York University, USA Sandra Goh , Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand Kirsten Holmes , Curtin University, Australia Xin Jin , Griffith University, Australia Kiki Kaplanindou , University of Florida, USA Donna Kelly , New York University, USA Zengxian (Jason) Liang , Sun Yat-sen University, China Qiuju (Betty) Luo , Sun Yat-sen University, China Eleni Michopoulou , University of Derby, UK Laura Misener , Western University, Canada Bri Newland , New York University, USA Ilaria Pappalepore , University of Westminster, UK Nikolaos Pappas , University of Sunderland, UK Greg Richards , Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands Martin Robertson , Edinburgh Napier University, UK Martin Schnitzer , University of Innsbruck, Austria Louise Todd , Edinburgh Napier University, UK Oscar Vorobjovas-Pinta , University of Tasmania, Australia Lewis Walsh , Anglia Ruskin University, UK Nicholas Wise , Arizona State University, USA Jinsheng (Jason) Zhu , Guilin Tourism University and Chiang Mai University, Thailand Vassillios Ziakas , University of Liverpool, UK

Editorial Advisory Board Rutendo Musikavanhu , Coventry University, UK ( Chair of the Editorial Advisory Board ) Emma Abson , Sheffield Hallam University, UK Eylin Aktaş , Pamukkale University, Turkey John Armbrecht , University of Gothenburg, Sweden Jarrett Bachman , Fairleigh Dickinson University, Canada Ken Backman , Clemson University, USA Sheila Backman , Clemson University, USA Carissa Baker , University of Central Florida, USA Jina Hyejin Bang , Florida International University, USA Rui Biscaia , University of Bath, UK Charles Bladen , Anglia Ruskin University, UK Soyoung Boo , Georgia State University, USA Glenn Bowdin , Leeds Beckett University, UK Ian Brittain , Coventry University, UK Alyssa Brown , University of Sunderland, UK Federica Burini , University of Bergamo, Italy Jean-Loup Chappelet , University of Lausanne, Switzerland Guangzhou Chen , University of New Hampshire, USA Gyoyang Chen , Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Brianna Clark , High Point University, USA Diana (Dee)) Clayton , Oxford Brookes University, UK J. Andres Coca-Stefaniak , University of Greenwich, UK Rui Costa , University of Aveiro, Portugal Juliet Davi s, Cardiff University, UK Leon Davis , Teeside University, UK Emma Delaney , University of Surrey, UK Valerio Della Salla , University of Bologna, UK Anthony Dixon , Troy University, USA Simon Down , University of Birmingham, UK and Högskolan Kristianstad, Sweden Colin Drake , Victoria University, Australia Jason Draper , University of Houston, USA Martin Falk , University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway Nicole Ferdinand , Oxford Brookes University, UK Miriam Firth , University of Manchester, UK Jenny Flynn , University of the West Scotland, UK Carmel Foley , University Technology Sydney, Australia Susanne Gellweiler , Dresden School of Management, Germany David Gogishvili , University of Lausanne, Switzerland John Gold , University College of London, UK Barbara Grabher , University of Graz, Austria Jeannie Hahm , University Central Florida, UK Kirsten Hallman , German Sport University Cologne, Germany Elizabeth Halpenny , University of Alberta, Canada Marcus Hansen , Liverpool John Moores University, UK Luke Harris , University of Birmingham, UK Najmeh Hassanli , University of Technology Sydney, Australia Burcin Hatipoglu , University New South Wales, Australia Ted Hayduck , New York University, USA Christopher Hautbois , University of Paris, France Claire Haven-Tang , Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK Freya Higgins-Desbiolles , University of South Australia, Australia Yoshifusa Ichii , Ritsumeikan University, Japan Jiyoung Im , Oklahoma State University, USA Dewi Jaimangal-Jones , Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK David Jarman , Edinburgh Napier University, UK Allan Jepson , Herts University, UK Eva Kassens-Noor , Michigan State University, USA Jamie Kenyon , Loughborough University, UK Seth Kirby , Nottingham Trent University, UK Brendon Knott , Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa Nicole Koenig-Lewis , Cardiff University, UK Joerg Koenigstorfer , Technical University of Munich, Germany Maximiliano Korstanje , University of Palermo, Argentina Niki Koutrou , Bournemouth University, UK Martinettte Kruger , North-West University, South Africa Jeetesh Kumar , Taylor’s University, Malaysia Ian Lamond , Leeds Beckett University, UK Weng Si (Clara) Lei, Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, China Clifford Lewis , Charles Sturt University, Australia Jason Li , Sun Yat-sen University, China Ying (Tracy) Lu, University of Kentucky, USA Mervi Luonila , Center for Cultural Policy Research, Finland Erik Lundberg , University of Gothenburg, Sweden Emily Mace , Angila Ruskin University, UK Judith Mair , University of Queensland, Australia Matt McDowell , University of Edinburgh, UK Majd Megheirkouni , Leeds Trinity University, UK Jonathan Moss , Leeds Beckett University, UK James Musgrave , Leeds Beckett University, UK Barbara Neuhofer , University of Salzburg, Austria Margarida Abreu Novais , Griffith University, Australia Pau Obrador , Northumbria University, UK Danny O’Brien , Bond University, Australia Eric D. Olson , Metropolitan State University of Denver, USA Faith Ong , University of Queensland, Australia Emilio Fernandez Pena , Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain Marko Perić , University of Rijeka, Croatia Olga Polyakova , Sheffield Hallam University, UK Hongxia Qi , Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand Meng Qu (Mo), Hokkaido University, Japan Bernadette Quinn , Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland Tareq Rasul , Australian Institute of Business, Australia Vanessa Ratten , La Trobe University, Australia Tiago Ribeiro , University of Lisbon, Portugal Alector Ribiero , University of Surrey, UK Ivana Rihova, Edinburgh Napier University, UK Darine Sabadova , University of Surrey, UK Katie Schlenker , University Technology Sydney, Australia Hugues Seraphin , Winchester University, UK Ranjit Singh , Pondicherry University, India Ryan Snelgrove , University of Waterloo, Canada Sarah Snell , Edinburgh Napier University, UK Sonny Son , University of South Australia, Australia Raphaela Stadler , Management Center Innsbruck, Austria Effie Steriopoulos , William Angliss Institute, Australia Nancy Stevenson , University of Westminster, UK Erose Sthapit , Manchester Metropolitan University, UK Ching-Hui (Joan) Su , Iowa State University, USA Kamilla Swart-Arries , Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Adam Talbot , Coventry University, UK Jessica Templeton , University of Greenwich, UK Aaron Tham , University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia Eleni Theodoraki , University of Dublin, UK Jill Timms , University of Surrey, UK Sylvia Trendafilova , University of Tennessee, USA Danai Varveri, Metropolitan College, Greece Peter Vlachos , University of Greenwich, UK Trudie Walters , Canterbury Museum and Lincoln University, New Zealand Xueli (Shirley) Wang , Tsinghua University, China Stephen Wassong , German Sport University, Germany Craig Webster , Ball State University, USA Jon Welty Peachey , Gordon College, USA Kim Werner , Hochschule Osnabrück, Germany Mark Wickham , University of Tasmania, Australia Jessica Wiitala , High Point University, USA Kyle Woosnam , University of Georgia, USA Jialin (Snow) Wu , University of Huddersfield, UK Sakura Yamamura , Max Planck Institute for the Study of  Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Germany Nicole Yu, The University of Queensland, Australia Pamela Zigomo , University of Greenwich, UK PhD/ECR Editorial Board Erik L. Lachance , University of Ottawa, Canada ( Chair of the PhD/ECR Editorial Board ) Oluwaseyi Aina , University of the West of Scotland, UK Sarah Ariai, University of Waterloo, Canada Elizabeth Ashcroft , University of Surrey, UK Jibin Baby , North Carolina State University, USA Jordan T. Bakhsh , University of Ottawa, Canada Sara Belotti , University of Bergamo, Italy Nicola Cade , University of Essex, UK Libby Carter , Birmingham City University, UK David Cook , Coventry University, UK Karen Davies, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK Skyler Fleshman , University of Florida, USA Alexia Gignon , University of Gustave Eiffel, France Chris Hayes , Teeside University, UK Mu He , University of Alberta, Canada Jie Min Ho , Curtin University, Australia Montira Intason , Naresuan University, Thailand Shubham Jain , University of Cambridge, UK Orighomisan Jekhine , Leeds Beckett University, UK Denise Kamyuka , Western University, Canada Wanwisa Khampanya , University of Surrey, UK Jason King , Leeds Beckett University, UK Truc Le , Griffith University, Australia Kelly McManus , University of Waterloo, Canada Adam Pappas , University of Waterloo, Canada Heelye Park , Iowa State University, USA Jihye Park , University of Central Florida, USA Erin Pearson , Western University, Canada Benedetta Piccio , Edinburgh Napier University, UK Juliana Rodrigues Vieira Tkatch , University of Central Florida, USA Claire Roe , University of Derby, UK Briony Sharp , University of the West of Scotland, UK Smita Singh , Metropolitan State University of Denver, USA Darina Svobodova , University of Surrey, UK Georgia Teare , University of Ottawa, Canada Yann Tournesac , Leeds Beckett University, UK Katy Tse , University of Surrey, UK Beau Wanwisa , University of Surrey, UK Ryutaro Yamakita , University of Ottawa, Canada Emmy Yeung , University of Chester, UK Ryuta Yoda , Coventry University, UK Azadeh Zarei , The University of Queensland, Australia

Special Issue: Technology Enabled Competitiveness and Experiences in Events

The special issue is supported by the International Conference ( THE INC 2024 ) “Technology Enabled Competitiveness and Experiences in Tourism, Hospitality and Events”, which is the official conference of ATHENA (Association of Tourism Hospitality and Events Networks in Academia) , and will be held from 5th till 7th June 2024 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Guest Editors Dr. Eleni Michopoulou, University of Derby, United Kingdom Email: [email protected]

Dr. Iride Azara, University of Derby, United Kingdom Email: [email protected]

Prof. Nikolaos Pappas, University of Sunderland, United Kingdom Email: [email protected]

In recent years, several studies have been dedicated to event-related technological aspects, often under the prism of experience design, event thinking and interaction, or focusing on the artificial intelligence and robots. However, those studies have only just began to explore the underpinning principles and aspects of the contribution of technology in business competitiveness and the formulation of consumer experiences. Moreover, the event-related theoretical and applied aspects of technology need to be approached from a multidisciplinary point of view, to enable a better understanding of the internal and external dynamics that affect their evolution and development.

This special issue welcomes theoretical, empirical, experimental, and case study research contributions. These contributions should clearly address the theoretical and practical implications of the research in reference. Both conceptual and empirical work are welcome. The event-related technology enabled competitiveness and experiences can be viewed under a variety of prisms, including but not limited to:

• Competitiveness, sustainability and corporate social responsibility
• Consumer behaviour, decision-making, expectations, experience and satisfaction
• Smart events cities / destinations / infrastructure
• Culture, heritage, place -making and storytelling in events
• AR/VR/XR, Metaverse
• Human resources, equality, diversity, and labour operations in events
• Robotics, AI, Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics
• Emerging and innovative research methods and methodologies
• Sharing/gig economy, collaborative consumption, value co-creation
• Innovation, creativity and change management
• IT, ICT, e-tourism, social media, gamification and mobile technologies
• Marketing, advertising, branding and reputation management in events
• Policy, planning, and governance
• Health, well-being, quality of life and wellness
• Training and events education
• Other interdisciplinary areas related with events

Review Process Each paper submitted for publication consideration is subjected to the standard review process designated by the Event Management journal. Based on the recommendations of the reviewers, the Editor-in-chief along with the guest editors will decide whether particular submissions will be accepted, revised or rejected. Please note that the review process will start after the full paper submission deadline.

Submission Guidelines Please submit the papers to the journal’s online platform under the Submission Guidelines tab.

Full Paper Submission Deadline: Sunday, 16th March 2024. Expected Publication Date: Mid or end of 2025.

Note: Please be advised that the review process will start after the submission deadline.

All papers should follow the submission guidelines of the Event Management journal.

Submission Guidelines – Please view Cognizant AI Policy here

Our aim is to make initial submission to Event Management as simple as possible, for all submission routes. Authors can use the following information as a checklist before submitting.

HOW TO SUBMIT: All manuscripts to be submitted via this link:

WHAT TO SUBMIT: Authors are asked to submit four documents:

• Impact Statement
• Submission Checklist ( Click here for the Submission Checklist )

Please note: After you have received the first round of peer review comments and you are responding to reviewers’ comments, please ensure you attach a ‘Response to Reviewers’ document on Step 2: File Upload . This will make it easier for the reviewers to see where changes have been made in relation to peer review comments, and how and why you have attended to all peer reviewer points.

Cover letters are optional but we do encourage authors to also provide this to help detail the theoretical, empirical, and/or practical contribution of the manuscript.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR “IMPACT STATEMENT”: up to 500 words detailing the potential or actual impact of this article on society.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR “TITLE PAGE”: Please ensure all of the following headings are present and addressed:

• Title (20 words max, in initial cap on main words and bold)
• Short title (up to 40 letters and spaces)
• Author(s) name
• Affiliation for each author (Department, Institution, City, (State), Country)
• Corresponding author identified with complete address and email address
• ORCID for all authors (if available)
• Declaration of interest
• Part of a Special Issue? If so, state the name of the Special Issue.

WHAT TO INCLUDE AND HOW TO FORMAT MANUSCRIPTS: We provide authors with the flexibility to format and organize manuscripts in they way they prefer for initial submission. Authors will then work with our editorial assistants after acceptance to conform with journal standardized format before publication. We do however have a simple checklist of things below we do require at initial submission stage:

Sections to include:

• Title (up to 20 words, in BOLD )
• Highlights (3-5 highlights, max 80 characters including spaces for each bullet point)
• Abstract (150 words max)
• Keywords (up to 8, placed immediately after the Abstract)
• A “Literature Review” and “Methodology” section must feature, unless not appropriate.

Formatting requirements

• Word document in Arial font, size 10 or 12.
• All manuscripts should be thoroughly checked for spelling and grammar.
• All in-text citations and References must be submitted following APA Publication Manual, 7th edition (see https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_changes_7th_edition.html     and/or the 7th APA author quick guide changes ).
• For a sample published article choose an open access file on the online Ingenta Connect site ( https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/em )
• Double spaced, with line numbering and page numbers.
• ‘Tables’ and high quality ‘Images’ and ‘Figures’ to be uploaded as separate files (do not include figures in color unless you are paying for color figures).
• Word counts indicated below are the maximum for all sections including tables, figure legends and appendices.
• Clearly identifiable headings with no more than three levels (see example below). Heading (centered) Sub-heading (italic and left aligned) Sub-sub-heading (italic and indented to the paragraph)

SUBMISSION TYPES:

• Research article (up to 10,000 words)—traditional full-length research articles contribute to theory.
• Research note (up to 2,500 words)—short pieces that are theoretically or methodologically relevant, novel and innovative that can be developed further and advanced by other scholars. Commentaries and debates can be submitted under this submission type too.
• Event case study (up to 10,000 words)—full-length empirically based research articles that rigorously apply theory but do not necessarily seek to develop theory. Authors must however stress the implications of empirical work beyond the event case study context.
• Event education (up to 10,000 words)—full-length pieces focusing on events-related learning and teaching innovation and impact on student education, experience, and performance.

GENERAL AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS EDITORS AND REVIEWERS WILL CONSIDER WHEN EVALUATING MANUSCRIPTS

General questions:

• Is there a clear research issue or problem statement presented at the beginning that establishes the “so what” factor?
• Is the theoretical, methodological, or empirical contribution of the manuscript clearly stated? And is the significance of this contribution clearly stated?
• Is the manuscript interesting, bold, and/or innovative?
• Is the theoretical framework robust, providing a good conceptual grounding in relevant literature?
• Is the methodology designed and executed in a reliable and valid way?
• Is the manuscript written in a clear and concise way (without “academese”) and accessible to academic and nonacademic audiences?
• Is the argument written in an easy to follow and logical way?
• Are there clear conceptual and practical conclusions drawn on in the latter parts of the manuscript?
• Which of the following submission routes do you think the manuscript is best suited for: – Research article (strong theoretical or methodological contribution) – Research Note (shortened version with a strong theoretical or methodological contribution) – Event Case Study (limited theoretical or methodological contribution, but interesting empirical insights) – Events Education

Specific events-related questions:

• Does the manuscript present an analysis of contemporary events-related issues?
• Does the manuscript present a balanced perspective on the power and potential of events for good or for bad?
• Do you think this manuscript helps advance events research: how and why?
• Are there clear and well-justified recommendations to help advance the policy and practice of events in the future?
• Does the manuscript present a future academic research agenda that seeks to push the boundaries of events research?
• Is it clear how either descriptive or conceptual features of the event in question impacts on the empirical phenomenon in question? (In other words, does the author position the event simply as the “background” or “context” or are distinct features of the event recognized?)

NB: We ask this last question because in Event Management journal we want continue building a more conceptual understanding as to why events and festivals are particularly interesting organizational constructs to advance theory and knowledge, over let’s say other types of organizations like businesses or government institutions.

ONLINE FAST-TRACK PUBLICATION

Accepted manuscripts will be loaded to Fast Track with DOI links online. Fast Track is an early e-pub system whereby subscribers to the journal can start reading and citing the articles prior to their inclusion in a journal issue. Please note that articles published in Fast Track are not the final print publication with proofs. Once the accepted manuscript is ready to publish in an issue of the journal, the corresponding author will receive a proof from our Production Department for approval. Once approved and published, the Fast Track version of the manuscript is deleted and replaced with the final published article. Online Fast Track publication ensures that the accepted manuscripts can be read and cited as quickly as possible.

• Use of Copyright Material: Authors must attest their manuscript contains original work and provide proof of permission to reproduce any content(artwork, photographs, tables, etc.) in connection with their manuscript, also ensuring their work does not infringe on any copyright and that they have obtained permission for its use. It is important to note that any and all materials obtain via the Internet/social media (including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) fall under all copyright rules and regulations and permission for use must be obtained prior to publication.
• Copyright: Publications are copyrighted for the protection of authors and the publisher. A Transfer of Copyright Agreement will be sent to the author whose manuscript is accepted. The form must be completed and returned with the final manuscript files(s).

AUTHOR OPTIONS

Articles appearing in Event Management are available to be open access and may also contain color figures (not a condition for publication). Authors will be provided with an Author Option Form, which indicates the following options. The form must be completed and returned with the final manuscript file(s) even if the answer is “No” to the options. This form serves as confirmation of your choice for the options.

A Voluntary Submission Fee of $125.00 includes one free page of color and a 50% discount on additional color pages (color is discounted to $50.00 per color page). (Not a condition for publication).

Open Access is available for a fee of $200.00. Color would be discounted to $50.00 per color page. (Not a condition for publication).

The use of Color Figures in articles is an important feature. Your article may contain figures that should be printed in color. Color figures are available for a cost of $100.00 per color page. This amount would be discounted to $50.00 per color page if choosing to pay the voluntary submission fee or the open access option as indicated above. (Not a condition for publication).

If you choose any of the above options, a form will be sent with the amount due based on your selection, at proof stage. This form will need to be completed and returned with payment information and any corrections to the proof, prior to publication.

PAGE PROOFS

Page proofs will be sent electronically to the designated corresponding author prior to publication. Minor changes only are allowed at this stage. The designated corresponding author will receive a free pdf file of the final press article, which will be sent by email.

Although every effort is made by the publisher and editorial board to see that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinion, or statement appears in this Journal, they wish to make it clear that the data and opinions appearing in the articles and advertisements herein are the sole responsibility of the contributor or advertiser concerned. Accordingly, the publisher, the editorial board, editors, and their respective employees, officers, and agents accept no responsibility or liabilitywhatsoever for the consequences of any such inaccurate or misleading data, opinion, or statement.

Information about the conference CLICK HERE

Call for Papers: Addressing “Wicked” Problems and Opportunities

This call is to announce a publishing opportunity for authors who presented papers at the 2024 Event Management Conference held 17-20 June 2024 in Orlando, Florida. The theme of the special issue is Addressing “Wicked” Problems and Opportunities” in Event Studies and Management. Please note that consideration for this special issue is ONLY available to EMC ’24 delegates.

EMC ’24 aims to delve into the most pressing societal and economic issues associated with event studies, whether that’s past, present, or future. EMC welcomes those studying various types of events, in different settings, and across a wide range of disciplines, as reflected in our Call for Papers, and the various contributions we seek to include – from research talks, fireside chats, roundtable discussions, stimulating debates to compelling keynote speaker presentations, and more!

After the conference, attendees will receive an email about this opportunity to submit a full paper to the journal. Each article will be, of course, subject to our normal peer review process – but if successful, we will include your article in the Special Issue centered on “Wicked Problems and Opportunities”. There are up to 25 exclusive slots available for papers in this special issue.

The Guest Editors who will lead and coordinate this special issue are: Dr Nicholas Wise [email protected] , Dr Majd Megheirkouni [email protected] , and Dr Jeannie Hahm [email protected] . Please reach out to us if you have questions.

Submissions must adhere to the journal guidelines and style, papers that do not do this will be initially returned to the author and they will be asked to make these corrections prior to any paper being sent out for peer-review. You will find all the manuscript preparation guidelines at the journal’s webpage: https://cognizantcommunication.com/publication/event-management/ .

The timeline is as follows:

1 July 2024 : Email special issue editors on your intention to submit a paper, please include an extended abstract of 700–1000 words 7 July 2024 : Feedback on extended abstracts sent back to Authors 31 October 2024 : Submit papers to EMJ, all submissions should be submitted electronically at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/eventmanagement

You will also need to include a title page with your submission and on the title page you need to note that your submission is being submitted for consideration in a special issue, note the title of the special issue: “Wicked Problems and Opportunities” so that your paper is routed to the guest editors. At the submission stage the editor will make the decision to desk reject of progress your paper to peer-review. 27 November 2024 : Comments and feedback returned to authors from guest editors via Manuscript Central. Double blind review will continue until a decision is made. For resubmission of papers, please follow the guidelines noted on the journal website: https://cognizantcommunication.com/publication/event-management/#tab-id-4 3 March 2025 : Final decisions made on all submissions and publisher will be informed of all papers accepted for this special issue Mid-2025 : Special issue published in an issue of the journal

Please note: once papers are accepted they will be made available in Online First format, once all papers are finalized all accepted papers will appear in the same issue. This will be a single or double issue depending on how many papers are accepted. We look forward to reviewing your contributions!

Call for Papers in PDF format – Addressing “Wicked” Problems and Opportunities

Articles appearing in publications are available to be published as Open Access and/or with color figures. A voluntary submission fee is also an option if you choose to support this publication. These options are NOT required for publication of your article.

You may complete the Author Option Payment Form here .

The designated corresponding author will receive a free pdf file of the final press article via email.

Event Management (EM) Peer Review Policy

Peer review is the evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by others working in the same field to ensure only good scientific research is published.

In order to maintain these standards,  Event Management  (EM) utilizes a double-blind review process whereby the identity of the reviewers is not known to authors and the authors are not shown on the article being reviewed.

The peer review process for EM is laid out below:

STEP 1: An article is reviewed for quality, suitability and alignment to the submission formatting guidelines by the Editor-In-Chief and Deputy Editors, and authors will receive either a desk reject, or the article will be progressed to one of our Associate Editors.

STEP 2: If progressed, an Associate Editor will also review for quality and suitability. At this point they may suggest a rejection, or progress and invite reviewers to review the manuscript. We ask reviewers to submit their review within approx. 4-6 weeks (sometimes this can be quicker or slower) and decided is the paper should be an: ‘accept’, ‘minor revision’, ‘major revision’ or ‘reject’.

STEP 3: Authors will then have approx. 4-6 weeks to complete revisions and then resubmit to the journal. The peer review process will then continue until a decision is made by the Associate Editor.

STEP 4: At this point, the article will go to the Editor-In-Chief and Deputy Editors to make a final decision and suggest any final changes required before final acceptance.

STEP 5: After final acceptance, authors will then work with our editorial team to ensure that the article is correctly formatted and suitable for publication. Manuscripts will then be allocated a DOI and uploaded to our fast-track system to have a digital presence online. When the final article is uploaded, we then provide 15 DAYS FREE ACCESS to the article, which can be shared out to networks.

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A REVIEWER FOR EVENT MANAGEMENT JOURNAL?

As a reviewer for  Event Management  you would have the benefit of reading and evaluating current research in your area of expertise at its early state, thereby contributing to the integrity of scientific exploration.

If you are interested in becoming a reviewer for EM please contact the EIC:  Mike Duignan at [email protected]

If you review three papers for one of the Cognizant journals ( Tourism Review International, Tourism Analysis, Event Management, Tourism Culture and Communication, Tourism in Marine Environments, and Gastronomy and Tourism ) within a one-year period, you will qualify for a free OPEN ACCESS article in one of the above journals.

ETHICS STATEMENT

The publishers and editorial board of Event Management have adopted the publication ethics and malpractice statements of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) https://publicationethics.org/core-practices   and the COPE position statement regarding Authorship and AI Tools https://publicationethics.org/cope-position-statements/ai-author . These guidelines highlight what is expected of authors and what they can expect from the reviewers and editorial board in return. They also provide details of how problems will be handled. Briefly:

Editorial Board

Event Management  is governed by an international editorial board consisting of experts in event management, tourism, business, sport, and related fields. Information regarding the editorial board members is listed on the inside front cover of the printed copy of the journal in addition to the homepage for the journal at:  https://www.cognizantcommunication.com/journal-titles/event-management  under the “Editorial Board” tab.

This editorial board conducts most of the manuscript reviews and plays a large role in setting the standards for research and publication in the field. The Editor-in-Chief receives and processes all manuscripts and from time to time will modify the editorial board to ensure a continuous improvement in quality.

The reviewers uphold a peer review process without favoritism or prejudice to gender, sexual orientation, religious/political beliefs, nationality, or geographical origin. Each submission is given equal consideration for acceptance based only on the manuscript’s importance, originality, academic integrity, and clarity and whether it is suitable for the journal in accordance with the Aims and Scope of the journal. They must not have a conflict of interest with the author(s) or work described. The anonymity of the reviewers must be maintained.

All manuscripts are sent out for blind review and the editor/editorial board will maintain the confidentiality of author(s) and their submitted research and supporting documentation, figures, and tables and all aspects pertaining to each submission.

Reviewers are expected to not possess any conflicts of interest with the authors. They should review the manuscript objectively and provide recommendations for improvements where necessary. Any unpublished information read by a reviewer should be treated as confidential.

Manuscripts must contain original material and must not have been published previously. Material accepted for publication may not be published elsewhere without the consent of the publisher. All rights and permissions must be obtained by the contributor(s) and should be sent upon acceptance of manuscripts for publication.

References, acknowledgments, figure legends, and tables must be properly cited and authors must attest their manuscript contains original work and provide proof of permission to reproduce any content (artwork, photographs, tables, etc.) in connection with their manuscript, also ensuring their work does not infringe on any copyright and that they have obtained permission for its use. It is important to note that any and all materials obtain via the Internet/social media (including but not limited to Face Book, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) falls under all copyright rules and regulations and permission for use must be obtained prior to publication.

Authors listed on a manuscript must have made a significant contribution to the study and/or writing of the manuscript. During revisions, authors cannot be removed without their permission and that of all other authors. All authors must also agree to the addition of new authors.  It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that this occurs.

Financial support and conflicts of interest for all authors must be declared.

The reported research must be novel and authentic and the author(s) should confirm that the same data has not been and is not going to be submitted to another journal (unless already rejected). Plagiarism of the text/data will not be tolerated and could result in retraction of an accepted article.

When humans, animals, or tissue derived from them have been used, then mention of the appropriate ethical approval must be included in the manuscript.

The publishers agree to ensure, to the best of their abilities, that the information they publish is genuine and ethically sound. If publishing ethics issues come to light, not limited to accusations of fraudulent data or plagiarism, during or after the publication process, they will be investigated by the editorial board including contact with the authors’ institutions if necessary, so that a decision on the appropriate corrections, clarifications, or retractions can be made. The publishers agree to publish this as necessary so as to maintain the integrity of the academic record.

View All Abstracts

Access Current Articles (Volume 28, Number 4)

Volume 28, Number 4

The Current State of Festival Storytelling Research (1980–2024): Introduction to the Special Issue, Festivals and Storytelling – 493 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599524X17077053867845

BRIANNA WYATT AND GIULIA ROSSETTI

Oxford Brookes Business School, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

Over the last few decades, storytelling, as a subject for study, has grown exponentially across a number of interdisciplinary fields. However, it remains underdeveloped in event management research, and specifically concerning festival experiences. Following a critical review of the existing research that has contributed to current understanding of storytelling within festival contexts and highlighting the key arguments of these publications, this article provides a comprehensive overview of how storytelling is currently understood within festival contexts. Extending the literature, this article introduces the contributing articles of the Special Issue, which demonstrate the value of storytelling for audiences, hosts, and researchers. This article closes with a call for more research into storytelling within festival contexts and encourages future studies to address the identified gaps to help progress understanding of storytelling, its practice and dynamics, and its value for festival experiences.

Key words: Festivals; Storytelling; Festival stories; Experience; Storyscapes OPEN ACCESS The Structure and Purpose of Shared Festival Memories: A Storytelling Approach – 511 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599523X16907613842273

Emma Harriet Wood,* Maarit Kinnunen,† and Patricia Frances Coll*

*Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK †University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

There is a dearth of research that addresses postfestival experience and particularly the effect of memory sharing on the sharer and the listener. In this article, we gather the memory stories from 11 festival-goers focusing on those they share with others. Analyzing these using Aristotelian storytelling principles helps us understand how they are constructed, what makes them memorable and affective. It allows us to better understand the effects on others of sharing these and the purpose behind sharing. Our findings show that a storytelling analysis provides a rich understanding that has implications for festival design and postevent marketing. We found that emotional resonance in the plot coupled with a moral outcome is often present. More surprisingly, we discovered that each story is condensed to a short phrase or title to aid recall in the teller and the listener. Implications for narrative analysis, postevent marketing, and festival design are discussed.

Key words: Aristotle; Storytelling; Festivals; Memory; Narratives “Story-Mapping” Within a Local Festival Environment: A Method to Encourage Regenerative Tourism – 531 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599524X17046754077361

Karen Davies,* Christina Thatcher,† Claire Haven-Tang,* Rhiannon A. J. Packer,* and Andrew T. Thomas*

*Cardiff School of Management, Cardiff School of Education and Social Policy, Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK †School of English, Communication and Philosophy, Cardiff University, UK

Limited research has been conducted on the benefits of utilizing festival spaces for methodologies involving storytelling and narrative inquiry for use in other (related) areas of investigation (e.g., tourism). This article introduces a method, “story-mapping,” for the collection of locals’ stories during a combined arts festival. The intention was to capture place-focused data from community stakeholders from the case study destination, Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. Locals were encouraged to tell stories about the area, including specific grassroots elements using a map as a visual prompt. The process was designed to empower and involve the local community in defining and sharing a “sense of place” as part of a paradigm shift towards regenerative tourism. Utilizing “story-mapping” in the festival space proved effective but also presented some challenges. The article evaluates the method through the lens of narrative inquiry and makes recommendations for future researchers wishing to utilize this approach.

Key words: Festivals; Story-mapping; Regenerative tourism; Sense of place; Methods From Traditional to Digital: Children’s Learning of Traditional Chinese Culture Through Festival-Related Storytelling – 549 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599523X16957834460240 Sharleen X. Chen

Faculty of Creative Tourism and Intelligent Technology, Macao University of Tourism, China

Multimedia technology is a potentially efficient supplementary storytelling strategy. However, the effectiveness of multimedia storytelling for teaching about traditional festivals is unknown. We compared the effects of traditional storytelling (TST) and multimedia digital storytelling (MDST) on learning achievements, attitudes, and preferences towards studying traditional Chinese festivals. A quasiexperimental intervention (8-week lessons about two festivals) was conducted with experimental and control groups of 58 third graders from Guangdong Province, China. We found MDST increased children’s learning outcomes and preferences towards learning about Chinese festivals. The MDST group showed larger gains in academic performance than the TST group—although they showed similar positive effects, they were more pronounced in the MDST group. Overall, MDST has substantial potential learning benefits, and multimedia digital technology can effectively stimulate students’ interest in learning about Chinese traditions and culture. The implications of using MDST for traditional culture and festival education and future research recommendations are discussed.

Key words: Multimedia digital storytelling (MDST); Traditional storytelling (TST); Traditional Chinese festival; Attitude Presenting an Authentic Reflection of the Past Through Storytelling and Living History in 1940s Events – 567 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599523X16957834460259

Zoe Leonard* and Julie Whitfield†

* CDE & CfACTs, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK †Department Sport and Event Management, Bournemouth University Business School, Poole, UK

Live events that replicate the 1940s era celebrate the heritage of a defining moment in history. This research presents the results of a study examining authenticity, storytelling, and living history in the context of 1940s events in the UK. The research demonstrates how storytelling and living history intensifies the authentic nature of the event, depicting a true reflection of the past and facilitating a collective memory of the era. Through online semistructured interviews with event organizers and attendees of 1940s events, the findings confirm that organizers feel a sense of cultural duty to tell an accurate story to the best of their abilities. This is supported through living history as presented by reenactment groups. They provide elements of the three concepts of authenticity: objectivism, constructivism, and existentialism. Reenactors provide historically accurate detail and speak with authority, generating what is perceived to be an authentic level of engagement.

Key words: Authenticity; Storytelling; Living history; Collective memory; 1940s events OPEN ACCESS The Origin Story: Behind the Scenes of Food Festivals – 585 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599523X16957834460312

Alicia Orea-Giner,*† Francesc Fusté-Forné,‡ and Louise Todd§

*Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain †Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France ‡University of Girona, Catalonia, Spain §Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland

The relationships between food festivals and food storytelling have been scarcely explored by previous research. Nevertheless, these relationships are a source of memorable experiences, based on the authenticity of food places and stories. Drawing on the analysis of the storytelling strategies of the Festival oríGenes (Spanish word for origins), this research demonstrates the importance of product and producer stories in creating a distinct narrative of place through gastronomy. Results identify the relevance of the value chain from land to table (or bar to bean), where stakeholders engage with the origin of the product, respect the producer, and acknowledge the traditional knowledge in food production. Values such as creativity, education, and family are presented in relation to food consumption. This article contributes to the understanding of how and why food festivals generate food storytelling behind the scenes .

Key words: Food tourism; Gastronomy; Narrative analysis; Storytelling A Geography of Hope? Decolonizing Space Through the Storytelling and Place-Making of a Festival – 599 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599524X17077053867610

Kelley A. McClinchey

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada

This study explores the potential for Caribbean festivals through storytelling and place-making to decolonize everyday spaces. It investigates the potential for festivals to transform places through festivals’ decolonial cultural and creative resources. The article begins with a review of relevant literature on festivals, storytelling, and place-making. Junkanoo in The Bahamas is presented as a case with which to explore how storytelling as counternarrative to colonial legacies and the neocolonialism of tourism can reaffirm the importance of the festival to place. While there are both placemaking (top-down approach) and place-making (bottom-up approach) processes at work for Junkanoo, passionate community members and cultural leaders provide continued agency alongside powerful placemaking structures. Two alternative conceptual models of place-making and placemaking and possible influences on everyday spatial geographies are presented. The conclusion offers a framework for continued theory development and practice in the decolonization of place through festival storytelling. Place-making with local storytelling enhances strategies for community development through the inclusion of underrepresented communities, especially African descendent populations, for developing more equitable frameworks for heritage justice.

Key words: Place-making; Festivals; Storytelling; Decolonization; Caribbean; Geographies of hope The Effects of Storytelling Format and Gender Difference on Festival Visitors’ Engagement and Behavioral Intention – 615 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599523X16957834460321

Yisak (Isaac) Jang, Yizhi (Ian) Li, Han Chen, Bridget Bordelon, and Yvette Green

Lester E. Kabacoff School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

The use of storytelling is becoming increasingly widespread in the event and tourism industry. However, despite the growing popularity of the storytelling strategy, to date, limited research has examined how festival organizers effectively utilize this strategy. Consequently, this research aims (a) to examine whether storytelling influences visitors’ engagement and behavioral intention, (b) to investigate how such impacts differ according to when visitors hear the story (i.e., temporal distance), and (c) to explore whether gender moderates the impact of the storytelling format. Study 1 indicates that storytelling positively influences visitors’ engagement. The results also reveal that visitors show a significantly higher level of behavioral intention when they heard the festival story more than 3 months before the festival. Study 2 finds that women have higher engagement and intention to visit when storytelling is delivered in video rather than image format, while men exhibit no such difference in engagement and intention to visit.

Key words: Storytelling; Gender; Storytelling format; Engagement; Behavioral intention; Repeat visitation OPEN ACCESS Three-Dimensional Fear: The Presence of Narrative in Theme Park Halloween Festivals – 631 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599524X17077053867665

Carissa Baker

Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

This qualitative study examined narrative within haunted houses in theme park-based, horror-oriented Halloween festivals. The sample included 20 festivals within different types of theme parks and attractions from the US and a few entries from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Data were collected on haunt maze source material, prominent themes, presence of a narrative or episodic nature, and choice of narrative presentation style. Results show haunted houses to be an interesting narrative form with immersive environments that appeal to guests in their desire to be scared. The study fills a gap in discussions of narrative, theme parks, festivals, and Halloween experiences. It provides insight for scholars and operators into the form and highlights the importance of storytelling in theme park Halloween festivals.

Key words: Halloween; Festivals; Theme parks; Horror; Storytelling RESEARCH NOTES

Ghost Hunting Events and Storytelling – 649 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599524X17077053867629

Rachael J. Ironside

School of Creative and Cultural Business, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK

Ghost hunting events are a popular leisure activity providing visitors with an immersive dark experience, connecting them with the dark heritage and supernatural legends of a place. This research note aims to conceptualize the role of storytelling in the promotion, production, and participatory aspects of ghost hunting events. In doing so, the article argues that ghost hunting events draw upon coproductive and experiential forms of storytelling, and proposes a cyclical model to illustrate an ongoing, iterative process of narrative construction. As this research note suggests, preexisting narratives framed by the dark history and supernatural legends of a place help to frame promotional discourse and the production of events. However, extraordinary personal experiences, mediumistic intuition, and the collective interpretation of unusual activity shape and transform existing narratives. As such, this research note concludes that ghost hunting events are shaped by, and shape, storytelling through interactive and interpretative processes.

Key words: Ghost hunting; Event; Storytelling; Coproduction; Experiential; Dark tourism” OPEN ACCESS More Than a Feeling: Storytelling, Memory, and National Myths at Dark Events – 655 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599524X17067412396192

James S. Kennell

School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK

Dark events are frequently analyzed in terms of their social and political contexts and this is especially true in the case of dark commemorative events, linked to national tragedies, wars, and other conflicts. Countries stage national commemorative events to create and sustain national myths. The way that these are designed and held, combining multiple elements into a narrative form, can be understood as a process of nationalist storytelling. This research note argues that while previous research into these events has drawn on theories of collective memory, viewing them from a storytelling perspective suggests that alternative approaches of competitive or multidirectional memory can provide insightful explanations of the often-contested role they play in national myths and contemporary social and political conflicts.

Key words: Dark events; Commemorations; Memory; Storytelling; National myths TEACHING AND LEARNING NOTE

Storytelling for Festival Experiences: A Teaching and Learning Note for the Special Issue, Festivals and Storytelling – 661 https://doi.org/10.3727/152599524X17126315131386

Brianna Wyatt

For event management success, event management students must understand and develop skills relating to storyline development for festival (and event) experiences. However, as this teaching and learning note explains, students may not be fully developing their theoretical understanding and how to apply that understanding in practice due to their growing reliance on non-academic online resources. Teaching notes offer practical guidance for delivering and teaching various topics but are not often directed towards students. This article adapts the traditional teaching note to highlight this issue and offers a dual teaching and learning note to better support student learning and skills development.

Key words: Festivals; Storytelling; Experience; Teaching note; Learning note

Full text articles available:  CLICK HERE

Back issues of this journal are available online.   Order Here

Event Management is indexed in:

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION/PsycINFO CAB INTERNATIONAL (CABI) C.I.R.E.T. EBSCO DISCOVERY SERVICES GOOGLE ANALYTICS I.B.S.S. /PROQUEST OCLC PRIMO CENTRAL PROQUEST SCOPUS SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY WEB OF SCIENCE EMERGING SOURCES CITATION INDEX WORLDCAT DISCOVERY SERVICES

Event Management is an “A” category journal with the ABDC (Australian Business Dean’s Council) https://abdc.edu.au/research/abdc-journal-list/

Publishing Information

Copyright Notice : It is a condition of publication that manuscripts submitted to this Journal have not been published and will not be simultaneously submitted or published elsewhere. By submitting a manuscript, the author(s) agree that the copyright for the article is transferred to the publisher, if and when the article is accepted for publication. The copyright covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions, microform, or any other reproductions of similar nature and translations. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.

Photocopying information for users in the USA:  The Item Fee Code for this publication indicates that authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by the copyright holder for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Transactional Reporting Service Provided the stated fee for copying beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the United Stated Copyright Law is paid. The appropriate remittance of $60.00 per copy per article is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danver, MA 01923. The copyright owner’s consent does not extend to copying for general distribution, for promotion, for creating new works, or for resale. Specific written permission must be obtained from the publisher for such copying. In case of doubt please contact Cognizant Communication Corporation.

The Item Fee Code for this publication is 1525-9951/10 $60.00

Copyright © 2024 Cognizant, LLC

Printed in the USA

Updated as of December 2023

Number of submissions:  184 Number of reviews requested:  631 Number of reviews received:  411 Approval rate:  approximately 31% Average time between submission and publication: 86 days (11.9 weeks)

Robert N. Miranda, Publisher/Chairman Lori H. Miranda, President/COO

P.O. Box 37 Putnam Valley, NY 10579 USA

Phone: (845) 603-6440 Fax: (845) 603-6442

[email protected] [email protected]

About Cognizant

Cognizant Policies

Publications

Active Journals

Previously Published Journals

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us | Help

Copyright ©2024 Cognizant LLC. All rights reserved Cognizant Communication Corporation | P.O. Box 37 | Putnam Valley, NY 10579 | U.S.A.

EVENT MANAGEMENT PLATFORM

In-Person Events

Digitize and scale in-person events

Virtual Events

Host events for worldwide audiences

Event Networking & Matchmaking

Facilitate meaningful meetings and connections

Event Ticketing Platform

Your online ticketing platform, powered by Eventtia

Online Registration

Ticketing & Online Payments

Room Block Management

Event Marketing

Event Calendar

On-site Check-in

Event Mobile App

Attendee Engagement

Event Data & Analytics

See Eventtia in Action

API Features & Services

Build custom experiences and workflows

API Documentation

Explore Eventtia's API documentation

API White Paper

Gain actionable industry insights

Serving multiple types of clients and industries

Use one platform to host multiple types of events

Enterprises

Access advanced enterprise features

Consumer & Luxury Retail

Host exceptional events for your customers

Universities & Colleges

Manage events that drive results

Brand Activation & Clienteling

Increase customer loyalty through events and experiences

Corporate Events

Inspire your teams and brand stakeholders by hosting events.

Knowledge Base & Help Center

Get the help you need to use Eventtia's solutions

Blog Articles & Insights

Access industry insights and trends

Interactive Demos

Explore Eventtia's user experience

Platform Comparison

Discover why Eventtia is the ideal solution

Testimonials & Case Studies

Learn how famous brands use Eventtia

Product News & Updates

Keep up with Eventtia's product updates

Discover our story and our culture

Event Management Platform

The Ultimate Event Project Management Guide: Everything You Need to Know

In today’s competitive business environment, project management is more critical than ever. It provides a roadmap for strategic alignment, risk management, cost efficiency, and quality control. There are different types of project management frameworks. Here are some of them: 

Waterfall is a sequential project management methodology in which tasks are completed in a pre-defined order. Each project phase must be completed before the next step can begin. 

This makes it difficult to change the project once it has started. Waterfall is often used for projects with well-defined requirements and a low change risk.

Agile is an iterative and incremental project management methodology in which projects are broken down into smaller chunks called sprints. Teams work on each sprint in short bursts. The Agile framework allows for changing the requirements and incorporating feedback quickly. 

Lean is a project management methodology that focuses on eliminating waste and streamlining processes. It is often used in software development, but it can also be applied to other types of projects. Lean is based on the following principles:

• Identify and eliminate waste.
• Focus on customer value.
• Continuously improve processes.

Six Sigma is a data-driven project management methodology focusing on improving quality and reducing flaws. It is often used in manufacturing, but it can also be used in other industries. Six Sigma is based on the following principles:

• Define the problem.
• Measure the current process.
• Analyze the data to identify the root cause of the problem.
• Improve the operation to eliminate the root cause of the problem.
• Control the process to ensure that the improvement is sustained.

Hybrid Methodologies

Hybrid methodologies combine elements of different traditional and modern methodologies to create a custom approach that meets the specific needs of a project or organization. For example, a hybrid methodology might combine the sequential approach of Waterfall with the iterative approach of Agile.

What is Event Project Management?

Event project management is the application of project management principles and techniques to event planning and execution. This includes defining project scope, setting and tracking objectives, creating a project plan, managing resources, and evaluating success. It involves coordinating every event detail, from the initial concept to the final wrap-up.

Event project management requires coordinating multiple internal and external teams, all working together to execute flawless events.

It’s worth noting that event project management is temporary in nature, as its ultimate goal is to develop well-established and automated workflows that can be used to scale. This means that professionals must constantly look for ways to streamline processes and improve efficiency.

Teamwork is another essential aspect of any event project management. Organizers must effectively collaborate with various stakeholders, including providers, vendors, agencies, industry influencers, speakers, and team members.

Ultimately, the success of any event project management hinges on the ability of professionals to coordinate and execute all of the moving parts seamlessly. By carefully planning and preparing, organizers can ensure that their events are executed flawlessly, living up to the expectations of all stakeholders involved. 

When To Initiate Event Project Management?  

Initiating event project management is a strategic decision. However, there are specific circumstances when initiating event project management becomes critical. These circumstances are often unique to the nature of the event or project. Let’s explore some of these scenarios:

Deploying a New Events Strategy 

Event project management is required when designing a new events strategy. This process involves elements such as:

• Identifying new opportunities within the retail landscape.
• Analyzing customers’ expectations. 
• Understanding potential challenges unique to the industry.
• Crafting a comprehensive plan tailored to execute the events strategy effectively.

Subsequently, these steps may translate into launching innovative in-store events, exclusive product launches, or online sales events. But only by initiating event project management will companies be able to align their efforts with their business goals, creating memorable customer experiences. 

Launching a New Type of Event or Exceptionally Large Events

Introducing new event types or exceptionally large-scale retail events can pose specific challenges for enterprises and retailers. These might include grand seasonal sales, Black Friday extravaganzas, or store openings.  A great example would be when Salomon, the innovative French sporting goods company, launched its infamous Salomon Experiences , for sports fans around the world, on its website . 

Event project management becomes essential to oversee resources, ensure good execution, and deliver a positive experience to attendees. For retailers, this means creating an immersive retail environment that engages customers and maximizes sales opportunities.

Implementing New Event Management Software 

Companies and retailers often rely on event management software to streamline operations, integrate multiple data points, and enhance customer experience. The implementation of new event management software introduces changes in processes and workflows. 

To make this transition smoother, reduce potential operational glitches, and enhance overall efficiency, retailers should initiate event project management. By doing so, they can ensure that the event management software integration aligns with their specific needs.

As an example, Pierre Fabre implemented Eventtia as its group’s event software for 40 brands in 13 countries in 2018. To this day, more than 300 events, including corporate events, retail partners seminars and webinars.

Initiating the Collaboration with New Agencies and Suppliers

Event project management is invaluable for companies seeking to work with new event agencies, vendors, and suppliers. Collaborating with different partners often entails understanding new working styles, managing diverse expectations, and ensuring seamless communication throughout the supply chain. 

By initiating event project management, retailers can facilitate better coordination, improve communication channels, and foster mutual understanding.

Running Events with New Partners, Industry Influencers, and KOLs

Hosting events with new partners, industry influencers, and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) can significantly impact brand visibility and customer engagement. Initiating event project management is essential to manage these collaborations effectively. 

Companies and retailers can ensure that such partnerships are aligned with their brand identity, target audience, and business goals. This approach allows them to make the most of these influential partnerships, whether it’s through in-store appearances or joint event marketing initiatives.

For example, Campari Group is frequently organizing brand activation campaigns at some of the most popular music  and art festivals, inviting famous artists and influencers. 

Main Risks Of Overlooking Event Project Management

Failing to prioritize or inadequately manage event project management can result in detrimental consequences. These main risks are associated with overlooking or poorly executing such projects. 

Here are some of them: 

Unnecessary Stress and Tensions 

Without the guiding framework of event project management, organizers and team members will experience unnecessary stress and tension. The lack of a structured plan for solving an existing challenge leads to chaos, miscommunication, and increased pressure on everyone involved.

Overspending

Without a well-structured event project management, financial resources can be misallocated or wasted. Overspending is a common consequence, as costs spiral out of control when there is no efficient management and event budget tracking.

Delays and Event Postponing

Events may face delays or even postponement due to inadequate project management, and this can have significant consequences for both organizers and participants. When there isn’t a well-defined plan and timeline in place, essential tasks that are crucial for the success of an event can easily fall behind schedule.

Attendee and Customer Disappointments 

When events are not managed properly, the attendee or guest experience can suffer. This leads to a disappointing event experience, resulting in negative feedback, reduced attendance in future events, and a damaged reputation for the organizing company.

Overall Event Failure and Cancellation

The ultimate risk of overlooking or poorly executing event project management is the potential for event failure and, in some cases, event cancellation. This not only results in significant financial losses but also undermines the trust and confidence of stakeholders, making it challenging to organize future events.

These risks underscore the critical role that event project management plays in ensuring the success of events. To mitigate these risks and achieve successful events , careful planning, coordination, and execution are essential. 

Event project management is not merely a luxury but a necessity to deliver memorable and seamless event experiences while safeguarding the reputation and financial stability of the organizing brand or company. 

Stages of Event Management Project

To successfully execute event project management, it’s essential to follow a structured approach. This chapter outlines the stages involved in initiating and deploying successful event project management. 

Stage 1. Problem Identification

In the initial phase of your event project management, it’s essential to understand the problem that your project aims to address. The problem identification stage sets the foundation for the entire project and ensures that your efforts are strategically aligned. 

Begin by clearly defining the problem you are trying to solve. In this context, you may need to launch a new consumer engagement experience strategy that connects customers with your brand. 

Alternatively, your challenge could be dissatisfaction with existing event management software providers. For example, they may fall short in accommodating specific requirements, such as extensive API integration for hosting events .

Note: For the sake of this article, we’ll focus on the specific challenge of selecting a new event management software provider. This challenge may emerge when your current event management platform fails to meet your organization’s evolving needs or isn’t capable of offering the necessary functionality for your events. 

Stage 2. Ideation

Once you’ve identified the problem your event project management addresses, the next phase involves ideation. During this stage, your team engages in creative brainstorming and evaluates potential solutions to tackle the identified challenge effectively. 

It’s crucial to consider a wide range of options, including both in-house and third-party solutions. Encourage open and creative thinking to generate a variety of ideas. These solutions could encompass changes in strategy, technology, or processes. 

Stage 3. Solution Planning

Once you’ve conducted ideation and determined possible solutions for addressing the identified problem, the next crucial phase is solution planning. During this stage, you will develop a comprehensive plan for implementing the chosen solution.

• Identify the best solution

In selecting a new event management software, this step involves pinpointing a specific solution, whether creating in-house tools, opting for a specialized platform such as online registration and ticketing , or researching all-in-one event management software . 

Based on your evaluations, you will decide clearly about the solution that aligns most closely with your needs and objectives. For the sake of this article, we will assume your team chose an all-in-one event planning platform. 

• Building the project team

As you move forward with the implementation, you need to assemble a project team that will drive the process. You should define roles and responsibilities within your team. Typical roles may include a project manager, event director, UX/UI designer, IT director, and the financial team, each with specific responsibilities.

• Determining the project’s Key Success Indicators (KPIs)

To ensure the project’s success, you must establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be tracked throughout the implementation. 

For example, KPIs may include:

• Monitoring the schedule’s main milestones.
• Tracking budget spending.
• Counting the number of users onboarded onto the new event management software.
• Recording the number of customer support tickets raised.
• Setting a timeline and phases

A clear timeline is essential for the project’s success. This involves setting specific deadlines for selecting the provider, negotiation, contract finalization, onboarding, and implementation in consecutive and growing phases. Both the timeline and the phases ensure that the project progresses in an organized and efficient manner.

• Creating specifications for the solution

Develop clear and detailed specifications for the solution you’ve chosen. This could include aspects such as vendor location, size, and other characteristics that are critical to your organization’s needs.

For example, specify aspects like the vendor’s location, the size of their customer base, or their experience with similar clients. These specifications ensure that the selected provider aligns closely with your requirements.

• Establishing the budget and timeline for the project

To ensure that the project remains financially viable, establish a budget and timeline for the entire process. For instance, clarify the pricing model for the event management software and allocate a budget for its implementation. 

Define the timeframes for each project phase, such as the selection phase, negotiation and contract finalization, onboarding, and full implementation.

For example, you might set the budget for the event management software and break down the timeline as follows: 

• Selection: 2 months
• Negotiation and contracts: 1 month
• Onboarding: 1 month
• Implementation: 6 months

This budget and timeline provide a structured framework for executing the solution effectively.

Stage 4. Solution Implementation 

Now that the plan is in place, it’s time to put it into action. The solution implementation happens in several incremental phases. Thi is where you bring your carefully crafted plan to life. Here’s how you can do it: 

• Project Kickoff

The project kickoff is a critical step in ensuring everyone involved is on the same page and understands their roles and responsibilities.

• Allocate necessary resources: Adequate resources are essential for successful implementation.
• Provide access to required tools and resources: Verify that the project team has access to the necessary tools and resources needed to carry out their tasks effectively.
• Host a kickoff meeting: Organize a kickoff meeting to mark the start of the project officially. During this meeting, outline the project’s objectives, timeline, roles, and responsibilities. This meeting serves as an opportunity to align all team members and set expectations for the project.
• Solution Development

With the project officially underway, the solution development phase is where you collaborate with the chosen vendor to build and customize the selected solution based on the project specifications.

• Actively work with the vendor: Engage closely to develop and customize the chosen solution. Continuously communicate your project specifications and requirements to ensure the solution aligns with your goals.
• Run regular progress reviews: Regularly review the progress made in solution development. This step ensures that the project remains on track and aligned with the established project goals.
• Quality Assurance (QA)

Quality assurance is a crucial step to guarantee that the developed solution meets your needs and functions without any issues.

• Conduct thorough testing: Test the developed solution to identify and rectify any issues or bugs. Testing should encompass all aspects of the solution, from functionality to security and usability.
• Ensure compliance with project requirements: Verify that the solution aligns with the requirements and maintains the established quality standards. It should meet all the specified criteria and expectations.
• Documentation

Documentation is key for maintaining a record of the new solution and ensuring everyone knows how to use it effectively.

• Create and maintain documentation: Generate comprehensive documentation for the new solution, including user guides, manuals, and best practices. These documents serve as valuable resources for the project team and end-users.
• Archive project-related documents: It’s important to archive project-related documents and communications for future reference. This historical record can provide insights and context for future projects or troubleshooting.

Once the solution is fully developed and tested, the onboarding phase focuses on training the project team and end-users on how to use the solution effectively.

• Train the project team and end users: Train the project team and the initial pool of end-users to ensure they are well-versed in using the new solution effectively.
• Maximizing user comfort: The goal is to ensure everyone is comfortable with the system and can maximize its potential. Effective training ensures a smooth transition and optimal utilization of the solution.

By effectively managing project kickoff, solution development, quality assurance, documentation, and onboarding, you ensure a seamless transition and the best possible start for your new solution, in this case, event management software.

Stage 5. Go Live

The go-live phase is a significant milestone in the project, where the new event management software is officially deployed for regular use. This phase is crucial for ensuring a successful transition and ongoing operations, and it’s important not to undervalue its importance. Here are the steps you should consider: 

• Official deployment: This is the moment when the new solution is officially rolled out for regular use. A dedicated team is often responsible for this deployment to ensure it proceeds smoothly.
• Phased deployment: To minimize potential disruptions, it is often advisable to deploy the solution in phases. Start with a smaller group of users or a limited scope before gradually expanding to a wider audience. This phased approach allows for a more controlled implementation and can help identify and address issues before they affect the entire user base.
• Investing in user support: As the new solution goes live, it’s essential to invest in user support heavily. This may involve collaboration with the event management software provider to provide comprehensive support to end-users. User support is critical for addressing any immediate questions, concerns, or issues users may encounter during the transition.
• Monitoring and issue resolution: Continuously monitor the performance of the new solution after deployment. Be prepared to address any immediate issues or questions that arise. Prompt issue resolution and effective support during this phase are essential to maintain user confidence and ensure a smooth transition to the new solution.

The go-live phase is a critical point in the project where the real-world use of the solution begins. It’s important to approach this phase with thorough planning, strong support, and the flexibility to address any unexpected challenges.

Stage 6. Post-Implementation Review

After the new solution has been in use for a period of time, it’s essential to conduct a post-implementation review to assess its success and gather valuable insights for future improvements. 

Here’s how you can do it: 

• Conducting a review meeting: Organize a review meeting where relevant stakeholders can assess the success of the solution’s implementation. This meeting provides an opportunity to evaluate whether the solution meets its intended goals and objectives.
• Gathering feedback and lessons learned: During the review, gather feedback from end-users, project team members, and other relevant parties. This feedback should encompass both positive experiences and areas that may need improvement. Additionally, collect and document the lessons learned from the implementation process.

To keep improving your solutions, do a thorough review after each implementation. This will help you find new ways to succeed.

Stage 7. Scaling to the Whole Company, Affiliates, and Partners

Once the new solution has proven its success and stability, consider scaling its usage to a broader audience, such as the entire company, multiple brands, affiliates, or partners. 

• Planning for scaling: Develop a plan for scaling up the solution’s use. This plan should include a roadmap for extending the solution’s reach to various groups or entities within the organization.
• Implementation for a wider audience: Extend the solution to the broader audience according to the established plan. This may involve adapting the solution to the specific needs and requirements of each group or brand, ensuring a smooth transition for all stakeholders.
• Continuous monitoring and improvement: As you scale the solution, continue to monitor its performance and gather feedback. Be open to making necessary adjustments and improvements based on the unique requirements of different user groups. This iterative approach ensures that the solution remains effective and evolves to meet changing needs.

Scaling the solution to the whole company, multiple brands, affiliates, and partners is an exciting phase that signifies the successful adoption of the new solution. 

It also underscores the importance of ongoing monitoring, adaptability, and continuous improvement to ensure the solution delivers value to a wider audience.

Case Study: Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard, the world’s second-largest wine and spirit Group, offers an excellent example of how effective event project management can be. 

The Group’s event team faced the challenge of swiftly developing a robust B2B event management platform to drive brand visibility and revenue. Their goal was clear – ensure robustness and scalability to support their global presence spanning 240 brands.

In their pursuit of excellence, Pernod Ricard initiated event project management for identifying a reliable event management software provider. As a result, the Pernod Ricard team recognized Eventtia as the best event management software in the industry. 

Eventtia’s event management platform provided the foundation for success, offering key solutions to overcome the challenges:

• Robust and Scalable Solution: Eventtia’s platform not only met the stringent timelines but also ensured high levels of robustness and scalability. This event project management software supported Pernod Ricard’s ambitious deployment plan.
• Seamless User Experience and Brand Identity: Eventtia’s capabilities seamlessly integrate into Pernod Ricard’s vision of delivering a cross-channel user experience.

As a result, Pernod Ricard’s IT team was able to integrate, test, and deploy the event activity on join-SIP.com in just a few days through Eventtia’s API documentation and with very little support from Eventtia’s technical team.

The Group harnessed Eventtia’s event management platform and API services to create event processes for various stakeholders:

• Guests and Attendees: Guests and attendees effortlessly discovered and registered for events. The software facilitated communication with automated, branded emails and QR codes, while post-event satisfaction surveys captured vital feedback.
• Event Organizers: Eventtia’s web portal empowered event organizers with the tools needed for event project management. They could efficiently create and manage events, track attendee registrations, and ensure guest attendance through a mobile check-in app. The integrated satisfaction surveys gathered post-event insights.
• Administrators: Event project management was made more efficient with Eventtia’s back-office platform. Administrators could manage users and oversee platform activity with ease.

The exceptional speed and efficiency with which Pernod Ricard’s event project management team integrated, tested, and deployed the event activity on Join-SIP.com was a testament to Eventtia’s capabilities.

Key Takeaways

• Event project management is essential for achieving specific objectives, strategic alignment, risk management, cost efficiency, and quality control in today’s competitive business environment.
• Event project management applies project management principles and techniques to the planning and execution of events, encompassing project scope, objectives, planning, resource management, and success evaluation.
• Effective event project management requires careful coordination of multiple internal and external teams to execute flawless events, emphasizing streamlined processes and enhanced efficiency.
• Initiate event project management when deploying a new events strategy, launching new event types, implementing event management software, collaborating with new agencies and suppliers, or partnering with industry influencers and KOLs.
• Overlooking or inadequately managing event project management can lead to unnecessary stress, overspending, event delays, attendee and customer disappointments, and overall event failure.
• To successfully execute event project management, follow a structured approach that includes problem identification, ideation, solution planning, solution implementation, quality assurance, documentation, and onboarding.
• The go-live phase is a significant milestone, where the new solution is officially deployed for regular use, requiring dedicated teams, phased deployment, investment in user support, and continuous monitoring.
• Post-implementation reviews are essential to assess the success of the solution’s implementation and gather feedback and lessons learned for future improvements.
• Scaling the solution to the whole company, multiple brands, affiliates, and partners is an exciting phase that requires careful planning, implementation, and continuous monitoring for success.
• Case studies of Pernod Ricard illustrates how event project management can effectively address challenges and optimize event processes, ultimately achieving success in diverse event scenarios.

Need help organizing and managing recurring events at your company? Discover the ultimate event planning template used by some of the most successful brands in the world.

Subscribe to Eventtia's Newsletter

Receive expert insights, product news, customer stories and inspirational content.

By clicking on "Submit", you agree to our privacy policy . You will receive emails about our solutions and services. You may unsubscribe at any time.

You might also be interested in

Best Whova Alternatives and Competitors in 2024

Best Eventbrite Alternatives and Competitors in 2024

Best vFairs Alternatives and Competitors in 2024

Virtual & Hybrid Events

Networking & Matchmaking

Knowledge Base

API & INTEGRATIONS

Features & Services

Online Documentation

White Paper

Consumer and Luxury Retail

Brand Activation and Clienteling

North & South America

Europe & Middle-East

Asia & Oceania

Copyright © 2014 - 2024 Eventtia

Terms of services

Privacy policy

• Industry Trends
• Attendee Engagement
• Event Marketing
• Event Planning
• Personal Development
• Data Management
• Personalisation

Case Studies

• Testimonials
• All Resources

If you do not know your client account name, please contact the Eventsforce support team:

E: [email protected] T: +1 213 269 4914

• Book a Demo

The Content Hub for Tech-Savvy Event Planners

Every event is different, and we work with great organizations of all shapes and sizes to deliver cutting edge event technology solutions, boosting event success and increasing ROI. With our event management case studies, why not see for yourself? And if you think we could help you in the same way, we’d love to start a conversation.

From a singular solution to a comprehensive platform: here’s how Eventsforce moved forward with EVENTIT

Eventsforce offers ukhsa agile solution for dynamic event needs, eventsforce and the society for acute medicine (eventage), "eventsforce was the best option for us" - wellcome, eventsforce and the national cancer research institute (ncri), eventsforce and santander.

"The Eventsforce onboarding team evaluated our situation and proposed a solution that made the entire process of event planning a whole lot easier. Tasks that were so time-consuming in the past - such as setting up registration forms, emailing invitations and managing delegate lists...

See why top corporates choose Eventsforce

Eventsforce and haymarket, are your events ready for gdpr, eventsforce and allianz insurance plc, eventsforce and shsc events (nhs scotland), eventsforce and wellcome, eventsforce and schroders, our clients.

Our partnership approach is reflected across everything we do

Onboarding/training.

Our dedicated team of experienced event professionals will provide step-by-step guidance and training to help set out your event objectives and get the most out of your Eventsforce investment.

24/5 First-Class Support

Our friendly, knowledgeable support team is always ready to help with any questions you may have about your Eventsforce system. With a one-hour average response time, we also consistently smash industry ratings for customer support!

• Book A Demo

Based on your existing workflows, timings and objectives, we'll provide recommendations that will help you achieve success.

New Mobile App Launched - Drive attendee participation and build lasting relationships.

New mobile app launched - for simple events, tradeshows, or multi-stream conferences, new mobile app launched - find out more today.

1st Edition

International Case Studies in Event Management

• Taylor & Francis eBooks (Institutional Purchase) Opens in new tab or window

Description

This international case study book provides 27 expertly curated case studies on the topic of events management, each with detailed implementation instructions for the instructor in order to maximise student participation and learning. Embellished with questions, diagrams and data throughout, these case studies have been developed by industry experts and practitioners with the aim of creating a more interactive teaching experience focused on ‘real world’ scenarios within the events industry. Each case study is logically structured and includes an aim and objectives, expected learning outcomes, required background knowledge, steps of implementation in class or online, as well as suggestions for further reading resources. Topics covered range from macro impacts of events on destinations to success criteria in event operations, with the aim of preparing future professionals and equipping them with the necessary skills and competencies to succeed within the events industry. Easy to use and international in scope, this volume is an ideal study resource for use in higher and vocational education, and its unique, teaching-led approach positions it as a vital study tool for instructors and students alike.

Table of Contents

Judith Mair is an associate professor at the UQ Business School, University of Queensland, Australia. Judith’s work aims to understand and enhance the positive impacts of tourism and events on the communities and societies which host them. She is working on a number of projects in fields including mega-event legacies, the future of events, the links between events and social connectivity and the potential impacts of climate change on the events sector. Gürhan Aktaş is a professor at the Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Business, Dokuz Eylul University, Türkiye. He holds a PhD in Tourism Marketing from Bournemouth University, UK. He delivers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the fields of destination management, event management and tourism marketing. He has authored academic publications on marketing tourist destinations, visitor attractions and events, and is a co-editor of the International Case Studies in Tourism Series by Routledge. Metin Kozak holds a PhD in Tourism from Sheffield Hallam University, UK. He has contributed a wide range of articles, conference papers and over 30 books. He has been involved in several national and international research projects, particularly with his partners based in Europe, Asia and the US. He received the EFQM Ph.D. Thesis Award and a number of conference paper awards. His research interests entail marketing and consumer behaviour in an interdisciplinary context. He is currently affiliated with Faculty of Communication at Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Türkiye.

About VitalSource eBooks

VitalSource is a leading provider of eBooks.

• Access your materials anywhere, at anytime.
• Customer preferences like text size, font type, page color and more.
• Take annotations in line as you read.

Multiple eBook Copies

This eBook is already in your shopping cart. If you would like to replace it with a different purchasing option please remove the current eBook option from your cart.

Book Preview

The country you have selected will result in the following:

• Product pricing will be adjusted to match the corresponding currency.
• The title Perception will be removed from your cart because it is not available in this region.

Integrating Business Processes to Improve Travel Time Reliability (2011)

Chapter: chapter 5 - case studies: special-event management.

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

C H A P T E R 5 Case Studies: Special-Event ManagementSpecial events present a unique case of demand fluctuation that causes traffic flow in the vicinity of the event to be radically dif- ferent from typical patterns. Special events can severely affect reliability of the transportation network, but because the events are often scheduled months or even years in advance, they offer an opportunity for planning to mitigate the impacts. Because large-scale events are recurring at event venues, it gives an opportunity for agencies to continually evaluate and refine strategies, impacts, and overall process improvements over time. In this section, case studies are presented that examine the processes developed for special-event management at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kans., and the Palace of Auburn Hills near Detroit, Mich. Kansas: Kansas Speedway In 2001, the Kansas Speedway opened for its first major NASCAR race. With attendance exceeding 110,000 people, it set a record as the largest single-day sporting event in the his- tory of Kansas. Attendance has continued to grow and now exceeds 135,000 for most major races. The traffic control strategies that were put into place to handle these major events were the result of years of planning between the Kansas Speed- way, Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP), Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), and the Kansas City Police Depart- ment. The process was successful in part because of the clear lines of responsibility that were defined for each agency and the strong spirit of cooperation and trust that was established before the first race was held. In preparation for this case study, representatives from KHP and KDOT were interviewed. Lt. Brian Basore and Lt. Paul Behm represented the KHP Troop A and were able to share their experience from many years of actively managing special events at the Kansas Speedway. The primary responsibilities of KHP are to operate the KHP Command Center that was estab- lished for the Kansas Speedway race events and to manage 45traffic on the freeways around the event. Representatives of KDOT who were interviewed included Leslie Spencer Fowler, ITS program manager, and Mick Halter, PE, who was formerly with KDOT as the District One metro engineer during the design and implementation of the Kansas Speedway. Fowler and Halter provided an excellent history of the development of the project, as well as a description of KDOT’s current opera- tional procedures used during races at the Kansas Speedway. KDOT maintains the CCTV cameras and portable DMS around the Speedway and assists KHP with traffic control on the freeways. Description This case study examines the development of the special-event management procedures for races at the Kansas Speedway. Par- ticular focus is given to the roles and responsibilities of the KHP and KDOT in developing the initial infrastructure and strate- gies that led to a successful special-event management process that has been used and refined for 8 years. One of the strongest recurring themes in development of this case study was the out- standing cooperation and partnerships that were developed between the agencies involved. Each agency has clearly defined responsibilities before and on race day, though no agency is considered in charge. They cooperate to safely and efficiently move vehicles from the freeways to city streets to the Kansas Speedway parking lots and then do the same process in reverse. Background of Agency The Kansas Speedway is a 1.5-mi oval race track suitable for many types of races, including Indy and NASCAR. Seating capacity is currently being expanded to 150,000 people, and parking capacity allows for 65,000 vehicles. The Speedway is located approximately 15 mi west of downtown Kansas City, near the intersection of I-70 and I-435, which serve as the pri- mary routes used by spectators attending the races. Events are

46held throughout the year, and there are typically two major race events each year when crowds reach capacity. The major- ity of parking is on Kansas Speedway property and is free for spectators. The Kansas Speedway provides attendants and directs vehicles into the parking areas. The primary agencies involved in traffic management for the Kansas Speedway include KHP Troop A in Kansas City, KDOT District One, and the Kansas City Police Department. KHP is responsible for traffic management on the freeways and for operation of the KHP Command Center, which is activated several days before major events and serves as the central com- munications center for all public agencies on race day. The full resources of Troop A (over 40 troopers) are used on race day, along with over 20 other troopers from around the state. KHP also deploys a helicopter to monitor traffic from the air and roving motorcycle units on race day. KDOT District One is responsible for maintaining five CCTV cameras and deploy- ing 12 portable DMSs on roads used to access the Speedway. The Kansas City Police Department provides officers for the city street network that links the freeways to the Kansas Speedway (1). Other participants in the process include Wyandotte County and the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA). Wyandotte County currently owns the WebEOC software used by all participat- ing agencies to share information and request assistance on race day (2). The KTA maintains I-70 near the Speedway. It is responsible for such maintenance tasks on this section of I-70 as snow and ice removal, guardrail, and signing and striping, although the section is not tolled. Process Development The Kansas Speedway opened for its first major event in sum- mer 2001. However, development of the process for special- event traffic management began long before Kansas City was even selected as the site for the racetrack. In the early 1990s the International Speedway Corpora- tion was searching for a new location for a race track in the Midwest. The track was expected to host several large events per year, including at least one to two major races that were expected to attract more than 100,000 people. Given the poten- tial positive economic benefit that such a facility could bring to an area, the International Speedway Corporation solicited pro- posal packages from several sites under consideration. Propos- als needed to address criteria established by the International Speedway Corporation for site selection, including accessibil- ity of the site to attendees. The effort to bring the race track to Kansas was led by Kansas City, with strong support from the governor and lieutenant governor of Kansas. Understanding the importance of accessibility, the governor directed KDOT to develop a plan and provide funding to make the necessary infrastructure improvements to handle race traffic for theSpeedway. The priority placed on this project by the governor’s office served as the first enabler to implementing the traffic management process. KDOT developed an extensive plan to accommodate the large number of vehicles expected to attend events at the Kansas Speedway. I-70 needed to be widened and a new inter- change was needed at 110th Street. US-24, which went through the proposed site of the track, needed to be completely realigned. Although not part of the original planning, CCTV cameras and portable DMS were also required to assist with traffic management. KDOT identified funding for each of their proposed infrastructure projects, and these projects were included in the package that was submitted to the International Speedway Corporation. More than a year before the first race event at the Kansas Speedway, all the agencies involved in traffic management began planning for the event. Agencies that participated in the planning included KHP, KDOT, KTA, Kansas City Police, Wyandotte County, and the Kansas Speedway. The Missouri DOT and Missouri Highway Patrol were also initially involved because there was concern that traffic could be affected east of the track into Missouri. (Once the Speedway opened, it turned out that this concern was unfounded as race traffic had only minor impacts on I-70 near the Speedway and did not affect traffic on I-70 in Missouri.) To facilitate traffic management planning, a consultant also was brought on-board early in the process. The success of the planning for traffic management was attributed to two primary factors. The first was the importance that the governor and Kansas City placed on the success of hosting major races at the Kansas Speedway. Millions of dol- lars were invested by the state and city to bring the race track to Kansas, and to recoup their investment they needed to suc- cessfully host large races. The visibility and importance of the first successful event was a great motivator for every agency involved. The second factor to which success was attributed was the personalities involved. Several of those interviewed for this case study noted that there were no egos in the room that got in the way. A sense of mutual respect among the agencies and for their work was a consistent factor in planning for traffic management. No single agency was designated as “in charge”; rather, each agency took responsibility for its piece and worked well with the other agencies to ensure overall success. The result of the planning efforts was a multilayered traffic plan with different agencies leading the layers. The first layer dealt with interstate traffic, which was KHP’s responsibility. The second layer dealt with traffic on local streets traveling between the interstates and the Kansas Speedway, this layer was the responsibility of the Kansas City Police Department. The third layer handled traffic entering or leaving the track property, which was the responsibility of the Kansas Speed- way. KDOT provided support to all three layers through

47deployment of CCTV cameras, DMS, and cones. Each layer was critical to successfully manage traffic for events. Detailed Process and Integration Points Figure 5.1 shows the detailed process that was developed for special-event traffic management at the Kansas Speedway. Before a major event, all four agencies that are involved in man- aging traffic on race day come together for a meeting to discuss the upcoming event and changes or special circumstances that need to be considered in their planning. These agencies have worked closely together since the first event in 2001, and there is a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each agency.Figure 5.1. Detailed business process diagram of Kansas Speedway special event.are sent and portable DMS are controlled. On the day before race day, KHP conducts a briefing to review the setup and pro- cedures for race day. During the race event, KHP, Kansas City Police Department, and the Kansas Speedway manage traffic on freeways, local streets, and in the parking lots. KHP deploys a helicopter to monitor traffic from the air and roving officers on monocycles to patrol the heavily congested areas around the Speedway that cannot be easily accessed by troopers in cruisers. All agencies continue to communicate primarily through WebEOC, a system owned by Wyandotte County that lets each agency monitor messages and communicate on a web-based system. Once the race is completed, a follow-up meeting to review race day events may be held. This meeting was originally held after every event during the first few years the Kansas Speed- way was in operation, but as traffic management has become more efficient, it is now only held as warranted.In the week before race day, KHP will activate the KHP Command Center. The KHP Command Center is the commu- nications hub for the event and is where CCTV camera feeds

48Several key integration points were identified in the Kansas Speedway special-event traffic management process, including the following: • Integration between KHP and KDOT for deployment and operation of CCTV cameras and portable DMS; • Integration between KHP, KDOT, Kansas City Police Department, and Kansas Speedway to develop traffic man- agement plans for upcoming events and to discuss traffic management performance after operations; and • Integration between KHP, KDOT, Kansas City Police Department, Kansas Speedway, and Wyandotte County for sharing of information through WebEOC during the special event. Types of Agencies Involved The primary agencies that are involved in the special-event traffic management are KHP, KDOT, Kansas City Police, and the Kansas Speedway. As described earlier, a three-layered approach is set up, with KHP responsible for traffic on the free- ways, Kansas City Police responsible for traffic on local streets, and Kansas Speedway responsible for traffic in the parking areas. Numerous special teams have been established to facili- tate the special-event traffic management on race day. These include the KHP Post Commanders Team, Logistics Team, and KDOT Team. The KHP Post Commanders Team is made up of the commanders from each traffic post where KHP will be directing traffic. The post commanders attend the post com- manders briefing the evening before the race begins, direct the other troopers at their post, and communicate with the KHP Command Center. The Logistics Team is responsible for set- ting up the event, including staging and setting up of tempo- rary traffic control, providing water and tents for troopers at traffic posts, and running errands during the event. The KDOT Team is responsible for maintaining the CCTV cameras, put- ting the portable DMS boards in place and changing messages on the board if the wireless communications fail, and assisting with temporary traffic control placement. Types of Nonrecurring Congestion Addressed The process for managing the Kansas Speedway traffic deals with nonrecurring congestion due to a special event. When the Kansas Speedway first opened in 2001, KHP set up 14 inbound posts and 11 outbound posts, with troopers stationed at each post to direct traffic. Since then, KHP has increased the effi- ciency of traffic management and has been able to reduce the number of posts down to seven inbound and seven outbound. Traffic is monitored from the KHP Command Center using CCTV cameras and a helicopter that provides updates on traf- fic conditions; portable DMSs with wireless communication can assist in directing traffic. The roving motorcycle units areused around the Kansas Speedway and can assist with manag- ing any incident that blocks roadways. Over time, KHP and KDOT have refined temporary traffic control patterns and gen- eral traffic control to increase efficiency of the system as much as possible. One of the primary concerns on race day is getting traffic off I-70 without significantly affecting through traffic. Because major races are held on weekends, the overall level of traffic on I-70 is generally lighter than what is experienced on a weekday. As part of the initial package that was proposed by Kansas City to bring the Speedway to Kansas, KDOT agreed to add one more lane to I-70 to accommodate overflow traffic for major races. KHP has been able to quickly move traffic off I-70 with only minor impacts on through traffic on the interstate. KDOT has not done a study of travel times for through traffic on race day, but they estimate that at peak periods before or after a race, motorists on I-70 will only experience minor slowdowns with perhaps 5 min of delay to their total trip. Performance Measures The Kansas Speedway tracks the time it takes to clear parking lots after races and has seen improvements in clearance times since the initial race in 2001. After races, if something went wrong or clearance times exceeded normal ranges, this infor- mation is shared with KHP and an evaluation meeting with all agencies involved in the traffic management may be held to review the traffic management. However, these instances are rare and in most events the parking lot clearance times can be accurately estimated based on race attendance. KHP initially used troopers stationed at 14 inbound posts and 11 outbound posts to direct traffic. Although not a per- formance measure, the shift to seven inbound and seven outbound posts is seen by KHP as an indication of the improvement of their traffic management efficiency. Benefits The planning and cooperation between KHP, KDOT, Kansas City Police, and the Kansas Speedway allowed for efficient traf- fic management of more than 100,000 spectators from day one. The agencies involved in traffic management have been able to improve their efficiency and reduce the manpower needed to manage traffic over time and consider their traffic management effort a success from the start. The popularity of racing in the United States and the effi- cient use of the Kansas Speedway have prompted an expansion of the seating capacity of the Speedway. Current expansion work will bring the total seating capacity of the Kansas Speed- way to 150,000. Without an efficient plan to move spectators in and out of the Speedway, this expansion would not be possible.

49The traffic management process developed for the Kansas Speedway goes beyond simple convenience to spectators. By minimizing the impacts to through traffic on I-70 and I-435, KHP can reduce freeway backups and minimize the chances of secondary incidents on freeways. Efficient and effective move- ment of vehicles off the race track is also critical for evacuation. On April 25, 2009, a tornado touched down in Kansas only a few miles from the Kansas Speedway. About 30 min earlier, a race that was in progress was suspended for the day due to rain, and many of the spectators were in the process of leaving the event. The tornado did not touch down close enough to the Kansas Speedway to cause any damage, but it was an important reminder of the need to be able to efficiently move traffic out of an area, especially in Kansas, which is particularly prone to tornadoes. Lessons Learned Each agency interviewed identified the single most important factor to the success of the special-event traffic management as the cooperation among all agencies in the planning and execu- tion of traffic management. The importance placed on success- fully bringing the Speedway to Kansas by the governor and Kansas City certainly contributed to that cooperation and coordination, but the personalities of the leaders from each agency and the existing relationships that had been established were identified as even more important factors. KHP has learned that the development of a race-day proto- col is particularly important, so that procedures for handling incidents or other unexpected events are well understood. KHP has worked with their partners to develop a tow policy to address abandoned vehicles, a traffic crash policy to quickly clear incidents, and a no-patrol zone to keep troopers and police officers in cruisers from adding to the congestion around the race track by limiting patrols to troopers on motorcycles. Receiving information from the CCTV cameras and the ability to control the portable DMSs from the KHP Command Center have been valuable. However, CCTV cameras have failed in the past and communications to the portable DMSs are not always reliable, which sometimes necessitates the need for KDOT to manually change messages in the field. KHP and other agencies involved in traffic management have learned that technology is useful, but they need to be careful that they are not totally dependent on technology. Analysis and Research Observations Planning for the traffic management at the Kansas Speedway essentially began when Kansas was still being considered by the International Speedway Corporation and continued up until the first event. Political support for the Kansas Speedway gave those involved in traffic management a sense that they mustsucceed. Each agency took responsibility for their part of the plan, executed it well, and supported their partners. The sense of cooperation that started during the initial planning for traf- fic management of the race track has been carried into the con- tinued operations. It is clear that each agency felt they had an important stake in the success of the Kansas Speedway and contributed the resources and staff required for that success. One interesting note is that there are no formal agreements in place with any of the agencies regarding operations. When agencies were asked about this, they said they did not see a need to formalize what has worked well so far. There is confidence that they can continue to count on their partners, and that the strong relationships and years of experience working together will continue to add to that confidence. Michigan: The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills (the Palace) is an arena located northwest of Detroit that hosts events such as concerts, basket- ball games, circuses, and graduations for eight months of the year. Because of the volume of traffic generated by these types of events, an increase in traffic congestion is typical in the vicin- ity of the Palace. Focused traffic management plans at these locations can help mitigate the effects of the increased conges- tion before and after the event. The Palace is located in Auburn Hills, a suburb of the greater Detroit, Michigan, area, in the north-central section of Oakland County. The Auburn Hills Police Department (AHPD) has been involved with traffic management strategies at the Palace since it opened in 1988 and has played an integral part in the development of the traf- fic management plan currently in place. To acquire details regarding the traffic management plans implemented for events hosted at the Palace, an initial inter- view was conducted with Danielle Deneau, PE, of the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC). After that conver- sation, a more in-depth interview was conducted with Capt. Jim Mynesberge of the Auburn Hills Police Department. Description In terms of traffic operations and management, a special event can be categorized as a scheduled interruption to normal traf- fic flow. The Palace special event case study provides an analy- sis for a multiagency, public–private partnership focused on managing traffic for planned events of varying sizes. The traf- fic management plan includes traffic control strategies man- aged through the RCOC FAST-TRAC signal system, which is programmable and detects actual traffic counts (the original timing was based on recording traffic flow as officers manually directed traffic); traffic monitoring capabilities through the MDOT CCTV cameras; and traveler information using the

50MDOT DMS and MiDrive website. The current traffic man- agement plan includes a partnership between the Palace, the Police, RCOC, and MDOT and has resulted in memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and formal agreements between some of these agencies. The plan provides a direct connection between the Police dispatch and the RCOC TOC. The effec- tiveness of the traffic management plan allows fewer officers to be used for managing traffic at special events and reduces the time required to load-in and load-out for each Palace event. Load-in and load-out are two performance measures that have been defined to measure the success of traffic control before and after events. Background of Agency The Palace is located within Auburn Hills, adjacent to I-75, and is within the jurisdiction of the AHPD. The Palace is a multipurpose arena used for concerts, sporting events, and other events such as wrestling, circuses, or graduations. The arena has been operational for over 20 years and is the perma- nent home of the Detroit Pistons (NBA) and the Detroit Shock (WNBA). The arena is recognized for its large capacity for the NBA and can accommodate over 22,000 fans for bas- ketball games and over 25,000 for concerts at center stage. The Palace also is the only arena that can hold the entire host city’s population. The AHPD provides security and traffic enforcement for the Palace during events. The Pistons typically attract a large attendance for their games, which has resulted in the arena expanding the parking capacity to keep pace with the atten- dance demands. AHPD manages the traffic before, during, and after each event, with a focus on providing efficient and safe access for motorists. Process Development The Palace partnered with AHPD and RCOC to develop a per- sonalized traffic management plan for events at the Palace. The original traffic management plan used several police officers and manual traffic control to move vehicles through several intersections in the vicinity of the Palace. The original site plan included only three driveways, which created some capacity issues for event traffic ingress and egress. The traffic manage- ment plan recommended improvements to the site that included additional lanes, modified use of the existing drive- ways, and the construction of two additional access drives. One new access drive was constructed on the north side of the site, and one on the south side. The access drive located on the south side is called Direct Drive, and when clearing the park- ing lot, only allows right turns, providing drivers with direct access to I-75. The Palace also established a MOU with MDOT to temporarily close the access road just east of Direct Driveafter events to provide exclusive use for Palace traffic when events commence. The Palace had several motivations for an improved traffic management plan. The first was happier patrons attending events. The second was monetary. Since the Palace pays for the use of AHPD officers to manage traffic at events, there was vested interest in streamlining the personnel and the time required. The larger events would require a total of 15 officers to work an event and effectively manage traffic. Each inter- section required two to three officers to safely direct traffic to and from the facility (15 officers total). With the revised plan, the larger events can be managed effectively by only one or two officers. Initially, AHPD and the Palace met regularly to discuss improvements, issues, and traffic management strategies. AHPD now has the ability to implement the Event Manager (developed by RCOC) and activate predetermined signal tim- ing plans through the RCOC TOC. With this closely integrated coordination, the issues have decreased and the coordination meetings have been reduced to only twice a year. AHPD and the Palace used two specific measures of effec- tiveness initially to determine if pre-event traffic was being managed properly. These measures allowed the two agencies to assess operations and determine the appropriate area of con- cern, namely: • If traffic was queuing on the public roadway but the Palace driveways had additional capacity, then traffic was not being managed effectively by the police. • If traffic was stopped at the driveways and vehicles were queuing on the public roads, then the Palace personnel were not effectively managing the parking operations. These observations were used to support the need to increase the access lanes and construct the additional driveway. The Palace parking process also was modified to establish longer stacking lanes approximately an hour and half before the event start time. This was necessary to accommodate the process for collecting parking fees from each vehicle. For postevent traffic, the effectiveness measure was based on all the access drives clearing at the same time. The bal- ance of exiting traffic was accomplished by sectioning the lots and directing all traffic to the specific exits. Since most events ended after 10:00 p.m., the Palace traffic could receive a higher preference in green time. It was determined that shorter cycle lengths resulted in extended clearance times for the Palace. Shorter cycle lengths create longer delays because of lost startup time and more clearance intervals per hour. In other words, the longer traffic was stopped, the longer it took to empty vehicles from the lot. The passing traf- fic was only inconvenienced by waiting through a single cycle length to accommodate the exiting Palace traffic. This impact

51was measured both visually and by using the FAST-TRAC system. Detailed Process and Integration Points Figure 5.2 shows the process used by the Palace for special-event traffic management. The traffic management plan involves revised signal timing at 19 intersections in the vicinity of the Palace. Signal timing plans were developed for small, medium, and large events. The number of intersections included in the signal timing plan provides a larger footprint than AHPD was able to manage with only police officers. The plan allows a senior AHPD officer to select the appropriate timing plan based on input from the Palace concerning the size of an event. The senior officer also has the authority to instruct the dispatcher to activate the appropriate timing plans. The dispatcher then has the ability to activate the timing plans via the Event Man- ager from the AHPD facility.Figure 5.2. Detailed business process diagram for a special event at the Palace of Auburn Hills.The Palace has access to its own CCTV cameras around the facility and to MDOT-owned CCTV cameras on the trunk routes. The MDOT cameras provide information about traf- fic conditions on the roadways approaching the Palace. The Palace personnel also use radios to communicate continuously with AHPD. The Palace documents the load-in and load-out times for each event that occurs, and has observed that the load-out time has decreased from approximately 1 h to less than 25 min with the current traffic management plan. Figure 5.3 displays the Palace and the surrounding trans- portation network for reference. I-75 runs north-south on the west side of the Palace, and M24 (Lapeer Road) runs north- south on the east side. The small connector on the south side of the Palace is the Direct Drive that is used exclusively for postevent traffic. AHPD responds to incidents in the vicinity of the Palace, including those that occur on I-75. During events, AHPD will coordinate for these incidents because they can affect traffic management at the Palace. Coordination is

52Source: © 2010 Google. Map data © 2010 Google. Source: © 2010 Google. Imagery © 2010 DigitalGlobe, USDA Farm Service Agency, Cnes/Spot Image, GeoEye, U.S. Geological Survey. Map data © 2010 Google. Figure 5.3. The Palace of Auburn Hills and surrounding transportation network.initiated by AHPD with MDOT and the Michigan Intelligent Transportation System Center (MITSC) to verify the incident, and MDOT will activate DMSs in the area to inform motorists of the incident if needed. In some cases, traffic is diverted to Opdyke Road through media and DMS communication. During an incident, the Palace monitors the CCTV cameras and communicates traffic conditions with the AHPD officers. AHPD also coordinates with RCOC to determine possible adjustments to the signal timing. After the incident has cleared, AHPD will coordinate with MDOT and RCOC to clear DMS messages and reset signal timing, respectively. Several key integration points were identified in the Palace of Auburn Hills special-event traffic management process, including the following: • Coordination between the Palace and AHPD: Based on guidelines established in the traffic management plan, the Palace determines the size of an event (small, medium, or large) and informs AHPD. • The AHPD Dispatcher has the ability to activate the pre- determined signal timing plans within FAST-TRAC. The AHPD Sergeant has the authority to select the appropriatetiming plan based on the size of the event and directs the Dispatcher as to which plan to activate. The AHPD dispatch has a direct connection with FAST-TRAC so RCOC person- nel are not required during most events. • The Palace has access to MDOT CCTV cameras so they can monitor traffic in the vicinity of the arena during an event. MDOT also monitors traffic, but the Palace’s access to sur- veillance provides the ability to focus specifically on inci- dents that can affect typical traffic during an event. • Coordination occurs via radio between Palace personnel and AHPD personnel to adjust the predetermined traffic management plan and mitigate potential impacts on traffic. The response to incidents during an event is coordinated among MDOT, the Palace, AHPD, and RCOC. Based on the impact of the incident, DMSs are activated with appropriate messages, timing plans can be adjusted, and additional resources can be implemented for modified traffic control solutions. The Palace maintains records of all events, including the load-in and load-out times. Based on this documentation, the stakeholders have identified consistent results in the current

53traffic management plan. RCOC maintains the event signal timing plans respective to each event size. These timing plans can be revisited if issues or changing traffic patterns are identi- fied. The MDOT MITS Center maintains incident records that can be referenced to determine impacts on the traffic during events. There is no central location for data related to events at the Palace, but it can be obtained from the individual partners. Types of Agencies Involved There are four main partners involved in the coordination of events at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The public–private part- nership includes AHPD, the Palace, RCOC, and MDOT. The Palace is responsible for traffic on arena property, maintaining an arena-specific traffic management plan, and coordinating with AHPD for implementation. The Palace also has access to MDOT CCTV cameras so they can monitor traffic conditions on approaching routes. AHPD is the local police department responsible for traffic control within the city, including the local interstate routes. RCOC is responsible for county road maintenance and operations of the countywide signal system. RCOC has developed and programmed event-specific timing plans relative to the three categories of event sizes and allows AHPD to activate appropriate timing plans remotely. The MDOT MITS Center is responsible for monitoring the south- eastern Michigan roadway network and uses CCTV cameras and detection for surveillance and DMS and the MiDrive web- site for sharing traveler information. Types of Nonrecurring Congestion Addressed The Palace’s traffic management plan addresses nonrecurring traffic impacts classified as special events and crashes. When the Palace opened in 1988, AHPD manually controlled traffic in and around the arena. AHPD used approximately three to four traffic control police officers per intersection at several intersections (15 officers in all). In addition, the larger events required at least an hour to move traffic in and out of the park- ing facilities. The signal timing plans available through FAST-TRAC and the agreement between RCOC and AHPD to activate signal timing plans remotely via the Event Manager make it possible to improve efficiency. The signal timing plans are predeter- mined based on the estimated level of traffic for scheduled events. The signal timing plans also incorporate additional intersections that were previously not managed during events. The revised signal timing plans allow AHPD to decrease the total number of officers required at any event to no more than two and reduced the time for emptying the lot to approxi- mately 25 min. Improved incident management is the result of an agreement between MDOT and the Palace to share camera images. The Palace personnel can access views of several cameras located onapproaching roadways. When incidents occur in Auburn Hills, even on the interstate, AHPD typically are the first responders on scene. They will respond and coordinate with the Michi- gan State Police (MSP) and MDOT on the traffic management needs at the incident. They also coordinate with the Palace on any impacts to event-related traffic. MDOT will activate mes- sage signs to warn motorists and AHPD can modify the traffic management strategy to accommodate the changes in traffic patterns. Performance Measures Because the Palace tracks the load-in and load-out times dur- ing each event, those times can be compared to ensure the traf- fic management plan is working effectively. They meet with AHPD to discuss new issues and develop strategies that can mitigate these issues at the next scheduled event. The Palace maintains constant communication with AHPD to ensure that there is efficient and safe access for motorists. AHPD also com- municates with RCOC on potential issues with the signal tim- ing plans. The improved signal timing plans have allowed AHPD to reduce the number of required traffic control police officers from 15 to no more than two officers for each event. Emptying the parking lots of the Palace can now be achieved in less than 25 min. In addition, crash rates have remained con- sistent with the implementation of the Event Manager. Benefits The traffic management program at the Palace of Auburn Hills has proven to be successful. Benefits include improved traffic control efficiency; improved travel time; higher efficiency of motorist movement; and streamlined use of police resources. These benefits are achieved through strong relationships and trust between the stakeholders. With the reduction in load-in and load-out times, the impact on motorists traveling in the vicinity of the arena also is reduced. In addition, spectators are able to reach the arena more quickly and spend more time at the event. This improved mobility translates into cost savings for the motorists by reduc- ing fuel consumption and travel. The Palace also experiences a fiscal benefit by having spectators arrive earlier at events. The improved signal timing plans allow for more intersec- tions to be managed during an event with fewer officers, which frees up more officers for responding to emergencies, inci- dents, and other situations. Fewer officers for manual traffic control also has increased safety for personnel. Directing traf- fic in the dark and during poor weather conditions often cre- ated unsafe conditions for AHPD officers. The Palace’s cost for police personnel also is reduced. The Palace indicated that the savings from the fewer officers required to control traffic can be redirected to other expenses, such as an extension of park- ing facilities or a reduction in ticket costs for events.

54Lessons Learned All the agencies involved with the special-event traffic man- agement plan have acknowledged benefits, but there are still some elements that can be improved. Some simple modifica- tions could be achieved more quickly, while others are more extensive and would require several years. The partners stated that the traffic management plan should be developed as the site is designed. This approach would identify deficiencies in driveway access and potential capacity issues related to mov- ing the maximum capacity of the parking lots. The site devel- opment also should limit the amount of traffic movement occurring closer to the buildings to minimize conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. This additional conflict can gener- ate congestion within the parking lot. Lastly, sufficient light- ing throughout the parking lot should be implemented. Better lighting increases safety by improving visibility for drivers navigating among pedestrians, especially during inclement weather. Analysis and Research Observations The Palace traffic management plan has been developed through input from the Palace of Auburn Hills, AHPD, and RCOC and has improved the efficiency, reliability, and safety of traffic management during special events hosted by the Palace. During arena events, such as games and concerts, thetraffic flow in and out of the Palace has improved considerably while limiting the resource needs of AHPD. Coordination between the Palace and AHPD also has increased the reliabil- ity of loading and unloading the Palace parking lots. The Palace records and evaluates the load-in and load-out times to determine possible signal timing adjustments. The Palace personnel discuss improvements to the traffic manage- ment plan with AHPD on a continuous basis. The continued communication between the Palace, AHPD, and RCOC has improved operations and resulted in improved mobility for the motorists going to the Palace, as well as for motorists within the area. Agreements have been established between AHPD, the Palace, and MDOT to share CCTV camera video images for improved incident management. The police can coordinate and respond to incidents more quickly. Based on monitoring an incident, real-time information is provided and coordi- nated between all stakeholders to improve traffic coordination during and after each event. References 1. Basore, B., and P. Behm. Kansas Speedway Traffic Management. Kansas Highway Patrol, 2007. 2. TriCon Environmental, Inc. ESi WebEOC Professional Version 7. www.tricon-env.com/Product_software.php?id=webeoc. Accessed July 20, 2011.

TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report: S2-L01-RR-1: Integrating Business Processes to Improve Travel Time Reliability addresses various ways that transportation agencies can reengineer their day-to-day business practices to help improve traffic operations, address nonrecurring traffic congestion, and improve the reliability of travel times delivered to roadway system users.

The project that produced this report also produced SHRP 2 Report S2-L01-RR-2 : Guide to Integrating Business Processes to Improve Travel Time Reliability.

An e-book version of this report is available for purchase at Google , Amazon , and iTunes .

READ FREE ONLINE

Welcome to OpenBook!

You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

Show this book's table of contents , where you can jump to any chapter by name.

...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter .

Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

View our suggested citation for this chapter.

Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

Get Email Updates

Do you enjoy reading reports from the Academies online for free ? Sign up for email notifications and we'll let you know about new publications in your areas of interest when they're released.

At an event and looking for your event app?

If you know your event code, enter it here:

If you don't know your event code, please contact your event organizer.

Customer Login

Experience manager.

If you are an EventMobi customer wanting to work on your app, sign into Experience Manager.

5 Event App Case Studies that Show the Power of Event Tech

Technology is the glue that holds a good event together. 

Whether you’re planning an in-person conference, a virtual summit, or a hybrid event that combines the best of both worlds, the event app you use will have a huge impact on your success. 

If you’ve never used an event app before, you may not understand how transformative it can be. In this article, we’ll show you how EventMobi’s powerful event app helped 5 different organizations build standout events.

Diversified Communications ULC Cuts Costs by $8,000 using an Event App

Read the full case study

It’s easy for expenses to rack up when you’re planning a large-scale event. Often, one of the most costly components of an event is registration— printing badges and staffing a registration table is expensive, but it’s vital to get it right, as the registration experience will set the tone for the entire event. 

Diversified Communications ULC was gearing up to host their annual medical conference , known as Pri-Med Canada. They expected over 3,600 attendees from 200 different healthcare, educational, and pharmaceutical companies. 

With such a large audience, Diversified Communications knew they needed a high-tech event app to manage everything from attendee engagement to scheduling and planning. 

But they also saw a surprise benefit of using an event app: They were able to save $8,000 on printing and shipping costs , thanks to EventMobi’s event registration software . 

Instead of relying on printed badges, the company was able to import their attendees’ information into the event app, even while the app was still being designed in the weeks leading up to Pri-Med Canada. Event registration could then happen onsite; when attendees logged into their app for the first time, they could see all of their information already loaded into the program, including the sessions they’d signed up for. 

It wasn’t just the event planners who loved the event app. With EventMobi’s technology, the company surpassed their event app adoption rate by 155%.

GetWellNetwork Uses an Event App to Build Brand Reputation

Technical difficulties can turn an excellent event into a nightmare—especially if the event is all about technology. 

The GetWellNetwork, which provides cutting-edge technology for healthcare organizations, knew they couldn’t afford to have any big tech issues during their GetConnected Conference, during which they showcase innovations in the healthcare tech space. 

The event organizers were on the lookout for an event app that could be the “brain” of the entire event. They needed a solution that would replace their paper handouts and program schedules, while also boosting attendee engagement and connecting their audience during the event. 

After doing their research, they landed on EventMobi as the best option to achieve their goals. And this decision paid off—literally. They saved tens of thousands of dollars on their event budget, while also hosting their most engaging attendee experience to date. 

On top of that, by using such a diverse and intelligent event app, they solidified their brand image as a leader in the tech space.

Real Property Management Uses Gamification to Enhance Networking

Networking is at the heart of so many events, as was the case when Real Property Management was gearing up to hold their annual national conference. 

They went into the event wanting to break the mould, so they could surprise and delight their attendees, while also encouraging them to build their network inside the franchise community. 

“We needed to create a platform where attendees could communicate with each other better. We didn’t want to just leave it up to chance that they would interact,” said Tim Sedgwick, from Real Property Management. 

In the past, the company had used gamification to encourage networking, but it hadn’t panned out as they’d hoped in terms of ROI. But when they began using EventMobi’s event app, they saw a huge increase in the number of attendees playing the networking game. 

Sedgwick and his team attributed this to the event app’s ability to digify the gamification experience. Rather than relying on game rules printed on paper or announced out loud, they used the event app to give each attendee a four-digit code on their badge, which they could use to participate. People at the event could easily find the rules in the event app, and they could even watch a leaderboard to see who was winning.

Looking for detailed advice on designing an event sponsorship package that will be competitive in today’s market? Download The EventMobi Sponsorship Strategy Guide  to get started!

Venture Out Builds Community and Bolsters Communication with an Event App

Watch the full case study

When Venture Out plans an event, their top priority is making sure their audience feels welcome from start to finish. This is core to their mission of bringing together members of the LGBTQ+ community who share a passion for technology. 

The team at Venture Out knew strong communication was key to their event, something they’d struggled with in the past. Without an event app, they had to share important information about schedule changes and the location of events out loud—and anyone who wasn’t in the room when such announcements were happening would miss out. 

But with EventMobi’s event app, they were able to send messages and connect with all event attendees, simply by pushing notifications through the platform. 

On top of that, the seamless event registration allowed the event organizers to save time they would otherwise spend trying to keep track of everything. As a result, they could dedicate more of their time to ensure all attendees were enjoying themselves.

Hanapin Marketing Boosts Retention With an Event App

Hanapin Marketing hosts an event for hundreds of marketers every year, and one of their main goals is retention—they want attendees to come to the event year after year. 

In the past, the company had seen a 15% retention rate annually, but with EventMobi’s event app, that figure skyrocketed to 45%. 

Hanapin credits the event app’s many features as the primary reason for this boost to their retention rate. With features like life polling and Q&As, push notifications, and personalized schedules and speaker profiles, they raised the overall quality of their event, which made it easy for attendees to decide to return the following year. 

“The Event App keeps the conference fresh, sleek, and ahead of the competition,” one attendee remarked.  Hanapin also used the Event App to gather feedback through post-event survey questions . With more responses from their attendees, they could easily figure out what worked well at the event, and what should be improved for the next one.

If you want to see the most return on investment with your event, then you need the most up-to-date technology to provide a seamless, enjoyable experience for all attendees. 

Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management (B.S.)

Apply Now          Schedule A Visit          Request More Information

The mission of the hospitality, tourism and event management program is to develop visionary leaders and successful professionals in the hospitality, tourism and event industry. The program provides a comprehensive and challenging curriculum that includes courses in general education, business, hospitality, tourism and event management, combined with relevant operational and management experience under the supervision and guidance of industry professionals and program faculty.

At the conclusion of the program, students will be able to:

• Identify and apply the knowledge and skills necessary for hospitality and tourism operations.
• Develop and integrate a core set of business skills necessary to successfully operate a hospitality and tourism organization.
• Demonstrate competence in the communication skills necessary for hospitality and tourism management.
• Formulate business decisions in hospitality and tourism management.
• Evaluate leadership principles necessary in the diverse and global hospitality and tourism industry.

With a Bachelor of Science in hospitality, tourism and event management from South Dakota State University, the hospitality, tourism and event industry is yours to conquer. We are dedicated to making the hospitality, tourism and event management program at SDSU one of the leading professional management-related programs in the Midwest.

Since Winter of 2016, the hospitality, tourism and event management program has held professional accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (ACPHA) for its educational quality and for upholding nationally recognized standards in the hospitality profession.

The hospitality, tourism and event management program had a 50% retention rate for the 2020-2021 academic year, and 75% of our students were employed in the hospitality industry or a related field upon graduation and 25% of our students were continuing their education. In the academic years of 2019-2020, 2018-2019 and 2017-18, retention rates were 100%, 71.4% and 57.1% respectively. While the hospitality industry continued to have jobs available in the hospitality field for any student searching, students in hospitality, tourism and event management learn numerous transferrable skills and are sought-after for, and excel in, positions in a wide variety of industries. Given that, 94.12% and 88% of our students were employed in the hospitality industry or related field in 2019-2020 and 2018-2019 respectively. In 2017-18, 13.33% of our students were continuing their education and 66.67% were employed in the hospitality industry or a related field.

Program Overview

This specialized business degree prepares you for leadership roles in the dynamic, service-oriented hospitality industry. Traditional business courses in accounting, economics and law are complemented by hospitality marketing, meeting/event management, lodging management, hospitality facilities management, food and beverage management and international tourism. All of these courses help to give you a solid foundation required for any number of hospitality specialties.

Some of the many areas you can focus your career within hospitality management:

• Bar and beverage management
• Casino management
• Club management
• Cruise management
• Event management
• Hotel management
• Resort management
• Restaurant management
• Tourism management
• Venue management
• Sport coordinator
• Healthcare hospitality

We stress experiential learning in our program. If you plan to successfully lead, manage or direct others in the industry you must have industry experience. Our goal is for each of our graduates to be qualified for an intro-level management job (or management training position) upon graduation. As former managers in the hospitality industry we realize that gaining industry experience is an important part of our degree requirement.

All undergraduates must complete two internships, accumulating more than 500 hours of work experience in two distinct areas of hospitality. These two experiences provide a great opportunity to explore different and unique facets of the industry, and to expand your knowledge and discover your ideal career path. Whether on campus or off campus, part time or full time, job or internship, you can choose the work experience that best suits your schedule and interests.

With this degree in hand, you'll have a wealth of career options both in South Dakota and throughout the United States and will be well-prepared for post-graduate studies if you choose to continue your education. Additionally, our faculty brings significant industry experience to the classroom, adding a unique dimension that you just won't find with a general business education.

Special Events

Throughout the fall/spring, students participate in learning experiences with the hospitality club and in their courses. Some of the upcoming experiences that students will be participating in:

• Hospitality Management Career Fair
• South Dakota Governor’s Conference on Tourism
• Prostart Competition

Additional Information

• Program Details (Curricular Offerings and Course Descriptions)
• Wagner Cafe
• Hospitality Management Club

Meet the Faculty and Staff

Kunsoon Park

Associate Professor

Julie Tkach

Lecturer, Hospitality Management

Watch CBS News

CDK Global calls cyberattack that crippled its software platform a "ransom event"

By Megan Cerullo

Edited By Anne Marie Lee

Updated on: June 25, 2024 / 9:06 AM EDT / CBS News

CDK Global is now calling the  cyberattack that took down its software platform  for its auto dealership clients "a ransom event." 

In a note to clients Saturday, CDK for the first time acknowledged that the hackers that made its dealer management system, or DMS,  unavailable to clients for days , are demanding a ransom to restore its systems. 

"Thank you for your patience as we recover from the cyber ransom event that occurred on June 19th," CDK said in a memo to clients on Saturday, according to a copy of the email obtained by CBS MoneyWatch . 

CDK added in the note that it has started restoring its systems and expects the process of bringing major applications back online "to take several days and not weeks."

Beware of phishing

In its memo, the company also warned car dealerships to be alert to phishing scams, or entities posing as CDK but who are in fact bad actors trying to obtain proprietary information like customers' passwords. 

A CDK spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch that it is providing customers "with alternate ways to conduct business" while its systems remain inoperative. 

The cybercriminals behind the CDK attack are linked to a group called BlackSuit, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing Allan Liska of computer security firm Recorded Future. In a June 21 story , the media outlet also said the hackers were demanding tens of millions of dollars and that CDK planned to pay the ransom. 

Liska didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. CDK itself hasn't pointed to any group behind the attack on its system that  has disrupted car dealerships across the U.S.  since last week. Companies targeted in ransomware schemes are often reluctant to disclose information in the midst of negotiations with hackers on a payment.

"When you see an attack of this kind, it almost always ends up being a ransomware attack," Cliff Steinhauer, director of information security and engagement at the National Cybersecurity Alliance, told the Associated Press. "We see it time and time again unfortunately, [particularly in] the last couple of years. No industry and no organization or software company is immune."

"Doing everything manually"

The hack has left some car dealers unable to do business altogether, while others report using pen and paper, and even "sticky notes" to record transactions. 

Tom Maoli, owner of Celebrity Motor Car Company, which operates five luxury car dealerships across New York and New Jersey, on Monday told CBS MoneyWatch his employees "are doing everything manually."

"We are trying to keep our customers happy and the biggest issue is the banking side of things, which is completely backed up. We can't fund deals," he said. 

Asbury Automotive Group, a Fortune 500 company operating more than 150 new car dealerships across the U.S., in a statement on Monday  said  the attack has "adversely impacted" its operations and has hindered its ability to do business. Its Koons Automotive dealerships in Maryland and Virginia, however, which don't rely on CDK's software, have been able to operate without interruption, the company said.  

Ransomware attacks  are on the rise. In 2023, more than 2,200 entities, including U.S. hospitals, schools and governments were directly impacted by ransomware, according to  Emisoft , an anti-malware software company. Additionally, thousands of private sector companies were targeted. Some experts believe that the only way to stop such attacks is to ban the payment of ransoms, which Emisoft said would lead bad actors to "quickly pivot and move from high impact encryption-based attacks to other less disruptive forms of cybercrime."

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of State  offered $10 million in exchange for the identities  of leaders of the Hive ransomware gang, which since 2021 has been responsible for attacks on more than 1,500 institutions in over 80 countries, resulting in the theft of more than $100 million. 

• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
• Cyberattack

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

More from CBS News

CDK cyberattack outage could lead to 100,000 fewer cars sold in June, experts say

Boeing announces plan to buy most of subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems

Nelly Korda withdraws from London tournament after being bitten by a dog

Should you refinance your home equity loan this summer? Here's when it may make sense

Cyberattack Crisis Management at an Iconic French Brand

July 01, 2024

When a flagship French group suffered a major cyberattack, FTI Consulting responded by mitigating and managing internal and external reputational risks, playing an active role in rebuilding the client’s information system, recovering data and providing strategic and operational support to the management team throughout the crisis.

• The client’s encrypted data was recovered.
• The company was able to proactively communicate with stakeholders and sustain confidence despite the cyberattack.
• Data published by the group of attackers was recovered and analyzed to provide the necessary elements to the lawyers for specific declarations and legal steps.
• The entire information system was rebuilt following FTI Consulting’s guidance on structuring the work involved.
• FTI Consulting worked with the company's senior management to structure their approach to crisis management and provide round-the clock support in managing events.
• Multidisciplinary FTI Consulting teams deployed a proactive communications strategy throughout the crisis to maintain stakeholder confidence despite the cyberattack, aided the continuation of business under the best possible conditions and preserved the reputation of the group and its interests over the long term.
• FTI Consulting provided support to the client’s teams in France and in the main countries, helping them recover and decrypt the data, prioritize the rebuilding of the information system and integrate a layer of cybersecurity that was essential for a successful restart.
• FTI Consulting carried out a full assessment of the company's cyber maturity before proposing a short- and medium-term roadmap, covering both business IT and industrial systems.

Key Contacts

Thomas Hutin

Senior Managing Director, Head of France Cybersecurity

Guillaume Granier

Senior Managing Director, Head of France Strategic Communication

Sign up to get access to FTI Consulting Insights

Case Study: High Ridge Brands Sees 20% Cost Reduction with Integrated Supply Chain Solution

High Ridge Brands (HRB), a leading personal care company in the United States, has a diverse portfolio of over thirteen trusted brands, including Zest®, Alberto VO5®, Coast®, and more. HRB was experiencing supply chain challenges and faced escalating retail compliance charges, communication issues across multiple third-party logistics providers (3PLs), and rising transportation costs, prompting a need for streamlined operations. HRB looked to ODW Logistics for a supply chain solution, aiming to integrate warehousing and transportation management.  

ODW looked to reduce vendor compliance charges from major retailers like Walmart and Target, streamline supply chain communications, and cut overall supply chain costs for HRB. ODW conducted a thorough audit of HRB's supply chain, discovering inefficiencies in less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments and opportunities for strategic truckload scheduling. ODW provided HRB solutions to overcome their challenges which included a compliance audit, root cause analysis, continuous improvement processes, and weekly team reviews.

By using ODW Logistics for both warehousing and transportation, HRB resulted in a significant 20% reduction in total supply chain costs. HRB also saw a 40% decrease in Walmart retail fines, had 25% of LTL orders converted to truckload, and 34.6% of all orders were consolidated with other ODW client freight. Improved communication under a single 3PL enhanced outcomes and supply chain visibility, highlighting ODW Logistics' effectiveness in driving substantial savings and operational improvements for High Ridge Brands.

Please CLICK HERE to download the Case Study.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Related Articles

Kuehne & nagel case study: automating information to optimize the contract packing supply chain process, related directories, tecsys, inc., odw logistics acquires operating authority in california, subscribe to our daily newsletter.

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

Amazon to Offer Low-Price Online Store to Compete With Temu

Companies Face New Normal of Tariffs, Trade Regulation Compliance

Low Prices, Human Costs: Has Online Retail Crippled the Ethical Supply Chain?

Walmart Rolls Out Hydrogen Semi-Trucks For Retail Fleet in Canada

Red Sea Delays the 'New Normal' Headed into Peak Shipping Season

Digital edition.

2024 Supply Chain ESG Guide

Case studies, recycled tagging fasteners: small changes make a big impact.

Enhancing High-Value Electronics Shipment Security with Tive's Real-Time Tracking

Moving Robots Site-to-Site

Jll finds perfect warehouse location, leading to $15m grant for startup, robots speed fulfillment to help apparel company scale for growth.

What is CRM?

Manage, track, and store information related to potential customers using a centralized, data-driven software solution.

Defining CRM

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a set of integrated, data-driven software solutions that help manage, track, and store information related to your company’s current and potential customers. By keeping this information in a centralized system, business teams have access to the insights they need, the moment they need them.

Without the support of an integrated CRM solution, your company may miss growth opportunities and lose potential revenue because it’s not optimizing operating processes or making the most of customer relationships and sales leads.

What does a CRM do?

Not too long ago, companies tracked customer-related data with spreadsheets, email, address books, and other siloed, often paper-based CRM solutions. A lack of integration and automation prevented people within and across teams from quickly finding and sharing up-to-date information, slowing their ability to create marketing campaigns, pursue new sales leads, and service customers.

Fast forward to today. CRM systems automatically collect a wealth of information about existing and prospective customers. This data includes email addresses, phone numbers, company websites, social media posts, purchase histories, and service and support tickets. The system next integrates the data and generates consolidated profiles to be shared with appropriate teams.

CRM systems also connect with other business tools, including online chat and document sharing apps. In addition, they have built-in business intelligence and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that accelerate administrative tasks and provide actionable insights.

In other words, modern CRM tools give sales, marketing, commerce, field service, and customer service teams immediate visibility into—and access to—everything crucial to developing, improving, and retaining customer relationships.

Some ways you can use CRM capabilities to benefit your company are to:

• Monitor each opportunity through the sales funnel for better sales. CRM solutions help track lead-related data, accompanied with insights, so sales and marketing teams can stay organized, understand where each lead is in the sales process, and know who has worked on each opportunity.
• Use sales monitoring to get real-time performance data. Link sales data into your CRM solution to provide an immediate, accurate picture of sales. With a real-time view of your pipeline, you’ll be aware of any slowdowns and bottlenecks—or if your team won a major deal.
• Plan your next step with insight generation. Focus on what matters most using AI and built-in intelligence to identify the top priorities and how your team can make the most of their time and efforts. For example, sales teams can identify which leads are ready to hand off and which need follow-up.
• Optimize workflows with automation. Build sales quotes, gather customer feedback, and send email campaigns with task automation, which helps streamline marketing, sales, and customer service. Thus, helping eliminate repetitive tasks so your team can focus on high-impact activities.
• Track customer interactions for greater impact. CRM solutions include features that tap into customer behavior and surface opportunities for optimization to help you better understand engagement across various customer touchpoints.
• Connect across multiple platforms for superior customer engagement. Whether through live chat, calls, email, or social interactions, CRM solutions help you connect with customers where they are, helping build the trust and loyalty that keeps your customers coming back.
• Grow with agility and gain a competitive advantage. A scalable, integrated CRM solution built on a security-rich platform helps meet the ever-changing needs of your business and the marketplace. Quickly launch new marketing, e-commerce, and other initiatives and deliver rapid responses to consumer demands and marketplace conditions.

Why implement a CRM solution?

As you define your CRM strategy and evaluate customer relationship management solutions , look for one that provides a complete view of each customer relationship. You also need a solution that collects relevant data at every customer touchpoint, analyzes it, and surfaces the insights intelligently.

Learn how to choose the right CRM for your needs in The CRM Buyer’s Guide for Today’s Business . With the right CRM system, your company helps enhance communications and ensure excellent experiences at each stage of the customer journey, as outlined below:

• Identify and engage the right customers. Predictive insight and data-driven buyer behavior helps you learn how to identify, target, and attract the right leads—and then turn them into customers.
• Improve customer interaction. With a complete view of the customer, every member of the sales team will know a customer’s history, purchasing patterns, and any specific data that’ll help your team provide the most attentive service to each individual customer.
• Track progress across the customer journey. Knowing where a customer is in your overall sales lifecycle helps you target campaigns and opportunities for the highest engagement.
• Increase team productivity. Improved visibility and streamlined processes help increase productivity, helping your team focus on what matters most.

How can a CRM help your company?

Companies of all sizes benefit from CRM software. For small businesses seeking to grow, CRM helps automate business processes, freeing employees to focus on higher-value activities. For enterprises, CRM helps simplify and improve even the most complex customer engagements.

Take a closer look at how a CRM system helps benefit your individual business teams.

Marketing teams

Improve your customers’ journey. With the ability to generate multichannel marketing campaigns, nurture sales-ready leads with targeted buyer experiences, and align your teams with planning and real-time tracking tools, you’re able to present curated marketing strategies that’ll resonate with your customers.

As you gain insights into your brand reputation and market through customized dashboards of data analysis, you’re able to prioritize the leads that matter most to your business and adapt quickly with insights and business decisions fueled by the results of targeted, automated processes.

Sales teams

Empower sellers to engage with customers to truly understand their needs, and effectively win more deals. As the business grows, finding the right prospects and customers with targeted sales strategies becomes easier, resulting in a successful plan of action for the next step in your pipeline.

Building a smarter selling strategy with embedded insights helps foster relationships, boost productivity, accelerate sales performances, and innovate with a modern and adaptable platform. And by using AI capabilities that can measure past and present leading indicators, you can track customer relationships from start to finish and automate sales execution with contextual prompts that delivers a personalized experience and aligns with the buyer’s journey anytime, anywhere.

Customer service teams

Provide customers with an effortless omnichannel experience. With the use of service bots, your customer service teams will have the tools to be able to deliver value and improve engagement with every interaction. Offering personalized services, agents can upsell or cross-sell using relevant, contextual data, and based on feedback, surveys, and social listening, optimize their resources based on real-time service trends.

In delivering a guided, intelligent service supported on all channels, customers can connect with agents easily and quickly resolve their issues, resulting in a first-class customer experience.

Field service teams

Empower your agents to create a better in-person experience. By implementing the Internet of Things (IoT) into your operations, you’re able to detect problems faster—automate work orders, schedule, and dispatch technicians in just a few clicks. By streamlining scheduling and inventory management , you can boost onsite efficiency, deliver a more personalized service, and reduce costs.

By providing transparent communications with real-time technician location tracking, appointment reminders, quotes, contracts, and scheduling information, customers stay connected to your field agents and build trust with your business.

Project service automation teams

Improve your profitability with integrated planning tools and analytics that help build your customer-centric delivery model. By gaining transparency into costs and revenue using robust project planning capabilities and intuitive dashboards, you’re able to anticipate demands, determine resources capacity, and forecast project profitability.

And with the ability to measure utilization with real-time dashboards, you can empower your service professionals to apply those insights to their own workflows and optimize resources at any given time. With visibility into those insights, teams are more likely to simplify processes internally, seamlessly collaborate, and increase productivity.

Why use Dynamics 365 for your CRM solution?

With Dynamics 365 , you get a flexible and customizable solution suited to your business requirements. Choose a standalone application to meet the needs of a specific line of business or use multiple CRM applications that work together as a powerful, comprehensive solution.

Chat with Sales

Available Monday to Friday

8 AM to 5 PM Central Time.

Request we contact you

Have a Dynamics 365 sales expert contact you.

Chat with a Microsoft sales specialist for answers to your Dynamics 365 questions.

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

Enhancing Operational Discipline and Risk Containment

A major Indian petrochemical plant transformed its safety culture and process safety management, resulting in improved operational efficiency and employee morale. Key initiatives included robust safety protocols, capability development, and leadership engagement. The plant achieved significant gains in production capacity, system reliability, and risk mitigation.

A major petrochemical plant in India faced substantial operational and safety challenges. The site’s safety culture was reactive, driven primarily by production-focused leadership. This created an environment, where employees feared reporting incidents, leading to ineffective incident investigations, delays in implementing corrective actions, and low employee morale.

Additionally, the workforce lacked proper awareness and competency regarding safety protocols, compounded by the absence of visible safety commitment. The plant also lacked robust process safety and asset integrity programs, resulting in frequent operational disruptions, loss of containment, and exposure of personnel to hazardous substances. Turnaround maintenance and associated planning were non-existent, with a run-tofailure approach and quick fixes being the norm to keep the plant running.

These issues posed significant risks not only to the safety and well-being of its workforce but also to its operational efficiency and profitability. Frequent plant trips and loss of containment events disrupted production schedules, leading to increased downtime and maintenance costs. The fear-driven culture impeded the identification and rectification of safety issues, further exacerbating the risk of severe incidents.

These challenges collectively affected the plant’s ability to meet production targets and maintain a sustainable and safe operational environment.

To address these critical issues, dss + collaborated with the plant to drive a comprehensive transformation in safety culture and process safety management (PSM). The key initiatives included:

• Culture Survey and Benchmarking : Conducted an extensive survey to understand the existing safety culture, followed by benchmarking against industry best practices to identify key areas for improvement.
• Structured and Focussed Governance through KPIs : Focussed on trends, actions, recommendations, tracking of progress and outcomes by the site leadership team on a routine basis
• High-Risk Containment : Focused on managing barrier health, developing preventive and mitigation strategies, and enhancing emergency preparedness to effectively manage high-risk areas.
• Review and Analysis of Technical Standards : Upgraded and co-developed technical standards to ensure they met stringent quality and application standards.
• Capability Development : Provided training and coaching for site leadership and frontline managers to build competencies in safety management systems.
• Institutionalizing Safety Practices : Established a structured approach to safety observations, incident investigations, and maintenance inspections to ensure systematic management of safety protocols.

The transformation program aimed to integrate ORM and PSM practices into a cohesive framework, standardise safe work practices, foster leadership and workforce engagement in safety, and develop a systematic approach to risk mitigation and continuous improvement.

The implementation of these initiatives had a profound impact on the plant’s operations:

• Plant capacity utilisation improved from 61% to 87% , significantly enhancing production efficiency.
• Basic Process Control System (BPCS) availability increased by 65% , reducing operational disruptions.
• Nuisance panel alarms decreased by 85% , minimising interruptions reducing operator fatigue, and improving operational focus.
• Bypassed Safety Instrumented Systems and Interlocks saw a 65% improvement in status, bolstering safety and productivity of the plant.
• Pressure relief device availability improved to approximately 98% , ensuring reliable operation of critical safety components.
• For the first time, a turnaround and maintenance calendar was established, complete with a shutdown plan and associated budgeting.
• Senior leadership proactively led safety and risk assurance initiatives, providing ownership and guidance across all departments, moving beyond reliance on the safety department.

This comprehensive safety culture and process safety management transformation not only prevented and mitigated operational risks but also significantly enhanced the plant’s performance and employee morale to unprecedented levels.

By fostering a proactive safety culture, the plant achieved sustainable production improvements and established a foundation for ongoing operational excellence.