Event Development (continued)

 “The following is a continuation of my Event Development Series. Several years ago, I started the series with the first section, “Initial Development”. The second section is entitled “Research and Preliminary Planning”. Now that you and your team have decided to proceed with the event, it’s time to get serious! As suggested previously, any thoughts and idea are more then welcome!”

Research and Preliminary Planning

You’ve determined that you “financially” want to proceed with your festival or event and you and your committee have completed plenty of “research”. Now it’s time to start your “Preliminary Planning”.

 

Preliminary Planning – Considerations (Continued)

2. HOW MUCH TO CHARGE? – There are two conflicting questions to consider when determining how much to charge. The first is “How do I make my festival or event profitable or, at least break even?” The second is “What will people pay to visit my festival or event?” The first question will really be determined by how well you plan and manage your event. If you “research” your event thoroughly and then “plan” it properly, the question should take care of itself. To answer the second question, you need to know the demographics of the people you are trying to attract. If you are trying to attract young families with small children, you are not going to be able to charge as much as if you are attracting older established families. Another contributing factor to the amount you can charge is geographic area. Some areas are more influential than others. What you are offering is another factor. The more you offer visitors, the more you should be able to charge. This factor is, of course, tempered by the first two considerations. Finding the proper balance is always a challenge. One way of offering more but charging less is through sponsorships. If you can find companies or individuals to sponsor some or all of your events/attractions, you should be able to minimize or eliminate your entrance fees. This could go a long way to attracting more visitors. However, if this is a new event, I would caution you to go easy. More new events fail because they become overly optimistic. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in “thinking big”. It’s just that I think you should be aware of what the “downsides” are and be willing and “able” to accept any negative consequences should the worst happen. My biggest concern with any event, new or established, is that they give value for dollars charged. Someone once told me that you should always “promise less but give more”. I believe that this is the key to holding a successful festival or event. 

(To be continued)