SAMSUNG Inline Skate Festival 2008Done By: Jenny Sophian (0604369I)
Class: T01
An event is defined as an organised occasion such as meeting, convention, exhibition, special event etc and often composed of several different yet related functions. Its success is scrutinized by the public, media and their sponsors. To further pursue my interest in event management, I made a field trip to a skating event, Inline Skating Festival 2008, which was organised by Samsung and held on Sunday, 8 June 2008, 9am to 4pm, at
The event focused mainly on its skating programmes namely the competitive skating and fun skating. Competitive skating had three categories – Slalom, 100M Dash and School Relay while the Fun skating categories were Fun Skates, Kids-for-Kids Charity Dash and Set New Record. There were also other programmes and games which lasted the whole day such as Fun Carnival, Airbrush Tattoo, Basketball Shootout, Euro Bungie, Archery etc. In addition, there was also a Product Display Area where Samsung showcased its latest electronics products as well as a main stage for band performances and prize presentation.
BACKGROUND OF ORGANISER
Inline Skating Festival 2008 was organised by Samsung. The Samsung brand is the best known South Korean brand in the world and in 2005, Samsung overtook Japanese rival Sony as the world's leading consumer electronics brand. Samsung is actively involved with volunteer activities, environmental work, and other supporting philanthropic activities to make our customers' lives just a little happier. It has organised events and be sponsors to some of the major events. For example, Samsung has been a Worldwide Olympic Partner since 1997 in the Wireless Communications category. It is no surprise that Samsung expresses it love towards sporting event through Inline Skating Festival 2008 as it owns professional sports teams and signed sponsorship deals with English Premiership member Chelsea.
ROLE OF EVENT TO SAMSUNG
Place Marketing - The event posted a positive image for Samsung brand as it posted itself as a brand that encourages healthy and fun living through sports and active lifestyle. This in a way also helps improve the quality of life of the locals through sports and the social interaction among the community. It has also shown that Samsung cares for the community as the Kids-for-Kids charity dash is in aid of the underprivileged kids where $10 will be donated for every 10M covered by each participant to the assigned charitable organisation.
Catalyst – Inline Skating Festival 2008 acts as a catalyst for Samsung when it stimulates business and trading of its products. During the event, there was a product display area where Samsung’s latest electronic gadgets are showcased to the public. This area also allowed them to try out and have first hand experience and interaction with the product. Although sale of products was not enabled during the event, the experience would create a desire to own the products and in turn result in sales increase. As for ECP, the event has also generated additional profits for the shop vendors as there are more visitors to the park on that day.
Image Maker – It is Samsung’s company philosophy to contribute to a better global society. Through the event, Samsung was able to communicate its values and beliefs by organising a local sporting event. When ECP was used as a venue partner, it has market its park as a hip and happening place for sports and other family recreational activities.
Animator – For some visitors, it may be their first time to ECP. This event has encouraged their first visit or repeat visits to ECP.
STAKEHOLDERS
- Organisers - Samsung
- Media – 98.7 FM Radio
- Local Community - Residents
- Public Sector – National Parks
- Business Sector – Restaurants/shops in ECP e.g. Burger King, MacDonald’s etc
- Sponsors – H-TWO-O, M-cro, RollerSportsSG, MCYS etc
TARGET MARKET
The event is targeted mainly to skate lovers and families with children.
MARKETING STRATEGIES
Place - ECP was chosen for the event because it is a one-stop family fun site. Themed “Recreation for All”, ECP offers a wide array of facilities which include food, recreation, entertainment and sports, ECP cater to everybody’s needs. It is therefore very appropriate for a local community event.
Programming – The event programmes encompassed its targeted benefits by including competitive and fun skating as well as carnivals that was aimed to entertain the public. The programmes were chosen to cater to both competitors and non-competitors and also to suit a family market.
People – People involved in the event were the workers and staffs who ensured that the programmes are smooth sailing and the people who are in-charge of enquiries and registrations. This also includes the celebrity and hosts who were chosen (98.7 FM’s ‘The Muttons’ and YES 93.3’s Dennis Chong Ching and Pei Fen). These radio
personalities were chosen because of their outgoing and fun personalities to add hype to the event and enhanced its theme.
Promotion – The event was promoted to the public through flyers, brochures, postcards and internet. Samsung Touch members were also able to receive premium invites to the event. The attractive prizes that could be won when visitors participate in the event have attracted them to attend the event.
Sample Brochure
Partnership – The venue of the event, ECP, was selected as a venue partner as it is known for its recreational value and has the appropriate facilities (bicycle and skating track) to accommodate the programmes. In return, ECP can raise its park value and enhance its recreational theme. The event also tied partnership with several supporters and sponsors with established companies such as H-TWO-O, RollerSports SG, and Singapore Sports Council etc. The event’s beneficiary, Children’s Cancer Foundation, received donations through the Charity Dash. In return, the event is viewed as having a generous reputation.
Packaging & Distribution – Registration of the skating programmes was made readily available to the public through online as well as on the day itself. Making it hassle free and convenient.
Price – The skating competitions, fun skating as well as the carnival games were open to the public free of charge.
EVENT RATING
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the event organisation as having 7 points. There were some areas that I think the event has done considerably well but at the same time, there are some areas of improvement that can be made in the future.
These are the areas that I feel that the event has excelled. Firstly, the programmes that were lined up were appropriately chosen for its target market. The competitive skating did not only cater to individuals, but also for schools. This will greatly boost up the school spirit and morale of the students when they win. Children were also able to participate in the charity skating event for a good cause. Through this event, an important value on caring for the community is instilled on them. 
Skating activities aside, the event was also successful in keeping the visitors entertained by making the Fun Carnival Games to operate throughout the event, the band performances, stage games and contests. These programmes were well spread out and were held as scheduled.
Secondly, I feel that there was proper risk evaluation that was carried out for the event and precautions were taken to mitigate these risks. For example, staffs in charge of first aid were assigned on many locations in case of any injuries. In the registration booth, there was also a bag deposit booth for the participants.
Finally, I feel that Samsung has cleverly made use of the opportunity it has created through this event to market its electronic products. This way, the product can gain market exposure with proper reach as the visitors are mostly Samsung’s target market.
However, the event fell short of a few things. I feel that ECP, although an appropriate venue, lack accessibility. ECP is located at the east and is quite a distance from its nearest MRT station and bus stops. Even from the nearest bus stop, visitors have to go through an underground tunnel to reach ECP. The only convenient way is when the visitors get there by car or the public bus service 401 which only operates on weekends.
Although I mentioned that the programmes cater to the family group, I feel that the organisers neglected the senior age group. There were no programmes that could suit their needs.
The event was also not advertised and promoted properly (only online marketing and giving out of brochures and flyers) and the sponsors and supporters were not fully utilized to help market the event and bring it to a larger scale, hence, the awareness level is low.
POTENTIAL OF EVENT TO MEET LOCAL’S DEMAND
It is challenging for the event to reach an international scale and meet tourist demand, however, it has huge potential to meet the local’s demand. With the increasingly health conscious Singaporean, Inline Skating Festival could be promoted as an effort to meet create a healthier lifestyle among Singaporeans.
To further maximize this potential, the event can be tied in with other sporting events such as cycling race or marathon. This way, more supporters and sponsors can be included as the event and it can thus be better marketed. When ECP is used as the venue, it will be seen by the public as a sports hub and a park that promotes and encourages a healthy lifestyle. With this, there may be an improvement with the park facilities and infrastructure to better meet the local’s demands.
RAISING VALUE OF EVENT TO BE ALIGN WITH TOURISM
STB’s mission is to “build tourism sector into a key driver of economic growth for
