Website Presence.

The usage of the Internet is increasing, therefore, meaning there are many more companies and businesses who are now online.


Masterman (2005) states that a more sophisticated and value-laden focused use of the Internet than the organization website is the creation of Internet communities.


This means that people who share similar interests come together on the Internet to share information and interact. This includes areas of the Internet such as social networking. Social networking is something that has definitely increased in recent years. It began, simply, as a way for friends to keep in contact with each other. However, more and more people are maximising the use of social networks. Avtec Media Group (2011) state that by establishing your presence on social network portals such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, you can instantly recruit a band of loyal customers and constituents who can help you spread your message further and faster.

Mintel (2011) states that 42% of the population use social networks just to keep up with the latest news. Since then the percentage is likely to have risen to due more people being active on social networking websites. It also states that Facebook is the most widely used social networking website in the UK.

TNT Travel Show


The TNT Travel Show aim to make full use of the Internet. They do so by having: a website dedicated to the show itself,  pages on social networking websites and the added bonus of being talked about by various other organisations or people who are interested in the event. The images below show the various ways in which the TNT Travel aim to keep audiences updated and interested in the event.

TNT Travel Show 2012 Website

Twitter Account

Facebook Section

The TNT Travel Show 2012 has merely a section on the TNT Magazine's Facebook page. On which it ha information to book tickets as well as a link to the ticket distributor's website: Eventbrite. They do, however, have a Twitter account which is separate from the TNT Magazine one. This therefore, gains them a little more web presence and exposure. From this there are also a few travel related organisations who have used Twitter to state their relationship or association with the TNT Travel Show.

Carling Cup Final


Carling Cup Final took on February 26th it's web presence was on a high throughout the duration of the event. There were several websites who were constantly updating fans on the progress of the teams taking part (Cardiff City and Liverpool). This included the popular social networking website, Twitter, and BBC Sport. General web presence of the event includes the dedicated website, Facebook, Twitter (Carling Cup and Football League) and sports related websites.

Carling Cup Final Website

Facebook Page

Related Tweets (During the Event)

The web presence of the Carling Cup Final was constant throughout the build up and during the event itself. It has also continued just after the event as talk of the final amongst fans and sports journalists is shared on the Internet. It also shows that the Carling Cup Final attracts the attention of many. 


BBC Sport updates sports fans of the goings of every sporting event that takes place and broadcast through them. They do this by providing a 'Live Text Commentary' on the website. In this case, fans were given minute by minute commentary of the game from the moment the referee started the clock for at 0:00 right up until the last penalty was missed in the 124th minute.


According to The Guardian (2012) the BBC1's coverage of the Carling Cup Final averaged 5.8 million viewers, a 30.6% share, between 3pm and 7.15pm on Sunday. It had a 15-minute peak of 9.9 million viewers and a five-minute peak of 10.5 million from 6.30pm as Liverpool clinched the trophy 3-2 on penalties.


This shows the impact the web presence of an event has. Looking at the viewing statistics above proves this.

Despite their efforts to use the Internet to their advantage the TNT Travel Show does not generate as much coverage online as the Carling Cup Final. These events have different audiences who use technology in different ways, therefore, meaning the web presence is higher for one event than the other.

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Sponsorship.

Tutor2u states that sponsorship can be defined as:

Supporting an event, activity or organisation by providing money or other resources that is of value to the sponsored event. This is usually in return for advertising space at the event or as part of the publicity for the event.


With sponsorship comes a range of rights that need to be taken into consideration. This must be considered by the sponsor and the event in order for them to avoid any confusion or inconvenience. Some of the rights that need to be looked at by sponsors are if they are the official sponsor, signage rights at the event, the right to promote their products and if they are able to bear their name on products related to the event.

TNT Travel Show


The TNT Travel Show's main sponsor is Flight Centre. However, there are several associated sponsors including:

The TNT Travel Show media pack has a specific area that allows companies to apply for sponsorship. It lists a variety of different types of sponsorship. This includes: event sponsors, event associated sponsors, internet/flight booking zone, bar sponsor general sponsor, show guide advertising and additional items such as branded carrier bags, flyers or lanyards.

Each of these has a different prices and offers different services. However, they all offer stands around the show. This is a good way for TNT to make a profit as the event is technically free to visitors.

Carling Cup Final


This event is sponsored by the Molson Coors Brewing Company who owns Carling. Molsons Coors' and Carling especially have had a lot of experience with sponsorship. They were the first official sponsors of the FA Premier League before before Barclays took over. The AMG venues around the UK were also sponsored by Carling but due to the connotations of the brand they were replaced by O2. Meaning venues such as Islington, Birmingham and several others became known as the O2 Academy as opposed to the Carling Academy.


The table below shows sponsors the League Cup has had since the beginning.

It shows that Molsons Coors have sponsored the competition since 2003. Carling was already known as 'Britain's Number One Lager' therefore, adding a name such as Carling to a major football event helped to boost the reputation of both the competition and the brand itself.

For each Carling Cup game, players or each team have shirts with the Carling Cup logo on the arm. This also promotes the Carling (Molsons Coors) brand. As well as this, the brand is shown on the advertising boards around the pitch.

Overall the TNT Travel Show has one main sponsor as well as several other companies who are associated sponsors. Whereas the Carling Cup has one main sponsor. This can have both a negative and positive effect on each event as it depends on how strong the brand sponsoring them is. It seems that both of these events have brands that are well known and appropriate for the nature of the event, and therefore, beneficial to them.

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Publicity.

EnhanceMyMarketing.com defines publicity to be receiving favorable media coverage. A strategic marketing promotion tool involving building relationships with journalists, reporters, bloggers, and editors; responding to reporter media requests; and producing news releases or videos.


Publicity is similar to advertising in many ways, however, publicity is more than often the result of advertising. It can be both positive and negative. In order for events to create good publicity for themselves they are likely to appoint a press or publicity officer. Their role involves liaising everyone involved of the event, as well as overseeing all publicity issues. 


There are several other areas that need to be taken into account when attempting to create publicity for an event. This includes: researching the target audience, marketing the event, establishing basic information of the event, promotional methods, us of different media, timing and data protection. 


A press release or press pack is often released just before an event takes place as a form of PR (Public Relations). Its purpose is to inform the media of exclusive information of the event. Press releases used to be sent to the media via the post, email or fax. Although the way in which press releases are received is changing due to the development in technology. However, there are many areas of the PR world that still remains the same.


TNT Travel Show 2012


The TNT state that the Travel Show's dedicated PR team work on maximising the publicity that they receive around the world, mainly focusing on the London region. As shown in a previous post, the TNT Travel Show use a range of different media in order to publicises and promote the event. A press release from an event such as the Travel Show is likely to be sent to specific media that are aimed at those interested in travel, i.e. travel magazines (including TNT), television channels and websites.
The link below shows the kind of publicity that the TNT Travel Show 2012 are aiming before.
http://www.backpackertradenews.co.uk/2012/01/31/tnt-travel-show-2012-announces-high-profile-sponsors/


Carling Cup Final


The Carling Cup in 2010 and 2011 had Hill+Knowlton Strategies dealing with their PR. It can only be assumed that they have continued for this 2012. This has had a significant impact on the competition as a whole, as the company stated on their website: http://www.hillandknowlton.co.uk/CarlingCup2010 
This type off publicity also helps to boost the reputation and awareness of the event. This competition also has the support of a big name sponsor (Carling) to help their publicity.


This is one of the areas in which these two events share similarities. They both have dedicated PR teams who are in-charge of creating and maintaining good publicity for the event and the brand.


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Sales Promotion.

Sales promotion is a part of the promotional marketing mix. It is a way of persuading potential customers to purchase a product or service. Sales promotion is also a short term plan to boost sales and there are several different tactics can be are used in order to do this. Some of this includes:

* Coupons

* Competitions

* Discount Vouchers

* Free Gifts

* Point of Sale Materials

* Loyalty Cards

TNT Travel Show

As the TNT Travel Show is a free event they have to ensure that they are able to attract a larger audience in order to make some sort of profit through other areas. They attempt to entice audiences by giving them the option of entering competitions on the TNT Travel Show website or at the show itself. However, the results of the competition would be announced at the show, therefore, encouraging audiences to attend.

Also, tickets for the show can be booked in advance via the Travel Show website, for free as opposed to paying £2 at the door. However, audiences have the option of booking a VIP package for a charge of £10 plus a £1.25 service charge. The contents of the package are shown below.

Posters and banners are also used as point of sale materials to advertise and promote the event. The TNT Travel Show website allows audiences to access these posters an banners as a way of helping to promote the event. Although, the same material is used on a larger scale in public areas such as London.

Carling Cup Final

This major football event is sponsored by a popular larger in the UK. This gives event organisers the advantage of using this a part of their sales promotion. Also, this automatically helps to boost the awareness of the event. The two teams competing in the final was confirmed on January 25th when Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 on aggregate. Meaning they gained a place against Cardiff City in the final at Wembley. 

Tickets for this event went on sale at the beginning of February, giving season ticket holders of each club priority. Also, each football club was allocated a specific amount of tickets dependent upon which stand they are in: 

* Cardiff City - West End - 31, 372

* Liverpool - East End - 31, 735

The prices differed  depending on which category fans choose. The price list is as follows, with half price concessions throughout:

* Cat. 1 - £90

* Cat. 2 - £72

* Cat. 3 - £56

* Cat. 4 - £40

Before tickets officially went on sale Carling ran a competition titled 'That's Brilliant'. This asked fans to submit their experiences, stories or brilliant moments from the past three months of the Carling Cup. The prize for the ultimate brilliant moment is tickets to the Carling Cup Final, as well as a chance to have the brilliant moment showcased at Wembley Stadium.

Fans of football and  mainly the Carling Cup are already persuaded to purchase tickets for the event, however, these sales promotional strategies are a way of trying to encourage others to attend.

The TNT Travel Show and the Carling Cup Final use sales promotion as a sort of incentive in order to persuade audiences and fans to attend the event. Most people enjoy receiving free stuff and even more people enjoy winning. In this case, both of the chosen events use competitions to keep audiences attention and encourage them to purchase tickets or attend events. Therefore, competitions are a great way for event organisers to entice audiences.

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Advertising.

"Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas,goods or services by an identified sponsor." Kotler et al., (2009)


Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase 'The medium is the message'. This states that the medium in which the advertisement is sent to audience through is as important as the content that it holds. The medium of an advertisement is the way in which it is received by the audience.


With this in mind, advertising is something that is crucial in the events industry in order for organisers to make audiences aware of the event. Advertisements need to be grab and hold a person's attention, be memorable and persuasive, and result to a positive result. There are several different types of advertising which is often categorised into the following mediums: print, broadcasting and e-media.


Mediums


Print media is something that many organisers use as it allows them to advertise the event with the relevant information. However, it has it advantages and disadvantages. An advantage of print media is that it can be advertised in specific magazines to appeal to a particular audience. Although, a disadvantage is that audiences sometimes tend to ignore advertisements in print form. Examples of print media advertising includes magazines, billboards, posters or leaflets.


Broadcasting looks at advertising through video or audio. It includes radio, television or webcasting. Television broadcasting is sometimes seen to be more persuasive than radio advertising as audiences are automatically attracted to a picture on screen. Also, radio advertisements have to provide a lot of information in a short space of time.


E-media includes the range of different websites, pop-ups or emails that can be found on the Internet. With the advances in technology and increase of Internet users this is a medium that is very popular with the current generation. It allows organisers to create websites for the events that provide all of the information needed. Similarly events are able to be advertised virally on social networking websites such as Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. Although there are several advantages of advertising using e-media, certain events for a particular audience who are less likely to use the Internet, should be advertised using either print or broadcasting.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs


This theory looks a the needs that people have which need to be fulfilled in many different ways. Maslow's theory is used in advertising as it allows advertisers to identify ways in they can appeal to the needs of their audience in order to promote their product or service. In the case of the two chosen events Maslow's theory plays a significant role. It gives the event organisers knowledge of the best ways in which to promote their events depending on the needs of their particular audience.

TNT Travel Show


The TNT Travel show runs a 10 week advertising and editorial campaign in their magazine and online. By doing this TNT are able to reach a variety of audiences as their are using two mediums to advertise. TNT are also able to keep their audience interested in the Travel Show during the run up to the actual event. As well as this having a dedicated website for the Travel Show, TNT promote the show on their partner websites and in newsletters. This is all carefully thought about by TNT's marketing team who ensure that the event gets the appropriate amount coverage in all the correct areas, locally, nationally and internationally.
When looking at advertising, TNT take full advantage of the two mediums that they use. Previous attendance shows that their advertising methods are very effective for their audience. 


Carling Cup Final


A sporting event off this scale is something that automatically attracts attention in a football orientated nation. The Carling Cup broadcast is shared between the BBC and Sky. This means that audiences who do not subscribe to Sky Sports are unable to watch certain games. The final, however, is more likely to be broadcast on the BBC to ensure that all audiences are able to watch it. The BBC does not advertise, therefore, Sky Sports are able to advertise the Carling Cup final during intervals in other sporting programmes. 


As well as broadcasting, the Carling Cup Final also uses print in ways such as newspaper coverage, features in 'lads' magazines, on posters, and billboards in football stadiums and in pubs. Mintel shows that sports is a topic that many males still prefer to read within magazines.

With regards to using e-media in advertising, the Carling Cup Final is advertised in several different ways. Firstly, there is the dedicated website which can be accessed through the Carling website. It provides audiences with up to date information about the competition as a whole and the event. There is also the coverage the event receives from newspapers or organisations online such as The Sun or BBC Sport. This all contributes to advertising the event as it shows that it is able to promote itself. However, to ensure that they are making full use of the popularity of the Internet, the advertising and marketing team of the Carling Cup Final would aim to get involved in social networking websites including Facebook and Twitter.


The advertising for both of these events aim to ensure that audiences are aware of the event and that they purchase tickets or attend the event. Therefore, advertising is a key stage in the event planning industry.




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Communication Objectives.

Communication objectives are intended goals of an advertising or promotional program. Possible communications objectives include creating awareness, imparting knowledge, projecting an image, shaping attitudes, stimulating a want or desire, and/or effecting a sale.

(BusinessDictionary.com, 2012)


Objectives are usually set based on the 4 P's: Product, Place, Price and Promotion. For events, the objectives tend to revolve mainly around the promotional campaign. This looks at the different types of advertising that may be used.

The Communication Process/Schramm

A linear model of communication Fill C, Marketing Communications, contexts, contents and strategies, Prentice Hall, 1999, p24

This model of communication looks at the way messages and information is sent to audiences, how they receive this information, and their responses. From this event organisers are able identify how to communicate with their audiences and what is effective.

TNT Travel Show


The main communication objectives for the TNT Travel show is to attract audiences who are likely to benefit as well as spend large sums of money. They aim to attract audiences through a 10 week advertising and editorial campaign in TNT magazine. By using advertising and promotion TNT are able to inform and help persuade potential audiences to attend the show.


Carling Cup


The communication objectives for the Carling Cup advertising and promotional program are to inform audiences of the event as well as sell tickets. The likely methods of advertising or promotion for the Carling Cup includes TV coverage, online and within newspapers or football related publications.


The TNT Travel Show is a one day event and therefore, relies heavily on the promotion and advertising. The Carling Cup on the other hand, is a progressive football competition and gains publicity throughout its duration.


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