La Liga Special Event Participation

La Liga the eponymous Spanish Football League, has set its base in India in New Delhi. They hosted their first Live Screening of Real Madrid vs Barcelona clubs in JLN Stadium. The event was marked by presence of huge screens, fan engagements, food and beverage stalls on the evening of 3^rd December, 2016. The event was managed by DNA Networks, and our students were invited to be volunteers at their various stalls.

“Students got an amazing experience of crowd management, brand activation & artist management. They even got to work at the ticketing counter, which quite a challenging work," said Ms. Sakshi Vig, Faculty, INLEAD. 

At the venue there was a huge set- up of stage, activity area, VVIP zone, ticketing centre, food stalls and many more. DNA team people picked randomly from amongst the students & assigned them different duties around 12:00 PM. Some were sent to manage the electricity set up, some for masking and some to manage the food court, the VVIP zone and Logistics. Students while volunteering got to learn some new technical terminologies like Masking, Mojo ,Knop etc Those incharge of food court were busy setting up food stalls, others got to do ticketing at the cash counter and some were working on the stage.

One of the students was made in charge of the store room in the stadium and was asked to work on the logistics of thousands of glasses and other stuff, from store to venue. A  team of 20 volunteers was assigned to him for this extremely critical task. It was around 6:30 PM when Viewers started to enter the stadium and that’s when majority of INLEADers got to work, maximum on the cash counter and the coupon counter where it was rather challenging to handle thousands of people. 

The event ended around 10:30 PM and post which there was tallying done, cash was counted, venue cleaned and a very long day came to a closure. La Liga brought the big screen viewing of an El Classico match to India in a big way, and INLEADERs got the opportunity to be a part of it.

The Madness & The Magic in Event Management

On day 1 of classes, I always ask my students this question, “ Why did you choose Event Planning as a course?"

The answers bring alive the most multifaceted perspectives of the industry from clean and unbiased minds.

Some of the responses are:

• I want to become famous by doing events.
• It is a very glamorous industry
• I want to learn about new trends in the event business
• I want to know all about new fashion & attire
• I want to meet celebrities
• I want to become an expert with the basics, work for 10 years and then teach like you mam to encourage others to be event managers.
• It will make me travel everywhere in India and abroad
• Meeting lot of different people and make new friends
• It is creative & fun
• After working for an event company for 2 years, I want to open my own event management firm.

All the reactions above have two key underlying themes:

a) Aspirations & b) Opportunity.

That is the biggest USP of the trade. Event Management embraces the vastness of dreams and the development of skill to bring them alive.  The high experiential value makes this extremely global, creative, young, dynamic, fast growing & lucrative trade a real bliss to be a part of.

Event Management is now an extremely structured industry due to it’s high demand. Today’s generation entering the profession is a lucky one. There are institutes offering courses to initiate prospective event managers smoothly into this profession. The foundation of anyone entering the business after having studied it always gives him or her an upper hand over another candidate without the necessary event educational base.  The curriculums spread out over a year or two, are well balanced between theory and practical training. That gives people a real quality entry to at least do an initial elimination of choice to be in it or not.  

The mystical world of events is not just a ‘job’ or ‘career’. It is a really cohesive journey of growth of various aspects of life at large.  We as event managers shoulder various really key responsibilities such as:

• Learning the real definition of teamwork and living it on a daily basis.
• Interacting with people at various levels and amicably molding our behaviors to create comfort for everyone who we are working with.
• Dealing with individuals from diverse educational & domestic backgrounds & from small and large cities and countries & highly skilled in specialized tasks.
• Brainstorming to bring alive some creative brilliance.
• Collaborating talent to create an impactful experience for all stakeholders with the power of creativity.
• Event managers identify heroes and design platforms to bring them to the forefront.
• In this profession one gets the autonomy to perform and lead with humble conviction. 

An individual who selects the above career is being constantly pushed mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually to keep raising the bar.  The result is a very solid human being.

Event managers develop high levels of emotional intelligence, are bustling with energy and positivity, are strong willed by always being solution providers, learn with an attitude of gratitude and develop great leadership skills. They get groomed in to managing themselves by understanding the importance of ‘me time’, relationships with colleagues & clients, friends and family and time management with detail and precision.

In the end, event managers with a lot of hard work, grit, glory, fun, long hours, persistence and a smile put various pieces of the puzzle together to create a really dreamy bespoke ensemble.  We make dreams of our guests come true, bring a smile to their faces and become a memorable spec in their life forever.

So I tell my students this; ‘the love for such a highly demanding world of events is like being pregnant! You either are pregnant or not. Similarly you either love events or you don’t. There is no middle ground”. The only way to find out is to immerse yourself in to this ocean of opportunity. All the above responses will surely make sense.

The high that one feels by seeing your mind come alive in the form of an event set is nothing but truly intoxicating. The backend and backstage madness takes center stage in a manner, which is magical.

 - Ms.Kanika Sethi Babbar

   Faculty, Event Management and PR 

    

Frenzy at Skrillex event in Gurgaon- What were the lapses?

For most of us, the word ‘event’ is synonymous with music, artists, drinks, food and lots and lots of fun. But, what remains unnoticed is the amount of hard work that goes into making a particular event possible. For an event to be successful there are multiple minute critical aspects that need to be looked into.  An event not planned properly can turn a high profile event into an unpleasant memory in the minds of people, forever. One example of such an event was the Skrillex event in Gurgaon.

For the uninitiated: Sonny John "Skrillex" Moore aka Skrillex, is an American electronic music producer, DJ, singer and songwriter. All of 27 years of age, he is currently the latest craze amongst the young generation and they love his music compositions.

Skrillex was recently on a 4 city tour of India. His last show in India was on the 11^th of October, 2015 in HUDA Grounds, Gurgaon. The event was a huge success with a mammoth attendance of close to 15,000. The online ticketing for the event was managed by meraevents.com.

The event since then has been marred by massive controversies. Headlines in next day newspapers screamed “23 year old woman dies while dancing at crowded Skrillex gig”. The deceased while dancing vigorously collapsed due to cardiac arrest for lack of oxygen and could not be revived. Why was there oxygen shortage? The venue was overcrowded. Capacity of Leisure Valley, HUDA Grounds is between 5000 and 6000, whereas towards the first hour of the event there were about 15,000 people packed into the venue. Apparently, the deceased’s friend too collapsed due to suffocation and is still in a critical condition.

Where were the lapses?

•   Poorly organized event with very little emphasis on safety norms;
•  Inadequate security that could have prevented people who barged in without tickets from doing so;
•   No control over liquor which was being served to underaged audience;
•    Organisers who had taken an NOC for 5000 people didn’t anticipate or even share their apprehension about more numbers turning up for the event;
•   There were brawls amongst drunken youth which could hardly be contained;
•   Number of police personnel deployed for an event of such a mega scale was just about 90;
•     Inadequate parking space which had resulted in massive traffic jam around the venue.

The organizer, Mumbai’s Clockwork Events, is now facing charges of negligence (filed by deceased girl’s parents) as well as for allegedly violating excise norms. In fact, in future, any organizer of events will have to deposit a bank guarantee if liquor is to be served during the course of the event. But most importantly, Event organisers need to themselves be more particular about size and location of venue, number of attendees, as well as other amenities for the attendees. Memories from this gig which could have been all about Skrillex’s mind-blowing music has unfortunately been marred by the death of a young attendee due to overcrowding.

- Ms. Monica Mor

  Senior Faculty, INLEAD

Images Courtesy: Google Images 

Crisis Management during an Event

Arranging an event is like being on a constant battle. You have no idea what new challenge or problem would be thrown in front of you and from where. That’s why, just like a prepared soldier, an event manager has to be well prepared at all the times and have a back-up of things which he/she considers can go wrong during the course of the event.

An event manager is the captain of the ship called “Event”.  He/she has to make sure that the people on board have a fabulous evening/morning as promised according to the schedule.

Here, we present to you an easy crisis management plan that all the event managers out there can follow in order to make sure that they’re never stuck in such a crisis situation.

 1)  Clarity on Chain of Communication- “Too many cooks spoil the dish.” Just like the saying, having too many people speaking on behalf of the event organizer can lead to a lot of speculation and confusion. It’s always better to appoint a media spokesperson in order to insure that streamlined information is communicated to the audience and the press.

 2)   Timely Responses- Sometimes silence speaks louder than words. In case of a crisis, this silence can have a huge impact on the reputation of your company. So, make sure, that you timely respond to all the messages, queries or media questions that come your way. Keeping the audience in oblivion is not a smart move. Social Media can become a great communication tool during the times of crisis.

 3)  Keep the Media informed- In case you had already called journalists, photojournalists and
photographers to cover the event, keep them updated about the status of the event. Keeping them in dark about the developments can have a huge negative impact on the event.

 4) Keep your Events Insured- Better be prepared than sorry. Cancellation of an event can cause huge monetary losses to the event organizer and manager. In order to insure that you don’t end up with a negative bank balance after an event blunder, make sure you get your events insured in advance. Though their premiums are high, but, they really come in handy at the time of crisis.

 5)  Plan well- Anything can happen at any time, even towards the end of a particular event. So, till the event is over, keep your ears and eyes open. In order to make sure that nothing goes wrong, plan your event in a systematic manner and have a back-up plan ready.

Further, what has happened, has happened and “The secret of crisis management is not good vs. bad, it’s preventing the bad from getting worse.” 

Images Courtesy- Google Images 

How to build a Houseful event?

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” - Paul J. Meyer

The few hours before the event are the most nervous times for an event planner, as it is the time that they have to face that one big litmus test, the test of audience attendance. So, whether you are organizing a convention, product launch, dealers meet or a customer event, the size of your audience will hold testimonial to the success of your event. It’s a fizzle when an event manager spends countless hours and money in planning an event and only a pint-size of the expected attendees turn-up. Empty chairs are the bane of every event planner’s existence, thus the following suggestions can be considered by event planners for improving the attendance of their events and keep this bane at bay.  

• Research upfront & feedback afterwards: Try to find out what your prospect attendees are (do’s & don’ts) looking forward to in an event and try to accommodate as much as their requirements as you can. After all, they are the ones whom you’re organizing the event for. Further, since you’re an event planner and planning events is an ongoing process for you, make sure to take feedback from the audience after the end of the event about the things they liked and didn’t like in the event. 

• The venue is at a convenient location, which is notable and affordable: The venue chosen should be accessible and not very expensive so that it suits the pocket of all the attendees. Further, a notable event location draws more crowd and buzz as people are already aware of the location and scale of events taking place at that particular venue. Kamani auditorium and India Habitat Centre are some of the most famous and affordable event venue locations in Delhi. 

• Right date and time: The time of the year, day of the week and time of the day, all make a difference when it comes to audience attendance. For example, mornings are great for seminars, after work is great for appreciation/networking events and weekend afternoons and evenings are preferable for weddings and concerts etc.  

• Save the dates: Save the dates reminders should be sent out early to the target audience as it gives them time to plan their calendars well in advance and assure their availability at the event.

• Incentives for early check-inn or arrivals: Discounts/vouchers are a great marketing strategy for early registrations or last minute walk inns. 

• Personalized invitations:  A handwritten invitation or an invitation with some kind of personal touch e.g., name etc. garners more attention and makes the audience feel special.

• Overlapping with identical events: In case of 
an allied event is planned for the same time/day when you’re planning to hold yours, it’s recommended to look out for other options available as having two large scale events will only eat out into each other’s success and none of the two events will be benefited.

• Entertainment & lively activities: The event manager should make sure to include some extracurricular activities and fun time into their event schedule if the duration of the event is for a complete day or so. 

• Use Social Media: Go to multiple social media platforms and create your event. Using various channels to get your message out is essential. Nowadays, social media isn’t just about the youth. People from all generations are there on these platforms and using these platforms can get one maximum visibility and that too absolutely free of cost.

The above mentioned pointers will not only help increase registration/attendance for the upcoming events but also make attendees feel comfortable, lively and more enthusiastic about the event.

Thus, it sums up, “Build it up and they will come”.

-Parul Sardana
 Faculty, INLEAD 

Images Courtesy- Google Images 

A Wedding Planner's perspective of the much awaited Shahid Kapoor- Mira Rajput Wedding

One of the most eligible bachelors of Bollywood, Shahid Kapoor, broke millions of hearts yesterday as the ‘Vivah’ actor finally tied the knot with his real life Geet, city girl Mira Rajput, in an intimate yet grand affair at industrialists Shivinder Singh’s farmhouse in Delhi.  From the time Shahid’s wedding news broke out earlier this year, there were speculations all around regarding how, where and when were the impending nuptials going to take place and finally, at last, all these questions were answered yesterday.

The Newly Married- Mr. and Mrs. Shahid Kapoor 

Planning a wedding is no easy-peasy task. Just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, similarly, a wedding cannot be planned in a single day. And, Shahid- Mira’s grand wedding was an example of just that. From getting designed the perfect Wedding cards by Delhi luxury invite designer Ravish Kapoor to arranging the lip-smacking Paans from Jaipur’s famous Annu Mobile Paan Bhandaar, this A-list Wedding, Wedding Planner (whose identity hasn’t been revealed yet) surely had his/her hands full.


A wedding is considered as one of the most important days in the lives of the two people who are gearing up to embark on the beautiful journey called marriage together. Making sure that the two souls get a perfect fairytale start to their fairytale is the Super Manager/ Planner called Wedding Planner. A Wedding Planner is like a director of the film called Wedding who makes sure that the actors (bride and groom) and the producers (read parents) don’t even get a single frown on their foreheads on the D-day of the release (Wedding day).  One just needs to be there with their ideas for their dream wedding and these wonder brains will weave their magic and get everything in line for you and turn your dream into a reality.

Wedding Planning as a field of profession has become a hot favorite nowadays. Though, the profession is slightly demanding, in terms of working hours and schedules, but the rewards towards the end just make up for everything.

So, if making people happy and touring the world for the perfect caterer or destination is something which excites you, then, Wedding Planning is the field for you. And, as for Shahid- Mira’s secret Wedding Planner we would just like to convey, that you lucky man/woman or whoever you are, you just lived the dream of every single Wedding Planner in India. Take a bow for arranging the most beautiful and the ‘The Wedding’ of 2015.

Images Courtesy- Instagram.com/bollywoodreport

Event Industry Review- An A to Z guide to the Event Industry (Part-1)

You have your entire week booked with the various events and gatherings that you have to attend. Your favorite singer Mohit Chauhan is in town, your slightly loud but lovely cousin is getting married and at the end of the week, you have the elusively arranged- practically begged, borrowed and at the end stolen IPL V.I.P passes from your friend. You are all excited and can’t wait for the week to begin.

Let’s for once peek behind the veil and experience these exquisite shows from the other side of the curtain. Enter the world of an Event Manager.

Every event, be it the cozy yet stupendously sun-drenched Goan beach wedding or the fun and adventure laden weekend trip to Mountaineering or even the grand anniversary celebrations your friend planned for her parents 25th anniversary bash or the exciting new episode of the latest talent hunt reality show, each and every event has an army of people working day and night planning, promoting and practicing every meticulous detail so that you can enjoy those few hours of the event to the fullest.  These behind the scene magicians are referred to as the Event professionals and the magic trick they perform is commonly called - Event Management.

Overview of the Industry 

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” - Gloria Steinem

The Event Industry has been thriving like never before.  What was just a small pea in the pod a few years ago, has now transformed into a fully grown tree, shooting out more and more branches every now and then.  The Indian event Industry is a multi-crore industry hosting mega events and shows every day.

The Event Industry is a classic example of supply creating its own demand.  The coming up of various big event companies have brought in a unprecedented growth in the number of exhibitions, conferences, seminars and product launch events taking place. With these events now becoming a symbol of class and style, there’s no stopping this industry from growing further.

Event management basically deals with planning, organizing and finally executing an event. An event can be described as any planned public or social occasion or gathering. Everything from Wedding Planning, Product Launches, Concerts, seminars to birthday celebrations, anniversary celebrations comes under the domain of an Event.

Professions under Event Management 

There are a plethora of tasks that need to be taken care off while arranging an event.  Organizing an event is not a one man task. It requires a collaborative team effort where everyone dispenses their respective duties assigned to them.  A person interested in the field can choose from a number of options based on their skills and interests.

Career Avenues in the Event Industry can be broadly divided into three following categories:

1) Event Operations- This department has to carry out the task of coordinating and integrating all the operations within an event and its associated venues. They are the minds that know what will work and what wont. They try to keep their event management skills up-to-date by regularly adopting to new technologies and methodologies.

People into Event Operations are famously known as the backbone of any event.  Various profiles under event operations include Wedding planner, artists manager etc.

2) Event Marketing- Imagine the IPL without all the witty ads, promotional activities, the glamour and the innovative branded props and merchandize – You can’t because it won’t be too different from a Deodhar Trophy or Vijay Hazare Trophy, which were premier limited overs domestic cricket tournaments that hardly anyone knows  about.

You might have a fabulous, well planned event in place but all this hard work is of no use if you are unable to market your event well.  Event Marketing deals with devising a promotional strategy for an event in order to attract more and more attendees or customers. Currently, Event Marketing is in its guerrilla phase with the virtual and physical means of marketing crossing paths and working together.

In order to become an event marketer, one needs to be innovative, quick, smart and energetic enough to face any problem coming his way head on.  Various profiles under event marketing include Business Development Manager, Client Servicing Manager and Account Manager Etc.

3) Public Relations- The difference between a good event and a great event is a good PR strategy at work.  A good PR plan can help you generate more ticket sales, secure advertisers and sponsors for the event and create an excitement and buzz around the event. Besides performing all these functions, a PR manager is also representative of the event or the event company at the times of crisis. They are the ones who bear all the tough questions from the press and try to salvage the image of the company or the event at the times of crisis.  Various profiles under the public relation domain for event management include Public relation officer, corporate communication officer and brand managers etc. 


Stay tuned for Part 2. There’s a lot more left to share with you.