Sunday, November 23, 2008

Introduction


The purpose of this report is to evaluate and identify how the organizers of the event have adopted the components of the marketing mix to create a successful event. This report will also discuss the role of the event and its' contribution to the tourism economy in Singapore.

The chosen event is Singapore Biennale 2008 and this report will identify the various components of the marketing mix used and how effective they are in creating the event. The methodology of research was done through extensive research by the Internet and books. My understanding of the exhibition was greatly enhanced also through short surveys on the subject.

Singapore Biennale 2008 is said to be the largest and most provocative exhibition of contemporary art by famous visual artists around the world. It is the follow-up to the successful event organized in 2006. The artwork are showcased in both indoor and outdoor exhibitions at Singapore's famous landmarks like the Esplanade Bridge, Singapore Flyer and The Supreme Court.

The theme for Singapore Biennale 2006 was "Belief". The theme was chosen to challenge the beliefs of many. On top of that, Singapore Biennale 2006's aim was to address the complexities that evolve around and also examine the different aspects of belief in relation to art itself and the values of contemporary art. More than 883 000 went for the exhibition in 2006 and this exhibition had definitely brought more light on Singapore's arts scene.

The theme for this year's event is Wonder. The artists were asked to explore beyond and to understand the world better by looking at the surroundings with new perspective. Both artists and visitors are challenged to be surprised and to explore different possibilities. They are encouraged to look through things in depth and not just look at things superficially.

The exhibition was organized over a period of two months from 11 September to 16 November 2008. It created a platform, therefore providing opportunities for Singapore's budding artists. The Singapore Biennale 2008 showcases many different art pieces from 66 artists of about more than 35 countries. The exhibition also features art work from 8000 primary school students who had also decided to take part by exploring this year's theme. The Kid's Biennale enables young children to open up and express their talents.

The exhibition had definitely brought more light on the many budding artists and established art icons like Galeri Petronas, Rachel Goh's "Who is this family" and Han Jong-Gun's "Evolutional Mythology".

Marketing Mix - Product, Promotion, Pricing and Place

Product

Product strategy deals with the benefits and advantages of the products provided, the problems it solves, and how it differentiates the product from its' competitors. It should be based on the opportunities that surround the environment and customers’ needs and wants.


The product in this case, is the exhibition itself. The exhibition was created not only as a platform for budding artists, but also to allow visitors to understand contemporary art better and to understand the feelings and expressions of each different artist.

Biennale is defined as:

bi·en·na·le (bē′ə nälē)

Noun

a biennial show; esp., an art show held every two years

Quoted from http://www.yourdictionary.com/biennale

The art exhibition is held every 2 years so visitors can expect more future events from this show. It is expected to fare better in future. Having a period of 2 years in between each exhibition will allow the organizers more time to plan better for the subsequent exhibitions. 2 years will also give interested artists more time to prepare for the exhibition.



The product consists of different art work by both local and international artists. It consisted of mostly of tangible products where visitors can feel, touch, see and experience the pieces. Some pieces are created to create different illusions while others are created to allow visitors experience a totally different feeling altogether. For example, the video installation El naufragio de Ios hombres ( The wreck of men) made me, as a visitor feel very chilled and eerie. The lonely figures that appeared in the video appear to be lonely and ghostly, creating an eerie and quiet feeling.


El naufragio de Ios hombres ( The wreck of men)

The product conveys many different expressions by different artists. The exhibition allows artists to express their feelings better and visitors are highly encouraged to interpret and understanding the meanings behind all of these art expressions. For example, Rachel Goh's "Who is this Family" showcases 5 different shots of her family in different scenarios. The photographs challenge the visitors to see things in a different light and understand a situation with different viewpoints.

The product has actually managed to encouraged visitors and viewers to think out of the box and not to be so narrow-minded. The exhibition had also managed to get both locals and tourists from all over the world to come and visit. This event had definitely helped boost Singapore's position in the arts scene and helping Singapore to get to her aim of being the Arts hub in Asia.

Upon arrival at the exhibition, I did not have to queue long to purchase the tickets and I was given prompt service. I was greeted by many young adults who are believed to be working there part time. Most of them are students between the ages of 17-25 who were very enthusiastic about the exhibition. The staff was very friendly and easy-going. They were also quite accommodating and allowed visitors to take photos. There were ample signages to remind that visitors are not allowed to touch the artwork. . The staff was also kind and patient enough to explain that the visitors were not allowed to touch or damage the artwork in any way.

The artwork was placed around the Supreme Court and even though visitors were not allowed to touch, they could at least view it closely and clearly without any barricades to block their full view or restrict their movements. The artworks were being watched over by many of these part-time staff. These staff would occasionally remind visitors to watch their steps so as to prevent any accidents.

Promotion

The main objectives of every promotion strategy is to create a positive buzz or word-of-mouth. It is to create awareness and grab the attention of the chosen target market. It is therefore important to get the right attention from the chosen target market. There are different stages of promotion.

They are:

Stage 1- To whom to say it

- Target Market is the general public and art enthusiasts from Singapore and all over the world.

Stage 2- Why to say it

- To get the right attention from the target market and create awareness. The organizers also hope to create a platform for both budding and established artists.

Stage 3- What to say

- This can be done through the event's logos and symbols and create awareness by promotional advertisements and positive word-of-mouth.

Stage 4- How to say it

- This can be done by assuring visitors of the quality and originality of exhibits.

Stage 5-Where to say it

- The organizers of the event had publicized the event through different mediums like huge posters, brochures and promotions on their website. They had even provided a guide book for visitors to learn more about the art pieces and their artists. The event organizer had also placed huge and colourful posters at the entrance of the Supreme Court at City Hall to attract visitors.




Singapore Biennale 2008 at Supreme Court

Singapore Biennale targets mostly the general public so people from all walks of life are encouraged to come and visit. The organisers have worked with many respectable organizations like retail giant Club 21, IKEA, Singapore Tourism Board. This has definitely provided the exhibition an edge over many oth
er festivals or events as these organizations help to promote the event one way or another. These organizations are able to reach out to the mass market easily as they have many contacts and links. They are also a direct link to the chosen target market. Therefore, it is easier to grab visitors' attention and create more awareness.

Singapore Biennale also worked with educational institutions like Republic Polytechnic to encourage more young adults to explore different dimensions of the art scene. It will help to encourage students to have a better
understanding of contemporary art.

Singapore Biennale also promotes the exhibition by placing different art pieces around the city like Raffles City Shopping Centre. It creates a feeling of curiosity and allows the public to view the art pieces for free. This helps in the promotion strategy as the public would be more curious to find out more about the event from these free-to-view art pieces. Hence, they would also explore and visit the other exhibits located nearby at City Hall. This would definitely heighten the visitors' knowledge on the event.

The event also has an official website for visitors to get more information on the event. Visitors can get information like opening hours and how to get to the exhibition. About a million page views were generated for the Singapore Biennale 2006. Therefore having a website is essential for this event so that interested visitors can get more information at any time they like.

http://www.singaporebiennale.org/
I was so amazed by the artwork located at Raffles City Shopping Centre. Hence, I decided to pay a visit to the exhibition located at Supreme Court.



Pricing

Pricing is one of the important aspects of every event's marketing strategy. Pricing is an important aspect as it is related to product positioning. Furthermore, pricing of a product affects other marketing mix elements such as features of a product and promotion.

The event had definitely used ne
utral pricing. It places a huge importance in creating good and quality works of art to capture the market share. The event provides life-like installations to create the different moods and to enhance the value of the event.

The single pass entry includes:

Singapore Biennale had built partnerships and collaborations with many organizations to offer different pricing packages for different groups of people. Ticket-holders are entitled to many different benefits like discounts at selected restaurants and even cheaper rates at the Singapore Flyer. Examples of such restaurants are Robert's Coffee and Seafood Paradise.
Event organizers had set out different pricing packages.. This is to cater to the needs of every group of people. For example, students are entitled to a 50% discount on the normal adult ticket fare of $10. This would definitely encourage more students to visit the event and acquire more knowledge on the arts scene. On top of that, Singapore Biennale encourages family bonding by providing a complimentary ticket to a family member of an adult who purchases a regular-priced ticket. All that is required of the adult and his family member is just a registration at the Containart Pavilion. . Singapore Flyer even provides a discounted rate for ticket holders so they can just pay of about an additional $21 for adults for a ride in the Flyer.

Not only does this benefit the visitor, it also helps to create more awareness among different age groups and it proves the point that art can be shared among many people.

The pricing strategies chosen by the event organizers had been successful and effective as the event is made affordable to the public. In fact, the student rate for the tickets had definitely encouraged more students to visit the event. About half of the visitors who were there on that day were students and that included me.


Students and families at Wit Pimkanchanapong's Google Earth image-map of Singapore

Place

"Place (or placement) decisions are those associated with channels of distribution that serve as the means for getting the product to the target customers. The distribution system performs transactional, logistical, and facilitating functions."

Quoted from: http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/mix/

From this statement, it is believed that the place is also important. The place will determine how the customers are receiving the benefits of the product. The place should be easily accessible to the target market so that it is easier for them to reach out to the product. The place chosen should also have a regular human traffic flow so that many other people would be encouraged to pay a visit.

The art pieces are showcased in strategic locations in the city. These places are easily accessible and have a regular human traffic flow. Having these exhibitions at the iconic landmarks of Singapore will create more awareness especially among the tourists.

Tickets for the exhibition were sold at only two places, the Supreme Court at City Hall or South Beach Development.
It could have been better if they had sold the tickets online as well. This would definitely help to ease any queues in the ticketing counters. Moreover, visitors will be able to purchase tickets at their own comfort anytime with just a click away.

Economic Roles

Singapore Biennale has definitely opened up more doors for artists to showcase their talent. Both local and international artists would be interested in future similar events as they would be able to portray their art in their own way and be recognized. More people would come to visit such future events to appreciate such wonderful contemporary art pieces.

This will surely create more platforms for international artists from all over the world. They are able to bring their own work more often and this will definitely boost Singapore's economy. There would be an increase in special interest tourism especially for the Arts scene. Tourists will have more motivation and reasons to visit Singapore and not just for leisure travel.

Their spending and arrivals will definitely increase tourism receipts and place Singapore in a more favorable position in the Arts scene. On top of that, it could even lead to more jobs especially in the performing and visual arts. With more people appreciating art, there will be a bigger market for the arts.


The event had received a lot of positive feedback for the Singapore Biennale in 2006 from the media all over the world as well as art critics.
The event had successfully attained the attention of about 103, 000, 000 people with more than 1000 articles provided worldwide. It was reported that the cumulative media value for print was approximately about $19, 300, 00. The exhibition’s website had managed to receive about a million page views.

This proves that the event is very successful and well-received. With such recognition around the globe, it is highly likely that future events will be as popular as ever. This will definitely increase tourism receipts and more people from foreign countries will be encouraged to visit and spend.


Conclusion

It was an eye-opener for me when I visited the exhibition. Over the years, there has been a steady increase in the knowledge of both performing and visual arts. I dare say that similar events happening in the future will definitely increase and bring many benefits to the country, especially its economic benefits.

The marketing mix used in the event had definitely been successful as they had managed to capture the attention of the public whether it is the locals or foreign tourists. It has definitely created a positive buzz or word-of-mouth. Perhaps, the event organizers increase awareness by promoting future events through other mediums like radio and even television advertisements.

By having Kids Biennale, children are given opportunities to widen their horizons and I am sure that future talents can be molded. The organizers had introduced the event to young children. I am sure that this will help in future events as young children have had more exposure on such events.

However, I feel that the exhibition could have been improved further by having directional signs around the surrounding areas like the City Hall MRT station. This would help any lost visitors who are unsure of the exact location of the exhibition.

Indeed it was very encouraging to see young adults participating and getting involved in the exhibition. The exhibition has definitely gotten more young adults interested. It also encourages people to participate more in such similar public events. Such participations and involvement will boost community involvement as people can get to know one another and tighten community relations.

I personally feel that it was a good decision to have organized the event at the iconic landmarks of Singapore like Singapore Flyer, Supreme Court at City Hall, Esplanade and South Beach Development. This would definitely help to boost visitor arrivals at these places as well. There is a high probability that it will encourage tourist arrivals from other countries as well. Tourists can not only visit the iconic landmarks, but also to appreciate the artwork available. It will not only benefit the event organizers, but also Singapore as a whole in terms of tourism arrivals in the long run.

Appendices

Singapore Biennale 2008 Guide

http://www.mansmith.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41
&catid=25&Itemid=6

http://www.yourdictionary.com/biennale

http://www.singaporebiennale.org/

http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/mix/



Monday, November 3, 2008

Hi! My name is Azni and I am from T10. This will be my first entry for this blog. I am currently at Starbucks trying to set up this blog. It was madness trying to find a socket because my laptop died on me halfway!

OH MY GOD

okay I am with my best friend of 7 years now. FARAH! HI!!!


Okay byebye

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Siti Norazni a.k.a Aznie

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Class: T10
20 September 1988
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