UNDERSTANDING A SPECIAL EVENT MANAGEMENT

Today, special events range from the Olympiads to a community-wide barbecue; from the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament to the "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibition; from world gymnastics championships and an international chili cook off to a community fair and a children's cultural exhibit.

But special events are more than just well-known athletic competitions and cultural performances. They are also thousands of smaller events that take place every year. They can bring a community together for purposes of fund raising, change a city's image, expands its trade, stimulate its economy, and help companies to market and introduce products.

Special events are opportunities, not only for the promoter / manager to bring a unique project to a community and profit from it, but for the community and local companies to benefit as sponsors of the event. In today's competitive business environment, companies need a marketing edge, a more economical way to reach customers — and event sponsorships offer this opportunity.

Staging a special event takes more than a dream or wish. It takes hundreds, sometimes thousands, of hours of preparation. Preparation is the key to any successful event. They do not just happen; they are well planned and coordinated.

But the best intentions and most thorough plans can go awry. That's why the best promoters/ managers surround themselves with teams of the most skilled advisors that they can assemble (both outside and inside the organization) for financial, marketing, operational, and legal matters. All of these parties will be called upon during every stage to scrutinize, carefully evaluate, and deal with a vast array of matters, from the site location to the method of ticketing, to the final wrap-up.

Together with his/her advisors as part of a team, the promoter/ manager must be a psychologist, prognosticator, and, most importantly, a business person who assures that the fiscal goals - along with the entertainment goals - of the event are achieved. For the person who has these talents - and uses them effectively - the management and promotion of special events can offer significant rewards.

The team must be able to evaluate the market, be able to project conditions months or years in advance, and project the outcome of the project. They must be able to deal with the average ticket buyer as well as the celebrities participating in the event. They must know the importance of sponsorship, what will make the event attractive to different kinds of sponsors, and be able to explain these attractions to reluctant sponsors who are unclear about them. They must know how to develop promotional tie-ins and what makes news for electronic and print media.

Communities and organizations large and small are aggressively pursuing special events of all kinds because they know the economic benefits implicit in them. And there is always room for one more successful event; one organized and run by people with the know-how to do the job efficiently and correctly.

2.1. Listen to the text "Understanding A Special Event Management".

2.2. Read and translate the text.

2.3. Find in the text English equivalents for the following words and phrases.

подразумеваемый, умение, средний, в среднем, финансовый, иметь дело с широким кругом вопросов/проблем, завершение/свёртывание мероприятия, правовые вопросы, предсказатель, настойчиво добиваться, внутри, тщательно исследовать, знаменитость, собирать, пойти неправильно/принять неожиданный оборот, приглашать все стороны высказаться, намерение, приносить пользу, консультант, гарантировать/обеспечивать, всегда есть место для, извлекать, выгоду, доскональные планы, находит рынок сбыта, на каждом последующем этапе, успешный, ключ, умелый/знающий, развлечение, существенное вознаграждение, оценивать, с целью сбора денежных средств, компаниям требуется маркетинговое обеспечение, привлекательный, планировать результат проекта, общество/объединение, окружать, в условиях существующей конкуренции

2.4. Answer the questions:

1. What is the range of special events today? 2. How do special events impact the community? 3. Do the special events bring profit to managers or to the companies -sponsors? 4. What is the key to any successful event? 5. Who helps the promoters/managers to solve financial, marketing, operational, and legal matters? 6. What talents must a promoter/manager possess to achieve the goal? 7. What must the team be able to do? 8. Why do communities and organizations pursue special events of all kinds?

2.5. Fill in the spaces with prepositions where it is necessary.

1. This book has called upon the experiences ... many promoters/managers and the advisors who helped make their special events possible. 2. It also tells ... the rise ... a phenomenon called cause-related marketing, a concept that enables a firm to use sponsorship ... an event, not only to become a good corporate citizen, but to further its sales and marketing efforts and justify its investment. 3. A good example ... this is Fuji Film, a relatively new name … the Unites States … the 1980s when it became an exclusive sponsor ... the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. 4. Fuji Film used its Olympic involvement to increase its distribution, enhance its image, and cut dramatically ... their competitors' positions. 5. Another example which we will look ... later ... this volume was the involvement ... a major airline as a sponsor ... the recent Stanford Centennial Celebration which attracted nearly 50,000 of the school's alumni and friends - primarily business people and, thus, the right audience ... the airline's message.

2.6. Translate the following into English.

1. Проводится много различных мероприятий – от Олимпийских Игр и

чемпионатов мира по гимнастике до международных выставок «Сокровища Тутан-хамона» ("Treasures of Tutankhamun") и конкурсов по приготовлению «Чили». 2. Такие события являются не просто спортивными соревнованиями или культурными мероприятия. 3. Они сплачивают общество, изменяют облик города, расширяют торговлю, стимулируют экономику и помогают компаниям найти рынок сбыта. 4. В условиях современной жесткой конкуренции для многих компаний спонсирование таких мероприятий является наиболее экономичным путем к потребителю. 5. Они приносят выгоду, как организаторам, так и спонсорам. 6. Чтобы проведение специального мероприятия было успешным, оно должно быть тщательно спланировано и скоординировано. 7. Необходимо привлекать знающих специалистов для решения финансовых, маркетинговых, оперативных и правовых вопросов.

2.7. Act out the conversation below.

- What should be done to avoid the whole project to go awry?

- While staging a special event the best managers would surround themselves with teams of skilled advisors for financial, marketing, operational, and legal matters.

- Will it be enough for the manager to have a proficient team to get success?

- Together with the advisors the manager must be a psychologist, prognosticator, and, most importantly, a business person who assures that the fiscal and entertainment goals of the event are achieved.

- What tasks does the team deal with?

- The team must be able to evaluate the market, be able to project conditions

months or years in advance, and plan the outcome of the project.

2.8. Give a talk on "Understanding A Special Event Management".

III. Supplementary Reading Text II

A NEW PAGE IN THE SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGEMENT

By Peter V. Ueberroth

The 1984 Olympic Games have been called a watershed in the management of special events. Before that, sponsors and organizers tended to see events of any size -from a community barbecue to a world-class sports competition - as a source of pride, not profit. Afterwards, people started realizing that these events could be financially sound as well.

I headed the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Committee for many reasons. First and foremost, it was a pleasure working with a talented team of people - including the authors of this book - who, all together, made the Games such a success. In addition, I wanted the multitude of corporate sponsors, team representatives, and community spokespersons to find the experience as worthwhile as I did, and to justify our sponsors' efforts in dollars and cents.

There's no reason why even the largest event has to run in the red. The kinds of financial difficulties experienced by world-class sporting events in the past need not be the shape of the future.

We can all be proud of what we accomplished on Los Angeles in 1984, but our success wasn't magic. It was pride of our city and country, good solid planning and common business sense.

During the 1990s special events will become a more and more significant means for sponsors and organizers to reach their target markets. These events have visibility and high impact. They can be a powerful way to zero in on specific market segments. The days are over when you can simply run a newspaper as or a TV commercial and hope you'll get a good return on your investment. Helping to plan an event can be one of the key experiences of a lifetime. You grow into them. You grow with them. You grow from them.

Participating in the preparations can, in fact, become the highlight of an entire career. I saw this often during the preparations for the Games of the XXIII^rd Olympiad. Some people on the team made decisions that had more impact than anything they had ever done before or would ever do again, in terms of their responsibility levels and involvement with community.

This wasn't just a matter of inner satisfaction, either - though it certainly was that as well. In some instances it became an outer transformation. One accountant I know got involved in the Olympics, became the head of their ticketing operation, and later became a worldwide consultant to special events. A young graduate student worked on the Olympics and ultimately became a nationally known expert on major events. A secretary assumed responsibility for coordinating public relations in community involvement.

In short, the personal and financial dimensions of planning special events aren't contradictory. You don't have to choose between personal satisfaction and financial payoff. Both are possible at the same time. You can succeed both at the finish line and the bottom line.

3.1. Read and translate the text in writing.

3.2. Answer the questions.

1. Who headed the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee? 2. Why have the 1984 Olympic Games been called a watershed in the sport management? 3. What reasons made Mr. Ueberroth to head the Olympic Organizing Committee? 4. Is it possible for world-class sporting events to be profitable? 5. Why was success of the Los Angeles Games not accidental? 6. Are the special events becoming a significant means for sponsors and organizers to reach their target markets? 7. How can participating in the preparations become the highlight of an entire career? 8. Is it possible for an individual to get both personal satisfaction and financial payoff at the same time while working for the Olympics?

3.3. Match the words /phrases from English and Russian columns.

3.4. Translate into English.

Олимпийские Игры 1984 года стали переломным моментом в менеджменте про-

ведения крупных соревнований. Много талантливых людей входили в Оргко-митет Игр. Это была благоприятная возможность для корпоративных спонсоров и представителей общественности претворить их усилия в доллары. Не существует причин, по которым проведение таких крупных мероприятий должно приносить убыток. Олимпиада в Лос-Анджелесе стала успешной благодаря тщательному планированию и деловой сметке. Крупные соревнования становятся мощным средством овладения целевым рынком. Участие в их подготовке и проведении может стать главным опытом всей жизни. Фактически это может стать вершиной карьеры. Короче говоря, личные и финансовые интересу при планировании и участии проведения таких мероприятий не находятся в противоречии.

3.4. Discuss the text in class.

IV. Text III

GETTING STARTED

Vision is vital to the success of any event of any size: it is a grand scheme of how the event will be perceived before, during, and after it takes place. It is a view of what the event should be – who will attend, what they will buy, what the financial goals are – and, in general, what it should hope to accomplish. The most important task for any manager is to create a reality from this vision. Webster defines a promoter as an “active supporter, and a finance and publicity organizer,” while he describes a manager as “one who is in charge of business affairs, of the training of a person or a group,” and someone who “has skill in managing.” A promoter/manager is, indeed, a rare breed, able to expect the unexpected and know how to handle it, because he or she knows that with special event Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong, will) is particularly true. A promoter is able to hurdle all obstacles in order to achieve the goals of predetermined visions.

Without such a vision, an organization will never be able to attract the larger event, since it is integral to the bid plan that you will have to submit to site selection committees or artist management so as to attract them to a proposition. Vision is just as important for the smaller event, for unless an organization is aware of its goals – for example, to raise money to send the local Little League team to the playoffs – the event will never get off the ground.

4.1. Listen to the text “Getting Started”.

4.2. Read and translate the text.

4.3. Find in the text English equivalents for the following.

видение/предвидение/дальновидность; неожиданный, в общем; вос-

приниматься; взгляд /точка зрения; тот, кому поручено, посещать; препятствие; неотъемлемый; достигать; цель; выполнять; задача; главная схема; жизненно важный; деловые вопросы; управляться /обходиться; «редкая порода» /уникум; общественная огласка /реклама; преодолевать; сторонник /приверженец; особенно; предоставлять на рассмотрение; участковый отборочный комитет; осознавать, тендерный план; описывать; создать реальность; мероприятие; никогда не сдвинется с места; умеющий; с тем, чтобы; предприятие /проект; сбор денег; предопределенный; до тех пор, пока не.

4.4. Answer the questions on the text.

1. What is vital to the success of any event of any size? 2. What does vision

mean? 3. What is the most important task for any manager here? 4. How does Webster define “a manager” and “a promoter”? 5. Why is a manager indeed a rare breed? 6. A promoter is able to hurdle all obstacles, isn’t he? 7. Without what will any organization never be able to attract the large event? 8. Why is vision important for the smaller event too?

4.5. Make the sentences negative.

1. Having correctly formulated policy statements will prove useful in dealing with all kinds of questions. 2. Policy statements provide the framework for the continued development of detailed operating, marketing, and financial plans for the event. 3. Once the event is securely scheduled, it is never too early to establish a policy statements framework. 4. Such a policy framework provides a tangible reflection of the underlying vision that has been developed for the event.

4.6. Translate the following into English.

Перспективное видение необходимо при проведении мероприятия любого

масштаба: необходимо учесть, кто посетит это мероприятие, что там будут покупать, каковы его финансовые задачи, чего оно должно достигнуть. Самой важной целью любого менеджера является претворить это видение в реальность. Менеджер должен быть готовым справиться с любыми неожиданностями и преодолеть любые препятствия. Без обладания перспективным видением невозможно проведение как крупного, так и мелкомасштабного мероприятия, так как организаторы должны хорошо осознавать стоящие перед ней цели.

4.7. Ask questions to the words/ phrases in italic.

1. The 1984 Summer Olympic Games were not only the most profitable in

history, but the smoothest running, thanks to the high level of technology used for communica-tions. 2. Every special event will make use of technology in one form or another. 3. With the rapid development of new, more powerful and compact electronics, there are many options available to support an event’s needs for communications, data processing, score-boards, sound, and lighting. 4. Technology has become integral to any special event. 5. The media expect timely results and reliable communications support. 6. Officials expect computer-aided timing and timely accurate results. 7. Spectators expect accurate ticketing information and quality sound and lighting, as well as informative and entertaining scoreboards at athletic events. 8. And, for very large events, the sheer volume of activity requires the use of sophisticated data processing and communications equipment.

4.8. Give a talk on the text “Getting Started”.

V. Listening comprehension text

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