The event I will be reflecting on would be BeerFest Asia 2012. Providing a brief background description of this event, it was held over a period of 4 days from 7th to 10th June, located at Marina Promenade which is near the Singapore Flyer and also where the F1 track is found. Organized by Timbre Group, this is the fourth time that this event is held and over more than 300 different types of beer was featured from all over the world, where many of which are not commonly seen or found in Singapore.
Characteristics of Event
I would categorize BeerFest as a hallmark event because as mentioned
earlier, it has been held over a period of time for recurring years, and thus
it possesses significance of tradition, quality and authenticity.
Beer lovers will look over to calendar of events in Singapore and
identify the dates of BeerFest so that they can continue to participate in this
hallmark event yearly. It has attracted a significant number of up to 30,000
visitors and I believed that the crucial success factor of this event is the
provision of beers internationally, where participants can get to taste
different types of beers worldwide which mark their uniqueness of the event.
During the trip to this event, I have also discovered that there are more
foreigners than locals. This could be due to heavy publicity of event in other
countries. In addition, since it has been held previously and has attracted a
significant number of visitors both locally and internationally, it serves as a
statement of quality and authenticity and thus, is able to create interest to
the general public and attract others to participate in this event too. Over
time, this can also provide Singapore with competitive advantage and reap
economic benefits through the uniqueness of this event.
Objective and purpose of the events
The objective of this event is to provide entertainment for its
participants, and mainly through the use of beverages-beer, the main highlight of
this event. In addition, it also serves as an opportunity for F&B(Food and
Berverage) decision makers in the trade to try out different array of beer
products available and expand their market.
At the same time, it can be easily observed through the event that
participants come together for a common purpose, to have fun and to taste
different types of beers. Thus, the purpose of the event is to be held for beer
lovers and providing business opportunities for interested f&b parties.
Featuring over 300 types of beer worldwide, BeerFest has definitely met
its objective as it caters to its participants a wide array of beer products
available during this event.
Date of Event
BeerFest is held during 7th to 10th June 2012, 1 of which falls on a weekday whilst the rest on the weekends. By organizing part of the event to fall during the weekend, it can attract more participants as most of them are working adults both internationally and locally, and thus they can come together in groups and enjoy beer fest together.
Date of Event
BeerFest is held during 7th to 10th June 2012, 1 of which falls on a weekday whilst the rest on the weekends. By organizing part of the event to fall during the weekend, it can attract more participants as most of them are working adults both internationally and locally, and thus they can come together in groups and enjoy beer fest together.
Target Market
The target market of this event is mainly beer lovers, age ranging from
18 and above to working adults, mainly male audiences. In addition, it also
targeted at f&b corporate holdings where they can get to taste different
beer products available and bring them into the market trade. Besides that,
BeerFest also accepted corporate bookings where it can be served as a bonding
session between companies and their workers.
The environment and venue
The venue of BeerFest is located at Marina Promenade, just behind at
Singapore Flyer and is stipulated at F1 race track. However, limited
parking is available at the F1 Pit Building or at the Singapore Flyer, due to
the location near Central Business District (CBD) area, and thus, vehicles have
to be parked further away from the event. This would result in inconvenience of
the drivers as they would still need to experience walking distance to the site
of event.
Through my
observations, there are also hotels around the site of event
which includes Conrad Centennial Singapore, Mandarin Oriental and Marina
Mandarin, where was a stone’s throw away from the event, which spells
convenience and easier accessibility. In
addition, since it is located at the back of Singapore Flyer, tourists would
get to see an overlooking of Singapore Flyer and thus, it would lightened up
the ambience and tourist would be more attracted by the surroundings.
There were also indoor and outdoor tents, where I personally feel that
indoor tents were rather stuffy and warm although there were cooling fans
provided as you walk your way through different beer booths. However, at the
“common area” that everyone was gathering at, it would be rather warm and
stuffy as there is insufficient air ventilation around.
Probably the organizers of the event have improved the amenities of the
event, toilets are easily accessible and minimal waiting time is required. This
is extremely commendable since this is a BeerFest and the main activity of the
event is to drink, thus, it is extremely important that there are sufficient
toilets and are easily accessible so
that participants can answer nature’s calls without much waiting time or even
the hassle of finding toilets.
Programming
Based on my observation, I have discovered that BeerFest has aligned day
to day activities from the start to the end of the event. It has provided its
audiences with performances from live bands, comedians, and also opportunities
for interaction with participants such as lucky draw and photography contest.
Performances from live bands were also from different mix of music,
ranging from famous bands such as 53a, and also featuring our very own local
bands to promote significance of authenticity.
Lucky draws would be held every night with attractive prizes like
overseas trips and other beer collectibles, where participants are required to
drop their names in the lucky draw boxes available in the event
As for photography contest, participants with the best photo of the day
would win the competition and the photo would be flashed over the screens on
both stages.
I believed that one major success factor of the event is to be able to
keep your participants entertained throughout the event and BeerFest has done a
good job by providing constant entertainment to its audiences throughout the
duration of the event.
Manpower allocation
There were also “beer girls” standing around the booths offering to try different types of beers that they were promoting. Booths were all tended and it can be seen that participants can easily go up to any of the booths for simple beer tasting or even purchases of beer.
In addition, there were also cleaners around to constantly pick up the
leftovers by the participants such as food, empty cups and other rubbish. The
place was maintained rather efficiently, as most rubbish were cleared and only
a few being seen lying around the ground.
Logistics
I find that the logistics of the event was well-executed because there
were no signs of shortage of space allocations, food or even beers. Everyone
can be seen moving freely around instead of squeezing their way through the
crowd. Although the event was extremely crowded, yet however, my friend and I
still managed to get ourselves seats at the long table located at the “common
area.” In addition, to ensure that indoor tents will not be filled with
cigarette smoke, they have also provided an outdoor tent for smokers to relax
and enjoy themselves too.
Wrist tag tickets were also given to participants of BeerFest to identify
the participants easier if they were to come back for the event during the
later part of the day again.
Products and services
As a participant of the event, you would receive a complimentary drink of
your choice from any beer booth in the event. Also, beers were being sold at a
much cheaper price and in cups, so that it can be consumed easily by each
participant and also providing them the opportunities to try out other types of
beer products available in this event.
Not forgetting the wide array of beers provided during this event, each
branding of beer was giving a booth so that they can focus on introducing and
explaining the uniqueness of their beers to customers. I felt that it was
rather organized because most of the customers were being attended to and none
was left out. Also, the staff would also patiently give recommendations to
beers of your preferences. By doing so, it has strongly reflected a high level
of customer service provided during the event despite the bustling crowd. In
addition, as a VIP of this event, they will receive a complimentary BeerFest
shirt which they can exchange it at the entrance of the event.
There is also catering of food at the event, which allows participants to
fill their tummies as they drink to their hearts’ content with light snacks
that goes well together with their drinks, such as nachos, calamari rings, and
fries etc.
Maximizing the strengths and minimize (or overcome) the weaknesses
I believed that is extremely crucial to have sufficient air ventilation
in the tent, especially the indoor tent where most of the crowd would linger
around at- the “common area” where it is located right in the front of the
stage. They could consider placing more fans around, to ensure more air
ventilation around the area so that it is less stuffy.
In addition, although there are staff who are outside the site of event
providing directions for the participants, I personally would feel that more
signage can be put up. Since there would be participants travelling via public
transport, the organizers of the event can consider placing more signage around
MRT stations, to roads and thus, participants and find their way better at
crossroads of Marina Promenade.
Besides that, I believed that they can improve the cleanliness of the
place by placing more rubbish bins around so that participants who finished
consuming their drinks can easily reach out and throw them into the bins. This
would not only lessen the load of the cleaners but also speed up the
cleanliness of the place as a whole.
I have observed that complimentary BeerFest apparel is only provided to
VIP ticket holders and non-VIP ticket holders would have to purchase them.
Personally I feel that it would be more exclusive if ALL participants of the
event can receive the shirt as it signifies that they have participated in the
event and thus, making it more meaningful.
Discuss some
future challenges that need to be addressed
The possible
future challenges that need to be addressed could be increase of participants
over the years which might affect the location of the event as it may not be
able to contain an increasing amount of participants.
Organizers may
have to source for new locations which can cater to this event, taking into
considerations of several factors such as accessibility, venue, parking, and
various attractions around the area which can help to boost the attractiveness
of this event.
In addition,
should they expand the beer market by introducing a wider array of beer
products, they should also consider other methods to market them and allowing
beer lovers to have the opportunities to taste them and not just a few selected
options of beer.
Discuss how
blog tool can be used to market the event.
Through my observations, I have realized that BeerFest have focused on
several social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to publicize their
events. True enough, they can be powerful tools to reach out to a large group
of audiences be it locally or internationally since it is one of the easiest
and fastest forms of advertisement. However, through the use of blog tools, it
allows participants to pen down different highlights of the events that they
feel individually. It can be served as a “review” of the event and thus,
through these first-hand reviews, it can attract interested parties to take
part in BeerFest in near future as they are being fed with experiential reviews
by others.
In addition, through the use of blog tool, organizers of the event are also
able to elaborate the major highlights of the events better. For example, they
are able to give different background information of beers that will be
showcasing during the event. This would allow beer lovers to have a deeper
understanding of the beer and how it is being brewed and thus, knowledge would
also be acquired during this event besides tasting of beer.
Overall I felt that the event was rather engaging and was definitely an
eye-opener for me. With the wide array of beers coming together from all over
the world, I believed that it can definitely attract more beer lovers and even
investors coming together year after year. The success of this event could also
yield high economic and tourism benefits to Singapore as a whole as it markets
internationally too.
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