Rio Carnival 4ps.ai - Brazil Festival Part 1 Ok.ru

The Rio Carnival is an elaborate celebration of the Brazilian culture and the joy of life. Since 1723, Rio Carnival has been celebrated at the weekend before the beginning of Lent. There are at least a 2 million people reveling on the streets every day during the carnival. With over 200 samba schools competing in the parades during the carnival, there is a push to be the best and flashiest.

Rio de Janeiro has long been regarded as the Carnival capital of the world. The Rio Carnival is not only the biggest Carnival, it is also a benchmark against which every other carnival is compared and one of the most interesting artistic events on the globe. Almost everyone has heard of Rio Carnival. Foreign visitors to it alone number around 500,000 every year. With the influx of visitors from all over the world hoping to be a part of this amazing festival, there is a desperate need for high-quality hotels and inns that will host guests. An opportunity of this calibre gives the Rio carnival an exceptional boost. With carnival parades, balls and street parties, and events at every turn, there is something for every.

One of the greatest elements of Rio Carnival is that it not only provides entertainment for many people around the world but it also gives a chance to learn about the true culture of Brazil. Carnival is very important to the Brazilians, it sums up their way of thinking and way of life.one in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

See more at: http://www.rio-carnival.net/#history

Using the above case study answer the following questions (your answers will form the main body of your report).

1. Explain how special events are defined and classified. Your definition should draw upon relevant core texts and examples.

2. Conduct a SWOT Analysis describing the scope and impact of marketing and events for the organising body of the Rio Carnival.

3. (a) Explain the role the marketing mix (4P’s) play in developing an event marketing strategyand how is this applied in the case of the Rio Carnival.

(b) Describe the marketing strategies and resources that the organisers of Rio Carnival would use in the event planning and implementation process using the sub-headings below;

(i) Creating their marketing strategy

• Segmentation
• Targeting and Positioning

(ii) Monitoring and Control

• Monitoring and evaluation and
• Risk management

Overview of Rio Carnival

Special events are carry important sources of entertainment as well as platforms for cultural education (Bowdin et al., 2011). One of the most popular special events is the Rio Carnival that is held on an annual basis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio Carnival is a ranked the leading cultural special event across the globe with regards to the number of local and foreign participants. Due to their importance and value, there is a need to market and effectively manage special events to ensure that they meet their goals and objects (Hede, 2008). This is because such special events require huge financial resources, equipment, and security personal to ensure their success. Marketing also ensures that target audience is provided with accurate information such as the date and the venue of the event. In line with these aspects, this paper is going to define and highlight the various classifications of special events, carry out a SWOT analysis of on the effect of marketing activities and as well as the functions of 4Ps special events using Rio Carnival as an example.

According to Bowdin et al. (2012), special events refer to specific performances, or celebrations that are held with the aim of achieving given goals and objectives of a given group. Special events are one-time events or events that do not take place frequently within the group that is involved, and they are meant to give the participants an experience that is different from the daily experiences. Based on this definition, there are several types of special events as described below:

Mega-events: These are large events that are developed in a competitive bidding and that have an impact on the global economy. They include events such as the Football World Cup, IAAF world championship, and the Olympic games (Preston, 2012).

Hallmark events: Are those that are tightly linked to the ethos and the spirits of a particular region to the extent that the name of the event gets to be synonymous with the name of the region, for example, Oktoberfest in Munich, Rio Carnival, and Tour de France in Paris.

Major events: They are relatively larger in scale and attract many visitors, media attention and have significant positive impact on the economy of the involved city, for example, the Cowes Week.

1. Rio Carnival is a globally known event, and therefore, the organizing body of Rio Carnival can reach audiences from across the world.
2. A larger percentage of Brazilians take part in the carnival; hence, the process of marketing is easy.
3. The carnival has a positive economic impact in the country, therefore, its organizers find it easy to market it.

1. The even focuses purely on Brazilian culture, and hence, it is not inclusive of global cultures.
2. The event lacks sufficient financial support from the Brazilian government.

1. More visitors from across the globe are embracing and attending the Rio Carnival, therefore, the organizing body has a large and a ready market even outside Brazil.

1. A large percentage of Brazilian population are losing interest in the carnival, and hence, reducing the influence of the event in Brazil.
2. The Rio carnival is being overtaken by other mega sporting events in Brazil and across the world, and so the organizing body needs to work harder to maintain its popularity.

The role the marketing mix (4P’s) play in developing an event marketing strategy and how is this applied in the case of the Rio Carnival

Classifications of Special Events

According to Obhrai (2015), a marketing mix refers to the product, price, promotion, and place commonly referred to as the 4Ps. The utilization of a marketing mix is instrumental in a successful venture of any business. A marketing mix is also vital for the success of special events because it helps in the development of an effective marketing strategy as discussed below.

A marketing mix should have a product, which is the object or service that is presented to the consumers (Preston, 2012). The organization involved needs to design and present the product in a manner that is attractive to the target audience. In this case, the product that is offered is the event that the involved organization is planning to hold. Therefore, in the development of an effective marketing strategy, the even should be designed to attract the target consumers to persuade them to attend the event in large numbers (Mahajan & Mahajan, 2015). The organizers of Rio Carnival apply this strategy by taking into consideration that ancillary activities before the event to attract visitors, for example, holding pre-event parties to give people a taste of the major event.

This is the cost at which the product is offered. To determine process such as entrance fee, the organizing body should know all the expenses involved to charge a fee that will cover the cost and generate some profit (Lancaster & Withey, 2007). The organizers of Rio Carnival apply this by developing a comprehensive budget that includes adverts, promotions, rental costs, insurance, licenses, etc., to ensure that they settle on prices that will cover the cost and bring profits.

This refers to the methods of making the product popular. The promotion of events takes place over both the print, electronic and new media (Piercy & Evans, 2015). The organizers of Rio Carnival apply for promotion by advertising the event over various media platforms. The event is advertised on radio, televisions and social media platforms such as twitter, facebook, and you tube.

This refers to the location where the product is made available. I help the organizers of an event to identify the geographical location that best suits the event (Ritcher, 2012,). Location as a marketing mix is applied by the organizers of the Rio carnival event in choosing the most appropriate location for the carnival. This has led the selection of Rio de Janeiro as the location (place) because it is a large and a populous city.

Importance of 4Ps in Event Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategies and resources that the organizers of Rio Carnival would use in the event planning and implementation process using the sub-headings below;

• Creating their marketing strategy
• Segmentation

Segmentation means to group the prospective markets in sections based on the demographic characteristics of the consumers, for example, age, gender, the level of income or education level (Bowman & Gatigton, 2010). The Rio carnival is a cultural event, and it touches on the lives of all Brazilians, therefore, it should include consumers from all the demographics. The resources that can be used in segmentation process by organizers of Rio carnival include a skilled research team to carry out in-depth research on the various market segments.

• Targeting and Positioning

The most appropriate market segment for the organizers of Rio carnival to serve is both male and female consumers aged between 15 years to 35 years. These are the largest composers of the Brazilian population, and hence they are the ones who needs to learn more about the culture of Brazil. Since this is a hallmark cultural event, the team should use an undifferentiated segmentation where all consumers are treated the same (Glastonbury Festival, 2014). The product should be positioned as a cultural informative event that aims at educating the participants regarding the culture of Brazil.

• Monitoring and Control
• Monitoring and evaluation and

To monitor and evaluate the performance of Rio Carnival, the organizing team should develop both short and long term goals to achieve at the end of the event (Shang-Chun, et al., 2011). The team can monitor the event based on the trend in the number of visitors who attend it. The aim of every event should be to record an increase in the number of visitors. The even can also be evaluated based on the economic impact that the event brings to Rio de Janeiro. At the end of the carnival event, the performance of the event can also be evaluated on satisfaction levels that it had on the participants (Leonardsen, 2007).

•    Risk management

The organizers of Rio Carnival can use several strategies to manage the risks during the event. These strategies include:

Risk elimination: the total control of all risk factors of an undesirable outcome during the event.

Risk reduction: the minimization of risk factors to tolerable levels, and this entails the use of security measures such as the police and surveillance instruments (Aubert, et al., 2007).

Transfer of risk: The transfer of the burden of risk to a third party. This includes the use of third parties like insurance companies.

Conclusion

In summary, special events are aimed at celebrating the culture of a given community or organization. There are several categories of special events, for example, Hallmark and mega events. Rio Carnival is an important hallmark event in Brazil. It has significant positive economic impacts, and it is also a platform for both the locals and visitors to learn the culture of Brazil. 4Ps play a vital role in the marketing of special events. This is because it enables the involved business organization to reach its target market through effective communication strategies and platforms. Segmentation, targeting, and position help event organizers to achieve their goals and objective. Event organizers also plan and manage risks factors, and they also monitor and evaluate the events to ensure that they are successful.

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