Unavailable Market

The Singapore Arts Festival was a fun-filled and entertaining event as a whole and was able to attract a number of visitors each day, especially more on the weekend. With it's accessibility, many families and couples who were passing by were enticed to drop by and have a look at the various activities going on simultaneously. The Flea Market also harnessed attention for its unique products sold and it also showcased the many talents in art that were yet to be discovered.

It was observed that the main target market of the Singapore Arts Festival were mostly families with kids as well as the tourists. However, I feel that they have tried to attract the teenagers and young adults too with the Flea Market that was help under the bridge on the way to SAF, as well as the Bridge Café Project that would garner attention amongst teenagers. However, I feel that this is not enough as the promotion for the SAF to teenagers and students to take notice as even though I knew of the event, my stereptypical thinking would be that the event would only have classical music playing and cultural dances like ballet. But after attending the event, I realised that not only were there pop songs playing like Lady Gaga and Jessie J, there were also hip hop dances being showcased at the main stage. Hence I feel that to attract the teenagers, the SAF promotion team would have to further advertise the performances the teenagers would be more interested in.

However, there are still potential market segments left untapped and with the right strategies and improvements to the Festival, it could be able to broaden its target market and increase greater awareness amongst the general public. One example of an unavailable market would be the elderly. The activities were not suited for the old aged and were more suitable for the children. Therefore I felt that they should improve their facilities and programs to further cater to the needs and wants of the elderly.

For example, they could have nostalgic activities and performances like black and white traditional films shown during their era or having traditional themed cafes and dances to lure them to the event. Not only so, there could be wheelchair amenities to cater to the elderly that have difficulty in mobility, which would increase the number of elderly attending the event. Also, there should be signboards and posters in the other 3 languages, not only English as most elderly may not be able to understand English.

http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/events?d

Difference from SAF 2011 to SAF 2012

Singapore Arts Festival 2011 had the theme of “I Want to Remember”. Unfortunately for me, I did not have the chance to attend the previous Arts Festival; therefore I do not have the first-hand experience of how different it was from this year’s Singapore Arts Festival. Hence, my comparison analysis would only be a superficial view from the research done.

Singapore Arts Festival 2011 and 2012 were both held at Esplanade Park, even though the performance stage was set up in a different manner. SAF 2011 had an outdoor theatre as the main stage, which was built from scratch, while SAF 2012 made use of the sand pit area as a stage by having containers as a backdrop for screenings of videos.

Of course, the performances and theatrical acts are vastly different, other than the Kid’s Arts Village remaining a regular programme in the event, even though the activities were different,

Even with the changes from  the previous year, the main objective of the festival has remained constant, with the goal of bring arts and people together as a whole and developing as well as showcasing the local arts of Singapore.

SAF 2011:

http://www.timeoutsingapore.com/aroundtown/festivals/singapore-arts-festival-2011-i-want-to-remember

http://superadrianme.com/2011/05/13/singapore-arts-festival-2011-kicks-off-13-may-till-5-june-2011/

Event Marketing Mix

The marketing of events is the process of employing the marketing mix to attain organisational goals through creating value for customers and other stakeholders. The organisation must adopt a marketing orientation which stresses the building of mutually beneficial relationships and the maintenance of competitive advantages. The market mix is divided into the 8P’s of marketing events, namely; Product, Place, Partnerships, Promotion, Programming, People, Packaging and Distribution as well as Price.

·        Product:

A product is anything that can be offered to a market fir attention, acquisition, use or consumption that would satisfy a need or want.

There are 3 level products namely, core, facilitating and augmented.

The core product is about what the consumer is really buying and is usually intangible, whereby it cannot be touched or seen, and highly subjective. It is the main benefits the buyer identifies as a personal need that will be met by the product. At the Singapore Arts Festival, consumers are buying the experience of the arts and the atmosphere.

The facilitating product is the goods and services that must be present for the consumers to use the core product, which would be the performances and plays put up just for the Singapore Arts Festival. Also the various activities like Tangle is a facilitating product,  that helps to shape the core product.

The augmented product is determined by how the product and service is being delivered to the consumer and is the total product bundle that should solve all customers’ problems. For Singapore Arts Festivals would be the customer services booth as well as the easy accessibility from the City to the Esplanade Park.

·        Place:

The place mainly consists of the physical place and hoe it is created through design and programming. This would be the Esplanade Park, and how they decorated the place with booths as well as containers and bright lights. The park was morphed from a small park to a place filled with lively music and a buzz of activity.

The place also means the distribution of event products and how they are sold to the customers. Tickets for the theatre plays in Esplanade were being sold at SISTIC, whilst the Singapore Arts Festival was a free admission.

·        Promotion – Communication:

Promotion refers to the full range of communication mix , which includes advertising, public relations and sales promotions. The communication mix requires on-going management and relationship building.

Singapore Arts Festival app

Advertising consists of 2 types, ‘below-the-‘line’ and ‘above –the-line’; namely word of mouth, brochures and flyers to advertisements, magazines and making use of the media to garner attention.

Singapore Arts Festival has used the promotional mix to create attention for the event, with posters at MRT stations, posters everywhere near town and also articles published in The Straits’ Times Not only so, SAF has encouraged visitor participation in the event by releasing an application, allowing guests to be able to redeem gifts like t-shirts, and lanyards etc.

·        People:

One of the lively mascots wandering around Singapore Arts Fesrival

The people also shapes the experience of the consumer’s enjoyment as interactions and setting between customers and staff constitutes a large part of the event experience. The hospitality received by the visitors directly shapes the experience of each individual consumer and at the Singapore Arts Festivals, the staffs was friendly and helpful, not only at the customer services booth but also the staff in the mascot costumes roaming around, entertaining the guests. The Bridge Café Project staffs were also very friendly and would engage the audience in the performance by urging them to join in as well

Reflection of the Event

Pre-Visit Reflection:

What my expectations were from the Singapore Arts Festival was it would be a fun and inspiring event, not only for the markets interested in arts but also for the kids to have a hands-on interaction on what art is about.

This would provoke a sense of passion for the arts amongst the children and be able to maximise the potential of the children’s creativity, not only in art but also in terms of their imaginative thinking.

Dream Country - A Lost Monologue rehearsal.

Also, when I did some research on the Singapore Arts Festival through their website, it mentioned a number of performances that would be showcased, for example the Flux; which is a Centaur performance, filled with excitement and fantasy elements. I think that this event is unique in a sense such that it showcases a fantasy creature that people only read about in books and watch in movies. But SAF has given them the possibility of seeing it in reality, hence giving the visitors an experience of being thrown into the mystical realm where centaurs are real and fairies do exist.

Another interesting performance would be the “Dream Country – A Lost Monologue” , which showcases a monologue, depicting the images of birth, death and the reality of life. The performers are women ranging from 17 to 58 years old, so I think that this act would show the power of women in the modern day society, no matter the age and how they have evolved from a homemaker in the past to a powerful image in the present, not only at home but also in the workforce.

Flux: http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/event/flux/

Dream Country: http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/event/dream-country-a-lost-monologue/

Post-Visit Reflection:

After a visit to the Singapore Arts Festival itself, I felt that it was successful in terms of portraying the quirks of the arts and creating awareness of the arts and culture in Singapore. As a volunteer in the Kid’s Art Villages’ “Spooky Stories by Children, I thought overall, it was successful as the storytellers were able to craft out the spooky atmosphere with their stories and most of them had make-up done so it further enhanced the experience.

Children doing arts and craft with their parents at the Kids Arts Village

Not only so, they also tried to incorporate environmental practices into the arts by having a “Fest Goes Green” whereby kids and adults are able to create tote bags from the t-shirts of the Singapore Arts Festival. This is a good strategy in drilling the importance of “going green” in the children at a young age.

"Fest Goes Green"

However, I felt that the event had its flaws too. Throughout the Spooky Stories by the Children, some of the audience members felt that the distance between each location was a little far and the weather was not helping the situation. Not only so, with the consistent human traffic flow, there was a little difficulty for the storytellers to concentrate and had to raise their voice a lot more to be heard.

Festival Guides for Spooky Stories by the River

All in all, I thought that this event was successful in terms of visitor numbers because by evening, the amount of people increased tremendously and the commotion was built up by the performances and mascots wandering around. If given the chance, I would still attend the next Singapore Art’s Festival in 2014 and once again experience the magical atmosphere of the event.

Facilities and Programs

                1. Kids Art Village

The Kids Art Village was built in mind of allowing the children to enjoy art and play at the same time, not only for them, but also from everyone in the family, from the child to the grandparents. The Kids Art Village is a production created by the collaboration of schools in Singapore and community groups.

The Kids Arts Village is the main attraction for the buzz in the Festival Village, with its highly interactive activities and programmes spotlighting the talented and spontaneous adolescents of Singapore. With the panel of 10 to 12 year old curators, it is bound to capture the young hearts of both young and old and pique the curiosity of all, as it did for me.

Tangle! by the Rainbow Canopy

The main committee responsible for the idea of the Kids Arts Village is the Kids Advisory Panel 2011/2012, consisting of a team of seven under 12 years old. They were specially selected from SAF 2011 and went through arts appreciation sessions so as to have a further in-depth of the event and conceptualise the concept form Kids Arts Village 2012.

Some of the activites and programs at the Kids Art Village proposed by the Kids Advisory Panel were Spooky Stories by Children, Tangle, UV Art, Fest Goes Green and The Young One! Performance.

Kids Art Village: http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/2012-festival/kids-arts-village/

              2.  Festival Village

The Festival Village is where all the main performances are shown and it provides a liberating space for each individual to express their interest in arts and culture. It is open from day to night, everyday, so as to cater to the needs of the consumers and involve them in the event, no matter what time of the day they have the inspiration.

Performance by Guitar Ensemble at Main Stage

With music accompaniment, from jazz to pop and acapella to classical music, you are bound to have the time of your life. Not only that, add in a remix of deejays and hip hop dance groups and you’ll be begging for more when it ends. The festival offers more than you could hope for, with the festival village having a long list of programmes that are a must.  

There’s not only activities but also cafes and bistros to quench the thirst or satisfy the hunger of each individual after a long day at the Festival Village, offering F&B outlets such as Cold Stone Creamery and Tully’s Coffee. Even when enjoying a cup of coffee or having an ice cream café, art is all round with the Bridge Café Project.

Festival Village: http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/2012-festival/festival-village/

Background of Singapore Arts Festival

How did the Singapore Arts Festival Originate? 

The Singapore Arts Festival originated in 1977 with the purpose of showcasing the various racial communities’ art as well as culture in Singapore and has lasted for 3 decades in total. The festival is organised annually by the National Arts Council (NCA) and it has played a huge role in the development of the arts and culture lifestyle in Singapore. From a magnificent city landscape of skyscrapers and prestigious hotels at the Central Business District area, it has been transformed to an area alive with the buzz of the audience and the appreciation of the local arts with the creation of the Singapore Arts Festival.

After a 10-year hiatus, the Singapore Arts Festival came back in all it’s glory in 2010, with a new phase of development under the management of Low Kee Hong, and changes from a platform for the arts to be showcased and re-introduced to a festival created by the people, just for the people to participate and interact. The Singapore Arts Festival has morphed to become a showcasing platform for local arts of Asia and contemporary art.

Background: http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/about-singapore-arts-festival/