Singapore Writers Festival

The Hotel that I have chosen to represent is Concorde Hotel Singapore. Concorde Hotel Singapore is an internationally renowned business class hotel in Singapore, with rooms and facilities dedicated to meeting the needs of both business and leisure travellers. It is equipped with modern amenities and impeccable service to provide for large-scale events and seminars.

Concorde Hotel Singapore's main event marketing strategy is through the use of media resources and online social networks. Concorde Hotel Singapore has its own webpage with the latest news and updates on the promotions and events that the hotel has. It also has a section on media releases, which showcases some of the events that the hotel takes part in.

For example:

Concorde Hotel Singapore also makes use of online social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to promote the events they have to create awareness on the activities that they do, so as to attract more visitors and guests to go to their hotel through these events.

Twitter:

Facebook:

Promoting events through Facebook:

Singapore Writer's Festival

The Singapore's Writers' Festival, held from 2nd to 11th November 2012, is one of Asia's premier literary events, featuring the world's major literary talent. It is also one of the few events that is multi-lingual, celebrating literary works in the four official languages of Singapore, English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. The Singapore Writer's Festival is organised by the Singapore Arts Council to bring together world-renowned authors and Asia's rising literary stars, in hopes of developing Singapore into an Asian literary hub.

This year's theme for the festival was 'Origins', celebrating the originality of literary works and the beginning of time, language, story, and of "our" identities - a subject favoured by most Singaporean authors in an attempt to define their own identity. Thus, many of the activities and events held during the festival centred mainly around storytelling, biographies and historical fiction, and the source of creative inspiration. With a long line-up of special guests and internationally acclaimed authors, both from within Asia and the West, hundreds of discussions and talks were held to promote books and the understanding of the theme "Origins" and the many different views on different topics, attracting a huge turn-out of participants during the festival.When I attended the event at SMU, I was surprised by the turn-out rate as there was quite a big crowd attending the talks and discussions, despite the fact that it was a Friday night and many students had just ended school for the week.

The main aim of the Singapore Writer's Festival is to "promote the world's major literary talents, Singaporean authors and emerging Asian writing and writers to an international audience", as quoted by the festival director, Mr Paul Tan. The festival's main target market was book readers and literature enthusiasts. However, they also aimed to attract those who were interested in Arts, especially the younger generation of Singapore as they are more educated and would have a higher likelihood of appreciated literature and arts better. 

It was reported in the Straits Times that there were 15 per cent more passes sold during this year's event compared to last year, increasing the attendance to a total of 16,200 people attending ticketed and free events. Last year, the attendance figure was 13,500. The success of the festival can be attributed to the proper planning and usage of marketing strategies. Thus, by observing the 8Ps of the marketing mix, we can evaluate how effective these components have contributed to the success of the festival.

1. Product
   Product refers to the various components that make up the festival itself and how it has satisfied the needs and wants of the consumers. During this festival, plenty of events and activities were held, consisting of various genres and languages which in turn, caters to the many different types of readers in Singapore.
   
   First of all, there were events held in the four different official languages of Singapore, catering to the different races in our country. Such events include:
   -"A is for Alpha", a gathering of young Malay writers who share their journeys of creating novels and poems.
   - “Off the Page: Literary Appreciation with Chi Li”, a Chinese literary conference with a popular Chinese literature writer.
   This method has helped the Singapore Writers Festival to attract more people to the events and activities as Singaporeans who do not speak English can still find literary events for them to join in and understand, participating in the festival as well.
   
   Secondly, there were literary works of different genres being released and promoted during the festival, accompanied with panel discussions and talks. Almost every area of the literary spectrum was covered during the festival by the various types of events held. The discussions and talks were also conducted by authors from different regions of the world, and were mostly open to the public to help facilitate the understanding of the books, literature and authors themselves, as well as allowed many readers have a close-up interaction with their favourite authors. From this, we can see that this year's Singapore Writers' Festival has planned a bountiful of events and activities suitable to the needs of the different types of readers, as well as catering to both book-lovers and those who are new to appreciating literature. Thus, not only has the event attracted more visitors, it has also created awareness on literature and the arts scene in Singapore to many Singaporeans.
   
   Release of brand new books by Deepika Shetty & Zafar Anjum, talk held in Tamil.

One of the English Panel Discussions.

'Origins of Desire' discussion on Pleasure as Power- Sex the Most Powerful Metaphor. 

(Photo credits for the above three: SWF @ Favebook )

2. Pricing
   Shown below is the ticketing guide for the Singapore Writers Festival.
   Free Events: Free
   Festival Pass: $15, for all 10 days - ( includes all panel discussions, meet-the-authorand in conversation with sessions, fringe and ream to reel events. )
   Publishing Symposium: $20/Panel ; $60/Day ; $100/2 Days
   The SWF Lectures: $10/$20
   Literary Meals: $20-$80
   Literary Cocktails: $25
   Workshops: $15/1.5 Hours ; $20/2 Hours ; $30/3 Hours
   
   Most of the events at the SWF were mostly either free or required the festival pass. Based on the prices of these two, it is considered inexpensive and possibly cheap as anyone from the public could attend the events at less than $1.50 per event or at no cost at all. This made the event more welcoming and attractive, especially for those who are not book or literature enthusiasts but would love to find out more about these. As for the cost of the remaining five activities, I would consider them as pretty reasonable. Most people who would participate in the five activities would be people who are more familiar with books and the literature world and would require greater interest in order to join these events. Hence, these people would not mind paying slightly more for these activities as we have events that could cost as high as up to $80. However, considering the fact that many of these events involves bringing in internationally-renowned authors from all over the world as well as the different materials being brought in, the money spent on these events by people who wished to join them were seen as of worth as they could gain something out of it. In addition, there were different pricing packages for the more expensive activities such as the Publishing Symposium and Workshops, which gave visitors a wider option of paying only for what they would want to attend, and giving a slightly cheaper price if they chose the option of attending more events. The main pricing strategy used here would be value-based pricing, which is pricing based on customers’ perceptions.
   
   In addition, concessions and discounts were applicable to NSFs, students, senior citizens and PAssion Card members. This promotional method made the festival itself seemed like it belonged to a friendly and caring organisation under the government, with concessions and discounts put in consideration for those who might not be able to afford it.
3. Place
   The events during the SWF were located in 7 different locations within the Dhoby Ghaut/ Bras Basah/ Bugis vicinity. These locations consisted of the National Library Board, National Museum of Singapore, Peranakan Museum, School of the Arts, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Management University and Switch by Timbre. We can see from here that the SWF organiser had strategically located events near museums, the main library in Singapore as well as one of the biggest universities in Singapore, where the SWF's main target market can usually be found at. These makes it easier to promote the event as people who would be interested in attending the events frequent these locations, and it is also an added convenience for them. In addition, these areas are situated within walking distances from three MRT Stations, making it very convenient for visitors to get to these events.
   
   

( Taken from the SWF webpage ) 

4. Promotion
   The main promotional methods used by the Singapore Writers Festival was through the use of Media releases and online Social Networks. For example, there were many press releases and news articles relating to events at the festival itself.
   
   (Click on the photos to go to the article.)
   
   
   In addition to these media releases, SWF also has their own webpage, http://www.singaporewritersfestival.com, where a lot of information about the various events, ticketing guide and locations have been posted for interested visitors to visit. as well as their own Facebook page and Twitter page which has been used to provide updates and the latest news on the festival.
   
   The Singapore Writers Festival has also place all sorts of banners and innovative lighted boxes around the location of its events. These materials used to promote the event are very eye-catching, especially at night when they are all lighted up, thus brightening the event area and attracting curious passer-bys.
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
5. Partnership
   For the Singapore Writers Festivals, the main organiser was the National Arts Council Singapore. Partnering with them were many other organisations and companies. The major sponsor of the festival was the Lee Foundation, a charitable organisation created to aid the advancement of education, medicine and cultural activities and has made notable contributions to various educational institutes. In 2002, the Foundation and the Old Rafflesians' Association launched and funded the Lee Tzu Pheng Poetry Award, awarded to aspiring young poets in secondary schools and junior colleges.
   
   Venue and programme partnerships include the Singapore Arts Musuem, National Museum of Singapore, Peranakan Museum, National Library Board, Switch by Timbre, The Arts House and SMU. These sponsors have helped to contribute a venue for the different events that were held during the festival, as well as took part in organizing activities related to the festival.
   
   The festival's official e-Bookstore, ilovebooks.com, has also contributed by providing an event space as well as vouchers to be won by participants for the 'The Noblest of Occupations' panel as a method of attracting more locals to the festival. Also, the festivals official cafe and caterer, The Connoisseur Concerto, has partnered with the National Arts Council to organize the event 'Coffee Reads' whereby participants attend workshops with free coffee provided by TCC.
   
   
6. People
   People in the event marketing mix refers to the people involved in allowing the festival to take place. Firstly, there is the organising committee from the National Arts Council Singapore, who are all dedicated in promoting the literature and arts scene in Singapore. The organising committee comprised of four departments namely, programming, site and logistics, marketing and product development, and outreach and education. Proper distribution of reponisbilities and work has attributed to the effective and efficient operation of the festival, allowing the events to carry out smoothly.  Secondly, the contribution and dedication of many local writers and internationally acclaimed authors have helped to make this festival as eventful and attractive as it has turned out. These writers include Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Cunningham from the US, children's writer and illustrator Jimmy Liao from Taiwan and socio-political commentator Marina Mahathir from Malaysia. Singapore's former president, Mr S R Nathan, was also present at one of the events, 'Meet the Author session' where he talked about the biography he wrote and the complex process of shaping a life story.
   
   
7. Packaging & Distribution
   "Packaging & Distribution" mainly involves how the event is bundled up in a package with other goods and services to be distributed to the markets. For the Singapore Writers Festival, the pricing categories are very simple and the only proper package available would be the Singapore Writers Festival. This $15 pass is applicable for use during all 10 days of the festival and permits entrance to over 75% of the programmes. In addition to this, the festival pass benefits buyers with promotional discounts at 8 different food and beverage and retail outlets, including a 10% discount on all items at the Festival Bookstore, a 15% off non-promotional ala carte F&B items at the Courtyard @ Rendezvous Grand Hotel Singapore and 25% discount off all other SWF SISTIC ticketed events.
   
   The SWF tickets and passes are distributed mainly through SISTIC, as well as the SWF Ticket and Information Counter located at the Campus Green of SMU. On the other hand, tickets for literary meals and cocktails are available at the Arts House Box Office.
   
   
8. Programming
   The objectives of this year's Singapore Writers Festival was to make the National Literary Arts Plan a success. By putting the spotlight on our Singapore writers and their works in the four official languages, it provides opportunities for Singaporeans to learn more about these works and the writing process, bringing Singaporeans and international authors together and encouraging an exchange of ideas from diverse origins. The Singapore Writers Festival has provided a wide variety of events and activities to ensure that the festival line-up meets the main objectives of the festival. These activities and events include panel discussions and talks on different genres of books in different languages, meet the authors session to bring together readers and authors as well as literature performances to help those interested in the arts to further develop their appreciation for literature.

An event that I would propose to the Singapore Writers Festival, in collaboration with the Concorde Hotel Singapore, would be to organise a talk on a Business writer’s biography. This event may be held in one of the Concorde Hotel Singapore’s meeting and events rooms which are equipped with the facilities and services to organise a writer’s talk and discussion. As the Concorde Hotel Singapore is a premier business hotel in Singapore, many of its guests are businessmen and businesswomen from all over the world. Thus, it would be appropriate to have a talk on a business writer’s biography by a business author held within the hotel itself. There are many successful entrepreneurs around the world who have written books and biographies on the reasons for their successful, along with many lessons and stories that businessmen all over the world can take advice from.  Moreover, this would also still be in line with the Singapore Writers Festival theme on “Origins”. For example, the book “Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain” by Ryan Blair. Ryan Blair, a New York Times bestselling author and serial entrepreneur, was once a gang member in juvenile detention He started his business career with no formal training, but with the help of a mentor, establishing his first company at 21 and growing to become a multimillionaire entrepreneur.  

Another example would be the book “Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose” by Tony Hsieh. Tony Hsieh is a Taiwanese-born-American internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is the CEO of the online shoe and clothing shop Zappos.com, which does over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales every year. In this book, Tony Hsieh explains the entrepreneurial spirit of creativity and optimism.

References:

Sharmilla Ganesan (2012, November 11) Word Fest of Love, The Star Online. Retrieved from: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2012/11/11/lifebookshelf/12288854&sec=lifebookshelf

Akshita Nandan(2012, November 16) More book lovers attend this year's Singapore Writers Festival, The Straits Times. Retrieved from: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/lifestyle/story/more-book-lovers-attend-years-singapore-writers-festival-20121116

Manote Tripathi (2012, November 13) Singapore books its place, AsiaOne. Retrieved from: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20121113-383124.html

Corporate Author (2011, June 06) 20 Biographies Every Serious Entrepreneur Should Read, Young Upstarts. Retrieved from: http://www.youngupstarts.com/2011/06/06/20-biographies-every-serious-entrepreneur-should-read/

THE BEGINNING

Hi.
I am a second year Hospitality & Tourism Management student studying in Temasek Polytechnic.
This is a blog assignment; A module on Festivals & Events Management.

My name is Esther Goh.