The above matrix essentially plots the generic event categories in terms of their respective popularity on the whole with the audience who display an inclination to buy tickets and the inclination of clients to part with their media budgets for particular event categories.
The risk for the event company varies with the variation in the position of the particular event categories that it is interested in. The vagaries of the event category in itself define its position in the matrix.
The risk perception of competitive events especially sports can be read as very low and that of special business events as relatively higher for event companies.
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This is because competitive events have high popularity ratings with both clients and their target audience. In turn, the prospects of events being rated on the risk-return matrix depend on the position of the generic categories in the popularity matrix as shown above.
It is prudent to note here that the risk perceptions will change with the change in the environment. The matrix presented above is only a picture snapshot of the environment in India and most other countries and may not be true for all.
If the hullabaloo surrounding the Cricket World Cup ’99 in England is anything to go by, competitive events are way ahead of other event categories in popularity. Share Matrix can be applied for the portfolio of an individual event management company.
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Having come thus far, the event company should judge the impact of each of its decision to pursue a particular strategy on the basis of the risk-return parameter.
The event company should also keep in mind that selection of a particular strategy is a decision with a far-reaching impact on the policies and plans of the company. Such decisions need to be taken at the top management level at the same time ensuring the involvement of personnel down the line.
The analyses carried out using the tools given in earlier lead to some revealing facts about events as a business proposition and the position that the various players may enjoy in the frame of things. We can also say that once the root strategy is dug out, the rest of the plan rolls out all the way from the marketing and personnel strategy to the cultural changes required for the smooth implementation of the same.
The top management should be in a position to facilitate this and hence its involvement becomes essential. We shall explore this nexus between objective setting and strategy in the next section.