Icon: LJ/reruntherace
LRM FestEvents BLog Beerfest Asia Great Britain Beer Fest
Profile
Muhammad Ridhwan Bin Jalil, 0800628J
LRM, T05
Beerfest Asia!
Monday, June 22, 2009 @ 11:16 AM
Beer Festival AsiaBeerfest Asia which was recently held in Singapore was a success! How do i know? The crowd turn up for the event speaks for itself. According to the official Beerfest Asia website, a total of 14,000 people attended the event which spans over a period of 5 days.
The location of the event couldn’t have been much perfect as the location was against the backdrop of the Marina Bay. Even before reaching the destination, I could already feel the vibe from the event as the music played by live bands could be heard in the distance.
From a glance of the festival in from outside the event area, it looks like a huge tent shrouding a simple event, however not to be deceived by the exterior as one immediately feels as if he is taken to another dimension as he steps into the tent. The sweet smell of alcohol envelops the area around the festival.
The layout for the event was simple, a canteen like structure was set up in the middle of the hall and on each sides rows of booths are set up save for one, the stage. Live bands such as Hell’s Belles and Vertical Horizon performs on the Beerfest Stage on selected days. When deciding on what beverage to order, one doesn’t need to approach the counter to inquire what types of beverage they are selling as huge banners are placed above each stall and the menu is in clear view for everyone to see.
The method of payment was unique and could be likened to an arcade as one needs to purchase a stack of coupons before the coupons could be used to trade for the beverage of their choice. There was a range of choices as 100 different kinds of beers are offered.
Beer Festival in Britain
In contrast to the beerfestival in Singapore, the beerfest in Britain, most notably the Great British Beer Festival(GBBF) is on a much larger scale which boasts sales of up to 66,000 people. The event also has a wider range of beverages more specifically 450 beers from British breweries, as well as around 200 foreign beers from countries including Belgium, Germany and the USA.
The atmopsphere during the GBBF was more elaborate and grand, meaning that the entertainers and most of the patrons were enthusiastically donned with costumes, some bearing slogans in support of the beer fest. The crowd was also much rowdier as drinking is part of their culture compared to Singapore where its people are more reserved when partying.
In addition, unlike the beerfest in Singapore where it’s obvious companies are exploiting the event by organising side promotions such as Singtel, where a booth offering F1 simulations could be seen promoting the Singapore F1 race in Singapore, for the GBBF, the event is succeeded by approximately 1000 staff volunteers whom are unpaid for their services.
Marketing Strategies –product, prices, place, package, promotion, people, partnerships, packaging
a) product
For beerfest Asia, the types of beverages offered are mostly beer with ciders also available. Examples of some foreign brands are 6 drunk men from Australia selling lagger and ciders, Toro Paire selling their brand of ale and for local brands, it is Archipelago Brewery which offers its specialty of ale too.
One of the hot favourites there
What a gentleman!
When there are drinks, there should be food too and food stuffs ranging from O’Briens sandwich Bar which whips up western cuisine to SanoBar Lebanese Restaurant which sells middle Eastern fare to local all time favourites The Satay Stall offering various satay of preference.
b) prices
For the beverages section, patrons need to purchase coupons before they can use the coupons to place their order of beverage. The Beerfest currency is available for sale from any of its currency booths and the main booth is located near the entrance. The currency is bundled up in $10 and $50 booklets and prices start from $3 per unit.
For the purchase of food, cash is accepted by the stalls.
c) place
The venue is the Singapore Flyer. It is located at Raffles Avenue and the nearest train station is the City Hall MRT station. The Singapore flyer is also accessible via shuttle service. The venue is also the same racing track of the Formula One night race which was held in 2008.
d) packaging
For each ticket, comes with one free beer and a festival programme but the offer does not apply to concession pass(students). The best seats in the house amongst other and also the hospitality tickets are up for grabs but only a limited number are available from $68 onwards.
These packages offer premium benefits at a discounted price to members who are SAFRA, senior citizens, tertiary or platinum card holders. Examples of some of the passes are as follows.
e) promotion
The beerfest asia event was not advertised extensively throughout Singapore, however it still managers to pull in the crowds due to word of mouth and also through online social websites such as facebook where répondez, s'il vous plaît(RSVP) or event invitations are spread to friends and families and also through forums such as www.sgclub.com where people’s interest may sparked through online discussions.
f) people
Most of the people at the festivals are volunteers, or helpers in making the event a success. These people might be helping in the area of ticketing or backroom services such as wiring.
Customers are the majority of the crowd.
g) partnerships
Beerfest organisers collaborated with the formula one team as in conjuction with the same venue of which the Formula one race is held. Patrons could be seen taking turns in rying out the F1 racing car simlulator.
In addition, beerfest organizers become partners of the international suppliers of beer, so as to be able to get the beverage imports. This is a positive thing as it can further strengthen ties in securing trading ties in between these countries.
h) programming
Over 14,000 people swamed the Beerfest Asia 2009 to sample over 100 different kinds of beers under one roof from all over the world over the May Day weekend while catching exciting performances by world-famous, all-female AC/DC tribute band Hells Belles and double platinum selling act Vertical Horizon, who are making Singapore their only stop in Asia.
Inform your reader about these best practices
The best practices of the Asian beer festival would be its partnership. The partnering with companies such as the formula one is essential in promoting other events. These will arouse the interest of patrons to attend the affiliated events which will be held in future.
However for the GBBF, the practice would be its products. This is because there is a wider range of beverages available which is unrivalled by the Asian beerfest. This large selection makes the event a very appealing one as whatever brand you desire, they will surely have it.
Identify the stakeholders in these festivals
1. The food and beverage suppliers - Supply beer and local and international food fare.
2. Singapore tourism board – Organizing the events .
3. Singapore flyer – Site venue.
4. Beer fest organizers – Investors willing to be a part of the event.
5. Media – Magazines promoting the events.
6. Customers – Customers are both local and internal and are the main source of revenue for the beer fest.
7. Sponsors - The Singapore Beerfest sponsors are, Citibank, Absolut Vodka, Singapore flyer, Grand park Hotel, TimeOut Singapore Magazine, For Him Magazine(FHM), Power98Fm, Hungrygowhere.com, Timbre music, B-yond, D.A.S, CSP productions, DMC music centre, LOWE refrigeration, food & beverage logistics, Bio-Air, Singapore exhibition and convention bureau, Australian government, last but not least Singapore tourism board in conjunction with the Uniquely Singapore theme.
The Great British Beer Festival sponsors are, Glasses, Festival Glass, Volunteer t-shirts, St Austell, Tutored Tastings, SIBA, Entertainment, Planet Rock, Real Ale in a Bottle Bar, Worthington's White Shield, Bar Nouveau, JD Wetherspoon, Czech & German Bar, Budvar, USA & Rest of the World Bar, Sierra Nevada, BSF Programme, Brewers Association, Trade Session, WaverleyTBS, Pub Quiz, Everards, Champion Bottled Beer Competition, Travelodge, Ingredients area (Shepherd Neame), Shepherd Neame, Games Zone, Skinner's.
Reflect on the main purpose of this event or festival
Me and my friends at one of the booths
The main purpose of a Beer Festival is to share the love of beer to all beer lovers local and international. It is also an organised event during which varieties of beers and sometimes other alcoholic drinks are available for tasting and purchase. Beer festivals are held in a number of countries with the origin of the beer fest being Germany. The term Beer Exhibition, is usually synonymous with the Beer Festival but, whilst a beer festival may involve a limited range of beer styles or manufacturers, with an emphasis on entertainment, use of the term "beer exhibition" places emphasis on sampling or tasting a wide range of beers, usually craft-brewed in a variety of different styles by various brewers.
Comment on the amount of tourism benefits received by the host city of the chosen event.
Firstly, the most important aspect of tourists to a host city is the number of tourists’ receipts. When an event manages to attract a larger number of tourists, this also means that their customer sales is increasing and this forms a part of a revenue for the organisers. This will help in boosting the economy, especially in Singapore when one of its main sources of revenue is through tourism.
Secondly, a city such as Britain can gain benefits from tourists by making the place a livelier one. For example, when Britain holds a festival, it definitely wants to share not only with the locals regarding how fun and entertaining their events are, moreover they want to share with they would their culture. Through word of mouth of tourists and also other channels, a certain place could become world famous.
In conclusion, the beer festival is generally a festival not only to commemorate its roots from Germany, but it is also a festive event where one can let down their hair and have pure fun.
What more better way to have fun than having a sausage in one hand, and a can of beer in the other?
Labels: Happening Exciting Adventurous