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Introduction
The event I will be planning will be consisting of an event to show appreciation for the military and to have a chance for young people to see what the military is about and be able for the attendees to be able to ask questions and receive valuable information about the military and the way they perform in society today. Considering that our economy is down, this is a great way for civilians to learn about the military and for the military to be able to recruit new recruits and officers if they are able to qualify for the military’s strict recruitment guidelines. The event will show demonstrations by all branches of the Armed Forces.
Date of Event The location for the event will be at the Kansas City speedway on Sunday, May 29, 2011. This day falls on Memorial Day weekend and therefore making it possible for all who want to attend the event to be able. This event serves a dual purpose to inform as well as recognize former military personnel. Number of Attendees The approximate number of attendees is undeterminable because the event is open to the public, it is on Memorial Day weekend, and there may be people in from out of town whom just want to see the demonstrations after hearing about the event.
Staff Requirements The staff will consist of approximately 16 volunteer staff members. They will be in charge of setting up the event and ensuring that every aspect goes as planned. There will be five group leaders. The group will consist of three people per group that includes the group leader. The groups will be parking, venue operations, vendors (non-food), vendors (food), and a group that plans the military demonstrations out and helps the military with anything that they may need. There will be speaker throughout the event taking about their experience in the military.
The speakers will consist of both past and present military members. They will share with the attendees their life stories and military experiences, to give to the audience a better picture of what military life is and what it has to offer its members. Event Plan The plan for the event will start at 1100 and will conclude at 1900. The day will start off by playing the national anthem followed by a flyover of F-16 fighter jets. There will be a demonstration of helicopter maneuvers follow this part.
Then they will be a current military member as a guest speaker he or she will start of by naming what he or she has accomplished while in the military and some experiences they have had and what they have learned while being a part of the military. Next, there will be demonstration on halo jumping and parachuting in to a hostile area. There will be tanks and troops on the ground to simulate what exactly takes places during these types of scenarios. Following this, there will be a demonstration by the Blue Angles. Where they will maneuver in dog fighting patterns and show how close they can fly together in a formation.
Then another active military guest speaker will explain his or hers experiences they have had and what they have learned while being a part of the military and what he or she has accomplished. Following this, there will be a demonstration by the Navy SEALs. They will explain and demonstrate what they bring to the table in operation throughout the world in the military today. Following this, a U. S. Navy SEAL will explain why they are the elite in the military and what it takes to become part of their elite status.
This will be a short time for people to grab lunch and be able to walk through the areas of vendors and be able to ask military recruiters questions. Following this evolution there will be a drive on and landing of different types of military equipment; while each piece of equipment is being placed, an announcer will state the name of the particular piece of equipment and the basics of what it does. When they are all set up the crowd will be offered the ability to go on the field, walk through, and ask questions on what each piece of equipment does and what its capabilities are.
Following this, the equipment will fly off and give a quick demonstration of one of its many capabilities. Following this, there will be a few guest speakers whom are retired from the military and give a synopsis of what they learned and experienced while being a part of the military and what they accomplished. They will explain what the military has to offer. Then will have another short break to allow people to walk through the vendor area and ask a question to military recruiters. The final part of the show will be a fireworks display for the enjoyment of all to experience.
Food and Beverage Vendors The vendors that will be featured for offering food will be P concessions, World’s Best Lemonade Company, Fletcher Foods, Frigid Frog Shaved Ice Company, Knolla’s Pizza, Grandpa’s Chicken Delights, and Island Grill. P&H concessions will be featuring funnel cakes and Indian tacos. World’s Best Lemonade Company will be offering the finest in citrus drinks. Fletcher Foods will be serving ice cream, barbecue, and Cajun food. Frigid Frog Shaved Ice Company will be selling shaved ice, smoothies, and coffee products. Knolla’s Pizza will be serving pizza by the slice.
Grandpa’s Chicken Delights will be offering Black Angus burgers, pulled pork wraps, brats, chicken and sandwiches. Finally, Island Grill will be offering mouth-watering hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and chicken tenderloins (“Kansas event vendors,” 2010). The vendors will be placed on the outside of the main arena of the Speedway so that they are out of the way of the main event of demonstrations. Alcohol vendors There will also be alcohol provided for purchase from those who are of legal age by Budweiser. They will be limited on the price they can charge and a percentage of the profits will be given to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Non-Food Vendors There will be several merchants selling their products and services. The vendors will include, Therapeutic Massage Specialist, All Fired Up Candle Company, Purses Piercings and Gifts, Purple Passion Beads. Therapeutic Massage Specialist will be offering 10-15 chair massages. All Fried up Candle Company owned by military spouses will be selling all types of candles. Purses Piercings and Gifts will be selling jewelry and home decor gifts featured in an Asian decor theme. Purple Passion Beads will be selling all sorts of handmade jewelry (“Kansas event vendors,” 2010).
All of the vendors will be required to donate a portion of their profits to the Wounded Warrior Project, where they will receive a certificate denoting how much they have donated. There will also be a vendor selling military appreciation t-shirts were all the profit retained would be sent to the Wounded Warrior Project. Marketing Plan The Event Marketing Plan for Military Appreciation Day consists of Market Review of the Event o What are the trends? The trends are that more and more people are turning a new leaf for the military members not always the causes they fight. Jobs are becoming scarce to find. What are your market segments? The market segments would be MTV and places where teenagers hang around and were interested in. o Who will be your target market primary/secondary? American citizens will be the primary target group to gain understanding and appreciation for the nation’s military members. Athletic young teenagers will be the secondary target group. Competitive Review of the Event – The level of sponsorship needed is for $45,000. I will find local VFW organizational chapters to hit this level of sponsorship. The VFW always supports the military because their members were a part of the military.
SWOT Analysis- The strengths are strong funding provided by the military, good media relations for the military, excellent site for the event, and great potential for sponsorships by military product companies. The weakness is having it on a weekend where teenagers want to relax in the last year of their school, by going to the lake. The opportunities for the event include more positive public relations for the military and higher recruitment levels for the area in which the event is being held. Threats for the event possible could be anti-military protests and too much alcohol consumption.
Goals and Objectives – Sales objectives and marketing objectives are as follows: Sales objectives are to break-even on the event by selling tickets and receiving sponsorships and donations. The marketing objective is to make everyone in a 200-mile radius aware of the event to maximize attendance. Strategies (The five Ps) • Positioning – Tribute to the men and woman in uniform and the American freedom they create. • Product – Appreciation, and awareness of what the military’s capabilities are. • Pricing – Regular advance tickets $3, student advance tickets $2, regular door sales tickets $5. Promotion – I will have a half page ad with an editorial about the event. • Place – The event’s location will be at the Kansas City Speedway Action Plan and Implementation • Media plan / Internet – There will be a media spot shown on major cable networks, a newspaper ad with an editorial about what will take place at the event and there will be a facebook page set up. • Budget – The budget is worked out with over $100,000 for unforeseen needs. The money left over will be donated to buying items to ship to the men and women in a war zone overseas. Schedule of Event- The day will start off by playing the national anthem and having jets fly overhead. Then there will be dogfighting and sonic booms. Next, there will be demonstrations of fast drop helicopters incursions featured showing the different capabilities the military offers. Finally, there will be parachutes incursions and fireworks as the sun sets down. • Assignments – All assignments will be handed out to the staff three months prior to the event. All assignments will be reviewed constantly in the weeks prior to the event scheduled start date.
There will be dry run conducted three days prior to the event. Evaluation • Lead tracking systems – I will set up a tracking system to ensure that all vendors and items are in place the day before the event and ensure that any issues are resolved prior to the start of the day of the event. • Customer Surveys – The customer surveys will consist of questions concerning how they heard of the event, and what they thought of the event. • Vendor Surveys- The vendor survey will be questioned concerning how their products sold and what the ease of setting up and where they were located concerned them.
All profit that is retained from this event will be given to the wounded warrior foundation, to help provide for those who have been hurt in the military from operations to protect our way of life. Technology The technology that will be used will be the PA system that is already installed at the Kansas City Speedway. Fireworks display provides at sunset. There will be announcements provide at the beginning of each display of military demonstrations.
There will also be music played to correspond with each demonstration. The military recruiters will have interactive activities for attendees to understand more of what each military branch offers. There will be an interactive fighter jet simulation for the attendees to understand more of what being a fighter pilot entails. Accommodation provided for special needs guest Accommodations for handicapped attendees will be provided to include parking and trolley transportation to the event from the parking area.
There will also be handicapped seating and wheelchair seating provide as needed. There will also be a first aid station and an ambulance on standby. There will also be a lost and found area set up for any children that may become dislocated from their family members. Emergency Staff There will be off-duty police officers there in case of any rioting or protesting against the military. The police will be provided by Kansas State Police Department, Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office, and the Kansas City Police Department.
Contracts Each vendor will have a contract that will entail what he or she will provide and a limit on how much he or she can charge for his or her product for. A portion of the vendor’s profits will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Program as a tax-free donation. Each vendor will be given a certificate stating how much he or she each donated. Permits The permits that are needed for this event to take place include the following: certificate of insurance, mobile food service unit permit, transient merchant license, alcoholic beverage license, alcohol beverage ordinance, and noise exemption permit (“Special event permits,” 2010). Permits required for the event will be started six months in advance. Permits will be finalized within the month prior to the event. Bibliography Kansas event vendors. (2010, August 5). Retrieved from http://www. festivals-and-shows. com/Kansas-vendors. HTML. Special event permits. (2010, August 6).