Please read the pdf and answer the questions listed below the case study
Cutting the Ribbon and Healing the Community For several weeks, the Event Manager has been inquiring how to get a permit to hold a major municipal parade to celebrate the grand opening of a convention center. Finally, he was introduced to the mayor of the mid-sized city the night before the parade to celebrate the grand opening of the convention center. “Mr. Mayor,” the Event Manager asked, “how do I get a permit to hold the parade? None of your staff can tell me where to request permission.” The mayor smiled, held out his hand and said, “You have my permission.” Most Event Managers know that receiving a parade permit is neither that simple nor that secure. The Event Manager was lucky to meet the mayor and receive permission, but it would have been safer to get it in writing or at least to document the conversation. This municipal celebration offered many other challenges for the novice Event Manager. First, the convention center was a controversial municipal project and required a great deal of public-relations effort to convince the local citizens that this was not just another civic boondoggle. Second, the board of the convention center wanted to be sure that multiple stakeholders were involved and that the programming attracted a wide variety of audience members. Third, the staff of the convention center wanted to showcase their human resources along with the new building. The Event Manager would have to satisfy all these needs to be successful. To combat a potential negative public-relations reaction, the Event Manager designed a media luncheon as the first event to introduce the new convention center. At the luncheon, the media were captivated by a troupe of singers and dancers who performed an original musical entitled, “Something for Everyone: A Convention Center Now.” In the musical, a villain named Mr. Sleeze represented downtown before the center was built. The actors encourage the media to boo and hiss Mr. Sleeze and, by the end of the musical, the entire audience was standing and singing along to the closing lyrics of “Something for Everyone: A Convention Center for Us.” To ensure that multiple stakeholders were involved in the program, the Event Manager met with dozens of local professional and amateur performing arts organizations. The cast included church choirs, ethnic folk dance troupes, and professional musicians, dancers, and singers. As a result, many audience members were family and friends of the cast and represented the entire rainbow of the city. Finally, the Event Manager included in the production schedule for the event two days of customer service training. The entire convention-center staff was trained to become members of the cast and was costumed and scripted for the three-day celebration. As a result, many of the media reports commented favorably on the new era of customer service that has arrived at the new convention center. QUESTIONS 1. How can you determine the public-relations challenges for a municipal event and work with your client to mitigate potential problems? 2. What type of programming can you incorporate in a municipal event to ensure that you represent every facet of the community as well as to maintain a level of quality and professionalism throughout the program? 3. Why is the permanent full- and part-time staff an important consideration at the venue where the event will be held? Adopted from: Goldblatt, J. (2005). Special events: Event Leadership for a new world. 4th Edition. Wiley: Hoboken, New Jersey