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F o u r c a s e s t u d i e s o f c o r p o r a t e e v e n t s
Bachelor Thesis within Business Administration Authors: Anna Gustafsson 830129
Kristin Svenhed 830921 Supervisors: Olga Sasinovskaya
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all interviewees for their great contribution to the thesis. Their knowledge and expertise inspired us and enabled us to find the answers for the purpose of the thesis. Without their input this thesis would not have been possible to carry out. The authors would also like to thank Olga Sasinovskaya and Maya Paskaleva as well as fel-low students who have given us feedback and guidance throughout the process of writing the thesis.
Anna Gustafsson Kristin Svenhed
Bachelor thesis within Business Administration
Title: Perfect creation for a win-win situation Four case studies of corporate events Authors: Anna Gustafsson & Kristin Svenhed Tutor: Maya Paskaleva & Olga Sasinovskaya
Date: January 2008
Subject terms: Event marketing, motivation, marketing communication, relationship marketing
Abstract
It is becoming increasingly difficult, although very important, for companies to reach out to its customers and differentiate themselves in the market place. The main reason is that the competition is extremely intensified and customers can quite easily switch between suppliers. Focusing on relations is a way for companies to overcome some obstacles of competition that is evident in today’s market place. One way for companies to reach its customers, strengthen the relation, and meet them face-to-face is to create events. How-ever, finding the target group and motivating individuals to attend events is an important issue for the companies arranging events. There has to be a match between what the com-pany arranging the event want to communicate and what the invited individual expects to gain out of attending the event. It is further important to direct the event towards certain individuals and also to make sure that the invited people actually attend the event.
The purpose of the thesis is to explore how companies can arrange meaningful events to a targeted audience and examine what factors motivates the individuals to actually attend these events.
An inductive approach is mainly used since it allows for flexible structure where empirical data is collected and before applying appropriate theoretical framework. The authors have further chose to collect data in a qualitative manner as this allows for open ended inter-views which can generate in deeper understanding of the reasons for individuals to attend corporate events. The primary data was based on interviews related to four corporate events previously taking place.
The authors found that there are numerous reasons for creating corporate events mainly because events are a platform that naturally integrates many marketing activities. When tar-geting individuals a personal contact can increase the likelihood that the invited people will attend an event. The reason is that through direct communication a person has the oppor-tunity to tailor the invitation by explaining the reasons for why this particular person should find the event important and interesting to attend. Corporate events should offer valuable information for the attendees otherwise there is risk that invited individuals will not attend an event. Individuals attend events for the purpose of interacting with represen-tatives from the arranging company as well as people from other attending companies. It can be concluded that a corporate event should be work related in some how and include new information and/or offer networking possibilities.
Kandidatuppsats inom marknadsföring
Titel: Perfekt skapande för en win-win situation Fyra fallstudier av företagsevent
Författare: Anna Gustafsson & Kristin Svenhed Handledare: Maya Paskaleva & Olga Sasinovskaya Datum: Januari 2008
Ämnesord: Event marketing, motivation, marketing communication, relationship marketing
Sammanfattning
Det blir allt svårare, men ständigt mer viktigt, för företag att nå ut till sina kunder och diffe-rentiera sig på marknaden. Den främsta anledningen är att konkurrensen är mycket intensiv och det är förhållandevis enkelt för kunder att byta leverantörer. Genom att fokusera på re-lationer kan företag övervinna några av de konkurrenshinder som är påtagliga på dagsläget. Genom skapande av events kan företag nå sina kunder, möta dem öga mot öga och där-med stärka relationen till dem. För att lyckas där-med detta är det viktigt för företag att hitta de tilltänkta målgrupperna och motivera individer till att bli intresserade och faktiskt besöka eventet. Det är viktigt att anpassa ett företags motiv för skapandet av ett event men det som de inbjudna individerna förväntar sig få ut av att besöka eventet. Det är vidare viktigt att ett event riktas mot de tilltänkta individerna och för ett företag att se till att de inbjudna verkligen besöker eventet.
Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka hur företag kan arrangera meningsfulla events för en till-tänkt målgrupp och ta reda på vilka faktorer som motiverar individer att faktiskt besöka dessa events.
Ett induktivt tillvägagångssättanvänds till största delen i uppsatsen eftersom det är tillåter en flexibel struktur där författarna utgår från empirisk data för att sedan hitta lämplig teori. Författarna har även valt att använda kvalitativ data eftersom det möjliggör öppna intervju-er som kan ge djupare inblick i hur företagsevent kan skapa mintervju-ervärde för ett företag och dess besökare och förståelse för de inbjudnas motivationsfaktorer. Primär data baserades på intervjuer med individer relaterade till fyra olika företagsevent som tidigare ägt rum. Studien visar att företag har många olika skäl till att arrangera events och den främsta orsa-ken till detta är att events är ett forum som integrerar flera marknadsföringsaktiviteter på ett naturligt och ofrånkomligt sätt. När ett företag marknadsför ett event till en tilltänkt målgrupp kan personlig direktkontakt öka sannolikheten att de inbjudna kommer att besö-ka eventet. Anledningen till detta är att direktkommunibesö-kation ger ett företag möjligheten att skräddarsy inbjudan genom att förklara varför just denna individ bör besöka eventet och varför det bör vara viktigt för denne. Ett företagsevent bör erbjuda besökande individer värdefull information, i annat fall riskerar företaget att många individer inte kommer priori-tera just detta event. Individer besöker företagsevent i syftet att integrera med representan-ter från det arrangerande företaget och individer från andra besökande företag. Studien vi-sar att företagsevent bör vara arbetsrelaterade i dess utformning och erbjuda intressant in-formation och/eller erbjuda integrationsmöjligheter.
Table of Contents
1
Introduction... 1
1.1 Background ...1 1.2 Problem discussion ...2 1.3 Purpose ...2 1.4 Delimitations...22
Frame of References ... 4
2.1 Relationship marketing ...4 2.2 Event Marketing ...42.2.1 Why Event marketing ...6
2.3 Attracting customers...7
2.4 Communication ...8
2.5 Platform for interaction & integration ...10
2.5.1 The Message...10 2.5.2 The Meeting ...11 2.5.3 The Experience ...12 2.5.4 Integration ...12 2.5.5 Interaction...13 2.6 Motivation ...14
2.6.1 Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation ...14
2.6.2 Expectancy Theory...15
3
Method ... 16
3.1 Research approach/strategy ...16
3.2 Qualitative & Quantitative data ...16
3.3 Data Collection ...17
3.3.1 Interviews ...18
3.4 Data Processing & Analysis Interpretation ...19
3.5 Validity & Reliability ...19
4
Empirical data ... 21
4.1 SAP ...21
4.1.1 FKOM - Asia Pacific Field Kick-Off Meeting ...21
4.1.2 Attracting visitors ...22
4.1.3 SAP Customer interviews...23
4.2 Swedish Match ...24
4.2.1 Generalgolfen...24
4.2.2 Attracting visitors ...25
4.2.3 Swedish Match Customer Interviews...27
4.3 SAPA...28
4.3.1 Hockey Night at Kinnarps Arena ...29
4.3.2 Attracting Visitors...30
4.3.3 SAPA Customer Interviews ...31
4.4 Chevrolet ...32
4.4.1 Corporate event at WTCC ...33
4.4.2 Attracting visitors ...33
5
Analysis ... 36
5.1 Defining the cases ...36
5.2 Reasons for arranging the events...36
5.3 Attracting visitors ...37
5.3.1 The importance of targeting...37
5.3.2 Delivering the message ...38
5.3.3 The meeting ...40
5.3.4 Creating an experience ...41
5.4 Motivation factors ...42
6
Conclusion ... 45
7
Critique of chosen method... 47
8
Further Research ... 47
9
Reference List ... 48
Figures
Figure 1 Event purposes (Holm & Karlsson, 2001) ... 7Figure 2 Communication process (Shimp, 2003) ... 9
Figure 3 Communication interaction model (Maat, 2004)... 10
Figure 4 (Behrer & Larsson, 1998)... 10
Appendix
Company interviews……….………...511 Introduction
_____________________________________________________________________ The following section will firstly introduce the reader to the broader context of the research area in order to understand how the authors encountered the problems associated with the area of interest. The background and problem sections will be followed by a presentation of the purpose of the thesis and the research questions that will guide the authors throughout the process of writing the thesis.
_____________________________________________________________________
1.1 Background
In today’s society the importance of applying an efficient and cost focused marketing mix has increase due to intensified competition and globalisation. Companies have to work hard in order to find and keep customers as it is becoming easier for those to switch be-tween suppliers who offer similar products. Due to these changes in the environment, companies respond by trying to discover new channels to communicate and market them-selves. Establish and develop relationships can work as a marketing strategy helping them differentiate and lock in customers (Gummesson, 2002).
The concept of relationship marketing has been developed as more companies focus on strengthening the relation towards customers (Rain Today, 2007). According to Gummes-son (2002) relationship marketing is marketing which puts relations, networks, and interac-tion in focus. Relainterac-tionship marketing can thereby assist companies to overcome obstacles that a traditional competitive strategy no longer can support with.
One marketing and communication tool commonly used for the purpose of strengthening relations is event marketing. Event marketing focuses on involving the customer, to be able to create interaction between the customer and the company in order to eventually create a long-term relationship between the two parts (Bergh, Lindgren, Anderson, 2004). One great advantage of event marketing is that an event can work as a tool for communication and interaction between companies and their customers (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
To gain insight in the field of event marketing as a relationship building marketing tool the authors spoke with professionals within the area whom helped in the process of narrowing down the purpose of the thesis. Ulf Lesley, Strategic Director at Unify, which is a B2B event company, firstly inspired the authors. The choice to contact Unify was based on thoughts that it would give the authors an insight into how companies use corporate events and why. It was especially interesting since Unify work towards other businesses and not B2C markets. Evert Gummesson, professor at the University of Stockholm also gave the authors some interesting insights as he is specialized in relationship marketing. The overall aim with these meetings was to gain inspiration and an up-to-date insight into what is working today when it comes to relationship marketing, and more specifically event mar-keting. After speaking with professionals the authors chose to focus on an evident problem that is to arrange events that will attract the targeted group.
1.2 Problem discussion
As can be understood from the previous background section, customer relationships are becoming increasingly important for companies in order for them to differentiate them-selves (Gummesson, 2002). Event marketing is one tool that can be used in doing so. Today’s great amount of exposure to marketing activities makes it difficult for individuals to select and distinguish what actually is worth remembering and paying attention to. Com-pany personnel are getting an increasing numbers of invitations to various events and due to time constraints they need to be selective in deciding which events to actually attend. Thus, one of the major challenges for the company hosting the event is to create an event which actually makes people attend it: and communicate the features that make the invited person book the time in his or her calendar and then actually go there (U. Lesley, Personal communication, 2007-10-03). Carroll (2006) agrees and states that it is more difficult than ever to attract people to live events.
From the attendees perspective it is essential for them to attend the events that gives them most utility. There has to be a match between what the company arranging the event want to communicate and what the invited individual expects to gain out of attending the event (U. Lesley, Personal communication, 2007-10-03). According to Nicholson & Pearcon (2001) the research in event motivation is important since it is a guide in how events can be designed to make the attendees satisfied by offering better products and service. They con-sider the issue concerning if different events attract visitors with different motives or if people are motivated by similar motivation factors no matter the kind of event.
Conclusively it is important for companies to create a corporate event with a clear purpose and direct it towards the targeted groups or individuals. It is not only crucial to direct the event towards certain people but also ensure that these people actually attend the event.
1.3 Purpose
The purpose of the thesis is to explore how companies can arrange meaningful events to a targeted audience and examine what factors motivates the individuals to actually attend these events.
Meaningful in this sense means that the event should be valuable to both the arranging company and the attendees. The authors hope the results can serve companies when creat-ing corporate events in realizcreat-ing which aspects the prospected guests value the most. The following research questions will further guide the authors through the process of writing the thesis.
- What are the main reasons for arranging a corporate event?
- What should a corporate event offer in order for it to attract the targeted group? - What are the major motives when deciding to attend a corporate event?
1.4 Delimitations
The authors of the thesis intend to focus on events arranged by large organisations operat-ing in business-to-business (B2B) markets. This angle is chosen as large organisations use events continuously and has business sections focusing exclusively on event marketing. This enables the authors to gain information from employees with valuable knowledge
within the area of interest. The reason for examining organizations in B2B markets is be-cause corporate events commonly invites individuals who frequently choose whether or not to attend events and consider many different factors when considering to attend a cer-tain event. Their motives for attending events seem to be complex and cercer-tain individuals’ attendants can be very important to the arranging company.
2 Frame of References
In order to assess the problem in best possible way, there is a need to use theories from different research ar-eas. The main focus of the theory will be connected to event marketing and motivation. Relationship market-ing and communication literature will be a complement to the field mentioned as they provide basic models in marketing. The theory is chosen on the criteria that it will be relevant and a base for the analysis. __________________________________________________________________
2.1 Relationship marketing
The authors will briefly explain the concept of relationship marketing since events is a tool commonly is used in the context of this marketing area. The link between relationship marketing and events will be described in order to understand how events can contribute in achieving the goals of relationship marketing.
Relationship marketing focuses on building long-term and profitable relationships between a company and its stakeholders (Maat, 2004). According to Gummesson (2002) relation-ship marketing is “marketing which puts relations, networks, and interaction in centre.” Re-lationship marketing can offer companies possibilities to develop long-term relations and thereby lower costs that in turn increase a company’s productivity. Another definition of relationship marketing is: “How we: find you; get to know you; keep in touch with you, try to ensure you that you get what you want from us in every aspect of our dealings with you; check you are getting what we promised you, subject of course, to it being worthwhile to us as well” (Maat, 2004). These definitions and statements concerning relationship marketing indicate a win-win situation between a company and its stakeholders. Relationship market-ing is personal and thus directed towards each and every customer individually and requires a lot of effort and resources from the both parties involved. In the process of establishing the mutually beneficial relation mentioned above, event communication has an important role (Maat, 2004). Event Marketing can be explained as a medium used within the frames of relationship marketing as well as a tool for integration of companies traditional market-ing tools. It involves sales promotion, personal sellmarket-ing, direct marketmarket-ing, advertisement, and PR. Relationship marketing focus on relationships, interaction and networks which is closely related to events where the purpose is to actively engage the attendees and create a platform for interaction (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
2.2 Event Marketing
In order to understand the nature of events and event marketing the authors will firstly provide a few defini-tions followed by further explanation of the practical use and the reasons for companies to use events. A. Shone and B. Parry (2001) give the following definition of events:
“Special events are that phenomenon arising from those non-routine occasions which have leisure, cultural, personal or organizational objectives set apart from the normal activity of daily life, whose purpose is to enlighten, celebrate, entertain or challenge the experience of a group of people.” (Shone & Parry, 2001, p.3)
Getz (1997) uses two definitions to cover the two participating parties, the organizer and the customers.
First “a special event is a one time or infrequently occurring event outside the normal program or activities of the sponsoring or organizing body.” The definition directed towards the customers is presented as “To the customer or guest, a special event is an opportunity for a leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience.” (Getz. 1997, p.4)
The above mentioned definitions describe events in general although they do not explain the perspective that the thesis focuses upon, that is corporate events. A definition of the term corporate event can be found in the International Directory of Event Management; “ An event sponsored by a corporation for the purpose of achieving specific goals and objectives such as enter-taining the customers, introducing and promoting new products and services, or providing incentives or train-ing for the employees, as well as other activities.” (Goldblatt & Nelson, 2001, p.49)
The relation between event marketing and an event could according to Sporrek (2001) fur-ther be understood as “Event marketing is the way and the event is the medium”.
“Event Marketing is the process which integrates a range of marketing elements around a central event sponsorship or lifestyle-themed activity. This process incorporates advertising, employee and consumer pro-grams, sales promotion, public relations, causes, business-to-business, television promotion, and trade promo-tion with a specific event.” (Goldblatt & Nelson, 2001, p.72)
According to Shone & Parry (2001) some characteristics of events are:
• Uniqueness, Perishability & Intangibility – It is a temporary occurrence that is a blend of its duration, setting, management and people. Events have a fixed time scale contradictory to routine activities that have an infinite time line. This means that every event will be different and will never be repeated in the same way as previ-ously. It a service activity which is consumed during the event and when it is over it cannot be experienced again. Effort can be made to make the experience of the event more tangible, an example being the occurrence of gift bags.
• Ambience – By paying careful attention to the planning, details, and the desired out-come an event can either create positive or negative vibes among the attendees which in turn will make it either a success or a failure. This indicates that there are risks with an event as it is a temporary service.
• High level of personal contact and interaction – Events allow integration and interactions with the prospects and the outcome of the event is largely reliant on the interac-tions and reacinterac-tions of the people attending.
In practice events can be anything from a small get together for companies’ most impor-tant clients to giant events that are open to the public. The broad usefulness of events indi-cates that all companies can use events as a part of their marketing strategy, no matter which industry they operate in or which size they are (Behrer & Larsson, 1998). Carroll (2006) divides events into two categories: promotional driven events and reputation driven events. The former is also called branding events and has its objective in name recognition and association. This kind of event is used when the target is a large audience and the pur-pose is to influence peoples’ perception of the company. Reputation-building events are more related to corporate events but also B2C markets where the products or services are complex and expensive. The reputation driven events are frequently seen in the form of seminars, summits, trade shows and conferences with current and potential customer. The purpose with these kinds of events is to improve sales or strengthen customer relations (Carroll, 2006).
2.2.1 Why Event marketing
Here the authors will present theory related to reasons for organisations to create events. The motives for cre-ating the events in the company interviews will be analyzed in the light of theory from this section and will assist in answering the first research question. The model presented by Holm & Karlsson (2001) will also be used in relation to the customer interviews and their reasons for attending the respective events. There are numerous reasons why companies are interested in using event marketing. Gold-blatt (2001) claims that there are four different motives why to use event marketing and explains how the purpose of different events can be fulfilled according to what the motives are.
Celebration derives from the Latin word celebro, which means to honour. In this case events have the purpose to celebrate something that is tied to a person’s or an organisations life cycle or something that has historical importance. Celebration events can for example be fairs, festivals, or political events.
Education can be a motive for the use of events in the sense of a public assembly. Attendees take part of new ideas, emotions and actions that the hosting companies want to transmit. Conferences, meetings, alumni events, and training at corporations are all examples of edu-cation events. Another example is the concept of edutainment, which grew out of the use of entertainment tools presenting educational concepts. Companies use this in order to in-volve attendees in the event.
Marketing is an essential element of any marketing plan. Events are used for the same pur-pose as other communication tools such as advertising, PR, and promotion. That is to cre-ate awareness and to influence the current and prospect customers to purchase. Face-to face contact has been noticed by most businesses to have positive impact on sales.
Reunion is an activity that takes place when a group meets for the purpose of remembering or assemble as a group again. In the case of events, an initial event has developed a desire from the group who found it successful and interesting to attend the event again.
Holm & Karlsson (2001) similarly divide events according to the purpose and motives re-lated to the arrangement of an event and these are depicted below in figure 1. Some events focuses on the organisation with the purpose to strengthen the emotion of belongingness and proudness among the employees and other stakeholders associated with the organisa-tion in order to create solidarity in a group. Companies can also create an event that allows employees to identify themselves with the organization and to create a positive attitude to-wards the organization. Events are also used when launching new products, technology, or exposure of already existing products as a mean to educate and make it possible for the participants to get familiar with the products. When a company have the intensions to strengthen or create a brand, events are used to enhance the desired image they want to possess. Another purpose is to establish and strengthen relations where the event is seen as a meeting place for individuals to interact.
Figure 1 Event purposes (Holm & Karlsson, 2001)
A similar opinion is expressed by Behrer & Larsson (1998) who mention two main catego-ries for using events, strengthening the relations and to stimulate sales. Event marketing is an effective tool for creating long-term relationships as it is easier for companies to actually reach out to their customers and deliver a message since events offer direct interaction and communication. When a company has a well-defined target group and a strong message to deliver, arranging an event can be the most profitable solution (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
2.3 Attracting customers
As been discussed, in today’s business world time is scarce and individuals are selective in the process of where to put effort. In this case they deal with which events to attend. To attract companies today there is a need to create expectations that will drive the invited to the event. There are means that can support the invi-tation and make the invited more aware of the event. The following section will describe who to target and the marketing tools used in relation to events.
Considering the targeted audience it is essential to research the market in order to find the customers who are best suited for the planned event and whom they want to establish a re-lation with and influence. In all market planning this is important but it is particularly es-sential in the case of events since the target group usually is very narrow which in turn makes it crucial to specify. When targeting managers and other executives it can be effec-tive to focus on a smaller group of people, hence focus on quality instead than quantity (Meeting News, 2006).
When marketing events it is important that the event offer an attractive alternative to the target group’s normal disposition of their time. Within B2B markets the alternative cost for attending an event is productive working time. This is one reason why corporate events are becoming more and more effective, business oriented, and time saving (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
For marketers, the event is a product that needs to be sold. Companies arranging big events need to be well organized and have local commitment and knowledge in order for their event to be successful (Behrer & Larsson, 1998). For an event to be “sellable” a cru-cial issue is to attract the right people to actually attend the event. Promotional activities can be an aid to build up the events attractiveness. According to (Carroll, 2006) some of these promotional activities are advertising, other events, other speakers, blogs, direct mail, phone calls, web site, and PR.
According to Behrer & Larsson (1998) there are many similarities between marketing of events and marketing of other products and services. It is all about matching a company’s offer to the customers need by making the event attractive in accordance with customer preferences. The message is of great importance as with any kind of marketing and it is thereby crucial that this message reaches the right target group through the use of different medias. For a target group to be reached it demands that it is identified, hence who should be invited to the event? It is essential but easier to target the right group in a B2B situation compared to a B2C situation since there usually are fewer customers that make it easier to keep track of them.
2.4 Communication
Before continuing to describe the features of events any further the authors find it relevant to include certain definitions and description of how communication is connected to events and event marketing. Communica-tion is an important ingredient in any event and the next coming secCommunica-tion will ease the understanding of the communication and its importance in the event perspective. This section will be analyzed in relation to the communication process related to the invitations and the interaction taking place during and after the events. According to Fill (2002) “communication itself is the process by which individuals share meaning.” This process provides different elements that are the source, message, channel, receiver and the process of encoding and decoding (Maat, 2004). The process starts with a source that can be an individual or an organisation wanting to transmit a message. The message needs to be encoded in order for the intended message to turn into symbols that can be transmitted. The communication channel is the mean by which the message is transmitted from the sender to the receiver. The receiver must decode the message in order to understand it, and then communicate back to the source on sender of the message (Fill, 2002). In this process noise can disturb the message and hinder it from reaching the re-ceiver and also impede on the content of the message. The noise will influence the effect that the message can have on stakeholders (Maat, 2004). By using event as a communica-tion channel the noise interference will be eliminated thanks to the face-to-face contact (Fill, 2002). Shimp (2003) agrees and have developed a communication process figure which is displayed below.
Figure 2 Communication process (Shimp, 2003)
Marketing communication, also called promotional mix, refers to the tools used to com-municate with the target audience. There are five main marketing communication tools: advertising, sales promotions, public relations, direct marketing and personal selling. There has been a shift from the promotional mix that was used for mass communication towards the mix that emphasises more directed and targeted promotional activities. Marketing communication, which is based on seeking the attention of customers who might not be very interested, is called the intervention-based approach and on the contrary the permis-sion-based communication has the focus on communication with an audience that already has shown interest in a particular offering. There has been a shift from the intervention-based approach towards the permission-intervention-based approach where relationships are established in accordance with what the audience actually demands (Fill, 2002).
Maat (2004) has classified the communication in different steps starting with phase 1, pre-event communication, where the communication to the attendees deals with information about specific facts. During the actual event, the second phase, attendees communicate with each other and the hosting company face-to-face and the communication here refers to dialoguing. Phase 3 indicates that the attendees are being formed during the event as the experience moves them from dialoguing to the forming of opinions and decision making. Phase 4 occurs after the event when attendees communicate with other stakeholders who did not attend the event themselves. They effect these stakeholders in accordance with what they experienced during the event (Maat, 2004). Below is the model visualising what just has been discussed.
Figure 3 Communication interaction model (Maat, 2004)
2.5 Platform for interaction & integration
In the following section the authors will use theory related to how integration and interaction can be achieved by the use of events. As can be seen in the figure below an event can create integration and interaction by de-livering a message, experience, and meeting. It is essential to describe the figure in further detail as the crea-tion of a successful event can depend upon the different factors within the model. The authors will describe the different parts and factors further in the following section.
Behrer & Larsson (1998) argues that there are three key words that characterize an event and that is the meeting, the experience and the message. Figure 4 below further illustrates that these three factors generate integration and interaction.
Figure 4 (Behrer & Larsson, 1998) 2.5.1 The Message
An Event organized by a company usually has a special purpose and aims at communicat-ing certain objectives (Sporrek, 2001). The event itself can be seen as a mean to communi-cate corporate messages to their stakeholders (Toole & Mikolaitis, 2002). An event is a platform with a purpose to deliver a certain message across memorably and also to provide a positive experience. In today’s corporate climate time is scarce and it is therefore
impor-tant that the message of an event delivers the right information before, during and after the event (Frankelius, 1997).
In the process of communicating a message with an audience there are several layers that the message needs to filtrate. The first is selective exposure that equals the first contact with a message where individuals decide to accept the message or reject it. The second step is the selective perception that is the step where we create a value. The perception and ac-ceptance of the message is depending on the expectations, values and interest an individual holds. The last layer is the development of an attitude (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
Directing and formulating a message to an individual gives a high probability of success, but also requires efforts. It is important that a company research the prospects in order to realize what is important and interesting for them. After research is being carried out a message that will appeal to the prospect should be created. The message can influence the attendees’ relation and opinion towards the hosting company and its products (Frankelius, 1997). It is also important to consider that more than one message frequently is transmitted and that the message reaches more than one target audience. A problem occurs when communication is directed towards a number of target audiences with information that should be suitable to every one of them. An organisation expects communication to trans-mit an offering and message to the audience and encouraging an establishment of a dia-logue and relationship (Fill, 2002).
Customers in B2B markets usually have high involvement in the decisions process, the message should therefore be rational and informative compared to the consumer market. There may also be individuals who need to be reached and influenced which will require a good media and message strategy(Fill, 2002).
2.5.2 The Meeting
The meeting is an important factor in the model proposed by Behrer & Larsson (1998) since it is where the interaction and communication with an organisation’s stakeholders can take place. An event provides the benefit that people meet face-to-face which allows for a dialogue and interaction to take place which other marketing tool can not offer (Behrer & Larsson, 1998). Maat (2004) suggests the use of experimental marketing for event market-ing and defines it as marketmarket-ing that enables companies to connect with target audience face-to-face. Today’s technology development and the use of Internet as a communication source make a forum where people can interact physically even more powerful. By having a live dialogue with the stakeholders and being able to inform and influence them a company can reach a persuading phase.
Frankelius (1997) argues that the personal meeting between people is a central component in marketing and that relations can be strengthened in a genuine manner through a face-to-face meeting.
The meeting also allows for two-way communication since it enables a dialogue to take place. This indicates that both the organisation sending a message as well as the receiver is involved in the exchange of information. One-way communication is no longer an alterna-tive if organisations aim at influencing its stakeholders (Bergh, Lindgren, Anderson, 2004). In order for an organisation to attract the targeted group and influence them to attend an event, the choice of meeting place can also be significant in the sense that attractiveness of place and distance to the place matters. The organisation should think about whether the
arena has arranged similar events previously. The communication possibilities for the guests should also be considered as well as if other competing events are arranged within the same area (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
2.5.3 The Experience
Maat (2004) states that experiences “are private events that occur in response to some stimulation. They involve the entire human being. They often result from direct observa-tion and/or participaobserva-tion in events”.
According to Maat (2004) the large amount of messages people encounter have made them immune to message sent to them. He suggests that an efficient way to reach the customer is to create an experience for them. This will make it easier for people to accept the mes-sage and consider it as they will immerge themselves in the experience.
According to Behrer and Larsson (1998) event is the only marketing medium that allows the attendees to use all senses resulting in a stronger and more memorable experience and meeting. Maat (2004) agrees that by experiencing events people will be able to sense, feel, think, act and relate which in turn will enhance their perception of the event. He further claims that the attendees’ interaction can result in unique, educational, entertaining and memorable experiences (Maat, 2004). If the attendees found the event enjoyable and im-pressing then a positive view towards the hosting company can be established through this experience. A positive experience of the event can also be a factor that simplifies the accep-tance of the message the hosting company wants to transmit (Behrer & Larsson, 1998). In combination with other communication tools the attendees’ experience during the event can influence the perceived image and reputation of the company. Offering a memorable and positive experience can lead to better reputation by being visible, genuine, transparent and consistent towards the stakeholders (Maat, 2004).
By participating in an event the attendees have a certain interest and expectations about what the event will generate in. By researching and creating an event that appeals to the at-tendees and their interest the event can fulfil theses expectations and leave the atat-tendees with a positive experience (Behrer & Larsson, 1998). Maat (2004) argues that in order for an event to match or even exceed the expectations of the attendees their preferences should be taken into consideration when planning the event. He means that it is vital that stakeholder and other participants of an event feel that they obtain something but also con-tribute to the event. Between the expected and perceived experience there is a gap that should be as minimal as possible to obtain an event that is creating a good experience. The intended strategy and objectives with the event may be destroyed if the gap is of a magni-tude that will give negative feedback in the evaluation due to a negative experience from the attendees. On the contrary if the expectation and perception coincide and create a minimum gap the strategy can be seen as successful and the objectives fulfilled (Maat, 2004).
2.5.4 Integration
The event is a platform where integration of the different elements of the promotion mix can be used. It is further an opportunity to create publicity and word-of-mouth tendencies. Direct communication can be used at the same time as marketing material; sales promo-tion, personal selling etc are used to influence the attendees (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
An event also creates an opportunity for an organisation to integrate its different stake-holders. Below some of the organisations stakeholders will be presented and explained. The employees of the organisation should be involved in the event as their participation will strengthens the internal environment and give a unified view to the stakeholders. Busi-ness partners such as banks and other financial actors have an opportunity to take part in how the organisation is handling its relations with customers. Future suppliers and retailers will be exposed to the strength and goodwill of the organisation when it comes to upcom-ing investments and projects of the organisation. Opinion leaders and decision makers within the community might be able to take part of possible incomes of an event if ticket sales go to charity, buildings, and scholarships etcetera. The shareholders can realise the communication strength the organisation holds and also experience the attitude from the customer towards the organisation that can be valuable to them. The management can via the event get direct feedback from the participants in the event. This kind of information would be more difficult to gain when meeting in a more business related or formal occa-sion. By inviting Medias, such as TV and newspapers and allow them to make exclusive re-ports from the event and its participants, publicity and thereby integration can increase. The organisation can integrate a recruitment process by inviting prospect employees and give them the opportunity to experience the corporate image and values and encourage in-teraction between them and the organisation (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
The integration in the event deals with how the message is transmitted and communicated to the target audiences that are participating at the event. To sum up it is central and de-terminant how the message, meeting and experience are created and how the attendees will perceive it. The integration makes enables an interaction to take place during the event (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
2.5.5 Interaction
Another important reason why event marketing can be seen as an important marketing tool is that when traditional Medias focus on informing customers, event marketing is highly in-teractive and concentrates on direct communication. Customers of today’s market place demand interaction that is a reason for communicating through events (Behrer & Larsson, 1998). Events have become a more natural part of companies’ marketing strategies because the number of opportunities to interact personally with customers has diminished (Sporrek, 2001). Including event marketing in the marketing strategy has showed better response from customers and great exposure compared to traditional marketing methods.
There has been a shift from focusing on products towards focusing on customers to greater extend which indicates that the customer need and demands are in centre of atten-tion for marketers. Event marketing has shown to be an interesting alternative compared to the traditional marketing tools because of its ability to meet the new customer demands (Behrer & Larsson, 1998). The interactivity can further be explained by the fact that the event is the medium in itself which almost makes it impossible for attendants not to inter-act as the sender of the message is right where the receiver is, hence at the event. Fill (2002) and Behrer & Larsson (1998) states that this interaction makes it possible for the sender to transmit the message to the receiver without any interference.
Events can be explained to have an important strength compared to the more traditional mediums used in marketing theories and practice. It integrates the elements of being dy-namic and personal that other tools such as TV, radio, and news papers fail to do. There is
a possibility for companies to arrange the events according to the needs of the customers which is extremely important today (Glaas, 2001).
2.6 Motivation
The following section will describe different factors of motivation and how individuals make decisions con-cerning whether or not to take certain courses of actions. The theories presented here will be analyzed in rela-tion to the informarela-tion received from the customer interviews concerning why the different individuals at-tended the respective events.
Motivation can be explained as a drive that exists in order for a need to be diminished (Mayo & Jarvis, 1981). Another definition is that motivation is pursuing something in order to receive something and that is the reason for doing it. This motivation lead to complex behaviour of people as it is influenced by individual factors such as perception and learn-ing, and also social factors such as culture and social environment. These factors are the conditions why organism chooses one response over another and why we move in one di-rection or another (Vroom, 1995). Concerning events, it is difficult to point out and gener-alize exactly what motivates people to attend them. One problem when trying to explain what motivates people to attend events is that there is commonly more than one factor of motivation (Toebosch, 2001). It is significant to consider factors that can be of importance for motivating people to act in certain ways.
2.6.1 Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation
When discussing what motivates people to act in certain ways and do certain things, two approaches are commonly used to explain what actually motivate people to perform. Ex-trinsic motivation is at work when people are motivated by exogenous factors such as money. In the case of employees the salary is an important factor for extrinsic motivation. This motivation serves to satisfy indirect needs in the sense that the work in itself is only an instrument used in order to earn money that can be used for something outside work (Frey & Osterloh, 2002).
Intrinsic motivation is guided by internal factors such as job satisfaction and the motivation in these cases is directly linked to the activity carried out at the moment. According to Frey & Osterloh there are three main types of intrinsic motivation found among employees. The first is when the activity carried out by a person provides pleasure in itself where an exam-ple can be playing golf. The second type is when the end goal and the activity carried out are of equal value. An example can be when employees meet certain standards (fairness, team spirit, respect etcetera) at the workplace for their own sake. The last type of intrinsic motivation can be found when a person achieves, and is very satisfied with, an own-defined goal although the progress of reaching it was not enjoyable (Frey & Osterloh, 2002). The two approaches are linked together and it is not always clear which of them is at work at different points in time. On the other hand it can be argued that people are different and they have different goals and preferences, answer to different incentives and are thereby motivated by different factors. Some people tend to be more extrinsically motivated and those find work only to be unpleasant and necessary simply to be able to consume the money earned by doing the job. This way of acting is closely related to how a person is de-fined in economic theory and it has been proven that this concept is very successful. Also the so called “status seekers” are extrinsically motivated and find motivation in compari-sons with other people. People who tend to be more intrinsically motivated can be those whose personal goals are closely linked to the organization’s goals. It also applies to those
whose work procedures have become natural parts of their behaviour and it is not easy to influence them with offering extrinsic rewards (Frey & Osterloh, 2002).
2.6.2 Expectancy Theory
In motivation and management the expectancy theory developed by Victor Vroom (1995) describes how we select alternatives that will maximize the outcome to the lowest price. The theory presumes that the behaviour is a result of a conscious choice among these al-ternatives.
The theory was established to explain employees’ individual behaviour and goals in the workplace. This theory is found to be useful when describing how individuals who repre-sent firms choose an event depending on what it expects to give them. The theory states that we are motivated if certain criteria are expected to be fulfilled;
- When there is a positive correlation between the efforts and the performance - The performance will result in a desirable reward
- The reward will satisfy an important need for the company
- The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile The Expectancy Theory is further based upon three beliefs that are valence, expectancy, and instrumentality. Valence refers to the emotional orientations and values individuals hold with respect to the outcomes/rewards. Expectancy is concerned with the likelihood of an outcome to occur due to a particular act. While expectancy is an action-outcome asso-ciation instrumentality is an outcome-outcome assoasso-ciation. This means that the attainment of various consequences is a determinant source for the attitude to the action. These three beliefs further interact psychologically to create a motivational force for how people make decisions and act accordingly. The different beliefs can indicate and predict such things as job satisfaction, one's occupational choice, the likelihood of staying in a job, and the effort one might expect at work (Vroom, 1995).
3 Method
______________________________________________________________________ The following chapter will include a description of approaches linked to the gathering and analyzing of data. The choice of data collection method will be motivated and the section will go further into description of the data collection methods and sample selection.
______________________________________________________________________
3.1 Research approach/strategy
There are two main research approaches to be used when conducting scientific research that is deductive and inductive. The choice of approach lies to ground for how the re-searcher will collect and analyse the data and should be decided dependent on the nature of the research topic.
The deductive approach starts with formulating a theory and hypothesis that are subject to tests and data is used to test the theory. An inductive approach on the other hand collects data that is analyzed and used as a base for development of a theory. It is important to choose between the deductive and inductive approach as the second one aims at under-standing why something is happening whereas the first one aims at describing what is hap-pening (Saunders 2007).
The purpose of the thesis called for an inductive approach as this strategy fit the purpose of the thesis in the sense that the authors aimed at understanding why certain events are tak-ing place and why individuals chose to attend certain events. Saunders (2007) also point out that the inductive approach enables flexible structure that permit the research to be open to change during the process which further gives us opportunity to include new perspectives during the process of writing the thesis. The inductive approach was further suitable since the authors firstly gathered empirical findings and then applied it to relevant theoretical framework. According to Patton (2002) the inductive and deductive approaches are com-monly combined and this thesis used a deductive approach to a certain extent in the sense that in order to explain the why there is a need to first explain the what, hence describing the events in depth.
3.2 Qualitative & Quantitative data
There are two major sorts of data to choose from when conducting research. The most prominent difference between the approaches is that they use different units for analysis, where the quantitative approach use numbers while the qualitative use words (Denscombe, 1998). The quantitative method generates broader rather than deep knowledge about the research field, which gives the opportunity to generalize the result. The qualitative method is employed when acquiring deeper understanding by transforming information from in depth methods into written words (Patel & Davidson, 2003). The qualitative approach fur-ther seeks to understand data by the use of dialogues and open ended techniques (Imms & Ereaut, 2002).
The authors have chosen to collect the primary data in a qualitative manner as this allows for a more flexible structure, which makes it possible to change direction of the thesis dur-ing the process of writdur-ing it. In order to fulfil the purpose the authors needed deeper
un-derstanding in how meaningful events can be created and why people choose to attend cer-tain events and by the use of qualitative data this can be achieved.
3.3 Data Collection
When conducting qualitative research the findings should be based on purposeful sam-pling, which normally indicates a limited sample size being described and examined in-depth. This kind of sampling procedure suggests the use of information-rich cases meaning it is possible to learn a lot about the issues related to the purpose of the research (Patton, 2002). For the purpose of the thesis studying a few cases, hence using purposeful sampling, can generate deep insight and understanding of how meaningful event can be created and how individual employees are deciding which events to attend.
The choice of using qualitative data further enables a case study approach to be used. The approach of studying cases for qualitative analysis stands for a special way of collecting, or-ganizing, and analyzing data and in that sense it represents an analysis process. Case studies can generate in deeper and more describing information within the research field. Cases can be individuals, groups, organizations, nations or anything else which can be explained as a unique practice or system. Cases are units of analysis and the authors are using events as units of analysis, hence they are the cases used for answering the purpose of the thesis (Patton, 2002).
The sampling of organisations was in the first step decided by a category of larger organisa-tions that use corporate events continuously and that the authors knew would be more or less suitable for the research. SAP was chosen since it matched the category criterion and since the authors had accessibility to their information sources. The other three cases were randomly chosen by searching the web for companies fitting into the category criterion. E-mails and phone calls were directed to persons that held positions within the marketing or sales departments within the organisations who were most suitable for the research and likely to work with events. As the authors came in contact with the companies it was de-cided what events that were suitable for the research. Contact information for the custom-ers was given to the authors by the four companies to make it easy and accessible to inter-view them.
Not only the sample strategy but also the sample size needs to be considered and fitted to the purpose of the study carried out. According to Patton (2002) there are no rules for sample size in qualitative analysis, rather it should be in accordance or adjusted to the pur-pose. The choice can further be explained to depend upon what you want to find out, how the findings will be used, and the resources available. Patton (2002) argues that the sample size for qualitative analysis is not as important when evaluating the validity and meaning-fulness of the data gathered. It is rather the depth or richness of the cases that determines how valuable or useful the insights are. The sample can change during the time of the re-search; perhaps the sample size will increase or decrease as the field study has begun. Al-though the sample size does not need to be fixed there should be a decided minimum of cases to be studied (Patton, 2002). In the case of this thesis it was decided that at least two companies were going to be the basis for the study. As the research set of to a start realiza-tion was made that two cases would generate in a result where comparison between the two would be a reasonable continuation. As this was not the purpose of the thesis two more cases were included.
3.3.1 Interviews
Patton (2002) also describes three kinds of qualitative data to choose from for research studies. That is observations, documents, and interviews. Observations yield depth in-formation of how individuals act and behave in social or organizational contexts. Docu-ments on the other hand indicate studying experts, reports, written responses to surveys, etcetera. Interviews are used to collect data on peoples’ experiences, opinions, and knowl-edge (Patton, 2002). Qualitative interviews are especially useful when one is aiming at ob-serving individuals attitudes and values (Silverman, 2006). The authors used qualitative in-terviewing since the thesis aims at finding out what motivates individuals to attend corpo-rate events which deals with peoples’ personal values and opinions.
According to Patton (2002) there are three approaches to choose from when conducting qualitative interviews. The first is the informal conversational interview and indicates that the in-teraction between the interviewed and the interviewee generate a natural flow in the con-versation and impulsive creation of questions. The second is the general interview guide ap-proach where the person(s) conducting the interview holds a checklist with areas or ques-tions to be covered. There is no certain order or specifically formulated quesques-tions that should be followed. The third and last approach is the standardized open-ended interview that uses a more or less exact list of questions that are to be followed in a certain sequence. This last approach is most commonly used when it is important that each respondent answers the same questions, hence when there should be little variation in questions.
The approaches explained by Patton (2002) can also be related to structured interviews, semi-structured interviews, unsemi-structured interviews and focus groups. Tight control over the format of the questions and answers is a characteristic of a structured interview. Semi structured on the other hand is open-ended questions that put emphasise on being flexible and elaborating on the questions discussed. Unstructured interviews are even more open than semi-structured interviews and very flexible. Focus groups is a forth approach and indicates the use of a small group of people who are especially suitable for the purpose of the interviews and who will discuss the questions together. These approaches can further be divided into one-to-one interviews and group interviews (Patton, 2002).
The authors have conduct interviews related to four corporate events with open-ended questions that enabled the authors to add additional questions that arose during the discus-sion. Within each case, hence FKOM, Generalgolfen, WTCC, and the Hockey night at Kinnarps arena, interviews were held with employees with high involvement in each event. The authors further interviewed three participants from each event and analyzed them in relation to the associated event.Through interviews the intension was to gain knowledge of each person’s perspective on why they choose to attend certain corporate events. Qualita-tive interviewing specifically assumes that these perspecQualita-tives are meaningful and important to include in a research for one or many reasons (Patton, 2002). As the purpose of the the-sis deals with exploring how companies can arrange meaningful events and why individuals act in certain ways, interviews can help in gaining information about those peoples’ opin-ions and experiences, hence help the authors in answering the posed research questopin-ions. The interviews conducted with employees who are involved in the specific cases and events will allow the authors to gain valuable information of those individuals’ knowledge con-cerning each event.
In the case of the companies arranging the events three of them were conducted as face-to-face interviews while one was done via a telephone conference due to geographical dis-tance. General interview guide approach was used to be able to have a discussion that
al-lowed flexibility and questions that make sure to cover the essential areas. This can also be linked to the semi-structured approach where the in-depth interviews with companies ar-ranging events enabled to increase the understanding for the phenomenon by having the ability asking additional open-ended questions. A tape recorder was used in the purpose to be able to interpret the discussion in a correct way where the ability to re-listen existed. This was convenient since it was face-to-face interviews that were carried out in three cases out of four and the other one was taped vie speaker phone. For the eleven interviews with the participants at the events a standardised open-ended telephone interview was used to make sure that the participants answered the same questions. This can be related to the structured interviews since the authors wanted a control over the questions asked and the information provided by the participants. By following a list of questions with more direct answers, easy to distinguish, and since they were carried out via telephone a tape recorder was not used in these cases.
3.4 Data Processing & Analysis Interpretation
“Qualitative analysis transforms data into findings” (Patton, 2002). The major problem or challenge with this transformation of data is that it is commonly a very large amount of in-formation that needs to be sorted out. As all data needed for the case study has been col-lected in a so called case record, there is a need to organize it in order to make the findings appropriate for readers to take part of. It can be organized chronologically or topically (Pat-ton, 2002).
The authors have chosen to present the data according to topics, as it will allow the empiri-cal findings to be presented in a way that suits the purpose of the thesis. The first part of the data related to each case will include information related to the specific event arranged by each company whereas the second part will present the customer interviews related to the same event. The first part is in that sense related to how companies arrange meaningful events and the second part to the motivation factors of attendees. In the customer inter-view sections different respondents’ answers will be combined for each question in order to make the data more comprehensive for the reader.
3.5 Validity & Reliability
Validity and reliability is crucial when considering the methods used for a research study. Validity can be equalized with the word truth (Silverman 2000) and Patton (2002) argues that it deals with the information richness of cases and not the sample size. The authors have used information rich cases that suited the purpose of the thesis and chosen the sam-ple on reasonable grounds. According to Denscombe (1998) “Seeing things from a differ-ent perspective and the opportunity to corroborate findings can enhance the validity of the data.” The authors have definitively increased the validity in this sense as data was gathered from both companies arranging events as well as individuals attending corporate events in order to find the most reliable result. Denscombe (1998) also states that validity can be im-proved by getting feedback from the respondents in the study after the results have been proposed. The authors send the proposed findings to the different respondents and gained their thoughts upon the interpretation of what had been said during the interviews, hence validity was raised.
Reliability refers to the degree of consistency in the data collection methods when individu-als observe occurrences. When qualitative data is collected the reader will many time de-pend on the authors description of what the data represented includes (Silverman 2000).
When carrying out the research it was vital to consider the reliability of the data collected and presented in the thesis. The authors tape recorded in-depth interviews which increased the reliability of the data as it enabled the authors to re-listen and discuss the content and the intended message. The raw data gathered in form of tapes and transcripts are therefore available for the reader to take part of and it is also possible for the authors to investigate the material further. These possibilities can increase the reliability of the data used in the thesis.
The case study approach used in the thesis can be argued not to allow for generalization. On the other hand it can be said that although each case is unique it can be also be a single example of a broader set of instances (Denscombe 1998). In the thesis it can be argued that four cases which all are large B2B companies can very possibly be examples of what holds true for other large B2B companies, which make generalization possible to some extent.
4 Empirical data
______________________________________________________________________ In this section we will present the gathered data collected from the interviews. Each case is presented accord-ing to how the data was collected. Within the presentation of each case the first part will include the in-depth interview held with the companies arranging the events. The second part of each case consists of interviews conducted with attendees of the particular events arranged by the different organisations. ______________________________________________________________________
4.1 SAP
Founded in 1972 as Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing, SAP AG is the world’s largest business software company and the third-largest software supplier overall. Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, SAP has around 43000 employees operating at sales and development locations in more than 50 countries worldwide (SAP, 2007a).
SAP provides a comprehensive range of enterprise software applications and business solu-tions to empower every aspect of business operasolu-tions for all types of industries. By using SAP solutions, organizations of all sizes can reduce costs, improve performance, and gain the agility to respond to changing business needs (SAP, 2007b).
The authors have interview Mike Wong, who is Regional Marketing Manager at the Singa-pore office, about their event strategy with focus on SAP Asia Pacific Field Kick-Off Meet-ing (FKOM) 2007, a major annual event where approximately 3000 visitors participated. The event was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Hong Kong from 29 – 31 January 2007.
4.1.1 FKOM - Asia Pacific Field Kick-Off Meeting
According to Mike Wong (2007) events must be an integral part of the overall strategy and marketing mix that SAP currently follows. SAP is working with events as a communication tool to achieve the long-term goals and objectives. Business events arranged by SAP are combinations of sales and marketing activities. Events are therefore an efficient way to bring together diverse marketing techniques in order to reach the intended objectives and business strategy. Arranging events are an efficient way to create a resonating experience for customers, partners, employees and other stakeholders (M. Wong, personal communi-cation, 2007-10-26).
Depending on the objectives with the event, the strategy differs. The objective of an event is usually a combination of a marketing mix such as increasing brand awareness, maintain-ing existmaintain-ing customers, attractmaintain-ing new potential customers, launchmaintain-ing a new product etc. At the FKOM event customers, partners, and employees attended the event. The event was a perfect opportunity to network with customers, partners and employees of the different re-gional teams. Corporate events are also a platform for customers to network and have a good time. In many cases, a combination of business activities and entertainment is to be recommended. The audience usually likes a mixture of business information and social ac-tivities, as well as good food and drinks (M. Wong, personal communication, 2007-10-26). The activities presented bellow was part of the FKOM event.
