The Event Manager sighed as the festival approached and she had only five crafts vendors who had committed to taking part in the marketplace. She and her assistant were frantic. They had been pounding the streets, attending festivals all over the city trying to recruit artists and vendors to sell artwork, crafts, authentic items, and concessions at the event. With only nine days before the event and only a few vendors committed, they were afraid that the event would be a failure.

At the end of April, the Event Manager was asked to plan the festival with only two months to put everything together. In addition, the budget was minimal and was heavily dependent on vendor participation. The festival was supposed to be a positive community event promoting a neighboring shopping center where the event would take place. The opening was promoted in local newspapers and on social media as an event that would bring the community together.

The problem was that, despite the fact that the shopping mall was located in an unpopular neighborhood, the main stakeholders wanted to have a first-class celebration with upscale vendors and the best entertainers. However, the shopping mall where the event was taking place mainly featured stores that targeted middle- and low-middle-income shoppers. Therefore, the vendors selected could not benefit from people living in the area, because they did not have the income to purchase upscale merchandise or simply were not interested. However, all the entertainers and contractors were confirmed, and the local shop owners were determined to have a festival and marketplace for the neighborhood.

The Event Manager and her assistant made the decision to reduce the vendor participation fee from $250 to $150. Due to the short time frame, they went to comparable festivals and distributed flyers to prospective vendors. Fortunately, 25 vendors were recruited, close to their goal of 30. However, they both felt that they should have talked with the owners about raising donations and sponsorship money to offset the cost instead of recruiting more vendors for the marketplace.

QUESTIONS

What could the Event Manager and her assistant have done to market their event effectively to

vendors?

What integrative marketing techniques would be most effective for this type of event, given the low

budget?

Do you think the situation would have been the same if the Event Manager had more time?

What types of sponsors would have been appropriate for this event?