EVENT MANAGEMENT
tailored
to
your needs
A
wedding today is more than just a ceremony; how well it has been organised
is a matter of prestige. It is an event that needs to run without
a glitch. The same holds true for any seminar or workshop.
With this being
the age of presentation, and as we strive to compete on the international
arena, be it in terms of sports or entertainment or commerce, the
image we present to others is of extreme importance. And this is where
event management comes into play.
Even a decade
or so ago, a company opening a new showroom would invite a few concerned
persons, cut a ribbon, give out some snacks, and everyone would go
home and forget about the whole thing. Today, however, to stay afloat
in the competition, the company would have to provide adequate seating
arrangements, decent catering, entertainment facilities (even if that
entailed just a slide show), and make sure at least one celebrity
was on the guest list, and arrange for media coverage. And since it's
not always possible for the PR department to handle all that, the
event management industry is finding a growing market.
In recent years,
our country has also been hosting more high-profile events, which
drive home the need for professional hands to make everything run
smoothly. The star-studded beauty pageants, the glamorous fashion
shows, the high powered concerts; with the rest of the world starting
to tune in to the show, everything has to be orchestrated to perfection.
Given the wide
scope of this business, event management (EM) as a whole can be broadly
divided into three categories. Let's take a look at each, as well
as some names in the business.
Corporate
Event Management: Educational seminars, training workshops, product
launching and marketing campaigns all fall under the Corporate EM
category. What sets these types of events apart from others is that
the underlying theme is one of business. The décor has to have
that corporate look, the organisers and staff have to adhere to a
strict dress-code, and such events usually require a lot of logistic
support in terms of a good sound system, audio-visual units, slide
projectors, MC's, presenters, event memorabilia, etc.
The work of EM
firms dealing with such programmes ranges from arranging media coverage,
to managing guest-lists, to preparing speeches for the presenters,
making provisions for flowers/crests for Chief Guest (if applicable).
In a society where punctuality is still just a fancy word in the dictionary,
the biggest challenge for Corporate EM firms is to ensure that the
allotted time tables are strictly followed.
Cultural
Event Management
The elaborate arrangements for the recent Ampfest Concert at the National
Stadium-2 in Mirpur, which was organised by Antor Showbiz, which included
the climactic stunt of having the two foreign bands arrive to the
venue in helicopters, certainly pushed the bar up for the scope of
this kind of business.
Aside
from concerts, fashion shows, music shows, awards ceremonies, beauty
pageants, etc, all fall under the category of cultural events.
The requirements
for such events are somewhat similar to that of corporate events,
but there is also a greater scope for creativity. In fact, the success
of most of these events depends on the creativity of their organisers.
Since most of these events cater to larger audiences, one must continually
come up with new styles, new gimmicks to keep people coming back for
more.
Social
Event Management
Most of the events that fall under this category revolve around weddings.
From engagements to walimas, inspired by the elaborate arrangements
à la Bollywood and Indian soaps, everyone wants a dash of dhamaka
in their weddings, some extra oomph. This has to be expressed in the
unique design of the stage, the funky choreography of the dancers
at the holud, and the decoration of the daalas, or wedding gifts exchanged
between the two families. Some weddings have bands playing in the
background, others arrange for rong khela, and still others have puppet
shows and fire dancing!
Other than weddings,
birthday parties, reunions, Bar-b-q dinners and so on, fall under
the category of Social Events. Due to space constraint, many people
now turn to EM firms to help arrange these programmes for them.
With the demand
for such services on the rise, event management firms around the country
have been trying to stay in the market by broadening their range of
facilities, and are constantly striving to bring you the better, edgier
deal. So if you have a programme you want to arrange, look for a firm
that offers the kind of services your event needs, and just sit back
and relax. They'll take care of everything.
By
Sabrina F Ahmad
a
rocking good time
As
our country steps into the global arena, EM firms are enjoying popularity
like never before. We at Lifestyle managed to catch up with just a
few of the many individuals and firms that deal with event management.
While they may or may not be the biggest names in the biz, a quick
look at them should give you an idea of what to look for:
Bitopi
The year was 1968. A young man in his early thirties decided to start
an advertising agency. With only six dedicated people, three clients
and a three-roomed office. Bitopi was born. Little did the young man
know that one day this small sapling would grow into a huge tree to
help build most of the well known brands in the country. It grew to
gargantuan proportions to become one of the largest advertising agencies
in Bangladesh. It is also the oldest agency. The young man who founded
Bitopi is Mr. Reza Ali.
And from the giant
tree comes a branch known as Kolpodroom, Bitopi's event management
team. This company has managed events all over the country. Theirs
are events unique and artistic in their themes. They are responsible
for the "mystery customer" event for Rahimafrooz, where
they awarded gold coins to the most deserving dealers. They have been
arranging the Scan Cement Dealers' Night every year since 1998.
Their
other babies include the Malaysian Education Fair (2002), the IFIC
Golf Tournament (2004), both pretty tricky events that were handled
with panache. Kopodroom has also created and managed events where
Citycell mobiles were sold in Sylhet by van, and served people during
the dengue epidemic. They've covered the launching of Godrej black
henna, organized the Asian Paint painters meet, handled donations
to flood victims, the Music Hour 
and,
as a recent and memorable feather to their cap, they were responsible
for the opening of the Mohakhali flyover in 2004.
This event management
company which is a wing of Bitopi, has a huge client list. Among its
clients, Kolpodroom manages events of Scan Cement, Rahimafrooz, the
Nike Foundation, HSBC, Orsaline, Unicef, Wold Bank, UNFPA, Bangladesh
Centre for Communication Program, Save the Children USA, Singer, Godrej
Sara Lee and some others.
Today,
the Bitopi team consists of 60+ professionals from Bangladesh and
India, a healthy mixture of young and old, energy and wisdom. For
further details, contact:
Paula Aziz,
Senior Account Executive
Bitopi Advertising Limited, (A Leo Burnett Affiliate). E-mail: paula@bitopi.com
URL: www.leoburnett.com
www.leoburnettasiapacific.com
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