Postgraduate Diploma in Festival Event Management via Online Distance Learning

Event Management Planning

Managing Event Planning Schedules; Feasibility Studies; Identifying Event Goals and Listing Objectives; Event Organisational Charts; Duty Rosters; Record Keeping Mechanisms; Recruitment; Reviewing Event Contracts and Agreements; Troubleshooting Event Co-ordination; Creation and Presentation of Proposals to Clients.

The Role of the Event Manager

The Key role of the Event Manager in the Planning Team, Outlining Core Roles and Responsibilities, Team Dynamics, Task and Event Timelines, Maximising Staff and Physical Resources, Planning and Co-ordinating Team and Suppliers, Decision Making, Contingency Planning.

Coordinating Events

Developing Creative Elements; Scheduling Entertainment; Site Planning and Inspection; Analysis and Management of the Registration and Admission Process; Providing Adequate Event Security; Planning Event Protocol Requirements; Co-ordinating Event Speakers with additional Entertainment for maximum effect; Identifying Appropriate Food and Beverage Menus; Event Contingency Planning.

Introduction to Festival Management

Definition of Festivals; the Benefits of Festivals;

Arts Festival Management

Establishing Budget; Choosing Site Locations; Bringing Artists to Your Festival; Signing & Managing Artist Expectations; Handling Displays; Setting Your Art Festival Apart; Developing Marketing Strategies; Sponsorship.

Music Festival Management

Media Marketing & Management; Developing Target Audience; Operating Strategy; Choosing Site Locations; Signing & Managing Musician Expectations; Travel & Accommodation for Musicians; Backstage & VIP Passes; Musician Security & Safety; Crowd Control; Identifying Legal Requirements; International, Regional, Local Festivals;

Literary Festival Management

Definition; Suitable Venues; Who to invite; the book swap; Materials, the Writer's Conference; Top tips for Festival Organisation; the Programme; Case studies;

Food & Wine Festival Management

Setting Up Vendor Booths; Managing Food Vendors; Managing Wine Vendors; Working with Local Vendors; Operating Strategy; Sourcing & Working with Volunteers;

Community Festival Management

Managing Community Expectations; Engaging & Involving the Community; Traffic Control; Sourcing & Working with Volunteers; Generating Sponsorship Support; Community Relations; Defining the Community; the Importance of strong Community Relations; the Range of Community Relations Activities;

Film Festival Management

Key Motivating Factors; Establishing a Budget; Choosing the Venue; Operations Set Up; Identifying Legal Requirements;

Touring Festival Management

Working to a Budget; Travel between Locations; Volunteers; Sponsorship; International & National Festivals; Preparing a Festival Action Plan; Media Marketing & Management;

Sports Festival Management

Define Sports Festivals, Traditional Sport Festivals, Niche Sport Festivals, the Benefits of Sport Event Management, Designing the Sports Festival, Developing key objectives of the Sports Festival, the Sports Event Industry, Importance of Sports Events, Scale of the Industry, Structures, Participants, Staging Sporting Events Challenges & Opportunities;

Charity & Fundraising Festival Management

Define Charity & Fundraising Festivals; Goals for a Successful Festival; Types of Fundraising & Charitable Festivals, Key Elements of a Fundraising or Charity Festival; A Model for selecting a Festival type;

Volunteer Management

Volunteers and Recruitment;, Volunteers in Leadership Positions; Training of Volunteers; Motivating Volunteers;

Working with Celebrities

Organising Celebrity Events; Concerts and Launches; Television Related Events and Ceremonies; Fashion Shows; National Festivals; Galas and Special Themed Events; Dealing with Celebrity Agents; Celebrity Wish Lists;

Accommodation & Transport

Selecting the Right Location; Legalities; Destination Management Companies; Transport Options;

Event Risk Management

Budgeting; Forecasting Expenditure; Compiling and Understanding Event Contracts; Managing Health and Safety; Event Risk Assessment; Copyright and Trademark Considerations; Event Ethical Practice;

Accident, Incident & Emergency Management

Public Liability and Insurance; Accident and Incident Forms; Planning for Hot, Wet or Stormy Weather Conditions; Emergency Management Plan for Fire, Explosion, Dangerous Chemical Release; Medical Emergency; Bomb Threat, Robbery etc., Emergency Services Management; Fire Safety; Contingency Planning; Evacuation Plans and Training; Crisis Management Strategy; Media Management during a Crisis or Emergency; Management of Complaints;

Crisis Management

The Crisis Management Plan; the Crisis Management Team; Crisis Communications; Crisis Action; Coping Under Crisis; 12 Laws of Crisis Management;

Event Sponsorship

Determining Potential Sponsorship Market based on the Event Type, Time & Location; Assessing Selling Points of the Festival; Determining Sponsorship Fulfilment Responsibilities; Research and Set Sponsorship Pricing based on Market Factors and Festival Exposure;

Event Marketing

Planning the Event Proposal Strategy; Preparing the Event Proposal; Sending Invitations; Budgeting and Buying Advertising; Publicising the Event; Organising Contests; Merchandising; Packaging and Sales Promotion; Formulating a Public Relations Strategy; Conducting Market Research; Methods of Measuring Marketing Activity;

Social Media Marketing

Introduction to Social Media and Social Networking; How Social Media is transforming the way we do Business; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, Blogs and Blogger;

E-Commerce

The E-Commerce module is broken down into two sections. The first one deals with the Theory of E-Commerce and how to set up an E-Commerce solution for a business. It also goes into some detail on the various types of E-Commerce. The second section deals with web site design. This covers HTML, XHTML and CSS and serves as an introduction to web site design and development.

Introduction to Project Management

Characteristics Defining a Project; Projects vs. Processes; Global Standards in Project Management: Professional Organisations; Project Management Methodologies; Defining the Project Manager's Multi Skilled Role; Key Project Management Responsibilities; Measuring Project Success;

The Project Management Life Cycle

Project Management Life Cycle Stages; the Difference between a Project Phase and a Project Life Cycle, Project Life Cycle Models;

Overview of the ProjectLibre Environment

Introduction to ProjectLibre; Downloading & Installing the Application; The ProjectLibre screen environment: Gantt Charts, Using Network Diagrams, the Resources View, the Work Breakdown Structure Chart, the Resources Breakdown Structure Chart, the Reports Screen, the Task Usage Detail Screen, the Resource Usage Detail Screen, the Histogram Screen;

Setting up and Managing a Project

Setting up a New Project; Creating Sub Tasks, Setting Task Durations, Setting Task Dependencies, Modifying a Task, Adding Notes to a Task, Adding Resources to your Project; Work and Material Resource Types, Assigning & Modifying a Resource, Assigning Costs to a Resource, Adding Notes to a Resource. Inserting Milestones in a Project; Tracking your Project using Baselines, Creating Project Reports; Common Project Management Terms, Resources and References;

Public Relations

Internal Public Relations functions; Corporate Image; Press and Broadcast Media Relations; Client Relationships; Commissioning and Briefing Photographers; Supplying Material to the Press/Getting Material onto TV and Radio; Organising Seminars, Exhibitions and Conferences; Audio/Visual Aids, Writing Skills (Press Releases, Writing Feature Articles for the Press, In-house Journals and Newsletters); Crisis Management; Corporate Advertising; Brochures and Printing;

Online Public Relations

The Social Media Landscape

Blogs, Microblogs, Chatrooms, Delicious, Email, Instant messaging, Message Boards, Mobile Internet , New Media Releases, Online Conferencing, Online Surveys, Pay per click, Podcasts, RSS, Search Engines, SEO, Social Networking Service Sites, Video Sharing, Virtual worlds, VoIP, Wiki and Widgets;

The Internet as a Media

Commercial Implications of the Internet, Social Interaction with the Internet, Web 2.0 and its Implications, Internet Convergence, the Network Effect, Internet Information Exchange, Internet Audience Size and Exposure, Internet Culture and Communication, Transparency and the Internet;

Public Relations and Search Engine Optimisation

PR tactics, Optimising your Campaign, the Google Factor, SEO Tactics, SEO Guidelines, Factors influencing SEO, on-page and off-page SEO, CMS, Link Building; Link Building guidelines;

Social Media and PR strategy

Local versus Global Communication, Landscaping Platforms, Channels and context, Online PR Organisational Analysis and Segmentation, Developing Online PR Strategies, Online PR Tactics and SEO considerations, Online PR Planning, Managing Online PR Risk and Opportunities;

Online Influences on present PR practices

Internet influence on News; Internet Journalists; Economics of Online News Production; Internet Critics and other influences; the PR Practitioner as an Online Publisher; Ethical Internet PR; Truthfulness and Duty of Care; Online Ethics; Monitoring and Evaluation of Social Media Discourse; Trends and Value; Implications of Social Media for Corporate Social Responsibility;

Setting Up & Marketing a Consultancy

The Business Plan; Legalities; Setting Up; the Marketing Strategy; Knowing Your Competitors; Promotional Tools;

Presentation Skills

Preparation and Research; Speech Content & Subject Matter; Speech Delivery and Variety, Body Language, Eye Contact, etc.; Presentation Aids; Management of Locations and Audiences; Presentation Structure;