2. MARKETING MIX
Marketing plays an important part in every festival. In this section of the reports, I will describe the marketing mix used in Singapore GP and evaluate the effectiveness of each component in its contribution towards the success of Singapore GP.
2.1 Product & People
The product mix is aimed at satisfying the needs of the spectators, with mainly 3 segments- design characteristic; service component; branding
2.1.1 Design characteristic
Design characteristic includes all the tangible elements that contribute to the setting up of the Singapore GP. The Formula One (F1) cars, professional drivers, ear plugs and the street circuit was the crucial product, together with approximately 1,500 lighting projectors which helped to create the ecstatic and electrifying atmosphere of our first night race. The sale of merchandises as seen from the picture below, (e.g. Keychains, T-shirts) allow the guests to purchase as souvenirs and at the same time earn sales revenue for them. These definitely played a big part in ensuring the audience have a memorable experience of this event
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2.1.2 Service component
Service is a vital in every event, and in order to have top-notch service, we need to train good service staffs. The perception from the guests can be controlled by the degree of training each service providers have spent in educating their service staff of their standards. Taken from my own experience as a banquet crew in The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore, I was given half day training to gear up my service and communication skills. On the event days, uniformed service staffs were well dispersed giving each and every guest equal attention. The preparations made by the hotels helped to ensure a consistency in their servi
ce, contributing to the whole experience of every guest.
However, there were not many interactions between the guests and the staffs during the event day. Most of the guests were busying watching the race and communicating with their friends and colleagues. The management could have come up with a better system for these part-time staffs to allow more interaction with the guest, creating a more meaningful experience.
2.1.3 Branding
This event had done very well in branding and positioning itself in the minds of their target market as an expensive passive sports activity. As the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggest, different people have different needs, in this event, guest who are in the level of self-esteem needs would participate to watch the race to give him a status. Furthermore, this was the first Singapore GP, thus it contributed to a higher value in the guests’ minds if they were to be at the event itself.
From the analysis of the 3 sections under product, I can see the event had done very well in fully utilising their uniqueness of the event to promote to the public. The tangible product (F1 cars), intangible hospitality service and also the value received by guests were well-planned and used effectively to its advantage.
2.2 Price & Packaging
The ticket price for this event ranges from $168 for walkabout to $1,388 for the pit grandstand, other prices includes also $2,588 and $7,500 for the Esplanade Steps Premier Grandstand seat and exclusive Paddock Club respectively. This provides the guest with different choices and location for their seats; a more expensive ticket will give entry to a location where one can watch the race more comfortable and with a better view. In addition, there were concessions for youths, senior citizens and an 8-ticket concession, as well as single-day pass and three-day pass, giving more choices for the consumer.
At Singapore Flyer, where I was schedule to, caters mainly to corporate. Corporate hospitality packages were sold to companies which covers a wide spectrum of sectors, including banking, finance, maritime and construction (e.g. Great Wheel Corporation, Singapore Flyer). The Sky Suites at Pit Grandstand, Pit Exit and Turns 1 and 2 was most popular, followed by the Club Suites at the Pit Entry and Paddock Club.
Hotels (e.g. The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore) and tickets were also specially bundled up as a package to satisfy the needs of tourists. This package attracted my tourists as it eases the hassle to search for a hotel during their stay in
The different types of ticket ensure that the event was open and available to a wide market, and caters to different needs of the guest. Packages were well-planned to meet the needs of different groups, and market to them from a different prospective.
2.3 Promotion (communication)
Being the first time this event is held in
This event was advertised through many media mix, from television, NEL underpasses to outdoor posters and postcards and also road shows as shown in the picture below (Clarke Quay, T2 departure transit mall). With the advance of today’s technology, internet has become a necessity in everyone’s daily life, thus it was also effectively use as their marketing tool. Nuffnang, the Asia-Pacific first blog advertising community was also one of its partners in advertising this prestige event. Official website was setup, providing useful information and contacts for publics who are interested. Purchases of tickets were also available on the website.
Promotional efforts have successfully created awareness of the Singapore GP to their target market as well as the Singaporeans and at the same time inform them of pertinent details of this event. It also stirred up the hyper atmosphere of the Grand Prix season, making it known to every Singaporean.
2.4 Place & Distribution
The Marina Bay Street Circuit is very accessible, as seen from the map below; it is near MRT station, shopping centres, places of interest as well as food and beverages outlets. It also has a magnificent view of the
The different location of viewing the race enables a wide spread of crowds to these different areas. However, I did notice the muddy grounds along the way to the Paddock Club, where the walkabout area is located at. Platforms could have been placed showing their empathy for the guest, creating a more comfortable way for them to access to the area, thus enhancing the whole Singapore GP experience.
The sales and pickup location for the tickets were dispersed around the island from the highly accessible
The accessibility of the venue of the events as well as the ticketing counters is crucial as it place an impact on the attractiveness of the event. From my observation, I believe Singapore GP had effectively market themselves through this place and distribution mix.
2.5 Partnerships
The Title Sponsor of Singapore GP was Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) whom paid around SGD14.7 million as estimated by a local
Another partnership was with the Singapore Flyer, where Singapore GP gained access to use their land and facilities while the other party received free marketing and earned revenue during the race period.
The best partnership throughout the whole event was being able to work with SingTel. Besides its great cash contribution, it also helps to promote Singapore GP to almost everyone in
2.6 Programming
Singapore GP had organised many stage entertainment programs (e.g. Zouk Resident DJs) and Roving Acts (e.g. Magicians, Mime) at various location (e.g. Zouk Stage,
All these programs aid to disperse the crowds at different timing as well as allowing the drivers have a break during the intervals. These entertainments also provided extra benefits to the guests enhancing their experience during the Singapore GP event as they interact with the performers. Some of the programs were also the pulling factors for people to buy tickets and enjoy the race at the same time.