Corporate Marketing

JNKPING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL
JNKPING UNIVERSITY
Perfect creation for a win-win

situation
Four case studies of corporate events
Bachelor Thesis within Business Administration

Authors:
Anna Gustafsson 830129

Kristin Svenhed 830921
Supervisors: Olga Sasinovskaya

Maya Paskaleva
Jnkping:
January 2008
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 fellow students who have given us feedback and guidance throughout the process of writing
the thesis.
Anna Gustafsson
Kristin Svenhed
Jnkping International Business School, January 2008
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 todays market place. One way for companies to reach its
customers, strengthen the relation, and meet them face-to-face is to create events. However, 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 company 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 interviews 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 targeting 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 opportunity 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 representatives 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.
ii
Kandidatuppsats inom marknadsfring

Titel:
Perfekt skapande fr en win-win situation

Fyra fallstudier av fretagsevent
Frfattare:
Anna Gustafsson & Kristin Svenhed
Handledare:
Maya Paskaleva & Olga Sasinovskaya
Datum:
Januari 2008
mnesord:
Event marketing, motivation, marketing communication, relationship

marketing
Sammanfattning
Det blir allt svrare, men stndigt mer viktigt, fr fretag att n ut till sina kunder och differentiera sig p marknaden. Den frmsta anledningen r att konkurrensen r mycket intensiv
och det r frhllandevis enkelt fr kunder att byta leverantrer. Genom att fokusera p relationer kan fretag vervinna ngra av de konkurrenshinder som r ptagliga p dagslget.
Genom skapande av events kan fretag n sina kunder, mta dem ga mot ga och drmed strka relationen till dem. Fr att lyckas med detta r det viktigt fr fretag att hitta de
tilltnkta mlgrupperna och motivera individer till att bli intresserade och faktiskt beska
eventet. Det r viktigt att anpassa ett fretags motiv fr skapandet av ett event men det
som de inbjudna individerna frvntar sig f ut av att beska eventet. Det r vidare viktigt
att ett event riktas mot de tilltnkta individerna och fr ett fretag att se till att de inbjudna
verkligen besker eventet.
Uppsatsen syftar till att underska hur fretag kan arrangera meningsfulla events fr en tilltnkt mlgrupp och ta reda p vilka faktorer som motiverar individer att faktiskt beska
dessa events.
Ett induktivt tillvgagngsstt anvnds till strsta delen i uppsatsen eftersom det r tillter
en flexibel struktur dr frfattarna utgr frn empirisk data fr att sedan hitta lmplig teori.
Frfattarna har ven valt att anvnda kvalitativ data eftersom det mjliggr ppna intervjuer som kan ge djupare inblick i hur fretagsevent kan skapa mervrde fr ett fretag och
dess beskare och frstelse fr de inbjudnas motivationsfaktorer. Primr data baserades
p intervjuer med individer relaterade till fyra olika fretagsevent som tidigare gt rum.
Studien visar att fretag har mnga olika skl till att arrangera events och den frmsta orsaken till detta r att events r ett forum som integrerar flera marknadsfringsaktiviteter p
ett naturligt och ofrnkomligt stt. Nr ett fretag marknadsfr ett event till en tilltnkt
mlgrupp kan personlig direktkontakt ka sannolikheten att de inbjudna kommer att beska eventet. Anledningen till detta r att direktkommunikation ger ett fretag mjligheten att
skrddarsy inbjudan genom att frklara varfr just denna individ br beska eventet och
varfr det br vara viktigt fr denne. Ett fretagsevent br erbjuda beskande individer
vrdefull information, i annat fall riskerar fretaget att mnga individer inte kommer prioritera just detta event. Individer besker fretagsevent i syftet att integrera med representanter frn det arrangerande fretaget och individer frn andra beskande fretag. Studien visar att fretagsevent br vara arbetsrelaterade i dess utformning och erbjuda intressant information och/eller erbjuda integrationsmjligheter.
iii
Table of Contents
1 Introduction............................................................................... 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Background ............................................................................................1
Problem discussion ................................................................................2
Purpose ..................................................................................................2
Delimitations...........................................................................................2
2 Frame of References ................................................................ 4

2.1
2.2
2.2.1
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.5.1
2.5.2
2.5.3
2.5.4
2.5.5
2.6
2.6.1
2.6.2
Relationship marketing ...........................................................................4

Event Marketing .....................................................................................4
Why Event marketing .............................................................................6
Attracting customers...............................................................................7
Communication ......................................................................................8
Platform for interaction & integration ....................................................10
The Message........................................................................................10
The Meeting .........................................................................................11
The Experience ....................................................................................12
Integration ............................................................................................12
Interaction.............................................................................................13
Motivation .............................................................................................14
Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation ..........................................................14
Expectancy Theory...............................................................................15
3 Method..................................................................................... 16
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.3.1
3.4
3.5
Research approach/strategy ................................................................16

Qualitative & Quantitative data .............................................................16
Data Collection .....................................................................................17
Interviews .............................................................................................18
Data Processing & Analysis Interpretation ...........................................19
Validity & Reliability ..............................................................................19
4 Empirical data ......................................................................... 21

4.1
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3
4.2
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3
4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3
4.4
4.4.1
4.4.2
4.4.3
SAP ......................................................................................................21
FKOM - Asia Pacific Field Kick-Off Meeting .........................................21
Attracting visitors ..................................................................................22
SAP Customer interviews.....................................................................23
Swedish Match .....................................................................................24
Generalgolfen.......................................................................................24
Swedish Match Customer Interviews....................................................27
SAPA....................................................................................................28
Hockey Night at Kinnarps Arena ..........................................................29
Attracting Visitors..................................................................................30
SAPA Customer Interviews ..................................................................31
Chevrolet ..............................................................................................32
Corporate event at WTCC ....................................................................33
Chevrolet Customer Interviews ............................................................34
iv
5 Analysis ................................................................................... 36
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.3.1
5.3.2
5.3.3
5.3.4
5.4
Defining the cases................................................................................36

Reasons for arranging the events.........................................................36
The importance of targeting..................................................................37
Delivering the message ........................................................................38
The meeting .........................................................................................40
Creating an experience ........................................................................41
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) ............................................ 7
Figure 2 Communication process (Shimp, 2003) ............................................... 9
Figure 3 Communication interaction model (Maat, 2004)................................. 10
Figure 4 (Behrer & Larsson, 1998)................................................................... 10
Appendix
Company interviews....51
Customer interviews52
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 todays 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 between suppliers who offer similar products. Due to these changes in the environment,
companies respond by trying to discover new channels to communicate and market themselves. 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 Gummesson (2002) relationship marketing is marketing which puts relations, networks, and interaction in focus. Relationship 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 marketing. 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 themselves (Gummesson, 2002). Event marketing is one tool that can be used in doing so.
Todays 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. Company 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 consider 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 creating corporate events in realizing 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 operating 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 because corporate events commonly invites individuals who frequently choose whether or
not to attend events and consider many different factors when considering to attend a certain event. Their motives for attending events seem to be complex and certain individuals
attendants can be very important to the arranging company.
Frame of References
In order to assess the problem in best possible way, there is a need to use theories from different research areas. The main focus of the theory will be connected to event marketing and motivation. Relationship marketing 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) relationship marketing is marketing which puts relations, networks, and interaction in centre. Relationship marketing can offer companies possibilities to develop long-term relations and
thereby lower costs that in turn increase a companys 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 marketing 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 marketing tools. It involves sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing, 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 definitions 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 entertaining the customers, introducing and promoting new products and services, or providing incentives or training 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) further 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 programs, sales promotion, public relations, causes, business-to-business, television promotion, and trade promotion 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 previously. 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 outcome 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 interactions and reactions of the people attending.
In practice events can be anything from a small get together for companies most important clients to giant events that are open to the public. The broad usefulness of events indicates 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 purpose 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 creating 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. Goldblatt (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 persons 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 education 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 involve attendees in the event.
Marketing is an essential element of any marketing plan. Events are used for the same purpose as other communication tools such as advertising, PR, and promotion. That is to create 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 related 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 organisation 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 towards 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 categories 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 todays 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 invitation 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 relation with and influence. In all market planning this is important but it is particularly essential 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 effective 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 groups 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 crucial 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 companys
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. Communication is an important ingredient in any event and the next coming section 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 receiver 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 communication 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 communicate 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 permission-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 interventionbased approach towards the permission-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, preevent 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 delivering a message, experience, and meeting. It is essential to describe the figure in further detail as the creation 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 communicating certain objectives (Sporrek, 2001). The event itself can be seen as a mean to communicate 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 todays corporate climate time is scarce and it is therefore impor-
10
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 acceptance 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 transmit an offering and message to the audience and encouraging an establishment of a dialogue 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 organisations 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 marketing and defines it as marketing that enables companies to connect with target audience
face-to-face. Todays 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-toface 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 alternative 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
11
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 observation and/or participation 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 message 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 impressing 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 acceptance 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 attendees and their interest the event can fulfil theses expectations and leave the attendees
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 contribute 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 magnitude 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 promotion, personal selling etc are used to influence the attendees (Behrer & Larsson, 1998).
12
An event also creates an opportunity for an organisation to integrate its different stakeholders. 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. Business 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 upcoming 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 occasion. By inviting Medias, such as TV and newspapers and allow them to make exclusive reports 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 interaction 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 determinant 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 interactive and concentrates on direct communication. Customers of todays 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 attention 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 interact 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 dynamic and personal that other tools such as TV, radio, and news papers fail to do. There is
13
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 concerning whether or not to take certain courses of actions. The theories presented here will be analyzed in relation to the information received from the customer interviews concerning why the different individuals attended 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 learning, 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 direction or another (Vroom, 1995). Concerning events, it is difficult to point out and generalize 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. Extrinsic 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 example 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 defined 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 comparisons with other people. People who tend to be more intrinsically motivated can be those
whose personal goals are closely linked to the organizations goals. It also applies to those
14
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 alternatives.
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 represent 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 association instrumentality is an outcome-outcome association. 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).
15
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 researcher 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 understanding why something is happening whereas the first one aims at describing what is happening (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 taking 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 commonly 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 further 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 during the process of writing it. In order to fulfil the purpose the authors needed deeper un-
16
derstanding in how meaningful events can be created and why people choose to attend certain 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 sampling, which normally indicates a limited sample size being described and examined indepth. 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, organizing, 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 organisations 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. Emails 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 decided what events that were suitable for the research. Contact information for the customers was given to the authors by the four companies to make it easy and accessible to interview 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 purpose. 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 meaningfulness 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 research; perhaps the sample size will increase or decrease as the field study has begun. Although 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 realization 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.
17
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 in-depth information of how individuals act and behave in social or organizational contexts. Documents on the other hand indicate studying experts, reports, written responses to surveys,
etcetera. Interviews are used to collect data on peoples experiences, opinions, and knowledge (Patton, 2002). Qualitative interviews are especially useful when one is aiming at observing individuals attitudes and values (Silverman, 2006). The authors used qualitative interviewing since the thesis aims at finding out what motivates individuals to attend corporate 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 interaction between the interviewed and the interviewee generate a natural flow in the conversation and impulsive creation of questions. The second is the general interview guide approach where the person(s) conducting the interview holds a checklist with areas or questions to be covered. There is no certain order or specifically formulated questions 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, semistructured interviews, unstructured 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 semistructured 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 discussion. 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 persons perspective on why they choose to attend certain corporate events. Qualitative interviewing specifically assumes that these perspectives are meaningful and important
to include in a research for one or many reasons (Patton, 2002). As the purpose of the thesis 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 opinions and experiences, hence help the authors in answering the posed research questions.
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 concerning each event.
In the case of the companies arranging the events three of them were conducted as face-toface interviews while one was done via a telephone conference due to geographical distance. General interview guide approach was used to be able to have a discussion that al-
18
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 arranging 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 information that needs to be sorted out. As all data needed for the case study has been collected 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 (Patton, 2002).
The authors have chosen to present the data according to topics, as it will allow the empirical 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 interview 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 sample on reasonable grounds. According to Denscombe (1998) Seeing things from a different 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 improved 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 individuals observe occurrences. When qualitative data is collected the reader will many time depend on the authors description of what the data represented includes (Silverman 2000).
19
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.
20
Empirical data
______________________________________________________________________
In this section we will present the gathered data collected from the interviews. Each case is presented according 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
worlds 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 solutions to empower every aspect of business operations 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 Singapore office, about their event strategy with focus on SAP Asia Pacific Field Kick-Off Meeting (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 communication, 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, maintaining existing customers, attracting new potential customers, launching 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 regional 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 activities, as well as good food and drinks (M. Wong, personal communication, 2007-10-26).
The activities presented bellow was part of the FKOM event.
-
Keynotes speeches by members of the executive board and president
21
Information sessions about the corporate vision, mission, and growth strategy
Smaller seminars with product information
Smaller activities at the different booths
Demo jams (a number of selected partners competed for the best solution demo)
Social activities; food & drinks, music and dance performances, games etc.
In most cases, entertainment and social activities represents a significant part of the agenda.
To attract the right crowd, the event has to offer all kinds of ingredients. Entertainment
and social activities are important as they bring people together but that it only brings extra
value and is not as important when it comes to attracting the right people. Networking is a
crucial part for executives and top managers to meet and exchange ideas and knowledge
with each other (M. Wong, personal communication, 2007-10-26).
4.1.2
Attracting visitors
Mike Wong (2007) continues by stating that is important to arrange your event in accordance to the message you want to deliver and which visitors you want to attract. It is a lot
easier to attract people to an event that actually interests those people that you want to invite. The event must be interesting and have an important value to the visitor. The message
SAP wanted to deliver during FKOM was to teach and educate people within the industry
(customers, partners, and employees) about SAP as an organization and its future strategies
when it comes to product launches and solutions. The intended message was,
By joining this event the attending visitors would increase their understanding for where and how the market
is moving within this particular industry. Learn about SAP business solutions and how they can help integrate information, automate business processes, and enable visibility across the operations so operational
excellence in a world that is developing and changing with an incredible high pace can be achieved (SAP,
2007b).
This is what SAP wanted to accomplish and what they wanted the participants to think and
feel when they got the message and invitation (M. Wong, personal communication, 200710-26).
Events usually works as a part of an entire marketing campaign including everything from
advertisement, e-marketing, service marketing etc. to event marketing. When designing the
communication activities and information about the event it is of great importance to create is so that it attracts the real potential buyers and minimizes the non-prospects. At the
FKOM event all kinds of marketing tools were used to attract the public and to attract valuable visitors. Except for the invitations the home page, advertisements, e-marketing (such
as banners and search), e-mail, press releases etc were used to spread the word and get the
news value for the event (M. Wong, personal communication, 2007-10-26). .
With so many events competing for the time and budgets of existing and prospective customers, it is crucial to have a team that can understand the audience you are trying to build
and the techniques needed to attract these people. In all cases the focus lies on striving to
draw qualified leads, people who decide to visit the event because there is something in it
for them. A way to attract desired visitors is to invite other important and influential people. All C-suite executives (CEO, CTO, CIO, CAO, COO, CKO), managers and ITmanagers, purchase managers etc were invited to FKOM, as well as employees at SAP.
22
SAP strives to invite people that have a managerial position thus can make own decisions,
as well as influential people that have a certain interest in our products and services. The
more influential people that are attending the event, the more prominent and valuable the
event become for both SAP and the visitors. It is also vital to invite same kind of people.
In addition, it is a credit value for networking purposes (M. Wong, personal communication, 2007-10-26).
A good track record also attracts visitors. If a company have completed successful similar
events before, it is a lot easier to draw attention and attract people to come. For this reason, it is very important to make sure the event becomes successful and get positive reactions and publicity. Mike Wong (2007) further argues that the attendance list will depend a
lot on your previous performances and reputation and since FKOM is an annual event the
previous years are in their favour.
4.1.3
SAP Customer interviews
The interviews were held with three customers attending the FKOM event during 29-32 of
January 2007. The interviewees were A1 who is a Director, A2 who is an IT Manager and
A3 who holds a position as a Managing Director.
A1 attended FKOM in 2006, the invitation was handled by the secretary who accepted the
invitation for A1. A2 was also attending FKOM last year and replied directly to this years
invitation since the experience last year was good. What A2 also stated was that the invitation had a nice layout and was informative, what the event can offer has to be stated in the
invitation. Thus, A2 directly wants to know why to attend that certain event. Normally A2
attends event where the Managing Director is invited, sometimes together with the director
and sometimes A2 takes the Managing Directors place if that person dont have time to attend the event. A3 had received positive feedback from A3s customers and other vendors
about the event. The opinion about the invitation was that it was very professional and followed up by information from one person in SAPs sales force. The message with the event
should be stated in an interesting way preferably in accordance to what just A3 and the
company can get out of attending the event. A3 also wants to know which other companies
that have been invited. A3 also gained information about the event from SAPs webpage.
A3 further claims that the feedbacks from former participants made A3 have high expectations about the event and that SAP lived up to the expectations.
The most important purposes for attending the event in A1s case was to take part of the
information provided at the event and to be able to meet other important people. What
also was a determining factor was the phase A1s company was in and the information they
required at that point in time. In general the event has to be interesting and comprise information that is valuable for A1 when deciding to attend events. The event can not be too
long since A1 usually do not have time to attend events that last for several days. At this
point A1 found that the FKOM event could have been shortened down to fewer days. A
third general criterion for attending events is if other important people attend the event so
A1 can make contacts and exchange industry information. A2 was there in order to receive
information about new IT products and solutions as well as information about the industry. A2 claims that the IT industry is a fast moving industry and with the position A2 holds
it is vital to be updated about what is happening in the industry. A2 also states that some
events can contain too much entertainment and social activities and definitely prefers pure
business oriented events like FKOM. A2 further states that events must provide information that A2 needs to be aware of to do a good job. In the case of FKOM A2 expected a
23
professional and high quality event and also this year A2 was not disappointed. A3 attended the event mainly to take part of the information provided and also to meet people.
A3 states that before attending an event A3 wants to have a glance at the invitations list in
order to find out if interesting people will participate. This in order to find out if other
companies in the industry will attend and if their competitors will be there as well. In general A3 criterias are that the event must contribute with something to the A3 and the company when it comes to information about the industry and new products. What also matters is who is arranging the event and why it is organised. A3 stated that one criterion to attend is that a company should have arranged successful events previously and that is the
reason why the organizer is of importance. Further A3 find it important to be able to represent A3s company at the events they attend in order to promote themselves. The information given by SAP A3 was considered to be valuable and interesting and A3 find the
whole event to be very organised and professional.
4.2
Swedish Match
Swedish Match is a company with a history going all the way back to 1915 when the Swedish tobacco monopoly, STM, was introduces. Two years later Svenska Tndsticks AB was
founded. Together these two organisations created Swedish Match which is a publicly listed
company producing matches, disposable lighters, and foremost tobacco. The company has
around 12500 employees and its head office is situated in Stockholm (Swedish Match,
2007ab)
Swedish Match have two categorizes of customers, that is local and central customers. Local customers are retailers who Swedish Match sells their products to directly. Central customers are retailers who are in charge of many stores where Swedish Matchs products are
sold to the consumer (J. Isdahl, personal communication, 2007-11-22).
The authors have interview Jrgen Isdahl, communication director, at his office in Stockholm about Swedish matchs event strategy and more specifically Generalgolfen which is
an annual golf event organized by the company. In 2007 the event took place during the
spring at 8 different locations in Sweden.
4.2.1
Generalgolfen
Generalgolfen is an annual event arranged by Swedish Match. The event includes eight golf
tournaments (including a final) at different locations throughout Sweden and the arrangement is directed towards the organisations customers. Generalgolfen is the largest customer event arranged by Swedish Match and this year the tournaments held 523 attendees.
Aside from this event, the sales force that invites local customers commonly arranges dinners and other small events. Swedish Match is very pleased if succeeding in gaining their
customers attention one day per year. On the other hand Jrgen Isdahl (2007) argues that
more events could be arranged but time is a major constraint that always needs to be taken
into consideration.
The strategy which is used for the planning of Generalgolfen is to deliver the best customer
golf tournament in the industry. Due to an increasing competition when it comes to attracting customers due to their limited time to be spent on events it is not enough to cerate
mediocre events nowadays (J. Isdahl, personal communication, 2007-11-22).
24
The main goal that Swedish Match tries to achieve by using the above mentioned strategy
is to create goodwill among central and local customers. Jrgen Isdahl (2007) points out
that the two categorises of customers, local and central, are equally important when it
comes to develop and improve good relations. The objectives of the event are also to influence the customers attitude towards Swedish Match and the companys products (J. Isdahl,
personal communication, 2007-11-22).
Combining work and pleasure is also an important ingredient in the event strategy. Even
though many attendees might show up at the golf course only to have fun they may very
possibly come home with samples of new cigars and some new information about product
launches and market developments or surveys. The attendees can report to their coworkers and boss back home that they did in fact have a really good time but they also talk
about the inspiration gained in the sense of new products etcetera (J. Isdahl, personal
communication, 2007-11-22).
It is important for Jrgen Isdahl (2007) and Swedish Match to denote that events such as
Generalgolfen are not arranged in order for the Organisation to make sales at the actual
event. He clearly points out that the event rather is an opportunity for Swedish Match to
give a positive experience to their customers. The positive aspect of an event may easily
diminish if customers feel they need to give something back right away, Jrgen Isdahl
(2007) implies that We only want to influence our customers attitudes. If the customers
experience something positive and leave the event with a good attitude towards Swedish
Match the sales force will have the opportunity to talk with those companies later on (J. Isdahl, personal communication, 2007-11-22).
During the event it was very important that each customer played golf with their respective
sales representatives, as this was an opportunity for them to improve their relation and talk
business as well as pleasure. There are also different stops during the course where Swedish
Match representatives talked and informed about different products and the brand is being
marketed. After the actual tournament a late lunch was being served (J. Isdahl, personal
4.2.2
Attracting visitors
There are many aspects to consider when planning and creating an event. The greatest
challenge is according to Jrgen Isdahl (2007) to attract the right companies, hence customers. It is crucial to find what they want from the company and what we can give to
them. Another challenge is to sell products although this should not be directly related to
the event in itself. It is further very important to Swedish Match that their customers gain
something from an event without feeling that there is a catch attached to it. The aim is
not to give something and demand something back in return. What Swedish Match directly
gains from customers who attend their events is that they try their products that later on of
course can generate in increased sales. But customers will only buy their products if it is
profitable for them to do so, hence there is a win-win situation. Jrgen Isdahl further explains that there are many undone deals that can be made between Swedish Match and its
customers and an event as a great platform for establishing a relationship that can generate
in business later on. It is not about tricking someone it is about investing time, energy, and
effort in the customers (J. Isdahl, personal communication, 2007-11-22).
There are always certain expectation attached to an event and it is important not to make
an event seem greater in any way than it actually is. Jrgen Isdahl (2007) felt this way when
the company marketed Generalgolfen by using the name of a very attractive golf course
25
even though it (the course) was nearly not completed. Then there are always factors that
you can not control such as bad weather etcetera. In those cases people will have expected
a greater day than they finally actually experienced. It is better not to boost an event too
much and instead surprise attendees positively than the other way around. The customers
who won one of the tournaments had the opportunity to play the final tournament and
there is a lot of prestige in playing in the final. There were no great prizes to be won; rather
it is the great team spirit and prestige that is important for the attendees. Although this is
the case all customers get golf balls, pegs, etc. during the tournaments and in the final all attendees get a golf bag and nice shirts with their names written on (J. Isdahl, personal communication, 2007-11-22).
It is important to look at different industries when encountering problems with events as
these differ very much between businesses. Swedish Match operates in an industry where
very many golf tournaments are arranged for companies customers. The pace in peoples
lives is higher compared to a few years ago and employees are very busy and have to allocate their time in best possible way. Customers might have played 10 tournaments a couple
of years ago but now they are perhaps only playing two. This indicates an increasing competition for companies such as Swedish Match concerning the creation of events. It is crucial to demonstrate how a particular event can be valuable. This is especially true for central
customers as these often are even busier and sometimes find it difficult to find motivation
for attending events. Jrgen Isdahl (2007) believes customers think twice about what they
can gain from attending an event before deciding to come or not. They also consider how
they can motivate attending events that only bring pleasure as they are busy and this also
might upset other co-workers (J. Isdahl, personal communication, 2007-11-22).
The goal of the event was to have at least 400 attendees at Generalgolfen and the company
managed to attract 523 customers. The goal was further to succeed in getting the right
people to attend the events, as the invitations tend to wander from the actual invited to
other people whom like to play golf. This implies that some attendees will not be part of
the actual target group for the event. Although this is the case Jrgen Isdahl (2007) has
come to the insight that wrong attendees actually can turn out to be even better guests
than the person who was invited in the first place. A good example is when an invited person once gave his invitation to his father who was the former owner of the store that the
son now owned. It is highly probable that the son listens a great deal to what his father has
to say about issues related to the store, hence Swedish Match have the opportunity to create a positive experience for someone who influence the targeted person (J. Isdahl, personal communication, 2007-11-22).
Invitations to the event usually came directly from the people working with sales and already have a relation to the customer. They handed them over when they met face to face.
Although the central customers often get the invitation by mail as the sales force rarely
meet them. Sometimes the company sends a so called teaser mentioning the date of the
tournament although the formal invitation will arrive later. Jrgen Isdahl (2007) believes
that customers will go only if nothing more important such as an essential meeting comes
in the way. In these cases playing golf does not seem like a valid reason for not attending
the meeting. It is crucial for Swedish Match to pick good dates when it comes to planning
an event such as Generalgolfen. The time planning aspect can be difficult concerning golf
tournaments as the golf season is rather limited in time and all companies plan their events
during the same months of the year. Next year invited customers will de able to choose
which of the seven tournaments to attend. This increases the possibility that customers will
attend the event (J. Isdahl, personal communication, 2007-11-22).
26
Swedish Match work hard to attract customers and make them attend the events, especially
the central customers. You want to make customers well aware of the tournament and
market it to a certain extent at the same time, as you do not want to make them feel uncomfortable if choosing not to come. In this case the whole point of creating something
positive for their customers is lost (J. Isdahl, personal communication, 2007-11-22).
Jrgen Isdahl (2007) argues that there are two categories of motives related to why people
attend their event. The first one includes the ones who only attends the event to have fun
and do not care about Swedish Match as a company during the day. This group of people
will hopefully come home with a positive attitude towards Swedish Match and although
they did not at first care about the products they might have appreciated to taste a new cigar etcetera. In that sense, the goals of the event are achieved. The second category includes people who want to bring something home and listens to all that is being said about
Swedish Match and its products. Of course they attend for playing golf but also to bring
something new in terms of products or knowledge to their co-workers and bosses back
home. Swedish Match aims at influencing and giving as much information as possible to
their customers but not in a way that can be perceived as negative. They will rather include
customers who have a good time playing golf than customers who obtain a lot of information but felt they were overwhelmed by it. Jrgen Isdahl (2007) states that; Generalgolfen
must not be a way of taking hostages or creating debts. It has to be about creating and
building relationships. A good relation means that we then have the attention and the time
needed to realize better, win-win, business opportunities.
4.2.3
Swedish Match Customer Interviews
The authors held interviews with three attendees of Generalgolfen that was arranged by
Swedish Match during 2007. The interviewees will be named B1, B2, and B3. B1 is a Restaurant Manager, B2 is a supermarket employee, and B3 is a Marketing Manager at their respective companies and they are all customers of Swedish Match.
The process of deciding whether or not to attend the event was different among the invited
due to the different positions the participants held. B1 receives approximately three invitations each month while B2 hardly ever gets invitations directly directed to him. In the case
of Generalgolfen B2 did not receive a direct invitation, rather two other employees from
the same company participated as well and they held positions in the company that was related to Swedish Match and they were the ones who received the invitations. Both B1 and
B3 received personal invitations. B1 found the invitation to be exclusive which was a reason why it caught his eye. Later, as his personal contact at Swedish Match was verbally talented, he convinced B1 to participate at Generalgolfen. B1 stated that directly after the talk
with his personal contact he signed up and argues that direct communication convinced
better in this case. B1 further thinks that the event should not be over exaggerated in the
invitation as the expectations can get to high. In B3s case he had participated in Generalgolfen before and argued that a success record from Swedish Matchs previous events
made him want to attend it once again. B3 also got a personal invitation that he argues is
important in order to make the right people attend and invitations are not given to someone who is not part of the targeted group. B3 thinks it is important to talk to the company
arranging the event and asks if they consider giving an invitation to someone else to be alright. When speaking generally about events, B1 on the other hand forward some event invitations to employees that he considers to be more suitable for attending the particular
event. The teaser sent out in advance to notify the invited that something was going to
happen, was considered efficient by B3. It was a good way to keep that date of the event
27
free if nothing more important appeared. B1 on the other hand cancelled more important
meetings on the basis that Generalgolfen was found appealing and fun.
When B1 deciding whether or not to attend an event B1 firstly considers the importance of
the event. In some cases the position B1 holds requires participation in certain events. Reasons can be that the information given at the event is important, people expect B1 to be
there, or the business partner is of high importance. The event should give something that
makes you prioritise it. The goals B1 has when attending an event is to get information, to
meet other participants, and have a good experience. In the case of Generalgolfen this
event both offered an opportunity to maintain the relation with Swedish Match, network
with other participants, and also playing golf which of interest to B1. At certain events it
does not matter who else is there if the reason for attending it is more related to gaining information. Although in Generalgolfens case B1 says that it was very interesting to find out
how other actors involved with Swedish Matchs products work. Discussions concerning
how these other actors work can generate in new ideas regarding how B1s organisation can
improve. The main reason for attending Generalgolfen was that it seemed like a fun event.
Since B2 does not attend many events B2 attended Generalgolfen since golf in an interest
and the two colleagues had participated before and had good recommendations. The information about the Swedish Match and their products was nothing B2 had in mind before
attending the event but found it interesting. It would still not be a reason to attend the
event. The interaction with the other attendees was nothing B2 valued very much as B2
was not part of the target audience.
B3 foremost considers the business relation between his company and the arranging company and argues that if the relation is good there are higher incentives to attend their
events. This is the case of Swedish Match as B3 consider them being an important partner
and enjoys the partners company. Generalgolfen both gave social value and product information that stimulated on different levels and was a positive experience. In this case the
personal golf interest also played a part in the decision and specially the choice of golf
course, Bro Hof, which attracted B3 very much. As mentioned B3 have participated in
events arranged by Swedish Match before and had a positive memory about an enjoyable
and well organised event. The interaction with the other attendees is seen as a chance to get
knowledge about how other actors in the market conduct their business related to Swedish
Match products and other suggestions and information exchange. The prize itself does not
play a big part in the decision to attend the event rather it is the experience that is valuable
as Generalgolfen is a generous event. B3 also states that it is the feeling of being on the
winning team that is more important than a prize.
B1 states that it is important that an organisation does not exaggerate the characteristics
and activities of the event. In the case of Generalgolfen B1 had a positive experience of the
event as well as B3 who consider the experience of Generalgolfen being higher than the
expectations.
4.3
SAPA
SAPA was founded in 1963 as the first production plant was set up in Vetlanda, Sweden
where the head office still lies. Sapa Profiler is a subsidiary to SAPA AB and is world leading in the supply of extrusion and value-added manufacturing of aluminium profiles. SAPA
AB employs around 15000 people and production is conducted at plants in 18 countries
(SAPA, 2007abc).
28
The authors met Ruth Hasselgren and Annica Svensson who are Market coordinators at
Sapa Profiler in Vetlanda for an interview for discussion of Sapa Profiler in relation to
event marketing. The interview focused on the Hockey Night at Kinnarps Arena which
was an event arranged by Sapa profiler on the 8th of November 2007.
4.3.1
Hockey Night at Kinnarps Arena
The marketing department at Sapa Profiler consists of seven different elements. Relationship marketing is one of them and this is where event marketing belongs in the company.
Events create a more relaxed and positive relation between the company and its customers
compared to the daily contact which usually only deals with pure business related conversations and issues. Sapa Profiler has always worked extensively with events and the company
has a history of arranging events that are well met by the attendees (Hasselgren & Svensson, personal communication, 2007-11-27).
Depending on time and situation Sapa Profiler arrange events of different characteristics.
Some events organised by Sapa Profiler does not have any informative purpose, the purpose is rather to socialize with the customers in an informal matter. Sometimes the attendees are not as open to information as other times and appreciate doing something that is
not directly business related. However most events have some informative purpose where
seminars, internal and external speakers, etc are used. This was the case for the event
Hockey night at Kinnarps arena which is described below (Hasselgren & Svensson, personal communication, 2007-11-27).
The event that the authors of the thesis will analyze further is the event arranged by Sapa
Profiler at Kinnarps arena, Jnkpings sport centre, the 8th November 2007. The company invited so called AA and A customers to this particular event which are two categories of customers (Sapa Profiler, 2007d). The relation to AA customers are of strategic
characteristics and decisive for Sapa Profiler future success. The relation to a customer is
very important although not decisive for Sapa Profiler future development. They limited
the invitations to construction managers and purchase managers. The reason for the limitation was due to preferences from the sales force at Sapa Profiler and also because the event
was concerned with product development. These customers are very important to keep and
develop good relations with and the Kinnarps event allowed Sapa Profiler to meet them
face-to-face for a few hours. The reason for arranging the event at the specific point in
time was due to the Subcontractor fair taking place at Elmia, Jnkping during the days
around the 8th of November. Elmia is located right next to Kinnarps arena. Sapa Profiler
knew that many of their customers were attending the subcontractor fair and saw an opportunity in meeting customers while they were in the area. A hockey game was also played
between Sweden and Russia this evening and SAPA bought tickets already in February to
ensure it would be possible to attend it. The aim of the event included many different aspects and the company had many reasons for arranging the event. It was a combination of
allowing the customers to meet representatives from Sapa Profiler, listen to speakers, see
exhibition of products, have dinner, and of course watch the hockey game at Kinnarps.
When the tickets were bought in February Sapa Profiler was not aware that a new CEO
would be employed in august. As it turned out, the Hockey Night was a perfect occasion
for the new CEO to present himself to the companys customers. Sapa Profiler AB was
merged with Alcoa during the summer. The event was also an opportunity for Sapa Profiler
AB to present the positive effects of the joint venture (Hasselgren & Svensson, personal
29
There where 49 tickets in total used at the Hockey Night at Kinnarps Arena. This number
included sales employees at SAPA as well as the CEO and speakers. The event started at 3
pm when the employees of Sapa Profiler got the opportunity to meet their respective customers. There were also a product exhibition part which the attendees had the possibility to
take part of while they where drinking coffee and talking to each other. Sapa Profiler had
arranged a small question competition concerning the exhibition partly in order for the attendees to interact but also to influence them to pay attention to the companys products.
At 4 pm the new CEO held a seminar followed by an information discussion about the
product development from the manager from Technical Service department. The seminars
were followed by dinner and entertainment consisting of stand up comedy by Thomas
Oredsson and information from Curt Lundmark, the previous captain of the Swedish
hockey team. After the dinner the hockey started in Kinnarps Arena. During the breaks of
the game the attendees came back to the event location for refreshments, getting the right
answers to the question competition, and also to listen to Curt Lundmark for comments
about the game. Sapa Profiler wanted the attendees to pay attention to the product exhibition as much as possible which is a reason for the company to attract the attendees to
come back in the breaks (Hasselgren & Svensson, personal communication, 2007-11-27).
4.3.2
Attracting Visitors
The invitations were send out almost two months in advance. The invited customers were
selected by the employees working with sales at Sapa Profiler and they were also the ones
who were notified about their attendance directly. While the invitations were sent out at an
early stage SAPA profile had the possibility to send out another round of invitations to a
second group of customers when they found out the number of declines in the first group.
If the invitations would have been sent later this would not have been possible since the
new round of invited customers might have felt they were the second hand choice.
Overall, Ruth Hasselgren and Annica Svensson (2007) found that a good number of the
invited customers chose to attend the event. Ruth Hasselgren (2007) considers the timing
of the invitation is important in order to make invited customers attend an event. If the invitations come very early there is a risk they will only be laid aside as customer will think it
is yet still far away in the calendar. On the other hand they should not be sent out too late,
as peoples calendars will then already be fully booked. When it was decided that a famous
Swedish hockey player would play in the game on the 8th of November the demand for
tickets suddenly increased which indicates that customers were thinking about coming only
because of the Hockey game and nothing else (Hasselgren & Svensson, personal communication, 2007-11-27).
When first planning the event, it was in a relationship building purpose. The 8th of November was a good time as the subcontractor fair was taking place during these days and it was
possible to capture some important customers through the creation of a corporate event.
Sapa Profiler found an informative purpose of the event in the sense that the new CEO
was going to speak and also in the product exhibition arranged. When the invitations were
to be sent out, different aims of the event had become evident. The hockey in itself was of
course still an important factor for arranging the event and making customers attend it but
the seminar held by the CEO was something that made the event even more attractive as
management is important for some of the customers invited. According to Ruth Hasselgren (2007) the hockey is more of a by-product. The new CEO is young and does not have
a background within production that is totally new to Sapa Profiler and its management. It
was very important that he had the chance to meet and talk to important customers in leading positions as they are very interested in how Sapa Profiler is managed in the future. Sapa
30
Profilers own marketing survey showed that the CEO gave a positive and reliable impression (Hasselgren & Svensson, personal communication, 2007-11-27).
Ruth Hasselgren (2007) believes that some customers attend an event such as the Hockey
Night for the purpose of meeting other people within the same industry or other related
industries in the same position as them. The attending people usually know that other people similar to themselves will attend events.
4.3.3
SAPA Customer Interviews
The authors held interviews with three attendees of the Hockey night at Kinnarps Arena
that was arranged by Sapa Profiler on the 8th of November. The interviewees will be named
C1, C2, and C3. C1 is a Purchaser, C2 is a Purchase Manager, and C3 is a Product Manager
at their respective companies and they are all customers of Sapa Profiler.
C1, C2, and C3 do not attend events very often. Considering the Hockey night at Kinnarps
Arena C1 received the invitation around 3-4 weeks before the event by regular mail. C1s
chief also received an invitation and the two of them attended the event together. C2 also
obtained the invitation by mail and as he questioned what the event further was about, C2
received more information through email. C3 on the other hand received the invitation
from their contact person at SAPA face-to-face around 1-2 weeks before the event and attended the event together with two colleagues. The three customers were all present at the
Subcontractor fair before attending Sapa Profilers event.
As the three customers all attended the subcontractor fair the same day, attending the
Hockey night arranged by Sapa Profiler was rather likely. C1 decided to attend the event
also because the new CEO was going to be present. The hockey was not the reason for C1
to attend the event. It was rather the whole concept that attracted C1, the information
about the CEO and product development as well as the dinner and hockey. C1 had received four invitations to the hockey from different companies however the other companies offered only hockey and not anything else, which is why C1 decided to attend Sapa
Profiler event. C2 was also interested in the fact that the new CEO was presenting himself
at the event. C2 actually asked a contact at Sapa Profiler what would be gained by attending
the event and when he told C2 that the new CEO was coming C2 thought it was interesting enough to attend. C2 stated that it was important that the event was work related otherwise C2 would probably not have attended the event as time is valuable and you do not
want to attend an event if it does not feel important to do so. C2 argues that the hockey
game in itself was not important when deciding whether or not to attend the event, might
as well have watched the game at home on TV. C3 had been asking the respective contact
at Sapa Profiler for an event such as the Hockey night at Kinnarps Arena to take place. C3
was therefore decisive to attend the event as the invitation came. Except the hockey, C3
also found the speakers and other attendees to be valuable when deciding whether or not
to attend the event although C3 would have attended only for the hockey as well.
C1 found that the expectations of the event were fulfilled at the actual event although the
hockey talk during the dinner was not extremely appreciated. C1 would rather have had
music or something similar enabling conversations to take place to a larger extent. There
was too much entertainment which circled around hockey, otherwise C1 found the entertainment fun. The information given during the event was not very important to C1 although it is always interesting to see what other companies are actually doing. C1 mostly
talked to representatives from Sapa Profiler and not so much to other attendees of the
event. In other instances other attendees can be very interesting to C1 in the sense that
31
they can exchange experiences although in the case of this particular event the representatives from Sapa Profiler were more attractive to talk to. C2 found the new CEO interesting
to listen to, except him there was nothing new C2 had not heard before from Sapa Profiler.
C2 had also been listening to people from the technical development department previously. C2 found the dinner nice but still argues that C2 could as well have been at home
having dinner with the family. However C2 ended up having a nice evening with live
hockey. C2 only talked to the new CEO very shortly and they did not have time to talk further about work related issues, rather C2 prefer to discuss work related issues with the
companies contact person at Sapa Profiler. The product exhibition could have been interesting but in this case C2 had already seen it all but still thinks it is a very good idea, especially for new customers who have not seen it before. C3 believed the expectation before
the event was fulfilled during the event. The entertainment was very good and the hockey
and information as well.
Both C1 and C2 believe they were invited because they are big customers who are important to Sapa Profiler. C2 further believes that the event was arranged in order to give the
new CEO a nice entrance and a first contact with some customers. It did not matter who
else was attending the event as the invited companies usually are of different character and
if wanting to meet people C2 rather goes to a fair organised for the industry they operate
in. On the other hand C2 argues that bring open to people is vital, as you never know what
can be gained. C3 believe they were invited, as Sapa Profiler want to maintain good relation
between the companies and market the company in best possible way. There are many actors in the industry that Sapa Profiler operates in today and therefore it is crucial with good
relations. The company where C3 works have been a customer to Sapa Profiler for over a
decade and C3 have an interest in meeting the people from Sapa Profiler at an event such
as the Hockey night at Kinnarps Arena. C3 prepared for the event in the sense that C3
talks about own projects at the event. C3 had already seen the product exhibition; hence it
was not very important or interesting. C3 also mentions that it is interesting also to attend
certain events only for the pleasure and not in the purpose of business.
4.4
Chevrolet
General Motors Corporation is the worlds largest automaker who sells the following
brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel,
Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM Nordic was established in 2004 and has the responsibility for sales and after sales of Opel, Saab and Chevrolet cars in the Nordic market.
In Sweden GM has 846 dealerships selling these three mentioned car brands and GM has
5802 employees in Sweden where approximately 130 persons works at GM Nordic in
Stockholm (General Motors, 2007).
The brand Chevrolet was established in 1911 by Louis Chevrolet, a European engineer, and
Billy Durant, the American who later founded General Motors. Today Chevrolet can be
found in approximately 70 countries (Chevrolet, 2007).
In this case we will focus on Chevrolets corporate event at the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) which took place in Anderstorp on the 28th and 29th of July 2007. The
interview was held with Maria Stenbom, Integrated Communications Project Manager
Chevrolet Europe, and Gisela Gerner, Chevrolet Communication Manager General Motors
Norden AB.
32
4.4.1
Corporate event at WTCC
WTCC takes place every year and in 2007 eleven races was taking place at different locations around the world and one was located in Anderstorp, Sweden. Chevrolet is one of the
car brands participating at the WTCC and the focus will be on WTCC in Anderstorp.
The target audience for the corporate event at WTCC was Chevrolet retailers and their customers. According to Maria Stenbom (2007) a car racing appearance has a strong relation
to brand awareness and sales. From Chevrolets perspective the aim with the event was to
create brand awareness and let the customer know who they are, what they stand for and
which products they have. That is the reason why the WTCC was chosen as the arena for
this event where they could expose the brand (M. Stenbom, personal communication,
2007-11-26).
The event took place during two days, starting on Saturday the 28th where special chosen
guests were invited to a VIP event. During this day the attendees were able to follow the
qualification race later followed by a barbeque. They were also able to join the three Chevrolet WTCC drivers in the car on a hot lap on the track. On Sunday the 29th another 200
invited guests arrived to participate in the event. This day started with a lunch before the
race in the afternoon. After the race a press conference was held with the drivers in the
Chevrolet hospitality tent where the attendees could discuss with the drivers. In this competition the Chevrolet drivers held the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place that made this press conference
even more positive (M. Stenbom, personal communication, 2007-11-26).
One aim of the event was to create a forum where people could interact and network with
the Chevrolet crew and each other. The employees from Chevrolet in the Nordic countries
were invited since the event also aimed at creating internal marketing in the sense that the
employees could enjoy the event and feel belongingness towards Chevrolet (M. Stenbom,
4.4.2
Attracting visitors
Further Maria Stenbom and Gisela Gerner (2007) means that it is important to create an
event that is suitable and appealing to the invited. In this case Chevrolet assumed a genuine
interest in cars and motor sport and wanted to communicate the message that this will be
days filled with activities concerning the interest. The invited were Chevrolet retailers employees such as sales people, office people and mechanics as well as customers to the retailers, to make everyone feel a part of Chevrolet and be able to attend such an event. The
VIP customers were those who held a CEO or sales manager position. This variety of attendees made it possible for people to interact and discuss with them different parts of the
whole Chevrolet chain, ending with the customer (Stenbom & Gerner, personal communication, 2007-11-26).
The WTCC event itself was heavily promoted in TV, Radio, Press and outdoor promotion.
The Chevrolet event invitation was sent to the selected attendees via mail and later followed up by phone calls or face-to-face discussion from the Chevrolet sales force (M.
Stenbom, personal communication, 2007-11-26).
To provide some information to the attendees Chevrolet had hoped to be able to display a
new car at the event that also could attract some visitors, though this was not possible this
year. Instead they provided information in a leaflet concerning the coming launches of new
cars and about the drivers at WTCC. At the same time all attendees are quite knowledge-
33
able about Chevrolet since they work with their products on a daily basis (M. Stenbom,
According to Maria Stenbom (2007) it has become harder to arrange events as the number
of events has increased and people dont have the time to attend all of them. When choosing which events to attend people are interested in who else is attending the event, how the
agenda is planned, and what the event can contribute to them.
The corporate event at WTCC is very suitable for the target audience since they in general
share a genuine interest for motor sports. Chevrolet wanted the event to be created so that
networking possibilities could be seen as a possible motivator for people to attend. While
both the employees at Chevrolets offices in the Nordic countries and the retailers participated a unique opportunity to interact and network was created. It also provided the opportunity for the retailers to invite their customers and thereby exposes them to Chevrolet
and to strengthen their relationship in a relaxed and positive atmosphere. To provide a
platform for interaction Chevrolet also supplied the retailers conference rooms and other
facilities to have meetings with their customers. The two interactions with the Chevrolet
drivers when the VIP attendees could go in the car with and also during the press conference was also a way to attract people (Stenbom & Gerner, personal communication, 200711-26).
One possible drawback with this event was that WTCC was taking place on the 29th of July
that is the high season for holidays (M. Stenbom, personal communication, 2007-11-26).
4.4.3
Chevrolet Customer Interviews
The authors held interviews with two attendees of the corporate event at WTCC that was
arranged by Chevrolet the 28th-29th of July 2007. The interviewees will be named D1 who is
a Sales Manager and D2 who is a General Manager. The two companies are retailers to
General Motors and Chevrolet.
D1 first got to know about the event through Mia Stenbom at a meeting where they met
personally. Later on D1 received an invitation to the event by email. Usually D1 does not
receive very many invitations to events. D1 found the event interesting, as it was a possibility to see three famous drivers in action. The fact that it was an invitation to the WTCC
(World Touring Car Championship) and not the STCC (Swedish Touring Car Championship) made the event especially interesting to attend. D1 further has a personal interest in
Chevrolet cars. D1 still says that the main motive for attending the event was to meet people who have been working at different places and also to meet the contacts at Chevrolet.
According to D1 it is easier to stay in contact and keep track of who does what etcetera if
you meet people face-to-face. You do not attend events only for pleasure, there has to be
something more to it. It is a bonus if it is fun as well.
D2 received the invitation from Chevrolets sales manager who spoke about it at a regular
meeting. D2 also received a formal invitation later on. D2 found it interesting to attend the
event as D2 has a personal interest in cars and was already in the area of where the event
was going to take place. The main motive was personal interest and engagement although
D2 also found it interesting to meet colleagues from the industry who sells the same brand,
hence Chevrolet. Exchanging experiences concerning car models, how business is going in
general etcetera. Networking can definitely be a motive for attending an event such as the
WTCC although in this case D2 found personal reasons to be the main motivator. Normally D2 does not attend many events, as the days usually are not long enough for these
34
kinds of activities. It was possible for D2 to attend the WTCC as it was during D2s vacation and time was not as scarce as during working weeks. D2 does not attend events if they
are not stimulating in any way, it they are not D2 might as well be at work getting things
done. In order for D2 to attend an event it needs to be something bigger such as the
WTCC where a lot of things happen. The event itself is what determines if D2 attend it or
not. It should not be too informative as it can feel too heavy and create a back to the
school bench-feeling. In that case you might not attend the event at all. D2 rather attend
en event that is arranged by someone you work with, in this case Chevrolet. Chevrolet is a
part of out every day life and work so the odds of attending one of their events are greater
compared to other companies events.
D1 feels that the expectations before the event were fulfilled as the event took place except
that it was a little bit too far to go in order to get there and the placement during the races
was not as good as hoped. D1 does not think that the timing of the event matters much as
long as you know about it in advance and can plan and prepare for the event. D1 find it interesting both to meet other retailers working with the same things and also Chevrolet employees. If knowing beforehand that many interesting individuals will attend an event, it is
more probable that D1 will attend an event. The formal information received during the
event was not particularly important; it is rather the face-to-face contact, which is of interest and importance.
D2 definitely found the event to live up to the expectations D2 had before the event took
place. It was a great event and a very cool experience. The overall impression and experience was very positive. The only think D2 finds negative is that the event was during the
summer although it worked out in this case as D2 was not too far from the place of the
event. D2 believes more people would attend the event if it was not arranged during peoples vacation. On the other hand D2 finds the fact that the event was on a weekend to be
a good thing as many people are very busy at work and do not have time to attend events
during working days.
D1 thinks that their customers would have appreciated coming to an event such as WTCC
and it can enable you o keep a customer. In the case of WTCC, D1 did not invite customers to come to the event, the reason being that it was arranged during a vacation week. Afterwards D1 was pleased that customers were not invited as the weather was very bad and
they might not have appreciated the event as very much anyways. D2 thinks it would have
been a good thing to bring customers to WTCC as the can place Chevrolet in their minds
as a brand connected to something fun. If the purpose of the event would have been to actually make sales D2 would definitely attend. D2 believes that Chevrolets main purpose of
arranging the event was to profile Chevrolet as a sport brand.
35
Analysis
_____________________________________________________________________
This section describes how the empirical findings have been analysed in relation to the frame of reference. The
analysis is conducted in order to fulfil the purpose of the thesis and provide the reader with deeper insight
concerning the research area. The analysis also provides a foundation for the conclusion that will follow in
the next section.
_____________________________________________________________________
5.1
Defining the cases
The four events that have been examined fit the definition of Goldblatts (2001) definition
of a corporate event as they all are sponsored by a corporation with the intention to
achieve specific goals and objectives. The authors also found that all events are characterised by the feature expressed by Shine & Perry (2001) as they are unique and temporary occurrences, have unpredictable outcomes, and calls for interaction. It is further found that
the different events are partly promotional driven and partly reputation driven (Carroll,
2006). FKOM can mainly be seen as a reputation driven event as it included conferences
and seminars and one aim was to strengthen customer relation (Carroll, 2006). SAP is a
company offering complex products and services and FKOM enables them to give customers a better understanding of their business offers. Generalgolfen is also found to include factors related to a reputation driven event in the sense that it strengthens the relation with the companys customers. However Generalgolfen is also promotional driven as
Jrgen Isdahl claims Swedish Match aims at influencing their customers attitude towards
the brand (Carroll, 2006). This was evident as the event included product exposure that can
influence customer perception. The Hockey Night at Kinnarps arena is mainly reputation
driven, as it is a corporate event where the important customers are invited in order for
Sapa Profiler to strengthen the relation towards these individuals. The corporate event at
WTCC arranged by Chevrolet is the most promotional driven event out of the four. It was
arranged in order for Chevrolet to expose their brand and create brand awareness and appear at a professional car race making attendees perceive Chevrolet cars as being excellent.
5.2
Reasons for arranging the events
All cases have different motives for creating the respective events. The marketing motive presented by Goldblatt (2001) is evident in all the four cases as all companies creating events
appreciate the face-to-face contact and awareness-creating aspect. However, the marketing
motive is more obvious in the case of WTCC and Generalgolfen as the intension was to effect the attendees attitude towards the company and brand.
According to Mike Wong, SAPs main motives for creating the event were to educate people within the industry about the company and its future strategies concerning product
launches and technology. The motives are in accordance with what Holm & Karlsson
(2001) describe as exposure of current products and exposure of new products and technology. Goldblatt (2001) also mention education as one of four motives for organisations arranging
events. This aspect is especially apparent in case of SAP in the sense that attendees are exposed to new technology used by SAP and obtains general information about the company
and the industry tied to it. Jrgen Isdahl argues that the primary objectives for creating
Generalgolfen were to create goodwill among central and local customers. He also denotes
36
that Swedish Match aimed at creating a positive experience that possibly influences the customers attitudes towards the company and brand. The motives are linked to a few of the
purposes proposed by Holm & Karlsson (2001), primarily establish and strengthen the image
and create an experience for the attendees. The reason why Swedish Match chose to create an
event with the above-mentioned motives is that an increased positive attitude towards the
company can generate in better long-term relations and sales opportunities. In that sense
an indirect motive is found, hence establish and strengthen the relations. Swedish Match also
chose to include exposure of products that also can be seen as a secondary aim of Generalgolfen. This is closely related to Goldblatts (2001) theory that presents education as a motive for creation of events. The education motive is not as evident as in the case of FKOM
rather it is carried out in a more informal matter. Behrer & Larsson (1998) argues that integration of different promotional tools can be used simultaneously to influence the attendees. They also argues that events are mainly seen as platforms for direct communication
although it gives opportunities for other marketing tools such as sales promotion, personal
selling, and marketing material to be used as well. This kind of marketing integration is apparent in the case of Generalgolfen where marketing material was used throughout the
tournaments. Golf pegs, towels, golf balls, and flags are examples of material where the
Swedish Match logo was printed. Generalgolfen further integrated different promotional
tools by offering product trials during the event.
When the event was first planned, the main motive for creating the Hockey night at Kinnarps arena was to create a good experience for the important customers of the company.
However as time past the motives came to change and as the invitations were send out the
purpose was a mix of many motives. Finally, the main motives were to enable customers to
meet SAPA profile representatives, inform the attendees about products and the new
CEO, and also to allow for socialization and having a good experience. The motives for the
creation of the Hockey night at Kinnarps arena are mainly related to Holm & Karlssons
(2001) establish and strengthen the relation, exposure to products, and create an experience for the attendees. Goldblatts education perspective on motives can be found also among the motives
for Sapa Profiler creation of their event. The new CEO was presented and attendees
gained information related to products and product development. Mia Stenbom argues that
the reason for the creation of corporate event at WTCC was to create brand awareness and
let the get familiar with the company, the brand, and the products. Here, the motive establishes and strengthens the image presented by Holm & Karlsson (2001) is clearly connected to
the main motive of event. The creation of the corporate event at WTCC also allowed the
company to meet their retailers and employees in which Holm & Karlsson (2001) calls focus
on the organisation and this is explained to create solidarity and belongingness among the attendees. This can be seen as an indirect aim of the event creation.
5.3
5.3.1
Attracting visitors
The importance of targeting
The motives for arranging events are diverse and the four cases in the thesis have stressed
the aims that were important for the creation of their particular event. As Meeting News
(2006) suggests it is very important to find the people whom are most suitable for particular events. The aim of the events should be directed towards certain groups in order for it
to be successful in the sense that it contributes to the company arranging the event. The
target groups in the four events mostly include individuals who have positions enabling
them to influence decision making within the companies in one way or another. Meeting
37
news (2006) further suggests that it can be effective to focus on a small target group with
executives and managers enhancing the quality of the event. In this sense Sapa Profiler
acted in accordance with this theory as a rather small number of the companys most important customers were invited to the Hockey night at Kinnarps arena. The event thereby
invested in the individuals who have relevant positions within their respective company and
whose relation and interest towards Sapa Profiler is vital. The three customers who were
interviewed, C1, C2, and C3 suited the targeted group well as they held positions that can
influence decision making within respective company.
Chevrolets target group consisted of employees as well as retailers from all over Sweden.
According to Behrer & Larsson (1998) the positive aspect of involving employees in an
event is that the internal environment can be strengthen and a unified view towards the
other stakeholders can be delivered. Among the invited people from the retailers there
were sales people, managers, and mechanics. This indicates that not only managers, hence
decision makers, were invited which can be related to the quality aspect presented by Meeting News (2006). However, the first day the company invited only VIP customers that can
be seen as quality enhancing according to Meeting News (2006). Also the aim of the event
was not only to influence decision makers, it was to influence the attitude of all involved
individuals working with, or driving, a Chevrolet. The fact that not only decision makers
were a part of the target group can thereby be seen as being in accordance with the objectives. As the aim was to influence the attitude, Chevrolet found the chosen target group to
be better suited compared to if only decision makers would have been invited. D1 and D2
were part of the target group and they held positions that Chevrolet wanted to reach out to.
On the other hand, the two retailers did not invite their respective customers who were
suppose to be part of the target group but did not actually get invited. FKOM was a largescale event with more than 3000 participants and there were mostly managers and other influencers attending the event. Although the target group was considerably large it only included executives and managers that are in accordance with what Meeting News (2006)
names quality enhancing. The customers who were interviewed were all managers and directors and were part of the group considered to be important to target.
Swedish Match directed their invitations towards a larger audience that included not only
the decision makers. The sales force at Swedish Match chose the attendees, as they know
who is most suitable according to them. The target group was less fixed and some invitations were handed over between people within the invited companies. This indicates that
individuals who were not part of the target group can attend the event. It is clear that customer B2 did not have a position related to Swedish Match or their products as B2 works
at a department dealing with tobacco products. B2 did not receive a personal invitation;
hence B2 was not intended to be a part of the target group for Generalgolfen. Both B1 and
B3 obtained personal invitations and B3 argues that personal invitations are important for
arranging company to make sure that only the targeted individuals will attend the event.
5.3.2
Delivering the message
Carroll (2006) suggests that there are different promotional activities that can be used to
build up the attractiveness of an event. Mike Wong states that an invitation was send out to
the target group of FKOM, which is a promotional tool Carroll (2006) names direct mail. B1
firstly got an invitation send to him by mail and as B1 received a phone call from the personal contact at Swedish Match B1 got more interested. B1 argues that direct communication convinced better in this case. B3 firstly received a teaser by mail, which B3 found to be
an efficient way to gain B3s interest. The teaser was followed by a formal invitation by
38
mail. The promotional tools used to attract the invited people to Generalgolfen were found
to be phone calls and direct mail. Sapa Profiler reached out to their target group by sending an
invitation by mail, except in the case of C3 who received the invitation face-to-face. This
was the only planned promotional activity although C2 received more personal information
when C2 talked to the personal contact at Sapa Profiler followed by an email from the
company. The same promotional activities, phone calls and direct mail can be found in the
case of Sapa Profiler. C2 points out the importance of gaining information about why he
particularly should attend a certain event and how it can be related to C2s work. C2
stresses what is in accordance with Behrer & Larsson (1998) who argues that it is essential
that a corporate event offers the invited an appealing alternative to their normal disposition
time. The promotional activities used by Chevrolet to attract individuals to the corporate
event at WTCC were very much similar to those used by the other three companies. Both
D1 and D2 firstly came to know about the event through personal face-to-face communication and later on received an invitation by email.
The empirical findings overall indicate that except direct mail personal phone calls or meetings have been used to attract invited people to attend the events. The use of direct communication can generate in noise being diminished in the sense expressed by Shimp (2003)
and Fill (2002). In the communication process Shimp (2003) and Fill (2002) argues that
noise such as interference or interruption of a message can be delimited by use of direct
communication. In the case of the four events, companies have a chance to explain and argue for the reasons what particular individuals will gain from attending the event. When the
message is delivered or clarified personally it is a good chance that factors which otherwise
would interfere disappear. As in the case of C2 the person doubted the message of the
event however when receiving direct information concerning the benefits of event it was
clearer as the ingredients that C2 found unnecessary were not highlighted. The factors that
were considered to be noise to C2 at this stage vanished. The same can be observed in the
case of B1 who better understood what the personal reasons for him attending the event
could be. Fill (2002) argues that directed and more targeted promotional activities are used
today and its success is evident in the cases of both C2 and B1. Fill (2002) further argues
that the so called permission-based approach has become more common it focuses on
communication with already interested groups of companies/individuals. The companies
whom are customers to SAP, Swedish Match, Sapa Profiler, and Chevrolet surely have an
interest in the respective company however it is up to each and every individual to decide
whether or not the events in themselves are interesting to them. The ones choosing to attend the events have a shown interest as they have decided to attend it that according to
Fill (2002) indicates that relationships are established in accordance with the attendees demands. In all of the four cases the interest is high as they attend the respective event although different people are interested in different aspects of the event.
According to Behrer & Larsson (1998) argues that interaction and integration follows the
meeting, experience, and message that are main ingredients of any event. Frankelius (1997)
claims it is important that the message delivers the right information before, during, and after an event. In order to do so it is important to understand what is essential and interesting
to the invited individuals. Frankelius (1997) continues by stating that directing a message
towards an individual gives a high success probability. As have been described previously a
number of attendees (B1 & C3) highlighted the importance of direct communication. It is
clear that direct communication not only is important for attracting customers but also to
communication of a certain message. Fill (2002) further also states that problem can occur
when companies direct messages towards many target groups although same messages
might not be suitable for all of the. In the case of Sapa Profiler event it can be seen that
39
different messages were important to different attendees, C1 was absolutely not interested
in the hockey on the contrary C3 had been waiting for a hockey invitation. Sapa Profiler
managed to understand that individuals were not attracted by the same messages and included information about the speakers and product information already in the pre-event
stage. C2 would not either attend the event if the message of the event only included
hockey, the event have to include aspects which are related to work. What C2 state is in accordance with Fill (2002) who states that the message should be rational and informative in
B2B markets compared to B2C markets, as the attendees at corporate event are more likely
to attend for business purpose. In all cases presented in the thesis, the message more or
less included the right information in all those stages. In the case of FKOM the invited
people were highly aware of all that was going to take place during the event already in the
pre-event stage as extensive information was received as the invitations were send out.
5.3.3
The meeting
Behrer & Larsson (1998) and Maat (2004) suggest that the meeting taking place during an
event allows communication and interaction to take place between an organisation and its
stakeholders. The four cases in the thesis all enable interaction to take place in the actual
face-to-face meeting during the events. However it can be seen that the different events use
this direct kind of communication to different extent and in different ways. FKOM was a
large scale event and it seems as if the face-to-face communication may not be as obvious
compared to if the event would be smaller and more personal. The meeting during the
FKOM was more characterised by one-way communication rather than two-way dialoguing. According to Bergh, Lindgren, Anderson (2004) an event enables dialoguing and argues that one-way communication is now a poor alternative for influencing of attendants.
However the aim of FKOM was to educate the attendants hence the dialoguing may not
have been as important as it is in other occasions. It can also be said that although the focus way not primarily on dialoguing the meeting at FKOM still allowed for this kind of
two-way communication to take place. Turning to Generalgolfen the meeting taking place
was highly interactive in the sense that Swedish Match representatives were present and active during at the gold course. They played together with the attendants during four-five
hours, which allowed for dialoguing to a great extent. The Hockey night at Kinnarps Arena
also allowed for a meeting although it might not have been as interactive as in the case of
Generalgolfen. Since SAPA invited a very limited number of guests the event held a small
qualitative standard were personal two-way communication could take place. During the
dinner the attendees were seated next to SAPA representatives allowing for interaction to
take place. C1 on the other hand argued that some dialoguing diminished due to the entertainment taking place during the dinner, which sometimes made talking impossible. There
were also some other one-way communication activities taking place such as information
from the CEO as well as the technical service department. The corporate event at WTCC
can be divided in two parts in relation to the meeting. The Saturday allowed for more extensive face-to-face communication and interaction as the attendees there were 80 compared to the Sunday when 250 attended WTCC. At the VIP event attendees were mixed
with Chevrolet representatives and the meeting between them and also between the different attendees allowed for interaction. Dialoguing occurred at the barbecue, during the test
driving of Chevrolet cars, etcetera. The focus the next day was the experience as it mostly
consisted of car races and not as much dialoguing although retailers were provided with
conference rooms where meetings with customers could take place. However, the retailers
interviewed did not use these. The fact that the event was two days long increased the
overall possibilities for two-way communication to take place. Naturally, attendees and
40
Chevrolet representatives had many opportunities to dialogue compared to if the event

only took place during a few hours.
According to Frankelius (1997) the meeting can strengthen relations in a genuine matter,
which indicates that depending on the degree of face-to-face interaction the organisations
in the four cases can develop relationships differently.
Behrer & Larsson (1998) further argues that the place of the meeting also can be of great
importance when considering the attractiveness of an event. The corporate event at WTCC
was based on the fact that the races took place at this particular place and point in time.
The corporate event at WTCC did not control the place and timing of the races rather it
was adapted according to the WTCC races. Anderstorp is otherwise not a common meeting place for people to gather as it is not close to any large city in Sweden although the
WTCC races are well known and transforms Anderstorp in to an attractive meeting place
during these particular dates. According to Behrer & Larsson (1998) it is important to consider this distance to the event as it can effect the attractiveness. It also took place during
the summer when most people have vacation and even though they might be more flexible
they also have a lot of plans during this time of the year. In the case of Sapa Profiler event
at Kinnarps arena the timing and place was extremely significant. The fact that the subcontractor fair took place during the same time as Sapa Profiler event increased the possibilities for attracting attendees. Sapa Profiler knew that many of their customers were going to
participate at the fair that was situated right next to Kinnarps arena. Sapa Profiler further
has a conference room at Kinnarps arena, which they can use at any given point in time.
The hockey game was taking place this particular day at Kinnarps arena, which made the
placement of the event even greater and attractive for the invited. Generalgolfen made it
possible for attendants to play golf at a course not too far from where they live and work
while seven different tournaments where held at different locations in Sweden. The importance of place and distance discussed by Behrer & Larsson (1998) also applies here, as it
probably would have been more problematic for the invited to attend the event if it was
situated further away. The final tournament was held at the golf course Bro-hof, which is
an extremely well-known course outside Stockholm city. The fact that the final tournament
was taking place at Bro-hof was a strategic choice made by Swedish Match when planning
the event, as attendants hopefully would find the particular meeting place very attractive.
Turning to SAP and the FKOM event it can be argued that the choice of using Hong
Kong as the meeting place was strategically oriented as it is a hub in the Asia/Pacific region. The location could however have a negative impact on the attendants, as their ability
to travel to Hong Kong at these particular dates may be limited.
5.3.4
Creating an experience
As Maat (2004) states experience is an essential aspect of events as it can be an efficient

way to reach the customers as people are overloaded by different messages. An experience
makes it easier for people to accept a message as they will immerge themselves in the experience. Behrer & Larsson (1998) agrees with Maat (2004) and argues that a positive experience can simplify the message that the company aims at delivering. The corporate event
at WTCC focused on experience to a great extend as the many activities was related to cars
and races. On Saturday the VIP guest had the opportunity to sit next to a racing driver in
Chevrolet racing cars when driving. On Sunday the actual races were taking place, which in
itself is an experience that can relate Chevrolet cars to the message that the company
wanted to deliver. The fact that the invited also had opportunity to talk to the racing drivers after the races further contributed to the experience. All these activities were definitely a
41
way for Chevrolet to generate unique, impressing, memorable, and entertaining experiences
for the attendants. Maat (2004) and Behrer & Larsson (1998) argues this kind of memorable and positive experience can lead to a better reputation and positive attitude towards the
arranging company. In accordance with Maat (2004) the experiences can be seen as an efficient way to reach the invited people especially since they all work within the automobile
industry and seem to have personal interest in cars. In Generalgolfen the golf experience
was used to attract people to come to the event. Since they held the final at Bro Hof, which
as mentioned is a top quality course the experience was further enhanced. The event was
an opportunity for Swedish Match to create a positive experience for their customers and
the whole event circled around golf, which in itself is an experience. Generalgolfen can in
accordance with what Maat (2004) and Behrer & Larsson (1998) argue generate in a memorable and entertaining experience. The message and aims of Generalgolfen was to create a
positive attitude towards the company and it can be argued that by generating a great experience the aims of the event are more likely achieved. The Hockey night at Kinnarps
arena also emphasized the experience aspect of events, as the hockey game was an experience to the attendees. Also the entertainment during the dinner and hockey brakes can be
seen as generating a positive experience. FKOM on the other hand did not focus in experiences related to entertainment to the same extend as the other three events in the thesis.
The event did however include educational experiences, which according to Maat (2004) is
another way of incorporate the experience angle. The event further did not focus on individuals personal interests
5.4
Motivation factors
Vroom (1995) defines motivation as pursuing something in order to receive something.

Several customer interviews indicate that this definition is valid in the cases explored in the
thesis. The attendants of FKOM all states that the main reason for attending the event was
to gain information about SAP and its technology and products, which indicate that they
want to receive something that is highly business related. A2 clearly states that pure business events are preferable. When connecting the customer motivation factors for the
FKOM event with Holm & Karlssons (2001) model of event purposes it can be argued
that they coincide with the aims of SAP as the motive for attending the event are in all
three cases to get exposed to products and technology. A3 also wanted to gain information about
the industry overall. It is further evident that the motives for the three attendees are closely
linked to the education motive proposed by Goldblatt (2002). A1 and A3 further found it
important to know that other interesting people were invited and attending FKOM and the
networking possibilities were definitely a motivating factor for attending the event. The
SAP customer interviews implies that the motivation factors are of intrinsic characteristics
as they in accordance with Frey & Osterloh (2002) are guided by internal factors, hence not
exogenous factors such as money. The customer interviews connected to Generalgolfen
also indicate that intrinsic motivation is taking place and different kinds of intrinsic motivation can further be pointed out. B2 points out that the main motive for attending Generalgolfen was for pleasure, as B2 likes to play golf. B2s motivation can be linked to the kind
of intrinsic motivation, which Frey & Osterloh (2002) argues takes place when the activity
carried out provides pleasure in itself. B1 and B3 also mention the golf in itself to be a motivating factor but also state that it is important to keep a good the relation to Swedish
Match and gain information about products, meet representatives as well as other people
from the industry. These last motivation factors can be linked to the kind of intrinsic motivation, which Frey & Osterloh (2002) explains take place when both the end goal and the
activity carried out have a certain value. B3 is interested in playing golf but also considers
42
the outcome of Generalgolfen when considering whether or not to attend the event. Overall, the attendees motives for coming were to strengthen the relations towards Swedish
Match and obtain an experience. Swedish Match created Generalgolfen in order for their
customers to receive a positive experience and as the attendees were motivated to attend
due to the experience, the purposes of the attendees and Swedish Match coincide. The individuals who attended the Hockey night at Kinnarps arena shared some motives for coming to the event. Both C1 and C2 were motivated by the fact that the new CEO of Sapa
Profiler were speaking at the event and also hoped they would gain information about
product development and it was important that the event contributed to work in some
how. These motives can be related to what Frey & Osterloh (2002) explains take place
when both the end goal and the activity carried out have a certain value as C1 and C2
found it important not only to obtain a great experience rather the opposite as they aimed
at receiving something valuable and work related. C3 on the other hand was mostly interested in the hockey game itself and not so much the additional attributes that the event offered. According to Frey & Osterloh (2002) it can once again be stated that the activity carried out provided pleasure in itself and the speakers and information was not as important
for C3 as it was to C1 and C2. C3 further argues that an event does not always need to be
business related, instead a pure entertaining event is sometimes preferable. D1 and D2
both found their personal interests to be reasons for attending the corporate event at
WTCC. They both had a personal interest in cars and D1 also saw the opportunity to see
three famous drivers in action to a motive for attending the event. The attendees were in
this sense driven by intrinsic motivation and more specifically the kind which Frey & Osterloh (2002) describes as being driven from the actual activity carried out, hence the experience. Mia Stenbom and Gisela Gerner did not mention the experience to be the main motive for creating the event, the company rather used the experience to attract the attendees.
Although the experience was an important factor of motivation for both D1 and D2, D1
still argues that the main motive for attending an event such as the one at WTCC was to
meet representatives from Chevrolet and interact with other retailers. The fact that building
relations with those people were of importance indicates that the end goal was essential to
D1.
Vroom (1995) argues that his expectancy theory can be useful when describing how individuals who represent organisations choose an event depending on their expectations. In
section 2.5.3 Maat (2004) and Behrer & Larsson (1998) argues that by fulfilling the expectation that the attendees have on an event a positive experience can be generated otherwise a
gap might occur between the expectations and outcome. In the case of FKOM A1, A2, and
A3 all expected the event to include interesting information and A2 specifically states that
the event was expected to be of very high quality and professional. A1 and A3 both expresses that the event could be interesting to different degrees depending on who else was
attending the event as networking during these kinds of events is of great relevance. The
criterion expressed by Vroom (1995) is evident in the case of the attendees of FKOM as
the information gained and the networking effects are expected to satisfy important needs
of their respective companies. Some of the attendees of FKOM had attended the FKOM
previous years and expected the event to live up to the previous years qualities. The fact
that SAP is one of the largest companies within the industry also increased the motivation
for attending the FKOM. A positive instrumentality (Vroom, 1995) is evident as attendees
experiences from FKOM previous years are optimistic. This effects the expectations (Vroom,
1995) for FKOM 2007 and the likelihood that the desired outcome will occur is high and
can be seen as a motivation for the attendees to attend FKOM again.
43
In the case of Generalgolfen B2 did not have any expectations and mostly attended for the
purpose of playing golf while B1 and B3 expected networking possibilities with the Swedish Match crew and other participants as well as the golfing. Vrooms (1995) criteria where
the performance will generate in a desired reward that can be useful for business purposes
can be applied to B1 and B3 expectations. B3 had preciously attended events arranged by
Swedish Match and had a positive memory of the events. Due to this B3 probably expected
the desired outcome to occur which is in accordance with the belief expectancy in Vrooms
(1995) Expectancy Theory. At the Hockey night at Kinnarps Arena it is evident that the
criterias for motivation are partly fulfilled according to C1 and C2 who expected that the
information from the CEO would generate in desirable information related to work. C2
had expectations that valuable information would be the outcome but argued that this was
not the case as most information was already known to him. This indicates that the instrumentality and thereby the attitude towards attending the event is not as positive. Both C1
and C3 expectations motivated them to attend the event and stated that the expectations
was more or less fulfilled and had positive feedback. During the WTCC event D1 and D2
were mostly motivated by personal reasons and interests and the experience gained can be
seen as the generated reward which is in accordance with one of Vrooms (1995) criteria
for motivation that the performance will result in a reward. The attendees were motivated to attend the event due to the expectations that the event had a high likelihood to generate in the
outcome, hence the experience, they were looking for.
44
Conclusion
In this last section the authors will present the final remarks important for the purpose of the thesis. Some
critiques of the chosen method are also presented as well as a few suggestions and ideas concerning areas of
further research.
During the process of writing the thesis the authors have found that companies usually
have several reasons for creating corporate events. The reason for this is that an event is a
platform allowing for different activities and marketing tools to be used simultaneously. It
is found that the companies have one or two main motives for creating their events although other purposes are integrated automatically. Strengthen relation is a great example
of this since it is not always a purpose directly mentioned as a main motive for creation,
however it is constant and natural ingredient of an event caused by the direct face-to-face
interaction.
The reason for the diverse main motives can sometimes depend upon what is going on
within a company currently. The authors argue that happenings such as merging of companies, product launches, or new management can be reasons for creating events, as it can be
an opportunity to inform attendees about the organisational news and market new products, personnel etc. Different motives for creating events can also depend upon industry as
well as complexity of products. The authors argues that a reason for having education as a
main motive could be linked to companies producing advanced products where informing
customers about the quality and features is of great importance. Information here is used
for creating understanding and reliability of the company and its products. When it is not
as important to be aware of the products complexity this informative motive is more
commonly found as a secondary motive for creating an event. Here it seems more useful to
use trials and thereby create a certain feeling for the products and effect the attendees in
that sense. An experience is a great way of attracting people to attend an event and an experience is in itself can sometimes be the actual motive for creating an event. When having
experience as a motive for creating an event, it seems as if the underlying idea is to enhance
the image of the arranging company and strengthen relations.
The study has showed that the targeting of an audience is very important when planning
events. In all cases the companies targeted influencers or other individuals who had some
kind of relation to the company. It is also evident that individuals who have high positions
within their respective companies commonly are invited and part of the target group for
events. In order to attract the targeted group it is crucial to offer an event that seem appealing to the invited. It is also found that individuals nowadays have limited time at their
hands, which makes it even more difficult to attract the target group.
It is found that a corporate event should contribute with some aspect that the invited find
important and related to their work in order for them to attend them. When events have an
informative purpose the authors have found that it is effective to attract customers with
this actual message since many individuals apparently look for events to be work related,
hence informative. Even though not all cases have information as a main motive for creating the events, it seems to be an appreciated aspect desired by many of the individuals in
the target groups. This implies that corporate events should put emphasis and focus on information and learning possibilities in some how. It is further crucial to provide the attendees with information during the event that is new and relevant for the attendees to hear
45
about. Generally the authors found that pure entertainment does not attract many attendees.
In some cases arranging companies do not have clear control over who is invited to their
event and there is a risk that individuals who are not part of the target group might attend
those events. When an event is based on an experience it might be especially interesting for
people who are not part of the target group to attend the event. In those cases a tighter
control may be required if wanting to avoid that those people attend the event indicating
careful selection of invitees and personal invitations. The authors have found that the sales
force in some cases chooses whom to invite and as those have a previous relation to the
invited they have a better chance of influencing them. In all cases the authors found that
direct mail, phone calls, and email have mainly been used for notifying and attracting the
invited people to attend the respective events. The most effective way of informing the invited about the event and its attributes has shown to be direct communication either
through phone calls or face-to-face contact. The study illustrates that personal contact
means a lot for deciding whether or not to attend events. When a representative from respective company speaks to invited individuals it is possible to tailor the invitation and argue for why the event is beneficial for each individual.
The motives for attending corporate events are found to be partly different however the
main objectives are to gain information from the arranging company and interact with the
arranging company and to some extent other attendees. The attendees overall expects a
corporate event to generate something valuable, which usually indicates that it should be
work related, otherwise they would not consider attending the events. What they will find
valuable differs and each individual have personal beliefs on what they will gain most from
and thereby are motivated by different attributes of an event. The underlying finding is that
attendees are motivated when they will receive something work related from attending the
event. It can be concluded that a corporate event should be work related in some how and
include new information and/or offer networking possibilities.
46
Critique of chosen method
During the process of writing the thesis the authors have come to the insight that a quantitative study could have been used for gaining broader knowledge about the different motivation factors at force in relation to corporate events. This indicates a mix of qualitative
data, hence the company interviews, and quantitative data, hence the customer interviews.
The quantitative study could allow for more generalizations to be made.
It could further have been interesting to use cases which were more similar than the once
in the thesis enabling comparison to a greater extent. Studying for example golf events exclusively would have made it possible to compare the events and easier conclude what factors that effect individuals when choosing to attend corporate events.
Further Research
When conducting this thesis it has generated in interesting angles and subject that can further be spent more research on. One phenomenon that the authors have found interesting
is that most events are characterised by what is considered male interest. What could be a
research approach is what kind of events that can be created in order to attract the female
public since there is a trend in more women holding high positions in the business world.
Another further research approach of interest could be to focus on the difference between
separate arranged corporate events and events where a numerous of companies are creating
an events, such as fairs and trade shows. When information and education is the main factor for arranging events what is most suitable and effective way to reach the target audience? The angle on what the attendees find most effective and interesting is also something
that can be of interest for the arranging companies when deciding to create a separate event
or be a participant in a forum where more actors in the market are taking part. This could
work as a guide for companies when planning there marketing and sales activities to find an
optimal way to reach out to the stakeholders and how they should divide there resources.
47
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Carrol. B.J (2006) Lead Generation for Complex Sales. McGraw-Hill Companies
Chevrolet (2007) Chevrolet- a legend in the world of cars, Retrieved December 01, 2007. Available from: http://www.chevrolet.se/om-oss/om-oss-historia.html
Denscombe.M (1998) The Good Research Guide: For Small-Scale Social Research Projects. Open
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Fill. C (2002), Marketing Communications, context, Strategies and Applications. Pearson Education
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Frankelius. P (1997) Kirurgisk marknadsfring. Liber AB
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Marketing. Master Thesis within BA International Business School in Jnkping
Imms. M, Ereaut. G (2002) An Introduction to Qualitative Market Research. SAGE Publications
Ltd, London
Kisch. C, Lekse. S (2003) Konsten arr vlja rtt kommunikationsverktyg- En fallstudie om Event
Marketing fr Eton Fashion AB. Bachelor Thesis within BA International Business School in
Jnkping
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50
Appendix
Company interviews
Areas to cover:
The companies event strategies. The questions here circle around how each companys
generally works with events and the motives for arranging events. The authors want to find
out if they have a worked-out strategy when it comes to events arranged by the company,
what kind of corporate events are arranged by the companies and why, what the major issues to consider is when arranging events, which people that usually are invited and why.
The cases- Here the authors want to cover general facts about the events of interest,
hence why it was arranged, description of how it was planned and executed, as well as the
practical details that could be of importance.
Motives for arrangements- This section will cover questions related to the aim of the
events and dig further into the reasons for creating each event of interest. What was the
aim of the event, what was the message that the companies wanted to deliver, and what did
the companies want the participants to think about the event before as well as after the actual event?
Choosing target group- Here the authors want to gain information related to who the
companies chose to invite to their respective corporate event. The authors want to find out
how the companies chooses whom to invite, why, and what relation they have to the arranging company.
Marketing of the event- This area concerns the different marketing activities related to
the corporate events in the thesis. The aim here is to find how each company marketed
their event and worked to make it attractive to the invited, towards who did they market
the event, and which tools were used. Here it is also interesting to find out if the companies
attracted the invited with the actual message of the event or if they mostly used other attributes for marketing to the invited.
51
Customer interviews
Question 1-6 deals with general facts and thoughts about events.
1) What is most important to make you attend an event (pleasure, sales opportunities, network building etc)?
2) What do you look for in an invitation for an event? What attributes in the invitation attract your attention? Which information do you find useful/unuseful to include in an invitation in order to attract people to attend the event?
3) What specific activities are you looking for when attending an event?
4) What do you want to gain from the event you are attending? Which are your objectives
when attending an event?
5) Does it matter who else will attend the event? How much does this influence the attractiveness of the event?
6) Do you ever attend events just for pleasure?
Question 7-16 deals with facts related to the specific events which the thesis focuses
on.
7) Which people from your organization attended the event?
8) Which relationship does your company have to the company arranging the event?
9) How did you get to know about the event? Did you receive an invitation? How was the
invitation designed? What did it say? Did you receive any reminders? How many in that
case?
10) Why did you attend the event?
11) Do you remember any specific attributes in the invitation or the message that made you
attend the event?
12) What was least important for you when deciding to attend the event?
13) Which expectations did you have before you attended the event? Did your experiences
match your expectations?
14) Why do you think the company invited you to the event?
15) Did you make any preparations before attending event?
16) Could they have done the event differently, in a better way?
52

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JNKPING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL

Perfect creation for a win-win

Bachelor Thesis within Business Administration

Anna Gustafsson 830129

Supervisors: Olga Sasinovskaya

Jnkping International Business School, January 2008

Bachelor thesis within Business Administration

Perfect creation for a win-win situation

Anna Gustafsson & Kristin Svenhed

Maya Paskaleva & Olga Sasinovskaya

Event marketing, motivation, marketing communication, relationship

Kandidatuppsats inom marknadsfring

Perfekt skapande fr en win-win situation

Anna Gustafsson & Kristin Svenhed

Maya Paskaleva & Olga Sasinovskaya

Event marketing, motivation, marketing communication, relationship

2 Frame of References ................................................................ 4

Relationship marketing ...........................................................................4

Research approach/strategy ................................................................16

4 Empirical data ......................................................................... 21

Defining the cases................................................................................36

What are the main reasons for arranging a corporate event?

Uniqueness, Perishability & Intangibility It is a temporary occurrence that is a blend

Why Event marketing

Figure 1 Event purposes (Holm & Karlsson, 2001)

Figure 2 Communication process (Shimp, 2003)

Figure 3 Communication interaction model (Maat, 2004)

Platform for interaction & integration

Figure 4 (Behrer & Larsson, 1998)

Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation

The performance will result in a desirable reward

The reward will satisfy an important need for the company

Qualitative & Quantitative data

Data Processing & Analysis Interpretation

Validity & Reliability

FKOM - Asia Pacific Field Kick-Off Meeting

Keynotes speeches by members of the executive board and president

Smaller seminars with product information

Smaller activities at the different booths

SAP Customer interviews

Swedish Match Customer Interviews

Hockey Night at Kinnarps Arena

SAPA Customer Interviews

Corporate event at WTCC

Chevrolet Customer Interviews

Defining the cases

Reasons for arranging the events

Delivering the message

Chevrolet representatives had many opportunities to dialogue compared to if the event

As Maat (2004) states experience is an essential aspect of events as it can be an efficient

Vroom (1995) defines motivation as pursuing something in order to receive something.

Critique of chosen method

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