The Outward Bound Trust Generations Ball Case Study

Bobby Camilleri

LONI INPR 310 Anthony Begley

December 8, 2010

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Case Study

The Outward Bound Trust and Generations Ball 2010:

The Outward Bound Trust is an educational charity dedicated to unlocking the

potential in young people through discovery and adventure in the wild. Through the

generosity of their dedicated supporters, they change the lives of thousands of

disadvantaged young people every year. The Outward Bound Trust is the originator and

leading facilitator of experiential learning in the outdoors, working predominantly with

young people aged 9-24. The organization has grown over 300 percent in the last 10

years and in the last three years alone; more than 75,000 young people have taken up the

challenge.

On November 19th 2010 The Outward Bound Trust hosted the Generations Ball.

This event was aimed at rising €400,000 and being the single largest fundraising event in

2010 for The Outward Bound Trust. The event was a black tie and was filled with raffles,

auctions, food and entertainment. Westlife, the 3rd biggest pop band of all time headlined

the event. The event was entitled Generations Ball because The  Outward  Bound  Trust  is  

launching Generations, a program  designed  to  reach  out  to  every  person  who  has  ever  

participated  in  an  Outward  Bound  course  since  1941. There have been over 1 million

participants between 1941 and 2010 and The Outward Bound Trust is seeking to

reconnect with them.

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Event Planning:

The events team decided to hold another gala dinner in 2010, after the success of

the first two in 2008 and 2009. The past two events had been the biggest single

fundraising events for each of their respective fundraising years. Therefore the team

decided to continue with the gala dinner concept and hold another one in 2010. This

year’s event would be entitled the Generations Ball because of The Trusts new

“Generations Campaign.” The event would be a perfect way to launch the campaign,

which is aimed at connecting Outward Bound Participants from over the past 70 years.

Popular musical groups headlined the past first two gala dinners and this seemed

to be successful for each event. Therefore, for the 2010 event, it was decided that a very

popular band would be selected for the event in order to generate interest in the event as

well as to attract a very large amount of guests for the event. It was because of this idea

that Westlife was signed to be the entertainment for the event. Westlife was signed on the

basis that they were the 3rd biggest selling pop band of all time and that they had such a

wide appeal. This plan was created and developed by the events team and the

reciprocated by the fundraising staff before being approved by The Outward Bound

Senior Management Team.

The events team also decided to hold the event at Battersea Evolution, located in

Battersea Park, London. This venue was selected on the basis that it was large enough to

hold the projected volume of guests, 1,500 and because of the existing relationship

between The Trust and Battersea Evolution, Smyle Production and Smart caterers.

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Sponsorship:

The events team took an interesting approach to sponsorship of the event. They

attempted to find a title sponsor of the event, but after failing to secure one immediately,

they decided to discard the idea of a title sponsor. Instead they decided to ask a few

Outward Bound supporting individuals to sponsor the event unanimously. The events

team was able to secure €200,000 of private sponsorship from six supporters of The

Trust. In return for their sponsorship money, the sponsors were granted a VVIP table at

the event, a meet and greet with Westlife after the event, a thank you luncheon at

Buckingham Palace, a pre-event party and accommodation at the Grange Hotel.

In 2008 and 2009, Sunseeker was the title sponsor of the event. As part of their

sponsorship of the event they received 30 tables and were given exclusive signage

representation at the event. They were approached in 2010 to be a title sponsor, but due to

the tough economic times they were unable to participate in the event. The main target

for the Generations Ball was Gibson Guitars, an international electric and acoustic guitar

manufacturer. However, Gibson seemed disinterested and never returned with an answer

to the proposal.

Ticketing, Pricing and Sales:

The events team evaluated looked at the pricing scheme from 2008 and 2009 in

order to come up with the ticket pricing for 2010. They also took into consideration the

cost of Westlife and came up with €295 per general admission ticket to the event and

€750 per VIP ticket. The plan was to have up to 150 VIP tickets sold and the remainder

of the tickets be sold as general admission. Westlife signed their contract on Wednesday

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22 September and tickets went on sale Thursday 23 September. Thursday also launched

the public marketing campaign for the event. The entire fund raising office was geared up

to take phone and Internet sales all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately,

the phones didn’t ring and tickets didn’t sell. The phone system in the office crashed

multiple times throughout the opening days of the sales campaign. The office received

less then 10 calls regarding the event in those first 3 days the tickets went on sale.

However, the website was fully functioning and there was very minimal traffic there as

well. Over the first week the tickets were on sale, there were less than 15 tickets sold. The

event was eight weeks away and the events team needed to fill a venue with 1,500

people.

On the Friday 22 October the events team reduced the prices for the all tickets.

VIP tickets were now €295, a reduction of €455, and general admission tickets were

reduced to €150, a reduction of €145. This was a very strategic move on part of the

events team, but they decided that they wanted to attract greater numbers of guests, rather

than a small number of wealthy guests. There was very little research done before

dropping the prices, but the strategy was to drop the prices to the lowest that they could

possibly afford, and that is where €295 and €150 came from. The new general admission

price was now competitive with a ticket price for an actual Westlife tour concert.

With the new ticket pricing, tickets began to sell a bit better, but not drastically

better. The general admission tickets, which were expected to sell in leaps and bounds,

still hardly sold. The VIP ticket sales increased over the next weeks, and by the event

there were 350 VIP tickets distributed and 150 general admission tickets distributed. The

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venue could have held 1,500 persons and only 500 guests attended, then there was an

unfulfilled potential of 1,000 guests.

Sales:

The events team, more specifically Stuart Baker, headed the sales process. There

were various methods and techniques that were implemented in order to sell the greatest

amount of tickets possible. The first was that each member of The Outward Bound Trust

fundraising team was asked to sell as many tickets as possible. More specifically, they

were asked to sell to their corporate connections through their work at The Trust. The

theory behind this was that since The Trust has 70 corporate funders, many of them

would indeed purchase a table at the event and fill the room with their staff or clients.

Each member of the team, 6 members, were given promotional E-shots, flyers, and the

ability to create package deals if need be. However, on the night of the event only one

member of the team was able to sell a corporate table. When asked, the majority of

companies responded saying that the economy just was in too rough of shape and their

businesses were too strained to be attending glamorous events such as the Generations

Ball.

The second technique that was implemented to generate sales was telemarketing

sales. The events team brought in two temporary staff into the office as well as two

offsite staff to sell overt the phone. For three weeks straight, the staff worked from 9-5

calling individuals. These staff members were given numerous lists of individuals to call.

The two main lists consisted of individuals who had been to previous Outward Bound

events and a purchased list of 2,000 women between the ages of 35 and 45 who earn over

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€60,000. These lists were split up between these four individuals to sell by whatever

means possible. But when all was said and done, there were less than 30 tickets that were

sold by the telemarketing team.

The events team also employed a Public Relations Company, PPR, to assist with

the sales and overall production of the event. PPR had very strong incentives to sell the

event and generate sales, due to the fact that their contract was commission based. PPR

had 4 full time employees selling the event in any way they could and yet they were

unable to make any significant contributions in regards to ticket sales. The individuals

who were the most successful in selling the event were the members of the events team.

Stuart Baker, Laura Watson and Bobby Camilleri contributed the most ticket sales to the

event.

Venue:

Once the events team had decided to bring Westlife on board, they then needed to

hire out a venue that could hold a large capacity of guests. The events team then set out to

find a London based venue that could hold a large capacity of guests while still

maintaining intimacy. The team understood how popular Westlife had been in the past

and took their ticket sales records into consideration. Below are just a few of their

accomplishments that were taken into consideration:

• 3rd biggest selling pop band with 45 million albums sold worldwide • 6th biggest selling boy band of all time • Biggest selling arena act (i.e. Wembley Arena and Odyssey Arena) • Biggest selling band from 2000-2009 • Top selling song of the decade ‘Evergreen’ (2000-2010)1

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlife_awards#Records

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The events team looked at various venues throughout London and decided upon

Battersea Evolution, located within Battersea Park. This venue has a capacity of 1,500

persons and has hosted various large musical acts. Another reason that Battersea

Evolution was selected was because the gala dinner in 2009 was also held the Evolution.

Therefore The Outward Bound Trust had an existing relationship with the Evolution and

their in house production company, Smyle Production, as well the in house catering

company, SMART. Battersea Evolution, Smyle Production and SMART caterers were all

willing to work with The Trust in order to ensure that they were given discounts on their

services. As a result the events team settled on Battersea Evolution due to its large

capacity and its existing relationship with The Trust.

Entertainment Selection:

For the past two years, The Outward Bound Trust has held an annual gala dinner

in order to raise funds for The Trust. This event has been the biggest fundraising effort

for The Trust the past two years. In 2008, the gala dinner was headlined by British Pop

band, Take That. The 2009 event was created around the Bee Gees. Robin Gibb, a

member of the Bee Gees, performed hits on the night with a myriad of other British

entertainers. Due to the success of the past two gala dinners, the Outward Bound Event

Staff agreed that hiring a popular band would help raise the greatest amount of funds for

the charity. As a result, the events team decided to put together an event that had a very

popular band in order to generate the most interest in the event and fill the venue with the

greatest amount of people. The more people in the venue, the increase of ticket revenue,

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the increase of main and silent auction spending, the increase of Outward Bound

exposure, and the increase of funds raised.

The events team looked into several bands to headline the event. They wanted a

band that is current, that had a widespread appeal, will bring their following to the event

and will make money for The Trust. It was also very important to sign a band that doesn’t

have charge an outrageous amount for a performance. After looking at their options and

ruling out various bands that failed to meet the qualifications, the events team decided

upon Westlife. Westlife is the only act in UK history to have their first seven singles go

straight to Number 1, and they have gone on to sell over 44 million records

worldwide which includes their studio, single, video, and compilation albums. They have

14 number one singles in the United Kingdom, the third highest in UK history, tying

with Cliff Richard and trailing behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles.2 In November

the band would be releasing their new album and single, which was expected to top the

charts.

The only negative aspect of signing with Westlife was their performance charge,

which was €295,000. However, the events team was confident that the revenue created by

signing such a popular band would greatly outweigh the extra expenses associated with

Westlife.

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlife

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Marketing:

The events team had a very strategic marketing plan laid out for the Generations

Ball. A timeline had been established months in advance. The marketing strategy was to

wait until the band, Westlife, signed their contract and then go live the next day with the

website, newspaper advertisements and E-shots, Facebook and Twitter. Then once the

event was public, all that was needed was to take ticket sales and monitor the numbers.

Westlife and The Outward Bound Trust had to agree upon a contract before noon on

September 22nd in order to make the website and newspaper advertisement deadlines. The

contract was signed on the on September 22nd at noon, the website, Facebook and Twitter

went live that evening and the newspaper advertisements were in the morning and

evening Metro on the 23rd and in the Evening Times on the 24th. The MC’s for the

Generations Ball, Matt Littler and Darren Jefferies from the television series Holyoakes,

also Tweeted about the event to 11,000 Twitter followers.

The next week there was an E-shot sent to 1,700 of The Trust’s closest supporters

with information about the event promotion and encouraging ticket sales. The public

relations company that was hired for the event, PPR, wrote and sent promotional stories

to magazines in order to generate hype and publicity for the event. An internal email was

sent to all 300 Outward Bound employees explaining the event and asking for support.

The Generations Ball was also linked in the Westlife Facebook (1 million followers)

Twitter (11,000 followers) and Westlife’s website.

After all of this had been completed and still no sales were being made the events

team realized that the current status of the event was serious and that desperate measures

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needed to be taken in order to ensure the success of the event. E-shots were sent to 500

CEO’s and Personal Assistants, 5,500 contacts of PPR and 1,500 existing Generations

members. Another advertisement was run on the Friday Evening Standard newspaper.

The events team employed a new marketing tactic, which was to strategically target

women’s private members clubs, gyms and spas. Members of the events team spent three

days meeting with various private members clubs, gyms and spas. This led to the

distribution of 500 flyers and a partnership with the Chelsea Harbour Club to distribute

4,000 flyers as well as other strategic partnership opportunities. The events team also

partnered with Mandy Tarrant, a wealthy aristocrat who promoted the event within her

affluent circles of influence. The events team also sought out other event promotion

agencies to help promote the event. Quintessentialy events pushed it to over 70,000

contacts. FirstGroup, PPR, Grange Hotels and Akzo Noble also promoted the event in

their newsletter as well as to their databases of contacts.

At this point in the marketing timeline the majority of the tickets ideally been

sold, but unfortunately this was not the case. So on the Friday 22 October the events team

reduced the prices for the all tickets. VIP tickets were now €295, a reduction of €455, and

general admission tickets were reduced to €150, a reduction of €145. This was a very

strategic move on part of the events team, but they decided that they wanted to attract

greater numbers of guests, rather than a small number of wealthy guests. Advertisements

were again put in the Evening Standard on 22nd October. On November 1st there was a

dinner at St. James’s Palace for 170 of the closest supporters of The Outward Bound

Trust. At the dinner, Outward Bound CEO, Nick Barrett, made a plea for guests to

support the Generations Ball and purchase tickets to the event. They were able to get

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Westlife, Matt and Darren to re-Tweet and post on their Facebook about the event to over

1 million followers. The last major marketing attempt was a strategic partnership with

OK Magazine. OK Magazine ran a Twitter competition in conjunction with The Outward

Bound Trust. OK Magazine received two tables at the event in return for their running of

the competition as well as publishing the competition in their weekly magazine to

thousands of readers all across the UK and on their website. OK also tweeted about the

event for a week to over 82,000 followers.

Conclusion of Event and Finances:

The Generations Ball took place on 19th November 2010. As far as events are run,

the event was spectacular. The atmosphere was vibrant and the evening was relaxed and

enjoyable. There were 500 guests who attended on the evening. The reception, meal,

entertainment, auctions and the Westlife performance all ran as planned. The Westlife

performance was very engaging and entertaining and guests left the venue saying that this

was truly an event that cannot be duplicated. Financially the evening turned out to be

acceptable. On the evening about €150,000 was raised through the raffle, silent auction,

live auction and bursary donation appeal. In order to break even on the event, at least

€150,000 needed to be raised. After all was said and done, the event may or may not have

broken even. The initial goal of the event was to generate €400,000 for the charity and

this failed to happen. In conclusion, the event failed to bring in any funds for The

Outward Bound Trust bursary fund, however the event did create a number of intangible

values for The Trust. The event introduced a number of very wealthy individuals to The

Trust who have potential to become major donors. Many of these individuals purchased

auction items or donated to the general bursary appeal. Secondly, the event shed light on

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The Trust in a very positive manner. Because the event was organized so well, it shown

well on The Outward Bound Trust and will potentially benefit The Trust in the weeks and

months ahead.

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Case Study Analysis:

The first problem that was encountered with the Generations Ball was that no title

sponsor could be acquired for the event. For the past two years, Sunseeker, a premier

yacht distributer, sponsored the event. They contributed over €200,00 and received

exclusive rights to the event as well as 30 tables to fill at the event. They then would

bring clients, partners and companies that they do business with to the event. Not only

did they contribute the majority of the funding for the event, they also filled over half the

room with their guests. However, this year they were unable to sponsor the event, which

left a significant gap in funding as well as seats to be filled. Because of this, The Trust

approached individuals about making contributions to the event as unanimous event

sponsors. In the end there were numerous individuals who made major sponsorship

contributions to the event, which amassed to €274,000. The majority of individuals who

donated received some type of compensation for their donation, such as tickets, tables,

VIP reception access or a sponsorship luncheon at Buckingham Palace. Therefore, even

though €274,000 was donated much less was actual because there were a lot of expenses

that were deducted from that amount. Another effect of having individuals closely related

to the event contribute financially to the production of the event was that they were then

reluctant to donate on the night of the event. Because of these individuals’ prior

contributions, they were much less likely to make large auction bids or bursary donations

on the night of the event. According to Robert Booth, “Individuals who are the most

informed are the most likely to donate.” 3

3 Booth, Robert. (2010). “Charity Should Begin with Worthieness League Table Says Philosopher.” Guardian.co.uk

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After doing significant research, I would like to offer a few findings as to

potential reasons as to why the Generations Ball couldn’t secure a title sponsor. It is no

secret that the economy in England is in trouble. Companies are spending less, giving less

and overall being much more conservative with their funds. As a result, charities are

being hit very hard. According to Beckett, companies are struggling with profit declines,

budget cuts and layoffs. Many companies are rethinking sponsorships. Many large

companies are keeping their corporate philanthropy relatively flat with, while others are

becoming much more selective and have reduced their budgets for charity events. 4

It is my understanding that this is why Sunseeker decided not to continue their

sponsorship relationship with The Trust. This could also provide insight into why Gibson

Guitars, who The Trust approached about becoming the title sponsor of the Generations

Ball, decided to pass on the sponsorship opportunity.

There was also a research study done regarding the connection between a

corporation sponsoring an event and the public opinion of the sponsoring corporation.

According to Dean, a corporation sponsors an event to, “ (1) to associate the company

with a charity and suggest that the business is fulfilling a societal obligation to the

community from which it draws customers, employees, and investors and (2) to generate

goodwill and enhance the image of the business.” 5 The study showed that when sponsors

of an event, have no credible connection to the charity a negative sense of association is

attached with their sponsorship. Guests recognize the sponsorship and then look at the 4 Beckett, Whitney, et al. "Fashion's New Austerity: Charities Get The Chills From Economy's Freeze." Women's Wear Daily 197.63 (2009). 5 Hal Dean, D. (2002). Associating the Corporation with a Charitable Event Through Sponsorship: Measuring the Effects on Corporate Community Relations. Journal of Advertising, 31(4), 77-87.

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motives behind it. If there is no credible connection in the minds of the guests then they

assume that the corporation is sponsoring in order to make themselves look better in the

eyes of the public and to be able to help balance the books in terms of charitable

donations. For this reason, companies are now very much more selective about what

events or charities they sponsor due to the unseen attributes associated with sponsorship.

Therefore it is not surprising that Gibson Guitars, an international guitar manufacturer

chose not to sponsor a British charity that works with underprivileged youth and places

them on adventure education trips. For Gibson, there is absolutely no musical connection

at all and they would have risked generating a negative image in the minds of the public.

The second major problem that was encountered with the Generations Ball was

that the tickets didn’t sell. There are three possible reason for the lack of ticket sales, 1)

The tickets were priced incorrectly 2) Westlife isn’t an appropriate entertainment act for a

gala dinner 3) A combination of options one and two. The initial prices for the

Generations Ball were set at €295 per general admission ticket and €750 per VIP ticket.

These ticket prices were reused from the gala dinner in 2009, which featured the boy

band, Take That. At the 2009 event, €260,000 were raised for the charity and the event

was a success. Therefore, because the Generations Ball featured Westlife, a more

successful boy band, The Trust assumed that by ticket revenue alone over €440,000

would be generated (1,500 tickets at €295 per ticket). However, when the tickets went on

sale, it was obvious that Westlife was not going to generate ticket sales. This only leads

one to believe that 1) there was not enough promotion to let the public know about the

event or 2) the tickets were priced to high. The marketing of the event will be analyzed in

the pages to come. However, if it is assumed that the marketing was sufficient, then it

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must be that the tickets were priced incorrectly. As the event date approached, The Trust

then made a decision to lower the ticket prices drastically to €295 for VIP and €150 for

general admission. If all 1,500 tickets were now sold for €150, then the truat would

generate €225,000 of income from the ticket sales. This means that the price drop would

cost The Trust €215,000 in ticket revenue alone. But The Trust made the decision and

lowered the ticket prices in order attract all forms of Westlife Fans. According to the

Ticketmaster website, the ticket pricing range for a Westlife Stadium/Arena concert is

between €45 and €150.6 The price of the Generations Ball was now the same as that of a

Westlife concert, and you also receive a drinks reception and a three-course dinner. Yet

after the price change was made and advertised, there was still very little generated ticket

sales. Therefore I looked into the pricing schemes of similar charity events. I found that

the Generations Ball pricing was one of the cheapest in the UK. The Fashion Cares

Charity Event in 2010 entertained more then 800 guests, at €500 per ticket.7 The Berkley

Square Ball sold general admission tickets for €700; Elton John’s White Tie and Tierra

Ball sold tickets for €3,000; the Caudwell Children Ball sold tickets ranging from €300

per ticket to €15,000 per table; and the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Gala sold tables for

€15,000. The only event that sold tickets for lower than the Generations Ball was the

Hollyoaks Charity Ball, which sold tickets for €100 per guest.8 So were the tickets really

priced incorrectly or was it a poor selection of entertainment on the evening?

6 http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Westlife-tickets/artist/711587 7 "McCollough And Hernandez Add Glamour To Jeffrey Event." WWD: Women's Wear Daily 200.47 (2010): 11-1. 1 Dec. 2010. 8 Sommerlad, Nick (2009). Charity balls up: Do celebrity fund-raisers short-change the causes they boast about backing? http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations

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If the tickets seemed to be a below average price to begin with, and they were

then drastically lowered but still no sales were generated, it only leads one to think that

Weslife was a completely incorrect choice of entertainment. Of course this does assume

that the marketing of the event was done correctly, which will be covered later. So was

Westlife this much of a deterrent that people chose not to attend because of them? I

would argue that people didn’t choose to not come because of Westlife, but the fact that

Westlife was playing didn’t help increase ticket sales. Westlife is the 6th biggest boy band

of all time and they produced 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom, the third

highest in UK history, tying with Cliff Richard and trailing behind only Elvis

Presley and The Beatles. How could signing such a hit band cause this much distress in

an event? Easy, they aren’t what they once were and their fans are not wealthy. Westlife

is a band that doesn’t write their own music or record original music, they are a band that

plays covers. Westlife was a very popular boy band that had the looks, the voices and

brilliant management, but they are not an entertaining act. At one point in their careers

they were, but they are no longer and The Trust found that out the hard way. The event

also took place at a very inconvenient time for The Outward Bound Trust. The week after

the event, Westlife was releasing a new album, and the month prior to the event, Westlife

released the tour dates for their summer 2011 tour. Unfortunately when Westlife signed

their contract, they stated that they would not perform and of their ne music at the event.

Therefore, the concert would be a compilation of their greatest hits. As soon as tickets

went on sale for the tour, arenas all across the UK were selling out. Arenas in Ireland and

England were no exception. One would think that this would be a very positive sign for

the Generations Ball, but it was not. Unfortunately for The Trust, the new album and tour

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were acting as competition for the event. Ticket prices for the event were initially much

more expensive than the tour prices. And even after the price reduction, it was much

cheaper to buy tickets for the arena tour and to purchase tickets for the Generations Ball.

It was true that you wont be able to gain access to a Westlife concert this intimate

anywhere in the world for the prices that The Trust were offering, but at the end of the

day there was no demand for an intimate concert with Westlife. According to Waddel,

there just isn’t a demand for concerts like there has been in the past. Heavy touring traffic

and prices have really hurt the concert market. High prices and predictable programming

are single handedly bringing down the live music industry. Waddel states that the only

live acts worth seeing are Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Roger Waters.9

Another author, Worden, states that arena concert tours are crushing the small

venues and performances. Attilio Perissinotti--who runs the promoter Virus Concerti and

Deposito Giordani, a 1,000-capacity club, reports that business at his club is down by

around 20 percent. "X-Factor" runner-up and pop sensation Giusy Ferreri struggled to

move tickets for her show. "We expected to sell out, but we only did 400 tickets."

Worden said that many smaller venues are struggling to reach capacity, due to the nature

of big arena tours, which seem to be killing all small concerts.10 But to be honest, which

would you prefer to see? IF you had the opportunity to see one of your favorite bands for

€45 or see them for €150 and hear the exact same music and have exactly the same

interaction with the band members, none. It is not difficult to see why Westlife fans

decided to not attend the concert. However, there were a few Westlife fans that did attend

9 Waddell, Ray. "FANS ON THE RUN." Billboard 122.26 (2010): 18.1 10 Worden, Mark. "Little Fish, Big Problems." Billboard 121.14 (2009): 12.1

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the Generations Ball. But those who attended were super fans that had the money to

afford the event regardless of the ticket prices. Many of them paid the initial prices for

the general admission tickets, which were later upgraded to VIP. In the end, Westlife

was not the sales generating entertainment act that The Trust believed that they were

hiring. Westlife was indeed a very popular boy band, who had up a very wide fan base,

but unfortunately they were not a wealthy fan base. Westlife fans preferred to spend €45,

sit miles away from the band and belt out every word to every Westlife son ever

recorded. Ultimately, it cam down to the poor economic situation of England and the fact

that the average Westlife fan needed to money more for Christmas than for a private

performance.

Each of the problems outlined previously ended up coming down to the fact that

the economic situation was not very lucrative for an event such as this. So I took a look at

the economy and its effect on events such as the Generations Ball. And not surprisingly, I

found that the majority of large-scale dinners and fund raising events in 2010 had been

scaled down from 2008 and 2009. This was because of the decline in charity giving

according to 2009-2010 giving data. According to UK Giving 2009, giving dropped by

11%. Donations made to the UK’s 170,000 charities dropped by £1.3 billion in real

terms (11%) to total £9.9bn in 2008/09, according to UK Giving 2009, the most

comprehensive research into UK charitable giving habits, published by the Charities Aid

Foundation and the National Council for Voluntary Organizations.11

As a result, many companies cut costs by scaling down their events in different

ways. Some scaled back entertainment; others held lunches or several smaller events

11 http://www.philanthropyuk.org

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while still others cut events completely. According to a study done be the Association for

Healthcare Philanthropy, Sixty-three percent report that they will scale back or cancel

certain fundraising events such as high-end galas.12 The organizers of Macy's 27th annual

Passport gala lowered their charity fund-raising goal because of the difficult economic

times, but they stressed the need for increased financial support. They projected a

decrease in funds raised of about €450,000. Macy’s acknowledging the impact of the

recession, and executives spoke optimistically of the future.13 The CFDA Fashion

Awards’ goal was to put on a show (2009) at an equal level of entertainment for less

money. Program-wise they didn’t cutting anything, but when it came to overhead and

expense, they have managed to cut $500,000 overall (from the previous year). They cut

overhead costs in a number of ways. One way was to change venues and the other was by

offering new ticketing format. This allowed the event to accommodate more guests by

offering different ticket level prices, with some lowered by 20 percent or more.14 One

article suggested that in the tough economic times, donors who are now weakened by the

financial crisis have to prioritize their giving. Some of them are continuing their funding

to charities that work on basic human needs and delaying or even eliminating donations

to arts and cultural groups. 15 But despite the tough economic times, some charities galas

are still succeeding. Elton John’s White Tie and Tierra Ball, the ARK Gala Dinner and

the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Gala have had continued success throughout the poor

12 (2009). CAPITAL CUTBACKS. Trustee, 62(4) 13 Riley-Katz, Anne, and Amy Graves. "Macy's Passport Gala Makes Push For Funds." WWD: Women's Wear Daily 198.66 (2009): 19-1. 14 Beckett, Whitney, et al. "Fashion's New Austerity: Charities Get The Chills From Economy's Freeze." Women's Wear Daily 197.63 (2009). 15 Gopal, Prashant. "Nonprofits Scramble for Funding." BusinessWeek Online (2009)

22

economic times. I postulate that the main reason for these charities successful events is

because of their successful marketing campaigns. But in order to have a successful

marketing campaign, all of the areas considered previously must first align and

strategically fit together. Without a cohesive marketing strategy and plan, the best

fundraising event in the world will fail to generate income.

For any marketing strategy to be successful it requires four key elements, which

all must fit perfectly with each other for an event to be profitable. These elements are

commonly known as the marketing mix and are: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

Analysis of the marketing mix will help to give a better idea of where the marketing

strategy for the Generations Ball was strong and areas where it needed improvement. The

first element of the mix is product. What exactly was the core product of the Generations

Ball? A core product should be able to be defined in once sentence. The following is the

first sentence on the Generations Ball website, which in theory should be the core product

of the Generations Ball:

“The 2010 Generations Ball is guaranteed to be an incredible evening, as the famous Irish pop band Westlife will be performing some of their greatest hits.” From that sentence I would think that the Generations Ball is a Westlife Greatest

Hits concert which is selling tickets ranging from €750 to €295 and eventually from €295

to €150. What Westlife fan wants to see a greatest hits concert for prices that are 6 times

(VIP for €295) the price of an arena concert? Some would argue that that really isn’t the

core product of the event, so what is it? I the advertisements that went to the national

media didn’t have any type of core product listed on them. They had a picture of the

Westlife and the contact details of The Trust. It seems pretty clear that that indeed was

the core product that was conveyed through marketing. But was that the core product that

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The Trust wanted or should have marketed? I say no. The core product was too closely

tied with the entertainment, Westlife. And therefore, if Westlife failed, so too did the

event. Unfortunately, this actually did happen and it caused The Trust serious financial

problems. The product on the evening was incorrect, due to a lack of research of the

economy, the music industry and the needs of the market. The Generations Ball offered

no distinction from any other charity gala dinner, and there was no differentiation, it was

dismissed like the many other events of the same nature in London.

Price is the second part of the marketing mix. Prices where also an area of the

event that were under researched and over priced. In turn, as soon as individuals saw the

price of the tickets they immediately dismissed the event. The original advertisements

that were placed in national media didn’t have prices on them in order to prevent

individuals from seeing the prices and immediately dismissing the event. However,

because there were no prices, I believe that many individuals did it because they were

able to see through the smoke screen of The Trust. Due to the rough economic times,

even individuals who do have expendable incomes are not willing to flaunt their money

unless they have direct and established tie to a charity. And even though The Trust did

eventually lower the prices, they were only able to lower them so much. Because

Westlife was the entertainment for the event, the prices had to remain elevated in order to

recover the £260,000 fee that Westlife charged for a 45-minute performance. The wrong

product was offered at the wrong price, which led to uncomfortable circumstances for

The Trust.

The third part of the marketing mix is place. The event was held at Battersea

Evolutions, located in Battersea Park, London. Battersea Evolutions is a fantastic Central

24

London venue for events such as the Generations Ball. And because The Trust had an

existing relationship with Battersea Evolutions, they were able to get the venue at

discounted rates. However, the event could have been held at a much smaller venue

because of the actual number of individuals who attended the event. If 1,500 guests

attended the event, the Evolutions would have been the perfect venue. But due to the fact

that we only filled one third of the venue, the event was a bit lost in the venue. However,

this was not evident on the night of the event. The atmosphere was electric and the venue

was beautifully lit and decorated. Due to the successful and long lasting relationship that

The Trust has with Battersea Evolution, I thought that the venue was the prefect selection

for the event.

The last part of the marketing mix is promotion. So how well was the Generations

Ball promoted? I believe that this event was promoted as much as it possibly could and in

turn The Trust was able to entertain over 500 guests on the night of the event. Without

the extensive promotion by the events team and the other member of The Trust, this event

would have been a total failure and would have cost The Trust a significant amount of

money. But through hard work, diligence and more hard work the event was promoted as

far and as wide as it could have been. However, because the product was incorrect and

not clearly defined and because the event was priced way too high the promotion could

only cause so much of a response. However if the product, price and place all been

correctly determined and defined then the promotional plan that was implemented for the

event would have been lacking in my opinion. And after doing some research, I found

that the promotional budget compared to revenue generated by the event was terrible for

the Generations Ball. The Trust spent £40,000 on promotion and barley broke even on the

25

event. In comparison the Rasia Gorvachov Foundation spent £55,000 on publicity for

their event and they raised £1.1 million at the event.16 This is quite a telling statistic in

regard to the success of the promotion of the event.

One part of the promotion that I was the most disappointed with was the event

website, GenerationsBall.org.uk. From the very first time that I opened up the website, I

knew that it would be a struggle to sell tickets online. The website was designed

completely incorrectly and had no appeal to perspective guests. The home page was

cluttered, ambiguous, and looked very unprofessional. The goal of the initial

advertisements was to generate a lot of traffic on the website, however at the conclusion

of the event the majority of ticket sales came over the phone than off of the website. In an

age of smartphones, the website must be the most important part of an events promotion.

Unfortunately, this was not the case for the Generations Ball.

The Generations Ball took place on November 19th 2010. There were 520 guests

in attendance at Battersea Evolution. On the night, the Outward Bound Trust collected

just under £150,000. As far as events are concerned, the event was a fantastic hit. Guests

enjoyed themselves, the venue looked and felt spectacular and Westlife gave an

unforgettable concert. At the end of the evening the guests left feeling like they were

given a real treat and that The Outward Bound Trust benefitted greatly from the event.

And in some ways The Trust did benefit from the event, just not monetarily.

In order to break even on the event, The Trust needed to make slightly more than

£150,000. Unfortunately, on the evening The Trust brought in slightly less than

£150,000. The Trust benefited through the intangibles on the evening. The Trust was 16 Sommerlad, Nick (2009). Charity balls up: Do celebrity fund-raisers short-change the causes they boast about backing? http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations

26

introduced to three major sponsor/donors through the event. The Trust also was

introduced to a number of wealth individuals who contributed to the general bursary fund

on the evening and who want to continue their support of the Trust. And The Trust put on

a fantastic event that left all of the guests with positive feelings and emotions toward The

Outward Bound Trust. None of the above mentioned benefits on the evening are tangible

and can be measured in any way shape or form. But in the upcoming weeks and months

relationships will begin to develop and The Trust will grow their supporters slowly but

surely. And these are positive outcomes of the Generations Ball.

If I was asked whether or not The Trust should hold a gala dinner net year I would

respond by saying that the event would seriously need to reconsider their position in the

London gala dinner market. The Generations Ball used a lot of time, energy and

resources from the Outward Bound Trust and there was very little to show from it. The

initial aim of the event was to raise £400,000 for the Trust and this goal was not even

touched by the event. If the resources that were put into the event, which generated no

funding for The Trust could be used elsewhere on another event that would bring in more

income, I would find it very difficult to continue with the Generations Ball in 2011.

Unless the economy takes a sudden turn for the better, which it is not looking like it will

be doing any time soon, then The Trust is going to have to be creative and fundraise in

other ways in 2011. The Outward Bound Trust has a responsibility to serve the maximum

amount of underprivileged youth it can with the maximum amount of funds it can raise.

Events that loose money are not helping The Trust fulfill this mission and therefore

should seriously be reevaluated.

27

WORKS CITED

(2009). CAPITAL CUTBACKS. Trustee, 62(4)

Beckett, Whitney, et al. "Fashion's New Austerity: Charities Get The Chills From

Economy's Freeze." Women's Wear Daily 197.63 (2009).

Booth, Robert. (2010). “Charity Should Begin with Worthiness League Table Says

Philosopher.” Guardian.co.uk

Gopal, Prashant. "Nonprofits Scramble for Funding." BusinessWeek Online (2009)

Hal Dean, D. (2002). Associating the Corporation with a Charitable Event Through

Sponsorship: Measuring the Effects on Corporate Community Relations. Journal of

Advertising, 31(4), 77-87

"McCollough And Hernandez Add Glamour To Jeffrey Event." WWD: Women's Wear

Daily 200.47 (2010): 11-1. 1 Dec. 2010.

Riley-Katz, Anne, and Amy Graves. "Macy's Passport Gala Makes Push For Funds."

WWD: Women's Wear Daily 198.66 (2009): 19-1.

Sommerlad, Nick (2009). Charity balls up: Do celebrity fund-raisers short-change the

28

causes they boast about backing? http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations

Waddell, Ray. "FANS ON THE RUN." Billboard 122.26 (2010): 18.1

Worden, Mark. "Little Fish, Big Problems." Billboard 121.14 (2009): 12.1

http://www.philanthropyuk.org

http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Westlife-tickets/artist/711587

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlife_awards#Records

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlife