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By Henk Markerink
What direction is our business going and what measures do we have to take to
face the challenges that the future holds for us? Asking ourselves these
questions and answering them is one of our main duties in managing an
entertainment venue. It’s the key element of strategic management.
Entertainment venues like stadiums, arenas, concert halls and congress
centers are cost-intensive objects that are expensive to build and expensive
to maintain. Scoring a sufficient return on investment is not an easy job.
To make a profit and even to make a break-even result requires a clever
business plan, an aggressive marketing approach and sharp management of
costs. Only in that way is there a chance that enough cash flow is generated
to be able to stay state of the art.
Actually, this is what it is all about: constant innovation to stay in the
market and to keep the formula of your venue alive. The moment the venue is
built and opened, we know one thing for sure: the building may be
technically depreciated in 30 years, although the economic life cycle of
entertainment venues is much shorter. Within three to five years after the
opening, the first investment requests will come to improve the building and
to apply new technology. But is there enough cash at hand for that? Was it
taken in account in the long-term cash-flow forecasts?
An Aspects Analysis To be well-prepared for the future and to be able to
make an estimate of the long term reinvestment budget, we must have a clear
vision on the future developments that have an impact on the requirements of
our buildings. Below we have roughly described and applied a method to get
some grip on the future of our business.
The method is mainly an analysis of the different aspects influencing our
future. We categorized them in five different fields.
1. General development in the society/environment
2. Marketing trends
3. Technological developments
4. Organizational developments
5. Trends concerning the content/the event
Since 9/11, the threat of terrorist attacks is constantly on the agenda. An
entertainment venue is seen by the authorities as a soft target. As a
result, technical and organizational measures have been and will have to be
taken to carry out our responsibilities.
Trends to Watch
It took years to become convinced, but finally the subject of global warming
is high on the agenda. This has and will have further impact on physical and
organizational aspects concerning our venues. Not only is global warming
specifically emphasized, but environmental matters in a wider sense are now
in focus. Our role in steering mobility/public transport versus car traffic,
waste production and waste management, energy usage and energy saving, etc.,
becomes more and more important. We are moving toward “the Green Building
Concept” implementation.
Several future requirements of our buildings can be deduced from the market
(customer) analysis. The trends we describe are noticed in the European
market, but the majority can as well be recovered in the United States, Far
East or elsewhere.
Venues and events taking place in them are in fact experienced as the
medieval cathedral with its ceremony. Not only from the experience inside
but also from its position in “the village.” The building is more and more
the center of the development of an entire new city. Around the cathedral
the whole economic development takes place of a new city center. The events
are experienced as the being together and feel-good sensation, the place
where our customers want to meet every weekend for the game or concert.
From our observation, people are more and more looking for mass experiences.
In the individualized world, we feel the need to get together (community
sense). Large venues like stadiums are more and more accepted for that role.
For city authorities, our venues and the events are more and more valued as
city marketing tools. We are often featured in promotion campaigns, and we
should take advantage of that.
The types of events that we host are getting more and more diverse. How
about a funeral ceremony in a stadium? Or a royal wedding party? It all
happens. This means that our venues and our organizations have to get more
and more multifunctional and flexible.
At the same time, we notice that the number of games played in our venue or
the number of big artists performing is rather constant. That means that if
we want to grow the number of activities, we will have to become more and
more inventive, creating new event concepts ourselves. As part of the new
event concepts, we should also develop new marketing concepts in order to
get the customer to buy tickets for these events.
When we look at the existing events, especially the football games, 80
percent of the revenue is generated by 20 percent of the visitors: the VIPs.
The VIPs are getting more and more important. They require customized
service, so much so that we started distinguishing VIPs, VVIPs, VVVIPs, etc.
These quality levels have their impact on the venue.
We have to invest in the quality of our facilities and services accordingly.
A steady market share is filled in by older people. This category has the
money, they are loyal, and so they are the perfect customers. In Europe,
this group is growing rapidly in number. Therefore, their market share is
also growing. But this community requires investments in the facility in the
form of elevators, escalators, special toilets and other special services.
A large part of the total revenue, especially with sports events, is created
by selling media rights. This implicates a growing role of the media in our
venues. In order to accommodate them with all their requirements,
investments have to be made constantly.
Focusing on the technological developments in our business, one that stands
out in particular is ICT.
Taking Care of Customers
In the marketing of our venues and events, customer care and customer
relations management are the crucial aspects. In short, we want to know our
customers, we want to inform, service and nurture them all the time. We want
to be in constant interaction with our customers. We want to give them the
feeling that they are part of the “house.” The state-of-the-art IP network
technology in combination with all different ICT applications will make that
possible.
Very soon our special customers will be provided with a mobile phone device,
with which they are constantly informed and can purchase their tickets. They
will be informed on the road which route to take to the facility, and they
will be identified at the gates and more. We roll out the red carpet for our
customers from the moment they buy the ticket until the moment they return
home after the event.
So coming back to the initial question: Quality or quantity — what is the
future?
Overseeing the developments at the moment, it seems that the emphasis is on
investments to improve that quality of our facilities and services. Of
course this doesn’t mean the capacity is not important. The capacity should
always be in order with the potential market. But once the facility is
operational and the capacity is more or less fixed, we need the largest part
of the reinvestment budget to keep pace with the ever-changing future
developments of the world around us, the market, the venue technology and
the events. There fore, we might conclude that our future is mainly in the
quality of our facilities and service.
fm
Henk Markerink is managing director of the Amsterdam Arena in the
Netherlands.
By John Benett
The English language, whether it be spoken in North America, the British
Isles, Australia or any other place in the whole world, is one language. You
wouldn’t think so if you had tuned in to the various conversations, social
gibberish and exchanges that have transpired over the recent years between
the USA and Oz.
Although the size of the territory where the varieties of expression are
used and the number of people living there are not always comparable,
linguistically they enjoy equal status, and therefore it would be wrong to
say that one of them is the sole representative of correct English, with the
others representing substandard forms.
When I was a resident of Atlanta some years ago, I had only been in that
great southern city but a few days and my host and I were dining in
beautiful Buckhead with some facility management friends who were eager to
meet me as the token “Steve Irwin” from Down Under — although I was (am)
bald, overweight and looking nothing like Steve, but more like one of his
large prey.
The restaurant was noisy and served Australian wine (the cause of the
noise), and during the course of the grand meal I stood up and informed them
quite loudly that I was going to the toilet. There was a slight pause and
somewhat embarrassed amazement as all at the table looked at me in shock. I
can only imagine what they must have thought, as I soon discovered in
America “going to the toilet” is (apparently) like saying you are going to
the “crap house” or even worse — whatever that could be!
In Australia, we even say the loo or the dunny, but no one ever seems to
faint!
Lingo Faux Pas
My fondest experience of the grand innuendo or lingo faux pas of the
English/ Aussie language is the oft-used expression the fanny.
In the USA, a fanny is a rear end, and in Australia, a fanny is the front
end of a lady’s anatomy — try not to get the two mixed up!
So, when you’re in the USA, and you are told quite openly that someone is
adequately attired with a fanny pack, and it’s located on your butt, there
is a reverse language conundrum taking place in the mind of the Aussie. To
the Australian, this is not only anatomically wrong, but very difficult to
achieve even with extreme dexterity.
Words of one meaning that are currently used in American English and have a
different equivalent in the Aussie/ British variety are many. In the
facility and venue management context, this basic description of our very
associations is a perfect example.
The word facility in the Aussie lingo is something designed, built,
installed, etc., to serve a specific function affording a convenience or
service. It could be a transportation facility, educational facility or
research facility.
A venue is a place for large gatherings, as a sports stadium or arena. Hence
our rationale for the term.
Our Affiliation
In July 2007, the Venue Management Association Asia & Pacific (VMA) signed
an Affiliation Agreement with the International Association of Assembly
Managers (IAAM) in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the 82nd annual IAAM
Conference and Trade Show.
This affiliation established an alliance between the two associations to
support both further international growth and added membership benefits. The
VMA remains a separate and distinct association, with the alliance providing
all financial members of the VMA access to a wide range of benefits and
services provided by the IAAM, at their members’ rates.
The historic agreement allows the IAAM to expand their international
membership, specifically in the Asia- Pacific region. It will provide a
collaborative approach to public assembly facility management such as
educational programming, diverse membership, products and services, and
networking opportunities.
The agreement provides for members of VMA to also receive full membership
benefits with IAAM, including access to member contact information, training
resources, intellectual property and industry publications. This affiliation
aligns the two largest public venue management associations, forming a
combined membership of almost 4,000 venue managers and industry
stakeholders.
Here is a look at how Aussies and Americans compare:
Our Beginnings
Aussies: The Venue Management Association (Asia and Pacific) Limited was
incorporated in 1992 to provide management practitioners of public assembly
venues in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region with their own
organization, dedicated to professional development and to the growth and
success of the venue management industry.
Americans: The International Association of Assembly Managers (formerly
Auditorium Managers Association) was founded in December 1924 by six
enthusiastic building managers with a vision of the future of public
assembly facility management. They met in Cleve land, Ohio, on December 27,
1924, to discuss the important issues facing the auditorium management
industry. From that meeting came the formation of the Auditorium Man - agers
Association. What grew from a dedication to the industry is now known as the
IAAM, a worldwide organization that maintains the early commitment to their
business and profession.
Verdict: We came from a similar purpose, desire and set of objectives.
Membership Purpose
Aussies: Why should you be a member? It’s simple. Our role is to help make
your role as an industry professional easier with more worthwhile
communication. It’s much easier for you when you’re a part of an
organization that is helping you and your profession. The many benefits of VMA membership have now increased with the affiliation of VMA and IAAM,
providing a wider range of added programs and services.
Americans: Why should you be a member? It’s simple. Our role is to help make
your job better. It is easier to have your voice heard when it is combined
with 3,600 of your colleagues’. Membership is good for your career because IAAM is both a resource for leading industry information and a networking
tool to create important relationships. Plus, we have wonderful benefits to
help you do your job to the best of your ability.
Verdict: We have similar objectives, memberships and ideals.
Our Members
Aussies: Active membership is open to individuals employed at any level of
operations in a public assembly venue, whether it is publicly or privately
owned. Such venues may include amphitheaters, arenas and stadiums, theaters
and performing arts centers, sports and leisure facilities, convention and
exhibition centers, show grounds, racecourses, or halls and function
centers.
Allied membership is for individuals who by reason of their professional
capacity, and by reason of their association, knowledge and professional
interest in the public venue management industry, provide goods and services
to public assembly venues.
Student membership is available to persons who are currently studying a
venue-industry-related course at a tertiary level at a recognized college,
university, TAFE or other educational institution.
Americans: Active members are the core members of IAAM. They include
managers in all types of public assembly facilities, including
amphitheaters, arenas, auditoriums, convention centers and exhibit halls,
performing arts venues, stadiums and university complexes.
Allied members are companies that provide goods and services to the public
assembly facility industry.
Students currently enrolled in a program that is related to the field of
facility management are eligible for this membership type.
What Affiliation Means
With the not-so-many language differences, it is easy to see the way forward
that brought the IAAM and the VMA together. Through a history of almost
identical ideology and mutual respect, we have advancement toward a common
goal. It was not too tough an assignment to see the way to a more formal
cohesion of the two most significant public assembly industry associations.
It has been documented in higher places of learning than this short tome
that a cooperative learning strategy results in a greater satisfaction level
than for those who work individually.
With the obvious tyranny of distance and time, we, the IAAM and VMA, can
never collaborate easily, but we can use the benefits of global
communication, ease of such masterful letter writers as e-mail and the
Internet, to now exchange ideas. Through e-mails to one another, blogs and
forums, mentoring programs, Core Tracks learning now re-edited into
“Australian,” exchange programs to various venues, student exchanges at a
variety of universities, dialogue on a variety of training and educational
programs, and PVMS and PAFMS instructor exchange programs, we already have a
number of ways to exchange information.
Once you start getting multilingual, not by just language but by being
involved, then the apparent difficulties really disappear. You may not know
how to speak Australian, Spanish, French or German, but venue management
issues extend beyond these language barriers. fm
John
Benett is executive director of the Venue Management Association, based in
Toowong, Queensland, Australia.
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