NTU Stage 2 Report - B.E.E (Be Ethical Events) Business Plan

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ETHICAL EVENTS

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This submisson is the result of my own work. All help and advice other than that received from tutors has been acknowledged and secondary sources of information have been proper attributed.

Should this statement prove to be untrue I recognise the right and duty of the board of examiners to recommend what action should be taken in line with the University’s regulations on assessment contained in its handbook.

Signed………………………………………

Print Name……………………………………

Date……………………………

ALIYAH TURNBULL FASHION MARKETING AND BRANDING N0670964 WORD COUNT: 7984

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CONTENTS 40. BUSINESS OBJECTIVES 41. BUSINESS OVERVIEW 42. THE BIG IDEA 44. BUSINESS MODEL 46. BRAND OVERVIEW 48. BRAND DNA 50. BRAND GUIDELINES

08. INTRODUCTION 09. RATIONALE 10. REPORT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 11. METHODOLOGY

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01.

THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY (18)

THE BUSINESS SUMMARY (38)

INTRODUCTION (06)

20. STAGE ONE REFLECTION 22. THE PROBLEM 24. THE OPPORTUNITY 26. STEEPLE 29. TRENDS 32. MARKET DRIVERS

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03.

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MARKET ANALYSIS (54)

56. MARKET OVERVIEW 60. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS 64. MARKET POSITIONING 68. SWOT ANALYSIS 70. ANSOFF MATRIX 72. PORTER’S 5 FORCES

75. CONSUMER SEGMENTATION 76. THE B2C CONSUMER 80. THE B2B CONSUMER 82. BRAND PORTFOLIO

134. FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES 135. SOURCING CAPITAL 136. STARTUP COSTS 138. MARKETING BUDGET 140. SALES FORECASTS 146. PROFIT AND LOSS 148. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS 150. CASH FLOW 152. MEASURES OF SUCCESS 153. RISK ASSESSMENT 156. FUTURE GROWTH

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STRATEGIC DIRECTION (74)

MARKETING STRATEGY (86)

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BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (132)

89. MARKETING OBJECTIVES 90. MARKETING STRATEGY 92. THE MARKETING MIX 98. LAUNCH PLAN 100. COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES 102. AIDA & DRIP MODELS 104. COMMUNICATION PLAN 128. COMMUNICATION TIMELINE 130. FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

08.

EVALUATION (157)

158. OBJECTIVES REVIEW 159. CONCLUSION 160. APPENDIX 191. REFERENCES 193. BIBLIOGRAPHY 199. ILLUSTRATIONS

01.

INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION The sustainability movement has seen a tremendous surge of interest in the past few years, and as it continues to rise, it affects several industries and their consumers. Despite the growth of the sustainability market, it still has not elicited satisfactory change to make a significant difference to the damages being done.

It is not correct to suggest that it is because of a lack of empathy, but often consumers feel overwhelmed by the mass of information that is bombarded at them through the media. Consequently, this leads to a fallout of interest due to the marketing scare tactics becoming increasingly intimidating to society. Therefore, highlighting the urgent need for an effective way to engage the consumer in sustainability whilst educating them through methods that allow them to retain their interest; a major gap within the market.

BEE (Be Ethical Events) is entering the events industry offering a solution against this particular gap in the market, using a combination of education and entertainment; a concept referred to as ‘Edutainment’ (Jordan and Szymanska, 2016) and creating a sense of intrigue into sustainability.

BEE will use their events to create a purchasing platform that incorporates immersive experiences to create a memorable impression of the brand and the ethical purpose behind it. Within this report, BEE will cover exploration of a market and competitor analysis; a thorough marketing strtegy and communication plan and analyse their financial position over the course of 3 years. BEE will reflect the core of their brand throughout all business processes, engaging with influential brand ambassadors that will encourage positivity amongst their consumers and project the benefits of a socially responsible lifestyle; fully engaging their consumer and supporting their journey to make sustainable changes, no matter what immensity.

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RATIONALE This report intends to further explore previous findings that revealed the causes of the lack of considerable action being taken in terms of sustainability. This prevails that lack of education and knowledge is a factor that needs to be addressed.

Accordingly, this created an opportunity for BEE to enter the market because it is such a crucial issue which holds extreme immediacy; a topic that will not disappear without action being encouraged by an influential market leader.

Furthermore, the report will demonstrate how BEE will change consumer attitudes and encourage lifestyle changes in favour of sustainability. To achieve this, BEE will target an idyllic, impressionable target audience; captivating them in the conscientious brand culture.

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REPORT AIM To create a significantly considered and innovative business concept that is viable and can make identifiable change within the market, shaping both future consumer and future brands’ attitudes and behaviours when looking at sustainability and how to combat its consequent issues and impacts.

REPORT OBJECTIVES 1. To comprehensively explore the insights and process that have lead to creation of the business concept; allowing a full understanding of the identified gap within the market 2. To identify important influences within the market that could impact the business and its response within the market 3. To recognise and analyse the markets that the business intends to operate in and uncover possible competitors and how their positioning could affect the business 4. To visually propose methods of innovative marketing methods, helping the reader understand how the concept would use promotion to reach the target audience 5. To demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the business’ financial situation and give supporting evidence to the financial sustainability and potential

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METHODOLOGY RESEARCH AIM To inform the business concept and identify details that can be refined from both a consumer and market perspective using at least 2 research methods to validate the big idea

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The following objectives have been created in order to ensure that the research remains focused; revealing key insights into the market and consumer behind the concept 1. To establish an appropriate consumer target that would be most likely to benefit from the business concept; increasing the longevity of the brand relationship 2. To validate the market need for my concept and show evidence that it would be successful in the market 3. To gain insight from professionals working within relevant industries that can offer valuable opinions that will help shape and consolidate the business concept

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ONLINE SURVEY 103 RESPONDENTS (See Appendix 1 & 2)

To gain an understanding of what demographics would be most interested in the business concept in order to create a specified target consumer profile.

Therefore, the survey ranged from ages 18-65+ as it was an inclusive method to gain a wide reach.

CONCEPT VALIDATION FOCUS GROUP 5 PARTICIPANTS (See Appendix 9)

To understand whether there is a genuine interest and need within the market for the business concept to solve. Therefore, also revealing the types of consumer demographics that would want to use and support the brand. Furthermore, this method was also used to understand what consumers would expect from the brand to ensure the brand reaches its full business potential and satisfies the consumer.

CONCEPT INSTAGRAM POLL 140 RESPONDENTS (See Appendix 10)

To generate statistical data that demonstrates the need within the market and confirmation that the business concept could be successful and work towards solving this need.

Furthermore, this method was also used to establish consumer opinion from a financial perspective, understanding what consumers are willing to pay to use the service.

COLOUR PALETTE INSTAGRAM POLL 124 RESPONDENTS (See Appendix 11)

To gain insight on a preferred colour palette by the general public asked, ensuring that the marketing visuals would be most aesthetically pleasing and intriguing to the desired consumer target. Furthermore, this also uncovered thoughts on what the consumer market perceived to be fitting with the nature of the brand, as the colour scheme needs to be suited and representative of what the brand stands for.

LOGO INSTAGRAM POLL 230 RESPONDENTS (See Appendix 12)

To understand market preference of the logo choices for the brand and what was more fitting.

From that, another poll was used to identify which colour variation suited the brand best from the chosen design that respondents chose.

EMAIL INTERVIEW DR. JEFF BRAY (See Appendix 6)

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Dr. Jeff Bray from Bournemouth University, a previous participant in the stage one research project was contacted as an opportunity to gain an understanding of what a possible stakeholder may think of the business and concept.

METHODOLOGY EMAIL INTERVIEW LISA COLE (See Appendix 4)

To understand what types of influencers would be interested in the concept and an estimated charge for promoting the brand prior to its launch and what methods of promotion they could offer. The purpose of this promotion would be to increase brand awareness and gain interest from the influencer’s consumer target.

EMAIL INTERVIEW KATERINA JURASOVA (See Appendix 5)

To approach a micro influencer in order to uncover their opinion on the business concept and if they would be interested in being involved in promoting the brand. Furthermore, it was important to understand how much influencer marketing would cost and be able to compare this with other influencers; helping to set the marketing budget.

EMAIL INTERVIEW ONE FIVE EIGHT FIVE (See Appendix 7)

To validate the concept and its ability to get brand’s on board to becoming part of the BEE community, approaching brands that would be used within the brand portfolio to access an accurate view of their opinion towards BEE.

EMAIL INTERVIEW ZAO MAKEUP (See Appendix 8)

Emails to get brands on board with the business concept and encourage them to become part of the community.

EMAIL INTERVIEW IAN TREMBIRTH (See Appendix3)

To understand the costs associated with creating a website for BEE with features relevant to the business needs. The interview was insightful on optimal platforms and host services to be used as well as, gaining some insight on the financial side of the website design and maintenance.

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METHODOLOGY ADVANTAGES & LIMITATIONS

ONLINE SURVEY A survey is a research strategy used for both exploratory and descriptive research and involves the structured collection of data from a sizeable population (Saunders et al., 2009) Conducting an online survey allows for straightforward collection of data from a widespread audience. Furthermore, it is a timeefficient research method because it can be unsupervised and shared through social media platforms for quick collation. The format of most questions allows for standardised data which ensures ease of analysis for the researcher (Saunders et al., 2009) because of their control. The chosen platform to carry out the online survey was Google Forms which allows for significantly increased flexibility in terms of question format, limits and layout options.

However, this research method also comes with its own limitations such as, it is less likely for the researcher to receive differentiated responses depending on the question format.

Surveys produce a possible risk of contaminated responses which can consequently, reduce the reliability of the results. For example, an uninformed response applies when the respondent lacks ample knowledge on the topic, resulting in answers being a guess (Saunders et al., 2009) Another form of contamination that can be seen in survey finds is through participants offering socially desirable answers in order to help the researcher (Dillman, 2007)

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PS OU GR S CU FO

A focus group is a form of nonstandardised interview, yet conducted using a group participant format and can also be defined as “group interviews where the topic is defined clearly and precisely and there is a focus on enabling and recording interactive discussion between participants” (Carson et al., 2001)

Several advantages come with using focus groups as a research method, allowing participants to answer the researcher’s questions whilst also creating a free-flow conversation which helps the most insightful thoughts to be discovered. Focus groups are also effective in obtaining a variety of perspectives in one attempt; responding and challenging each other’s views thus, giving the researcher readily collected qualitative data.

On the other hand, focus groups come with their own barriers too. There can often be a particular dominance within the group, making other participants less inclined to offer as much of their own valuable information.

Consequently, the less assertive participants tend to take the general view of the group as opposed to challenging any offered views, leaving the consensus to become a view that not everyone wholly endorses or fully disagrees with (Stokes and Bergin, 2006)

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Instagram polls are a new method of primary research conduction, using a social media platform to ask followers their opinion on a given question.

This method allows a large collation of data within a 24 hour timeframe, thus increasingly time-effective. The format of the poll offers the researcher readily available quantitative statistical data that can be analysed and compared to other results conveniently. Furthermore, this method has a likelihood of high engagement due to, minimal respondent effort, revealing very particular, direct insight (Osman, 2017)

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However, there are still a few expected limitations that come with this method of research. For example, although the response rate is increasingly high, the audience is limited depending on the researcher’s number of followers. This issue also links to the fact that you cannot control the demographic that responds, thus creating a sample that is not fully representative.

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RY ST DU IN S EW RV TE IN

Conducting interviews with experts from relevant industries is crucial to the research as it offers imperative insight that cannot be received from researching the market and consumer. Their experience and knowledge also provides valuable advice and validation, strengthening the concept.

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Nonetheless, there are still disadvantages to this research method such as, non-replies for respondents. Yet this can be overcome if the researcher demonstrates strong time management skills and plans for this ahead, contacting enough people to still gain astute information. Furthermore, their skillset could limit them if they do not feel qualified enough to participate or if the concept may not relate totally to their expertise.

An events workshop was hosted within the student union at Nottingham Trent University with industry experts and the business development manager, Rebecca Ebbs to educate attendees on several topics within the event industry; deciding on the optimal consumer target, understanding the financial aspects and how to look into the market.

The workshop was useful for gaining a basic knowledge on event management and could be used by some people as an introduction the industry. It was helpful to have industry professionals on hand to ask specific industry-based questions and their insights were very useful.

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However, for those with an existing knowledge of the industry and a chosen target consumer, it could be perceived as unhelpful. Furthermore, the workshop was very time-consuming, taking up a 4 hour slot which may not be feasible for people with other commitments. Whereas, a filtered drop-in structure may have worked better.

METHODOLOGY ADVANTAGES & LIMITATIONS

SECONDARY RESEARCH

A variety of secondary research has been used to understand the market and conduct a situational analysis; exploring possible competitors and influential trends and drivers that inform the business concept. Books have been an exceedingly valuable secondary resource as they have allowed industry insight into event management and the logistics behind running an event and marketing to the appropriate audience. Social media has been utilised to discover influencers that are suited to the business for influencer marketing, and to analyse competitors operating in the same markets and their online presence. Secondary research has been beneficial in gaining reputable information within a short timeframe and at a low cost.

On the other hand, there are limitations associated with secondary research. Whilst using books has been beneficial, some could be considered outdated in comparison with the fast-paced changing markets, especially when looking at sustainability. Furthermore, some websites and social media accounts used for research could be treated as biased and misleading due to the nature and purpose of their creation. This is especially true when examining competitors as they will only publish in favour of their brand.

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02.

THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

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STAGE ONE REFLECTION The stage one research project focused on exploring the concept of the ethical consumer and understanding the gap between their perceptions and reactions; the reasoning behind this and how to move forward to change attitudes and behaviours. The research unveiled many of the existing barriers preventing maximum growth within the sustainability market; there was such a lack of clarity on which brands were sustainable and with alternatives being seen as inaccessible, it was almost impossible for consumers to truly understand how to be an ethical consumer. Although the sustainability movement is growing immensely, the self-affirmation that consumers received from mass consumption was both undeniable and overpowering. Therefore, proving that it would be challenging to change consumer behaviours without first, changing their attitudes and stigmas around sustainability. Furthermore, research findings uncovered a pattern of knowledge sharing between generations; ‘The Generation Funnel.’ This was a chosen focus when analysing the research findings because it was interesting to see if this would influence the younger society and change behaviours as they mature and then become a continuous cycle of knowledge and ethical living. Amongst the results from primary research, it was uncovered that age did in fact, have some sort of impact; “the payback is larger in younger generations as they will be buying for longer” (See Stage 1) However, the sharing of knowledge throughout the ages did not prove to be as powerful of a factor compared to education. With such lack of clarity and understanding in the market, the extensive research uncovered that education was a crucial factor to encouraged. Primary research revealed that 89% of survey respondents believe we are not given enough information on sustainability as a society (See Stage 1) This provided an opportunity to create a brand that had ethical education at the core of its vision and attempting to create a community between itself and its consumers, satisfying the lack of education within the market.

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Consumers need to discover self-affirmation in purchasing sustainably rather than purely through mass consumption (See stage 1)

Corporations need to lead the way; removing profitability as the only goal and using their corporate influence to guide consumers on their sustainability journey (See stage 1)

Education should be considered the superior course of action in changing the current consumer landscape; changing attitudes and thus, converting unsustainable behaviours (See stage 1)

Legislation should be utilised to set context with consumers to create an understanding of the severity of the situation (See stage 1)

KEY INSIGHTS 21

THE PROBLEM: HOW TO GET EDUCATED

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“We are a consumerist society, constantly buying excessively and we do not have enough knowledge to change that.” (Leonard, 2010) With society looking to grow and evolve alongside the advancements of the sustainability movement, the media has been utilised to inform opinons. This media growth has lead to a false belief and facade that the right actions are being undertaken in order to prevent any further damage to the planet. When in reality, there is still a considerable gap between consumer perceptions and reactions. This can also be referred to as the attitude behaviour gap, which highlights that although 30% of people claim to be somewhat invested in sustainability and environmental concerns, only 3% demonstrate this with their actions. (See Stage 1). The stage one research confirmed the reason for this gap through primary and secondary research methods; acknowledging the lack of quality knowledge that consumers possess and the difficulties finding accessible sources of information. This was highlighted in an indepth interview; “I think it would make me more interested in it if information was made more reading available and accessible.”

(See Stage 1). Thus emphasising the lack of reachable knowledge is in fact, limiting society’s investment in sustainability and contributing to greatly to increase the attitude behaviour gap.

It is clear that society can often find the sustainability market significantly overwhelming. This can contribute to some consumers shying away from actively investing in sustainability. Primary research from stage one highlighted that consumers often find it difficult to identify sustainable brands in a saturated market full of distinct competitors. Participants amongst the primary research claimed that not many brands are offering sustainable products; this ideation has been stemmed from a lack of knowledge and a failure to be made clear to consumers within branding and packaging. (See Stage 1) Accordingly, this further highlights the problem with potentially ethical consumers being discouraged by a lack of knowledge; both by accessibility and a lack of clarity.

Therefore, it is understood that there is a widening gap in the market to help alleviate the stress when acquiring knowledge on sustainability and how to take action.

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THE OPPORTUNITY

Exploring the concept of the ethical consumer throughout stage one uncovered possible opportunities that could be explored within the market. In order to satisfy the unmet needs of consumers. The research undertaken revealed a continuous theme linking back to the attitude behaviour gap and that the main method to tackle this was through education. Not many brands were prioritising educating their consumer over selling them a product, acknowledging a clear gap that could be operated in. Primary research findings supported this view; 74% of participants would be more inclined to act ethically if they had knowledge on the topic (See Stage 1). This emphasises that brands are not reaching the potential of their target audience due to, several consumers lacking sufficient knowledge to become invested in sustainability.

Furthermore, Bray consolidates this by stating that education is paramount to reaching consumers and accessibility should be increased across all platforms (See Stage 1). However, with research indicating the importance of education, brands are still not conscious of this opportunity and instead simply offering consumers the solution without helping them understand the need for it beforehand.

These insights uncovered an indisputable opportunity within the market that would both satisfy the needs of the consumer whilst positively growing the sustainability movement. Therefore, BEE (Be Ethical Events) has been created in order to prioritise education and transforming the stigma surrounding sustainability; using an immersive, exciting atmosphere to support the consumer in becoming more sustainable.

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MARKET DRIVERS EDUTAINMENT CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS

EXPERIENCE ECONOMY INFLUENCER MARKETING ETHICAL SHOPPING PLATFORM EXPERIENCE AGENCY SELF-AFFIRMATION KNOWLEDGE SHARING ZERO WASTE TREND

THE OPPORTUNITY PLANT-BASED DIETS

EXPERIENTIAL PURCHASES

CONSCIENTOUS CONSUMER

SELF-OPTIMISATION

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

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EXTERNAL ANALYSIS STEEPLE

Diets continue to change and evolve as society continues to near the planetary limits; society is looking towards food habits to attempt to make a positive contribution.

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ocial

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echnological

Social media is such a key factor in marketing, especially for the events industry, allowing brands to communicate with consumers away from the event. This can be achieved by using hashtags and tagging in posts. Event brands need to establish a sufficient amount of trust through their platforms otherwise this could affect the success of the marketing. However, this should not happen if all regulations under the GDPR are kept, linking to other political factors.

Trends can completely change the landscape of the events industry, so it is significantly important that these companies have a dedicated set of employees to ensure sufficient market research surrounding trends is conducted regularly. This will ensure that the business continues to adapt to the market, improving its overall success. Furthermore, this can also be considered across consumer trends as well as, market trends. Following how target consumer behaviours are changing in order to continue satisfying their needs and keep them coming back to your brand. For example, with the health and wellness trend continuing to rise, events should continue to broaden their menus to be able to serve appropriate options for all consumers.

We all know today’s society is immensely reliant on smartphones and having internet access; sharing our experiences and remaining connected through their social media platforms.

Therefore, it is important for event organisers to consider wifi in their chosen locations in order to keep all attendees satisfied and able to post and communicate about the event, which in turn benefits the brand themselves. Furthermore, internet access should also be considered so that it can be utilised to gain feedback from attendees at the location and boost delegate engagement.

As technology continues to grow and evolve, events agencies are adapting alongside this. Many trade shows and events are demonstrating technologies such as, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to make their events innovative and exciting for their consumers. As competitors in the market continue to experiment with this, it should be considered in order to keep up with the market leaders.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the technology that can be used to mimic human behaviour. Businesses have been seen to use AI to increase productivity and interact with their consumers. This type of technology can be hugely beneficial to the events industry in terms of creating an innovative form of pre-event marketing. However, it could ruin the element of human interaction that events are focused on, so it may not be appropriate for every events agency depending on their content sector.

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nvironmental

Climate change and its growing impact will inevitably affect the events industry if the business decides to operate in outdoor locations. It is also important for events companies to consider their contribution towards climate change, especially if they are a larger, corporate business.

However, with the brand in mind, this should not be an issue as sustainability is core to the brand DNA and something that will be considered in all aspects of the business and its processes.

The events industry can be a massive contributor to waste, especially with plastic. With the current global status, businesses are trying to cut back on their plastic usage in order to make a positive contribution to the planet and environmental damage. Therefore, events companies that are making an honest, conscious effort to be more environmentally friendly could essentially expand their consumer base if this fits in with their personal values. This is an ideal situation for the brand as it is what we are all about; educating attendees on sustainability and how to make manageable changes, allowing them to become invested in the sustainability market.

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In today’s society, creating a workplace where employees feel completely respected and comfortable to be themselves is increasingly important. Eliminating discrimination and creating a safe, enjoyable workplace is crucial as it can completely disrupt a brands reputation.

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thical

Communicating with all business stakeholders as, mission, ethos and values is vital to create To implement ethics within your brand, it is in markets that concern the health of

of any changes within the business such a sense of community and radiate positivity important for brands to not be operating both their employees and consumers

Ethical decision-making processes should evidence the considered priority on both consumer and employee rights, ensuring that all individual beliefs and values are respected and considered.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continue to set a standard for people to gain a basic knowledge and understanding of sustainability and steps to take in order to make their own personal contribution. This has created a support system for Nations involved as their intentions will be checked on to prove is being made. This would provide inspiration for brands with sustainability incorporated within their brand DNA, ideally creating motivational change within the industry.

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olitical

Similarly, The 2015 Paris Agreement is another example of world leaders creating a united front in combating the consequences of climate change; setting a prime example to society which will hopefully be indicated in both consumer and market actions.

Travel is essential to the events industry and planning an event. This could be to view local venues or to attend a vital conference that could provide insight on a new perspective of your business.

Therefore, if there were new restrictions that were to apply on travel, this could create a hugely negative catalyst effect on the events industry. Furthermore, this could also have an impact on the future growth of the brand, if they were to operate in other countries or on a global scale, travel restrictions that stop certain travel out of the UK or EU could become an issue to consider.

There is a high level of uncertainty surrounding how the consequences of Brexit will affect the UK trading system. However, this will not directly affect BEE in its current situation because it is solely trading and operating within the UK. Yet, this could negatively impact the brands BEE use to partner with in their events. As this may increase the amount of taxes that the brands I work with have to pay, this could affect their prices and consequently, their sales at the events and the percentage that BEE will gain from them.

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egal

GDPR was introduced in 2018, completely changing the way event organisers were able to collect the data of their consumer targets and attendees. This impacted the way information was collected through forms and the way it is shared with third party companies. Therefore, as a new, emerging events organiser, this will need to be thoroughly researched and understood by all employees to allow a successful business venture.

If the consequences of Brexit mean a significant change of laws, this could affect the events industry majorly.

Especially, through health and safety regulations and sourcing equipment, as well as, if the business operates globally.

This year has seen the rise in the trend of the experience economy, consumers are searching for more experiential brands rather than tangible products. This is a benefit for the events industry in terms of increasing the demand and supply for immersive events that consumers can experience and learn from.

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conomical

The circular economy has become a new viable, alternative business model that is to reduce both economic and environmental strain by lowering both production and waste.

Essentially, the circular economy is beneficial to both the events and sustainability markets.

Due to society’s current economic situation, fuel prices continue to increase which could put pressure on the events industry, a market with considerable travel costs especially if an event tends to regularly move locations. Increasing travel costs could also reduce event attendance if consumers are discouraged from travelling to an event because of financial pressure.

Although there are many disadvantages that come with a weaker pound, it can provide some opportunity for the UK events industry, making the UK an idyllic location for events to be hosted.

Therefore, this could prove an influential boost on the future demand within the UK for events.

STEEPLE ANALYSIS Exploring several factors that affect the external environment events, it is clear that all factors influence the events industry. The most influential sectors are social, political and economical.

Social factors are immensely impactful to both the sustainability and events markets as consumers are driving brands to change in these markets. This is a factor that needs to be significantly considered

by BEE as part of their business model relies on the relationship they have built with their consumer.

Whereas, political influence directly impacts the brands operating in these markets as they have to conform and ensure their brands are fitting with certain laws and regulations. However, some political regulations such as, The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be seen as a positive motivator for the industry rather than a restriction on how brands are already operating, especially for BEE as sustainability is at the core of their brand culture.

Furthermore, exploring the economical factors, the value of the pound has a significant impact on the industry as it affects so many sectors within businesses. For example, as event management is an extremely travel dependent industry, the weaker the pound, the harder and more expensive it becomes to travel outside of the UK. However, this is mainly influential on larger brands that operate globally compared to startup brands like BEE, who may be able to just receive the benefits from this. Therefore, the political influences can be seen to be most impactful because they are simultaneously affecting both the consumer and the market, and creating an example to work towards when making sustainable change that will positively affect the future of the environment.

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EXTERNAL ANALYSIS TRENDS Exploring the external environment and the market’s trends, is pinnacle to further understanding consumer needs and how they can be translated into a product or service. The identified trends have been researched and responded to accordingly in order to thoroughly meet the consumers’ needs.

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THE LEARNING ECONOMY The learning economy is an immensely growing trend, focusing on self-improvement and education. Consumers are looking to brands to take the role as the educator on key issues within the market; offering small pieces of content to keep the consumer returning for more knowledge.

Brands need to provide evidence that they can act as a springboard for greater change and reveal a space for the consumer to be a part of this movement (Jordan and Szymanska, 2016). Society desires a new form of education, rather than just absorbing facts and statistics that have been forced upon them through the media, consumers want to become invested in issues and immersed in information; creating edutainment. Edutainment has become a consequence from this trend, combining education with entertainment to encourage consumers to invest themselves in the issues and change their actions dependent on what they have learnt. The future of this trend looks towards the use of smart data in brands which could be incorporated within both the events and sustainability industries, collating consumer data to make their edutainment experience personally tailored to them, increasing their educational takeaway and benefits.

OPEN SOURCE SOLUTIONS

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Society is witnessing large corporations take on their responsibility to instil social change yet people are not blind to marketing lies anymore; environmental issues need to be deeply rooted within a brand’s DNA as opposed to being an objective to reach profitability goals (Mattin, 2018). This trend has identified another solution for brands that genuinely want to make positive changes, whether that be environmentally or socially; collaborating and sharing key innovations that have an extensive benefit. Therefore, brands should consider key collaborations and partnerships.

This will solve larger issues rather than trying to extend into their competitor’s sector, out of fear of decreasing their profitability; sustainability is the paramount issue to be considered.

CIVIC BRANDS There is a massive distrust between brands and consumers that is evident in several industries within today’s retail and experiential landscape. It is clear that brands are taking their corporate influence as an advantage and claiming to work in favour of social change, when in reality it is just to join a trend and maintain a competitive advantage. Therefore, this trend demonstrates that consumers are looking to support trustworthy brands who put legitimate effort into making social change. To achieve this, brands should use transparency tools within their brand to inform them of consumer trends and behaviours in order to keep up with their needs and expectations. Highly skilled workforces will be crucial to brands working to maintain long-term growth and to be perceived as a true educator by their consumer target (Mickiewicz and Szymanska, 2017). This particular trend leans towards the altruistic consumer which has lead to a more community driven collaborative economy. This highlights that the most successful brands in the future, will be the ones able to create sanctuary spaces for their consumers and build personal relationships. It is important to consider this ideology within the business concept as it undeniably relates to the experiential aspects of the event market.

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EXTERNAL ANALYSIS DRIVERS There are several pinnacle driving forces behind these trends that are influencing the macro environment and shaping the landscape that brands are operating in; encouraging positive change.

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Politics have also been an immense driving force behind sustainability and the need for more education within society.

For example, the Paris Agreement which was signed and curated in December 2015, has brought several impactful nations together to combat against the current and future consequences of climate change. The prioritised aim being to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change which in turn will increase the future likelihood of keeping global temperatures significantly below 2C. (United Nations, 2019) The agreement supports several other aspects that will make great contribution to the current situation such as, the need for a robust transparency framework that can relay the actions that are being taken to society; building trust. Furthermore, this political movement has been driving change because of its change in perspective, focusing on effective processes to create progress instead of singular, demanding deadlines (Barnatt, 2018) Therefore, this has been a massive driver in the progress of positive changes due to the greater understanding of the need for education, public awareness and public participation which can be achieved partially through public access to information (United Nations, 2019) and this enhanced support means ambitious efforts can now become realistic.

Another political change that has become a propulsive influence in changing the sustainability market is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which is the 2030 agenda for sustainable development; a shared global blueprint for both peace and prosperity, consisting of 17 specific goals. The only way for this to be genuinely successful is through a forceful commitment by all stakeholders involved. Several support systems have been put in place to allow for success such as, the annual high-level political forum on sustainable development; a central UN platform for review of the SDG progress and the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) These support systems help facilitate the driving force as they keep communal global efforts at a high, therefore, ensuring it continues to be a priority in consumer minds.

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MEDIA DRIVERS The media is a powerful institution influencing societal opinions, whether this is through social media, or non-written materials. To start with, social media platforms have been used to promote the impacts global climate change will have through educational advertising such as, ‘The 12 year scare’ concept. This has been reiterated frequently in order to encourage change before a 1.5C increase of warmth and some damage becomes regrettably irreversible. This half degree difference could prevent corals from being completely eradicated and instead be at a 70-90% depletion and this would also massively ease pressure on the arctic (Watts, 2018). This form of media is particularly driving the market because it puts the consequences into perspective using a time-frame and essentially becomes a motivator to society. A lot of the statistics and information that is communicated to consumers can often get confusing and lose its impact. Therefore, the UN Climate Conference creating this has allowed it to be easily understood. Accordingly, driving people to change now that there is a ‘deadline’ on how their actions affect the bigger picture, creating a matter of urgency to make changes; course of current commitment being set for a 3C warming.

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Another element entwined with the media is the use of film production. Blue Planet has been used to both inform and entertain the general consumer, essentially an example of how unknowingly influential edutainment has become as a product of the trend, the learning economy. Viewers are more likely to engage and invest in what they are learning because it is visually stimulating and has a narrative; creating an emotive aspect. Therefore, this can be seen to drive change as it resonates with the consumer’s emotions and can show how actions in the UK are affecting the planet worldwide.

Advertisement has been used to influence consumer attitudes surrounding climate change and sustainability. An example of this can be explored with Iceland’s orangutan advert in November 2018, another example of edutainment; using emotive narratives to engage with the consumer whilst simultaneously educating them.

This showed a new consequence that consumers didn’t have much pre-existing knowledge of; deforestation and palm oil. From the stage one research conducted, several participants were unaware of these environmental consequences prior to this; “I think before that advert, no one really knew about the use of palm oil and its destructive effects” (See Stage 1) Consequently, evidencing how advertising is being used to educate the consumer on new topics they may not have discovered beforehand, therefore aiming to create a higher investment in sustainability.

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SOCIAL DRIVERS There has been several social movements that have uprisen as a positive consequence of sustainability, such as, the plastic-free and zero waste trends. This past year has seen a significant increase in reducing plastic consumption and excessive waste, through brands offering monetary incentives, as well as, an uproar of media coverage. Social movements like this can be immensely compelling in instilling effective change because of societal pressure and creating the notion of a communal role, bringing society together to make a positive impact. This has been reflected in the market, with brands taking a cradle to cradle perspective to simultaneously increase the plastic-free notion and boost their own brand reputation (Mainwaring, 2018) Consequently, driving the market forward by motivating consumers to apply themselves to a single task, which could lead to further personal investment.

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03.

THE BUSINESS SUMMARY

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BUSINESS AIM To prove the viability of the business concept, and evidence that BEE can successfully integrate themselves within the events market and begin to solve the lack of education regarding sustainability.

BUSINESS OBJECTIVES 1. To become a market leader in educational events by 2025; creating impactful change in societal attitudes and increasing overall engagement in sustainability 2. To execute events on a more frequent basis of every month by 2023; encouraging consumers to buy into the sustainability market 3. To expand the business into new sectors; delivering events within schools at least once a term, to further grow the BEE community and change consumer attitudes from an important age 4. To tap into solving the attention behaviour gap by encouraging consumers to use their online BEE accounts to make pledges and motivate themselves to make sustainable changes; increasing by 50% by the second year

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BUSINESS OVERVIEW BEE (Be Ethical Events) are an events planning and management agency hosting immersive, educational events in major cities across the UK. The business aim is to find a succinct way to educate consumers and increasing their emotional investment in sustainability; addressing the attitude behaviour gap. The events will purposefully attempt to transform current stigmas and negativity surrounding sustainability such as, expensive products and inaccessibility. BEE aims to do this through the use of smaller sustainable brands that may be local, a startup or growing, they will have the opportunity to join the BEE sustainable community for no charge in order to help utilise their growth potential whilst simultaneously helping consumers identify ethical brands that they can continue to use post-event. An agreed percentage of sales will be taken after each event to ensure that these smaller brands are not making a damaging loss if their products are not successful with the audience. The audience is mainly consumers of the Generation Z category as throughout research, this was identified as the optimal primary consumer who would benefit from the business structure.

Students are another group of consumers that BEE will work with, which then informed the choice of locations; highly populated student cities were considered. The business operates nationwide, with a planned course across cities within the UK, starting off in Birmingham which is where the main office is based, which is where the first event will be located, allowing ease of travel and setup of the launch.

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THE BIG IDEA MACRO ENVIRONMENT

SUSTAINABILITY EXPERIENCE ECONOMY

MICRO ENVIRONMENT

THE LEARNING ECONOMY

PLASTIC-FREE TREND ZERO WASTE INDUSTRY TRENDS

COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION

EDUTAINMENT POPUP CONCEPT STORES ONLINE MARKETPLACES

THE BIG IDEA

EDUCATIONAL EVENTS

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The big idea has been created and inspired by the stage one research that highlighted how education should be the priorital means to changing attitudes towards sustainability. This lead idea generation being conducted with education in mind, to discover a way to engage the consumer and enjoy acquiring new knowledge.

BEE (Be Ethical Events) operates in both the event management and sustainability markets. This variation differentiates the business from event management competitors as tasks are predominantly conducted internally ensuring a consistent consumer and employee experience. BEE are essentially creating a purchasing platform for the end consumer, whilst helping sustainable to grow and achieve necessary exposure to the market. BEE will operate in several cities across the UK such as, Birmingham, Manchester, Southampton, Bristol, Nottingham and London; all being heavily populated student cities which is fitting with the primary consumer and allowing a generally wide reach across consumer segments.

The brand follows both a business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) model allowing BEE to create a community between the themselves, the brands and the end consumer. This is fulfilled through the use of small startup brands being promoted at the events, emphasising that BEE is supportive and focuses on bringing people together; a strong part of their brand culture. There are other benefits that the brand will receive from working with BEE such as, increasing their current consumer target; giving them a competitive advantage when they might be struggling to get ahead. Furthermore, BEE will not charge the brands for being at the events within the first year, and instead take a percentage of sales, therefore they are receiving free exposure as well as heightened consumer awareness.

Whereas, the consumer benefits include engaging education and an immersive space where they can gain knowledge on identifying sustainable brands and interact with the brand themselves, satisfying the needs uncovered within the stage one research.

Within the events, consumers will be able to experience and interact with brands from several different markets such as, activewear, food and drink, beauty, fashion and homeware. Onsite food will be able to be purchased directly from the brands, using brands that have significantly inclusive options; adding to add to the experiential aspect of the events. Each event will host guest talks from experts within relevant industries to enlighten attendees on influential topics unfolding within the markets. However, access may be restricted depending on the speaker and their industry, in reflection of ticket prices. The tickets will be priced at different tiers in order to keep the events financially sustainable and allow consumers to experience the events differently. This pricing structure will also ensure that consumers do want to return in order to try something new and access more offers, samples and talks; boosting brand loyalty.

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THE BUSINESS MODEL The business model that BEE operates in, holds a combination of several different aspects; business to business (B2B) which in itself, creates a semi-collaboration model which is then followed by a B2C aspect. This is represented by each stage in the business process; firstly BEE interacts with sustainable brands from various sectors. Upon interest in the brand, they become part of the BEE community and gain free exposure, with BEE taking a percentage of sales they generate at the event, which highlights the collaboration component. Following this stage of the business model, the event takes place which allows both BEE and the brands they have enlisted, to communicate with the end consumer. The business model continues after the event through post-event engagement on the BEE website where consumers are frequently encouraged to make sustainable changes to their lifestyle and maintain the community they have begun to build.

The business model relies on temporary staff due to, the frequency of events. BEE will need to consider fair wages and hours with their employee structure to ensure that this remains in keeping with the values behind the brand.

BEE’s business model allows for several revenue streams which contributes to the viability of the concept. The main source of revenue streams begins with ticket sales; structured in three tiers to ensure that BEE adopts an inclusive approach and is affordable for their consumers.

Following this, BEE is able to take commission from the brands working with them at the events because they are essentially offering free exposure to a larger consumer base. BEE will use their website as a channel for generating their revenue; through the purchasing of ticket sales.

The purpose behind BEE, is to instigate interest in sustainability through education, this becomes the end benefit that BEE proposes to the consumer. Additional value propositions include, unique opportunities to interact with brands and access new social opportunities. Whereas, BEE offers opportunities for networking and brand recognition to their B2B consumers. BEE relies on impactful relationships between both their B2B and B2C consumers to allow for a seamless experience that can be continued after the event to succeed in changing consumer attitudes around sustainability.

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BE

ETHICAL EVENTS

B2B

B2C

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BRAND OVERVIEW At BEE, the brand is all about community; building and restoring the feel of authentic relationships between brands and their consumers. BEE truly stands for support and aims to emphasise their offer of support for customers on their sustainable journey, being there for step by step guidance in order to create a circular bond between BEE, the affiliating brands and the end consumer; replicating the circular economy. Support being at the core of BEE’s brand values has been a motivator for choosing to work with ethically conscious and responsible brands that could be considered a hidden treasure within such a saturated, complex market.

Everything that BEE stands for has allowed the creation of an authentic, physical platform and space where people can come together to learn, buy into and experience sustainability with no judgement or experience needed; using edutainment to support the consumer in increasing their interest in sustainability.

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HOW DOES THE BRAND AFFECT THE CONSUMER?

HOW CAN THE CONSUMER BEST DESCRIBE THE BRAND? INNOVATIVE

IMPROVES KNOWLEDGE

THO

UGH

ON

I CT A SF

TFU

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IN

SIG

HT

NATURAL

TI SA

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BOTANICAL SM

ES

NC ERIE

NT ME VE IE AC H

EARTHY

SUP

MORAL

AR

GE BEE OM aim to fulfil ET their promises to RIC both their consumers and affiliating brands; to provide attendees with an engaging way to educate themselves on sustainability whilst getting to know new brands and enjoying an immersive experience.

Whereas for their collaborating brands, they promise to provide a space that allows them to grow INCLUSIVE and engage with their target audience whilst gaining new knowledge from industry guests.

EXP

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AFFORDABLE

F AF

DIGNITY

INFORMATIVE TRENDY

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KNO WLE

POSITIVITY

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E AT TIV

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BLE

WHAT DOES THE CUSTOMER LOOK LIKE WHEN USING THE BRAND?

WHAT DOES THE CUSTOMER FEEL LIKE WHEN USING THE BRAND?

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BRAND DNA VISION BEE’s vision is to transform the nature of relationships between event management agencies, their clients and the end consumer; becoming a top educator to society on sustainability, removing the current stigmas through immersive popup events.

MISSION BEE is committed to improving our environmental crisis through helping consumers build an emotional investment with sustainability at their own pace and teach society to enjoy their education journey. BEE intends to achieve this through introducing consumers to sustainable brands and creating a sense of community and personal relationship between them; it’s not just about promotion and shopping but changing attitudes and behaviours.

ESSENCE

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An innovative and attentive event management brand that combines education with experiential marketing to introduce consumers to upcoming sustainable brands, helping them on their sustainable journey, be it new to them or a market they are familiar with.

VALUES

PERSONALITY

COMMUNITY BUILDING

CARING

EDUCATION

HONEST

NETWORKING

SUPPORTIVE

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS SUPPORT

PROMISE BEE aim to fulfil their promises to both their consumers and affiliating brands; to provide attendees with an engaging way to educate themselves on sustainability whilst getting to know new brands and enjoying an immersive experience. Whereas for their collaborating brands, they promise to provide a space that allows them to grow and engage with their target audience whilst gaining new knowledge from industry guests.

TONE OF VOICE INFORMATIVE INSPIRING ENCOURAGING LIGHT-HEARTED

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BRAND GUIDELINES BE

ETHICAL EVENTS

MAIN LOGO

BE

ETHICAL EVENTS

WEBSITE LOGO VARIATION

COLOUR PALETTE

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BRAND FONTS

01.

BAHNSCHRIFT - REGULAR ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

02.

LETTER GOTHIC STD - MEDIUM ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

03.

LETTER GOTHIC STD - BOLD ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

The BEE logo has been created to stand out within a saturated market; the sharp lines of the hexagonal shape encasing the name give the logo a bold silhouette to achieve this. All colours incorporated are from BEE’s chosen colour palette to present a consistent theme across all brand publications. However, on the BEE website, the logo variation has been altered for optimal use on this platform as the shape would look somewhat overcrowded with the functional layout of the website. BEE have used a range of 3 fonts to portray a cohesive theme that doesn’t involve too many components, they are all clean and simple to represent the purity of the brand.

The colour palette that BEE have chosen to work with revolves around the Pantone colour of the year 2017, named Greenery. The psychology behind the colour green implies nature and peace (Ciotti, 2018) and can also, reflect nature and a friendly brand personality (Kolowich, 2019) which are attributes that BEE desires to represent. Furthermore, with the purpose of the brand focusing on sustainability, green is an idyllic colour to be the focal point of the brand colour palette. From this two colours from the Pantone greenery palette were chosen, Canyon Clay and Lead; subtle complimentary colours that can be altered to a softer, pastel tone for certain publications.

VALUE PROPOSITION BEE offers value to the consumer by offering accessibility to refined knowledge on sustainability and the convenience of not having to filter through masses of information. BEE have created a physical space where they can interact with brands and gain access to insights from industry experts and experience an immersive marketplace.

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EMOTIONAL REWARDS Emotional rewards associated with brands are defined by a positive feeling or attitude that is felt when purchasing or using a specific brand; adding depth to the experience. BEE are supporting the consumer in improving their sustainability and becoming more socially aware and responsible.

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SELF-EXPRESSIVE REWARDS Self-expressive rewards focus more on the act of using the product, providing an opportunity for the consumer to communicate their self-image with the brand; strengthening their relationship because it shows that the brand resonated with their personality and identity.

BEE’s target consumers will tend to be someone who showcases their interest in sustainability as part of their identity. The emotions associated with being a loyal consumer that is affiliated with BEE and its strong brand values that have been curated from an ethical and social perspective.

FUNCTIONAL & PHYSICAL REWARDS Functional and physical rewards are the types of benefits received from being part of a brand’s community are based on a product or service attribute that provides functional utility and optimisation to the consumer. The availability of multiple brands in one space gives the consumer a convenience aspect. BEE also offers the consumer a unique opportunity to directly communicate with brands and attend influential talks by industry experts to inspire and motivate.

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04.

THE MARKET ANALYSIS

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THE EVENTS MARKET The UK events industry is a significantly growing market and an important one to be operating in. Its current value is worth ÂŁ42.3 billion and specifically, the exhibition and trade fair sector is estimated at ÂŁ19.2 billion (Eventbrite, 2018) Looking at the current visitor economy in the UK, 35% is accounted for by the events industry (Eventbrite, 2018) further emphasising both the importance and impact of the events market. The events industry covers such a broad spectrum of sectors which can be defined differently. Getz (2005) states that the definition of events that fall under the exhibition and product launch segment is for the customer to have an opportunity for a leisure, social or cultural experience that is different to their usual daily routine and expands beyond their everyday experience.

Within the events market, a brand has a possibility of receiving several different revenue streams, and surprisingly only a maximum of 20% of revenue was generated from ticket sales in the last few years, according to 34% (Eventbrite, 2018) Event management and production companies often depend on other forms of investment and revenue streams, which is crucial knowledge for a brand starting in this market, as other sources of revenue will need to be planned and calculated in advance. Furthermore, the budget needs to be significantly considered and it is important to try to save costs in any possible areas whilst still allowing the brand to perform exceptionally for the consumer. This is supported by Yeoman et al., (2004) suggesting that budgets provide benefits such as, a higher chance of success due to the detailed forecast of what should be happening. It can be exceedingly useful to compare with other brands in the industry and their expenditures (See appendix 31)

MARKET VALUE OF ÂŁ42.3 BILLION (Eventbrite, 2018)

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EVENTS DRIVE EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT (Bois, 2016)

The events industry is built on two main foundations; knowledge building and networking (Eventbrite, 2018) and this links to the main reasons that brands create events and why guests attend. The main purpose behind a successful event can be identified as triggering an emotion or reaction with the audience (Armstrong, 2016) which can be achieved through community building and education being incorporated within events, as it provides consumers with a purpose for becoming invested in the brand. Shone and Parry (2013) corroborate this ideology, stating that it is to enlighten or challenge the experience of participants.

Furthermore, the purpose can also be considered as to “engage an audience, increase uptake and encourage sharing of online content.�

(Eventbrite, 2018) thus boosting the brand’s presence further.

Therefore, highlighting how important and diverse this market is.

Although the UK events market continues to grow, it is a very competitive market with 31% stating that increased competition had the biggest impact on their events last year (Eventbrite, 2018) Therefore, a new brand must have a cultivated plan to enter such a market, be successful and bring in something new and innovative.

The event market is seeing a current technological revolution, with events cultivating experiential exhibitions which could see a future shift to events revolving around technology and virtual reality (VR). (Armstrong, 2016) Trade fairs are a valuable way for brands to communicate with their target audience and expand their customer base. Bois (2016) states that this connection and person-to-person environment is invaluable, enabling the consumer to interexchange with someone who is knowledgeable on their needs and can provide them with a solution. Therefore, the market continues to grow and strengthen because of its valuable return for the event management company as well as, the brands involved because events drive a significant emotional engagement whilst also providing the platform to purchase (Bois, 2016)

The sustainability is an immensely fast-growing market, adapting as the trend and movement unfolds further; the UK ethical investment market is currently predicted to reach a value of £48 billion by 2027 (Caruso, 2018). Sustainable well-being can be defined as a satisfactory quality of life within the Earth’s boundaries and adapting lifestyle choices accordingly (Sitra, 2015) and this can be reflected in the market as it is motivated by the detrimental impact that society is having on the planet. There is a whole-system approach being adopted across several industries in order to find an equal weighting between social and environmental responsibility and profit (Stott et al., 2016) Several consumer expectations and demands have derived from the development of the UK sustainability market as society begins to understand their buying power and gain an increased awareness of environmental damage. This has resulted in consumers feeling somewhat socially responsible in making change and therefore, demanding more from brands and creating a driving force behind the market (Stott et al., 2016) It is often challenging for consumers to change their actions without knowing how to do so, as the information in the sustainability market can often be quite complex. Consequently, consumers desire brands to offer sustainable solutions because the problem often seems so intractable; reasoning for the attitude behaviour gap (Stott, 2018) Exploring this further, Stott (2018) suggests that using storytelling or a narrative can often help consumers establish an emotional investment in the sustainability market because it resonates with human nature. Accordingly, if brands incorporated this within their brand culture, it could increase market growth further. Furthermore, consumers want transparency; an effective tool in educating the consumer and this can be reflected in changes within the industry.

2027 MARKET VALUE PREDICTION OF ÂŁ48 BILLION (CARUSO, 2018)

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THE SUSTAINABILITY MARKET A NARRATIVE HELPS CONSUMERS ESTABLISH AN EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT WITH SUSTAINABILITY (STOTT, 2018)

To respond to advancing consumer expectations, industries and the market are adapting through their brand culture and processes. Brands have begun to enhance the traceability on their products and usage in order to increase awareness of production impacts; stimulating action because of transparency (Stott et al., 2016) Succeeding brands are empowering consumers to act as a collective, creating a sense of community which in turn, strengthens the relationship and loyalty between the consumer and brand (Stott et al., 2016) Further looking at the market response, Rienda (2019) check this* states that in the industry, he wants to ignite both conversation and debate by educating and making connections between our values; our respect for both human and animal welfare. This can be achieved through sustainability-based events; providing a platform to do so.

Certification is another response that can be seen happening in the market; satisfying the doubtful consumer and proving company ethicality. Furthermore, working with certified suppliers and creating an authentic, transparent marketing strategy can be just as powerful and effective. Therefore, evidencing the significant growth of sustainability and its impact on the ethical consumer.

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BRAND

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

MUON EVENTS

Successful in running their own bespoke events as well as, organising client events

Could prove a challenge to persuade companies to consider sustainability within their brand culture

A sustainable events agency, providing a management service for their clients whilst simultaneously considering and improving their environmental impact and carbon footprint.

SMYLE A creative agency that combine their creativity with technology to create specialised live and digital experiences for their clients.

Experienced client portfolio Large, trusting customer base

Prestige client profile Specialism in technology gives them a significant competitive advantage

Clients may feel they operate in too many sectors

More risks can often come with working with bigger, well-known brands

WONDERLAND AGENCY A creative-led experiential event production agency; creating genuine connections between brands and their audience through experiential marketing techniques.

IE LIVE EVENT SERVICES Creative concept specialists; experience in festival and education sectors, working on product launches and technical staging.

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Creative, fun branding that stands out against fellow competitors Operating on a multi-market and global scale

15+ years experience in the industry Worked on several successful project; easily establish trust with new clients

Some clients prefer agencies with a specialism in one particular market

Basic web design fails to promote brand No detail on the projects they have worked on which may deter new clients

HOW BEE CAN DIFFERENTIATE BEE are looking to work with upcoming startup businesses Work on spreading sustainability through the consumer rather than the brand itself which is where the problem lies

Focus on the end consumer as well as the brand in between; seamless experience for stakeholders

Create an experiential brand that allows consumers to directly get involved BEE specialises in the sustainability market; allowing them to execute ideas with primary focus on one area Allow web design to guide the consumer and reflect the brand values Utilise the website as a platform to celebrate the brand’s successes and bring new users

THE COMPETITORS PRIMARY

BRAND

JULIA CHARLES EVENT MANAGEMENT A company working in event and speaker management, focusing on consumer relationships and guest interactivity through immersive experiences.

CULT A brand that specialises in live events and brand activations through popups, product launches and running permanent establishments such as, restaurants.

ADVANTAGES Existing exposure through Dragon’s Den Website evidences their work and the process behind each project Speaker management is a unique, specific sector which may boost their client base Prideful in helping small businesses grow Operating in unique markets eg. restaurants and bars, setting them apart from competitors Innovative web design that expresses their creativity

STORY EVENTS A very teamoriented event management and production brand that represents themselves through their events.

DISADVANTAGES

New, exciting company with fresh ideas

Still operating in the startup stage Previous financial struggles

Outdated event links on their website; navigating the consumer to buy tickets to events from previous years No evidence of new or current work being produced

Only have 5 years experience which could limit their current consumer base Have to work harder to gain client trust

HOW BEE CAN DIFFERENTIATE Combination of work with the end consumer and the brand supplying them, BEE acts a a stepping stone and platform provider Allows for maximum consumer outreach from B2B and B2C stakeholders

BEE works on their own pop-ups and brand activations as they act as an internal platform rather than an external agency that is contacted for specific work

BEE want to demonstrate their specialism within the market; allowing a consistent service and structure

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THE COMPETITORS SECONDARY BRAND

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

HOW CAN BEE DIFFERENTIATE

EVENT ACADEMY

Attractive brand ethos eg. caredriven

Prevent themselves from maximum reach as they target education at the industry rather than making it inclusive of the consumer as well

BEE aims to help educate the consumer rather than the market professionals

Harder to promote the platform as it targets a niche consumer and would need a large campaign to reach a wide consumer base

Create a purchasing platform that has physical aspects allowing the consumer to experience the brand and what it stands for; creating a stronger relationship rather than just an online experience

Only worked on a few projects, this may limit the clients they reach out to

Focusing more on growing the brand through their consumer base rather than the brand components

Limited to designing live experiences rather than involving their brand in them, as this integration could access new customers

BEE focuses less on the creative aspects of experiences but the physicality

A company that aims to help educate the people that run the events industry because of their perceived corporate social responsibility.

A CIRCLE BACK A platform created to promote sustainable brands that are less well known; a circular economy effect through products that give back to the Planet in some way.

ALTER Creative communications brand that aids clients with their brand guidelines, PR and digital aspects and making their brand more experiential.

WE LOVE THIS LTD A creative-led experiential agency that attempts to engage and influence the client’s audience.

Knowledge-based brand values Supportive of charities A socially responsible brand that helps smaller brands gain exposure Directly satisfying consumer need

Offering unique and specific services Creative blog that allows the brand to continually communicate with the consumer

Uses industry experts to interact with the consumers; unique opportunity

Successfully created their own community; ‘Alter Natives’ Skilled in-house designers, creating internal consistency and essentially lasting client relationships Create creative content for their clients, showcasing their extra efforts to maintain and strengthen client relationships

Although BEE has to face a possible threat of entering a significantly populated market, there are still components of BEE’s brand that are uniquely innovative in comparison to their market rivalry.

BEE offers a physical platform that interacts with both the brands making up the event, as well as the end consumer which creates a seamless system for all parties involved, rather than a disjointed experience that prevents the event manager from receiving benefits from the consumer. There are several things that BEE can learn and adopt from conducting a competitive analysis, such as, embracing an improved website design that allows increased functionality, this could be implemented in the future when BEE have a higher profitability and are able to refine these attributes. Direct competitors that offer the same service as BEE seem to be working on an online platform only which is a benefit for BEE as they can offer more emotional and physical benefits to the consumer, by taking this service and making it an experience.

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INNOVATIVE

BE

POPULAR CLIENTS

NICHE CLIENTS

CONSERVATIVE

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ETHICAL EVENTS

The perceptual map looks into competitors within the event agency market; either specialising creative agencies or external event management brands that work to improve the experiential components of their client’s brand. The brands have been compared by the types of clients they work with; whether they be large, corporate brands or niche brands with a unique product or service and on their work styles; whether it be deemed as conservative or innovative. BEE is positioned as a brand that works with niche brands but using innovative methods to interest the consumer and help affiliating brands maximise their growth.

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The competitive universe analysis looks at competitors that come from different market segments; market segment 1 being events and market segment 2 being sustainability. This is a valuable analysis for brands like BEE that have competitors operating in several different markets, developing a succinct understanding of all possible threats that can be avoided. The level 1 competitors consist of brands offering the exact same product or service, becoming the immediate competitors to consistently analyse as they post the biggest threat. Whereas, as the levels branch out it reflects the brand offering similar components but possibly in different geographical locations.

However, BEE operates nationally in the UK, so they would need to consider each level of competitor to be able to identify the most significant threat.

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L EV

MARKET SEGMENT 1

LEV EL T

LE V

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LEV EL

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ETHICAL EVENTS

MARKET SEGMENT 2

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

Accessible locations hosted in major cities, meaning there are accessible routes across public transport

Lack of publicity and exposure in comparison to competitors that are already well established in the market

Strong relationships with partnering brands who contribute to the seamless experience for the end consumer

Niche content of the events could possibly reduce potential market size

Quality, personal customer relationships that revolve around self-improvement, education and building a community

As a smaller, startup brand, it could be hard to meet unexpected increases in demand (eg. major increase in ticket sales or online accounts to manage)

Socially responsible brand values that improve brand reputation

Cost of transporting event resources from each location

Use events to create free, authentic social media content; videos, pictures

Unreliability of weather conditions for outdoor events; this could lead to cancellation or postponement which would disappoint consumers and prevent repeat purchases

Use both written and video consumer testimonials as event marketing material; sets up an element of trust between the brand and new users Less amount of primary competitors that conduct similar events as the brand has a specific, niche direction Build connections with venue organisers for future events and partnerships

OPPORTUNITIES

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Unexpected slumps in the economy could cause a catalyst effect on ticket sales Inability to find suitable employees that are willing to work on a temporary basis or travel to different locations Limited availability at desirable venues

THREATS

Exploring the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for BEE will ensure a higher chance of success in an active marketplace and allow them to establish a certain dominance amongst competitors. It is key to both acknowledge and understand the strengths of the business in order to continue to bolster them and maintain a competitive advantage whilst satisfying the needs of the customer; as it emphasises what makes your brand stand out such as, accessibility and solid customer relationships. Similarly, this process also works for the weaknesses of BEE, allowing them to recognise where they are possibly going wrong and deterring them from reaching their full potential.

One of their current weaknesses is the lack of experience in comparison to their main competitors who have become significantly successful in an overpopulated market, which could consequently affect consumer trust and purchase decision. However, this weakness should be used as motivation to ensure BEE create a cultivated marketing strategy that allows them to get the sole attention of their target audience. Furthermore, looking at the opportunities, the most significant is the potential for free social media content through running the events as this is undoubtedly important in broadening their consumer segment, especially because of the nature of BEE’s existing consumer.

Finally, looking at threats is important in order to minimise possible risks that could damage BEE’s success and reputation.

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Exploring the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for BEE will ensure a higher chance of success in an active marketplace and allow them to establish a certain dominance amongst competitors. It is key to both acknowledge and understand the strengths of the business in order to continue to bolster them and maintain a competitive advantage whilst satisfying the needs of the customer; as it emphasises what makes your brand stand out such as, accessibility and solid customer relationships. Similarly, this process also works for the weaknesses of BEE, allowing them to recognise where they are possibly going wrong and deterring them from reaching their full potential.

One of their current weaknesses is the lack of experience in comparison to their main competitors who have become significantly successful in an overpopulated market, which could consequently affect consumer trust and purchase decision. However, this weakness should be used as motivation to ensure BEE create a cultivated marketing strategy that allows them to get the sole attention of their target audience. Furthermore, looking at the opportunities, the most significant is the potential for free social media content through running the events as this is undoubtedly important in broadening their consumer segment, especially because of the nature of BEE’s existing consumer.

Finally, looking at threats is important in order to minimise possible risks that could damage BEE’s success and reputation.

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COMPETITIVE RIVALRY BEE is entering a significantly competitive market where it takes considerable differentiation to stand out and reach their desired target audience, leaving them with several primary and secondary competitors to understand and analyse. Depending on the type of consumer, the loyalty can vary. For example, competitors who work with prestige corporations will usually have established a strong loyalty, whereas smaller, niche brands would be more willing to change their event manager dependent on the services and skills they can offer the brand. This is advantageous to BEE as their target is niche brands and they can offer them several benefits from working with BEE such as, increased consumer exposure. High impact marketing campaigns and lower prices can be an effective method in attracting consumers from competitors, something that BEE offers as they do not intent to charge brands for event pitches within the first year and will create personal marketing campaigns to entice brands to join their community.

SUPPLIER POWER BEE’s suppliers can be understood and split into two separate categories; the venue suppliers and affiliating brands within the BEE community, as both provide BEE with the means to complete their business concept. Exploring the venue suppliers, there can be a tremendous amount of uncertainty as BEE relies on them for their events to go ahead, leaving BEE vulnerable to higher future costs. However, this can be resolved through scheduled planning and agreements made with venues. On the other hand, with BEE’s brand portfolio, if a brand were to suddenly change their mind on working with BEE, it could immensely impact the event and its success. Therefore, BEE would need to make the benefits of their offer extremely clear and use impactful marketing to ensure that the brands are fully committed to helping their cause.

BUYER POWER The nature of BEE focuses on changing consumer attitudes and behaviours towards a more morally and socially responsible direction. This works in favour for BEE when exploring the buyer power of their target consumer as they will expectantly have somewhat of an investment in sustainability before buying into the brand. This investment will further increase with the support of BEE’s brand and encourage continued involvement with the brand and consequently, brand loyalty. The buyer does have a significant influence on the pricing architecture of the brand, as without enough attendees, BEE cannot carry out their business activity; it holds such a customer-centric focus that it is impossible for the events to exist. However, BEE’s pricing strategy is considerably affordable because of the nature of the service, it is not just about profitability but morality and the consumer has a choice in which ticket tier they wish to purchase.

THREAT OF SUBSTITUTION It is challenging to find a competitor that offers the same service that BEE offer; event management brands within the market have tended to focus on working with corporate clients rather than the end consumer themselves. Whereas, BEE have combined the two in order to create a seamless retail experience that both educates and excites the consumer.

There are some ways that consumers could use online marketplaces that offer sustainable goods, but they would not be able to enjoy the experiential aspects of BEE as they offer a physical event to immerse in sustainability.

THREAT OF NEW ENTRY The events market is a highly competitive and saturated market, depending on the nature of the events. However, there are considerably high startup costs associated with entering the market which is beneficial to BEE as it makes it less likely for as many new brands to enter the market; creating a barrier to entry.

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STRATEGIC DIRECTION

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“I think the key to the success of these events is that the touch is meaningful and resonates with the audience.” (Saget, 2006) Paulins and Hillery (2009) imply that the consumer in today’s society, demands not only quality products from fashion retailers, but that the companies they resonate with take social responsibility for their employees and communities associated with their business. This is similar to that of attitudes in all industries such as, event management and therefore this benefits BEE as morals run through the core of their brand and is implemented in all aspects possible. Swanbrooke (2002) highlights that it is important for an event organiser to have an interest in the potential sources of demand in order to understand what the target market expects. This validates the importance for BEE to truly understand their consumer, what they stand for and value their opinions, as they are a consumer-centric brand. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943) suggests that consumer behaviour is determined by the strongest need at that given time. BEE satisfies several needs of the consumer, mostly self-actualisation and self-fulfilment through encouraging socially responsible behaviour (See Appendix 30). BEE also satisfies the social needs, creating a sense of belonging through the BEE community and providing social opportunities through their events.

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Welcome to an insight in the weekly life of Kat, a final year student at the University of Birmingham, studying English Literature. Her hobbies and interests are influenced heavily by her life passions; running a YouTube channel alongside her studies is her favourite hobby and achievement. Furthermore, Kat is a proud vegan and has used this to shape her social media content and reach a wider audience as a micro influencer, as well as focusing her content on her daily experiences such as, experiencing new culture and foods, helping the environment and selfeducating. BEE helps Kat to achieve her sustainable goals and boosting her social presence by portraying her promotion of socially responsible brands and allowing her to further educate herself; fitting her into the ‘achiever’ or ‘striver’ category from the VALS model (See Appendix 29)

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Meet Lindsey and take a look into her lifestyle and how she fits in as another type of consumer interested in BEE. Demographically, Lindsey is a member of Generation X but being interested in BEE has a lot more behind it than just an age demographic.

Being a busy mother of two children and juggling full-time work, it is hard for a consumer like this to educate themselves on sustainability in their spare time and actually enjoy the process, which is where BEE comes in. This specific type of consumer is invested in sustainability mostly because they are motivated by their children and want to both protect and improve their future whilst setting an socially responsible example for them to follow, a finding found within previous research (See stage 1) Lindsey can be classified as a ‘thinker’ or ‘believer’ when analysing the Values and Lifestyles framework (VALS); because BEE helps her to gain more knowledge that matches her ideals (See Appendix 29)

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THE B2B CONSUMER

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As well as defining an appropriate consumer for the B2C side of the brand, BEE will also need to discover an idyllic target for the B2B model within their business. The B2B consumer will have a lesser focus on demographics and specific personal characteristics and focus more on characteristics that brands hold as a collective. The brands that BEE approach and decide to work with will need to have a similar attitude to sustainability within their products and services as well as, their brand values. BEE will be looking for these brands to showcase their environmental contribution to society in a prideful manner, using either online or offline methods such as, social media or their physical stores. BEE is not looking for brands that are the top of the market, but brands that are upcoming and still attempting to maximise their growth, and as long as they have a devotion to making the Planet more sustainable, they are right for BEE.

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BRAND PORTFOLIO HOMEWARE Noctu Homeware Inspired Earth One Nine Eight Five Join London Wicker and Weft Kinn Living

BEAUTY Eness Loles Cosmetics UK Blushberry botanicals The Salt Parlour Your Nature Buff Natural Body Care Nature and My Zao Dirty Hippie Cosmetics PHB Ethical Beauty Elemental Beauty Divina Cosmetics Bare Faced Beauty Beauty Without Cruelty Moksa Green Emporium Ltd IT’s Cruelty Free

FASHION - ACTIVEWEAR Asquith London Adrenna Bella Kinesis Carrot Banana Peach Sundried Starseeds Sports Philosophy Milochie

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ACCESSORIES Made Vegan Jewellery Elefair Giftware Viva La Vegan

FOOD & DRINK Grapetree Health foods Rice Up Wholefoods Indigo Wholefoods Green Bay Supermarket Natural Bar and Kitchen

CATERING

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Not Dogs Kam and Cat Dirty Kytch Vegan Vybes The Greedy Rabbit Veggie Hut Yorica Ethos Hannah Banana Bakery Happy Maki Mad Cucumber

FASHION Mayamiko Wool and the Gang People Tree Thought Noctu P.I.C Style Ilk and Ernie Inspired Earth Viva La Vegan

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MARKETING STRATEGY

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It is important for an event management brand to create positivity surrounding the event before it takes place, which can be achieved through considered and innovative marketing communications.

(Brown, 2016)

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AIM

To increase brand awareness and engagement with BEE through the utilisation of online and offline methods to embolden brand loyalty between consumers and affiliating brands.

OBJECTIVES 1. To use innovative, thought-provoking marketing techniques to capture the attention of consumers and competitors upon entry into the market 2. To optimise online platforms such as, Instagram and Facebook to make possible / target consumers aware of the brand and encourage affiliation 3. To create innovative packaging and publications that intrigues brands and encourages them to join the BEE community 4. To establish consistent and innovative communications between the consumer and achieve successful click-through rates from advertising 5. To successfully integrate education within the promotional activities, to intrigue consumers and encourage them to make positive changes

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MARKETING STRATEGY

Bee’s marketing strategy will use bottomup budgeting; by identifying communication objectives, by assessing which promotional methods will be used, then creating a budget from there. This allows for BEE to ensure they manage to carry out all the tasks they wish without overspending. The purpose of the marketing strategy is to build substantial awareness surrounding BEE and what they offer. After this has been achieved, the marketing strategy will aim to retain interest and build brand loyalty through continued communications and repeated use of the brands services. BEE’s brand values revolve around community-building and support and therefore, this will be reflected in the marketing strategy. Personal relationships will need to be built with affiliate brands in order to achieve their goals and radiate positivity about sustainability onto the consumer. The goal is to essentially create a support network through the events; a purchasing platform which encourages and motivates. Therefore, by selecting influencers who adopt a similar approach within their content, it will attract the business target demographic.

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PRODUCT

BEE aims to help increase interest amongst consumers surrounding sustainability, encouraging more change to be implemented. Creating a series of inspiring, riveting events will hopefully be the start of a new way to educate on sustainability. BEE hopes that consumers will view each event as a new experience; a fun day out or trip away.

The uniqueness of being able to participate in so many new activities will keep consumers coming back; interacting with more brands and attending the next motivational talk from an industry expert.

From a B2B perspective, the product remains the same; the event.

However, affiliating brands will utilise this platform differently but with the same end goal in mind; helping the Planet. BEE will be giving these brands an opportunity to directly engage with their consumer and showcase both their brand and its products or service.

PROMOTION BEE will use varied promotion methods to target both their business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) segments. When addressing the B2C side, BEE will heavily rely on visual methods of promotion in order to intrigue the consumer and express the creativity and excitement that runs through the brand. Emotive narratives will be used in order to convey the drive and passion for a beneficial yet crucial cause.

This will allow BEE to emphasise some of their core brand values; community building and education, helping consumers to invest in selfimprovement or societal, group improvement as it could be understood.

Similarly, with the B2B consumer, BEE will create significant emphasis on the community aspects of the brand; creating trusting personal relationships between themselves and the brands they work with. This will be achieved through mainly offline promotion methods and direct marketing.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE The physical aspects of BEE’s marketing focuses on the venue where they choose to offer their service, this could be considered prior to launch, through the brand activation event or each event itself. It is important that BEE get the spacing right for the concept to truly excel, consumers need to feel physically comfortable in order to enjoy the experience that BEE are giving them. The ambience of the physical space will need to be thoroughly considered, open white space would reflect a professional and peaceful space and would suit the brand and its personality.

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PLACE

BEE’s service is more physical than other attributes; the event itself being how the brand will be distributed to the consumer. The choice of venue is crucial in bringing this ideology to life as the venues themselves will also need to embody the feeling of the brand. BEE intend to consult with an external freelancer specialising in event management to ensure that the venue and logistics reflect BEE and what they stand for.

PEOPLE

BEE have created a brand with a strong moral purpose behind it, which can be reflected by the people that are invested in the business; emotionally or physically. BEE targets specific consumers, holding somewhat of an interest in sustainability and a desire to either know or do more. In order to ensure that BEE targets the appropriate consumer, they will need to understand the behaviour within the market and which demographics tend to show certain behavioural patterns. The consumer target groups have been decided through extensive research allowing BEE to understand the behavioural groups within the market and reflect this in their consumer targets.

Similarly, although BEE operate using temporary staff, they still require an interest and enthusiasm for sustainability in order to carry out the events with passion and present this to the end consumer. BEE want to be known as a brand that acts as a support system for the consumer, therefore any staff involved with the business will need to be seen as genuinely interested and caring in terms of their customer service.

PURPOSE

There is a substantial immediacy surrounding sustainability and working against its calamitous consequences that are continuing to develop.

Change needs to happen now and it is not only the responsibility of customers but moreso, the influential brands that have an undeniable power that can shift attitudes. This is why BEE was created, to help consumers who may be unaware on how to make individual changes that can have a tremendous communal impact; supporting consumers to either start or develop their sustainability journey further and motivate them to do more.

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PRICE STANDARD TIER £5 + £1 BOOKING FEE INCLUDES: ENTRY TO EVENT (E-TICKET) ATTENDANCE TO x1 INDUSTRY TALK OF THE DAY

MID TIER £10 + £1 BOOKING FEE INCLUDES: ENTRY TO EVENT (E-TICKET) ATTENDANCE TO x2 INDUSTRY TALKS OF THE DAY x1 FREE SAMPLE FROM A BRAND IF A PURCHASE IS MADE

EXCLUSIVE TIER £15 + £1 BOOKING FEE

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INCLUDES: ENTRY TO EVENT (E-TICKET) ATTENDANCE TO ALL INDUSTRY TALKS OF THE DAY x3 FREE SAMPLES FROM A BRAND (NO PURCHASE REQUIRED)

PLANET

As BEE are a brand purely created to tackle issues that have been caused by issues around sustainability; climate change, deforestation etc, they have internally ensured that all processes and aspects of the brand are as clean and ethical as possible.

All affiliating brands have been extensively researched prior to involvement with BEE to ensure they have a legitimate passion and emotional investment in sustainability and making a difference.

Furthermore, all certifications that the brands claim to hold will be thoroughly checked to establish that they are still standing and accurate.

BEE will also work alongside the Real Junk Food Project to minimise the food and drink waste from the events. If in any circumstance the Real Junk Food Project is not operating in the city where the event is hosted, a similar organisation will be found and an agreement put in place prior to the event taking place.

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LAUNCH PLAN BEE will begin their marketing using a hard launch in terms of their business to business consumer, this will allow them to put all their efforts into increasing brand awareness within the market, upon entry. Whereas, their marketing that is aimed to target the end consumer will have a slightly different approach. The marketing will follow more of a discreet launch, this will be carried out by consumers initially being intrigued by some of the possible B2B marketing so that when the consumer-based marketing is launched, they will ideally have heard or seen the brand name in some form. The consumer communications are launched after the brands have already been targeted, therefore it will have less of a fast-paced, immediacy to it. The launch plan for the service that BEE offer will be conducted through the first event, which will be used as a launch event to introduce the consumers to the brand properly and what we offer. This will become more of a steady presence as the consumer marketing will continue right up until the launch event.

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AIM To exercise creative channels to communicate with BEE’s target consumer and supporting businesses through emphasis of the brand ethos

OBJECTIVES 1. To create a successful launch marketing campaign that increases initial brand awareness, resulting in 10,000 impressions through the use of the selected hashtag 2. To acquire an Instagram following of 30,000 within the first year, and increasing by 25% within the second year 3. To utilise the experiential aspects of BEE events to encourage customers to setup and maintain frequent use of their online BEE accounts; creating a continuous relationship with the brand 4. To generate social media content from the launch event, compelling other brands within the sustainability market to get involved, allowing BEE to expand their brand portfolio by 50% within the 3rd year

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BEE will differentiate through offering an innovative service that has not yet been conducted within the market in a physical space.

BEE will integrate their service for consumer use both physically and digitally.

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einforce

BEE have immensely strong brand values that give them a competitive advantage, they truly care and want to create a support system for the consumer.

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nform

BEE’s website will keep the consumer informed with upcoming brands and new product releases and also, crucial information on sustainability The events themselves will ensure that consumers are informed with market information.

Regular contact through direct marketing will keep consumers informed on BEE business activities.

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Social media platforms will be utilised as a tool to persuade the consumer into purchasing tickets for the events and entering ticket giveaway through the use of their designated hashtags

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Social media will be an efficient method to spread awareness quickly, prior to the event launch, using influencers to increase the reach and grab attention within the market.

Brand packages will be used as a form of direct marketing which will allow BEE to achieve brand awareness with their B2B customers.

LinkedIn advertising will be an effective route in gaining mass awareness from a professional perspective and gaining interest in brands becoming part of BEE’s brand portfolio.

Freshers fairs can be used to spread awareness with new Uni students, especially if there is an upcoming BEE event in their city Promotional materials in schools to appeal to the secondary consumer.

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nterest

Use marketing to showcase the brand values and moral stance as a benefit to both B2B and B2C stakeholders Make communication campaigns relatable and relevant to the target audience, relaying how they fit in with the brand and its culture Social media giveaways

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esire

Offering a free growth strategy for other brands, achieving a larger consumer base Influencer marketing will create desire with the end consumer; wanting to be a part of the BEE community because they trust the judgement of the influencer they admire Emotive marketing campaigns; encourage people to get involved and want to do more

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Use brand packages to establish a personal relationship and encourage brands to join the BEE community and ensure all communications are followed up Brand incentives to develop an interest in setting up a customer account and purchasing tickets such as, first 100 tickets sold receive a free sample or discount at the event

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BRAND ACTIVATION Brand activation is how an upcoming brand makes their product or service known to the market; increasing awareness and engagement through an experience (Simpson, 2016) Considering the experiential aspects of the service that BEE offer, it is essential that they consider a brand activation event within their marketing strategy. The social media campaigns also have the same purpose of increasing both brand awareness and engagement, however that method alone may not be effective enough to allow BEE to reach its maximum target consumer. BEE will carry out brand activation through a brand introduction event at The Warehouse Cafe, in Birmingham where BEE is based.

BEE will invite some of their upcoming influencers as well as other influential bloggers who work with sustainability in mind, this would attract their following to also attend and be introduced to BEE and interested in their upcoming launch. The event would include a vegan buffet and talk from the director of BEE, introducing what they will be offering and essentially giving the audience a sample of what some aspects of their service offering will be like.

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Instagram: @BEEcreative Twitter: @BEEhelpful Facebook: BEE (Be Ethical Events) Email: BEE@hotmail.com Telephone: 07866122391

BRAND ACTIVATION EVENT POSTER

COME AND MEET THE NEW-BEE IN TOWN...

SAVE THE DATE BECAUSE BEE ARE LAUNCHING SOON AND YOU CAN COME ALONG TO OUR PRE-LAUNCH EVENT. 15TH FEBRUARY 2020 THE WAREHOUSE CAFE, BIRMINGHAM 3PM VEGAN BUFFET AND DRINKS PROVIDED

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The business to business communications will be predominantly offline to establish a strong, personal and natural relationship prior to the initial event launch; creating a strong community within the BEE brand which is one of their main brand values.

BRAND PACKAGES The first point of communication between BEE and their affiliating brands will be through the brand packages that are sent directly to brands that have already been considered as part of the brand portfolio; a form of direct marketing. These packages will include an invitation to join the BEE community and a brand book introducing them to BEE and their brand DNA to help them visually and morally engage with the brand and what they stand for. BEE will ensure that all packaging used will be recyclable and then biodegradable where possible to remain in keeping with the brand values and purpose.

BEE will follow up these invitations through an email exchange deciding on an agreement that works for them and ensuring they are committed to working with BEE. A meeting arrangement will then be setup in order for the future community to go through the logistics behind the process in detail and understand the brand to the fullest extent.

OFFLINE COMMUNICATIONS: BUSINESS TO BUSINESS

Hello, Welcome to BEE (Be Ethical Events)!

We are inviting you to become part of our sustainable community as we think you would be a perfect brand to work with us in making the world a more ethical place. We hope you agree, and if you need more information just contact us at: BEE@hotmail.com All our love, The BEE team x

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OFFLINE COMMUNICATIONS: BUSINESS TO CONSUMER Although the main methods of communication between BEE and their consumer will mostly have an online focus, there will still be some established offline methods which will mainly be introduced after the launch event has taken place or during.

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PRINT MARKETING Print marketing will be used within the events to retain awareness of BEE and the brand offering the event, as they may get distracted by the brands they are interacting with at the event, it is imperative that use promotion as a reminder of BEE. Within the events, BEE will also have their own stand that uses attractive promotional material to grab the attention of attendees and this will be there to support any customer queries during the event.

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PRESS RELEASE BEE will publish a press release within Healthy magazine, which is a brand extension of health and wellness brand, Holland and Barrett. This will be an effective strategy in reaching BEE’s secondary consumer who may be Holland and Barrett’s existing consumer.

This magazine focuses on content that revolves around self-optimisation whether that be in terms of mental health, or physical health and fitness, therefore it would be an idyllic platform for BEE to utilise and spread awareness prior to their launch.

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ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS: BUSINESS TO BUSINESS

Following the initial offline communications between BEE and the brands they are working with, BEE will move onto online communication methods. Email marketing will be used as it is a highly effective digital strategy for B2B strategies when carried out effectively.

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EMAIL MARKETING Email marketing will be used to keep brands aware of anything happening within the business, through another quarterly newsletter. This will be separate from the consumer version and include relevant business related information for the brands working with BEE. It will provide a communication platform for brands that want to be part of another BEE event in the future and keep in touch with BEE. It is important to still consider direct marketing with B2B communications as it still contributes to one of the top lead generation channels (Peterson, 2017)

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LINKEDIN ADVERTISING BEE will use LinkedIn advertisements in order to communicate with fellow brands using the social platform for professional use. The purpose for using this method is because it will reach the specific consumer that BEE intend to communicate with and get them interested in the opportunity that BEE have to offer. These advertisements will take a direct approach suggesting that the advert has been specifically targeted at that brand in order to recruit them into their community.

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ENGAGEMENT In contrast to the business to business communications, BEE’s interaction with their consumer will prevail through the use of online methods; to create maximum reach to the consumer demographic BEE want to work with.

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INSTAGRAM Instagram will be used as a priority platform for online communications because of the characteristics of their primary consumer, as their is a clear preference to Instagram over other social media platforms for brand engagement. (Bursztynsky, 2018) Prior to the event launch, BEE will create a campaign that will run mainly on Instagram, optimising the use of hashtags to create a giveaway competition. To enter the competition, consumers will need to use the hashtag, #BEEsustainable on an instagram post or story, and then the winner will be chosen at random, at the end of the stated period.

The hashtag has been chosen because it suits the brand’s purpose and encouraging tone of voice. The purpose of this campaign is to create awareness and gain interest in the launch event, in order to generate ticket sales through the use of visual platforms to appease the primary consumer. This is because visual platforms are the most popular with the Generation Z demographic (Criteo, 2018) and this is part of the primary consumer for BEE. The #BEEsustainable campaign will use an ambassador at the forefront to establish a level of trust between BEE and the consumer considering their recent entry to the market; integrating the content within their own influencer platforms to create a wider reach.

There will be a significant focus on community building and open-mindedness within the campaign to begin introducing the brand values and culture and change the stigma surrounding sustainability.

“If a brand is looking to target teenagers, it should be reaching out to them through Instagram.� (Bursztynsky, 2018) 118

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FACEBOOK Similarly to the use of Instagram, BEE will create a competition through Facebook in order to reach out to their secondary consumer, with Facebook often being the significantly preferred social media platform for Gen X who make up the secondary consumer for BEE. (Valentine, 2018) This will be to create awareness for the brand and promote the upcoming launch event; provoking ticket sales amongst the secondary target, especially because the purpose behind this particular consumer’s use of Facebook, is goal-orientated (Valentine, 2018) emphasising how this method is effective to establish a strong relationship, as BEE’s brand purpose is to support consumers with their sustainable goals. The campaign will use video content to excite the consumer and the giveaway tickets will become an incentive to get involved and share the post or event. Consequently, the promotion will continue to spread to a wide audience through sharing the event and increasing the impressions and interactions with the post.

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#BEEsustainable #BEEsustain #BEEsustainable #BEEsusta #BEEsustainable #BEEsust #BEEsustainable #BEEsu #BEEsustainable #BEEs #BEEsustainable #BEE #BEEsustainable #BEEsustainable #BEEsustainable #BEEsustainable #BEEsustainabl #BEEsustaina #BEEsustain #BEEsusta #BEEsus #BEEsust #BEEsu

SNAPCHAT BEE will use a snapchat filter that is based on location with the technology already used by Snapchat, so that consumers attending the launch event feel involved in the community. In turn, this will promote the brand to future consumers through their social contacts which may then generate further interest in the brand.

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DIRECT MARKETING: EMAIL Email marketing will be used as an integrated extension from the website communications; encouraging consumers to frequently check their account and the pledges they have made since attending the first BEE event. Furthermore, email marketing will be used to announce upcoming events and any special occasions to do with BEE, through a quarterly newsletter. The aim of this is to increase the volume of returning consumers after they have set up their account with BEE in order to purchase tickets.

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WEBSITE The website will be used to illicit post-event engagement between BEE and the consumer; creating a retainful relationship after the consumer has attended their first BEE event. The website will have features where the customer can buy tickets for events and create their account where they input pledges they aim to work towards in order to become more sustainable; putting into action what they have learnt from attending the event. The reward from this will be a sense of achievement for the consumer as they know they have made a change that benefits not only themselves, but the environment too. Therefore, highlighting how BEE will support their consumers on their sustainable journey.

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126

INFLUENCER MARKETING Influencer marketing will be used as a communication method with target consumers, especially the primary target as this would resonate with what appeals to them through advertising. A brand ambassador will be introduced mid January after the New Year, tying in with the societal notion of New Year’s resolutions, a crucial part of the year to target new consumers and expand the consumer base. A proportion of BEE’s primary target will ideally be aware of the influencer already and trust their opinion surrounding the brand, encouraging them to make a purchase for the launch event.

This will validate the business concept for consumers as they are used to influencer marketing and it is an optimal, effective method to use with this digitally savvy target consumer (Fromm or Forbes, 2018) Following the initial introduction to BEE’s influencers, their will be a second campaign that is released closer to the launch event that will create a gamification sense around the brand, with each influencer that BEE works with revealing a different brand that will be at the event, creating more enthusiasm around the brand.

127

JANUARY

BRAND PACKAGES SENT OUT

FEBRUARY

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS SET UP PREVIOUSLY AND NOW PROMOTED LINKEDIN ADVERTISING

BRAND PACKAGES SENT TO SECONDARY SET OF BRANDS FOLLOW-UP COMMUNICATIONS VIA EMAIL BRAND ACTIVATION EVENT

MARCH PRESS RELEASE MEETING FOR CURRENT COLLABORATING BRANDS TO GET TO KNOW BEE

APRIL

BEGIN CONSUME-LEAD MARKETING BRAND AMBASSADOR INTRODUCED

GIVEAWAY CAMPAIGN INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK ADS CONTINUE MORE DIRECT MARKETING VIA EMAIL

MAY

FINAL PROMOTIONS PRIOR TO LAUNCH EVENT INFLUENCER MARKETING

JUNE

LINKEDIN ADVERTISING GOOGLE ADVERTISING BEE LAUNCH EVENT GOOGLE ADVERTISING INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK ADVERTISING

128

JULY SECOND INFLUENCER INTRODUCED CAMPAIGN CREATED USING CONTENT FROM LAUNCH EVENT SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING BRAND PACKAGES SENT OUT

TIMELINE: YEAR 1 AUGUST DIRECT MARKETING TO FOLLOW UP FROM PACKAGES GOOGLE ADVERTISING INFLUENCER MARKETING SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING

SEPTEMBER

SECOND BEE EVENT INFLUENCER MARKETING

PRIORITY ON LINKEDIN ADVERTISING

OCTOBER

GIVEAWAY CAMPAIGN

BRAND PACKAGES SENT OUT MORE CONTENT GENERATED FROM EVENT INFLUENCER MARKETING

NOVEMBER GOOGLE ADVERTISING PRIORITISE FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FOR SECONDARY CONSUMER DIRECT MARKETING INFLUENCER MARKETING

DECEMBER FINAL BEE EVENT OF THE YEAR GOOGLE ADVERTISING TO GENERATE FINAL TICKET SALES FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM ADVERTISING LINKEDIN ADVERTISING TO PREPARE FOR NEXT EVENT

FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS: YEAR 1 & 2 130

In order for the brand to grow, the marketing strategy will need to advance, which will be reflected in the communications. Following success in the first year, BEE will continue with the same online methods and platforms as they are suited to the consumers they aim to target. As the brand portfolio grows and the market is aware of BEE’s presence, advertising campaigns would be curated incorporating the brands within the BEE community in more of a collaboration format, starting within year 2. Furthermore, in year 3, BEE would launch a YouTube channel, working with popular ethical influencers such as, Grace Beverley (@gracefituk) and Steph Elswood (@healthychefsteph) to create content on educating the audience about sustainability. From using larger influencers, BEE could then introduce affiliate links within their communication plan, this would allow them to continue to grow their consumer base and create a mutual benefit for the influencer.

In order to interact with the consumer, BEE could use this channel to create Q&A videos to really respond to consumer needs and desires.

When looking at offline methods, BEE would like to introduce a distant competitor, The Event Academy into their community as they both share the same direction, being education-based. This would be aimed to reach a new consumer target, from more of a professional perspective as people in the industry would want to attend one of their talks.

Furthermore, following the 1st birthday of BEE, they would host a public relations (PR) event that would be used as a promotion technique, inviting brands they have previously worked with as well as, brands they want to invite into the community in the future and influencers; creating more social content from this and reaching new audiences.

The purpose would be to celebrate how far BEE have come within the first year and motivate other brands and consumers to get involved in a business opportunity with a socially responsible outlook behind it.

131

07.

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENENT

132

133

FINANCIAL AIM To create a functioning business model that can operate to its full potential whilst being selfsufficient and evidence the creation of strong revenue streams, that ensures profitability after the first year

FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES 1. To increase revenue by 150% by the 3rd year of operation to ensure that the events can continue to grow and improve; continuously reaching out to a wider target audience 2. To minimise expenditure within the year of launching, to increase the likelihood of profitability whilst remaining in keeping with the ethicality of the brand 3. To conduct a situational analysis of BEE’s financial environment to identify where they can make improvements; discovering at least 3 areas where more revenue can be generated or costs minimised

134

SOURCING CAPITAL

£33,000

£30,000

PERSONAL BANK LOAN

£3,000

OWN INVESTMENT

In order to start BEE and operate to its full potential when entering into a competitive market, BEE will require sourcing capital from external sources. This will allow them to conduct tasks that will contribute to the success of their launch event prior to generating revenue. BEE will need a total of £33,000 investment to counteract any expenses that allow the business make entry into the market.

This will be sourced from a bank loan of £30,000 (Natwest, 2019) and further in the year, if any more cash is required for investment, this will be done so from the company owner’s own finances. This is an idyllic route for BEE to take in order to minimise loan repayments and interest rates affecting their future profitability.

135

STARTUP COSTS ITEM

RATIONALE

COST

WEBSITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

The website’s functionality is purely for online purchases of tickets and account management.

Consumers will be able to create online accounts, manage their details and to track the sustainable pledges they have made (See Appendix 3).

Furthermore, due to the purpose of the website, it becomes a startup cost as it is a platform to generate ticket sales as opposed to its primary function being a form of promotion.

£2000

BUSINESS REGISTRATION

The business registration cost for BEE is at £40 rather than £12 as the brand does not wish to carry ‘limited’ within their company name and therefore, increases the cost. However, the brand name is an important statement and sets up their brand character and ethos so it is vital that it is exactly as designed.

£40

STAFFING

The first BEE event will take place in June, however, the brand will require help from their temporary staff in order to carry out tasks that will contribute to the physical setup of the event.

£1200

USE OF INFLUENCERS

BEE first launches in June, so the influencer costs have been accounted for until June and then the total sum has been included within the marketing budget. Within the first year, BEE plan to use two influencers of different followings and ages, this it to ensure that a wide reach is achieved across different audiences and consequently, increase brand awareness significantly. From primary research, this amount has been based on four posts per influencer up until June and the prices that these influencers will expect for their promotion (See Appendix 4 & 5)

£1000

TRADEMARK COST

In order to protect the brand and have access to trademark rights, BEE have factored in trademark registration costs. This will cost £170 (Gov.uk, 2019) and in doing so, will give BEE a reassurance that their innovation and signs will be protected from recreation. Furthermore, this also increases interest from investors.

£170

BRAND ACTIVATION EVENT

The brand activation event will take place in February at The Warehouse Cafe. The costs of this will be £500 to hire out the cafe and then £200 worth of food and beverage purchases for the guests attending. The purpose of this is to make the market aware of BEE’s upcoming launch as a new brand in the market.

£700

ITEM

RATIONALE

COST

ADVERTISING

BEE intends to use several online platforms for their advertising, Google, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. These campaigns will run continuously throughout the year in order to reach new consumers wherever possible and continue to increase brand awareness. This has been calculated at a monthly fee for all the platforms combined (See Appendix 28) and then reflected for the months prior to generating revenue in order to reveal the startup cost of advertising.

£2327

LAUNCH EVENT VENUE

The venue will need to be secured in advance of the BEE launch event in June as a formality, therefore, becoming a startup cost in order to secure this and allow a guarantee to consumers of the venue when purchasing tickets.

£2500

OFFICE RENT

This startup cost occurs in order for BEE to operate on a fully functional basis, especially as the office space is also utilised as a storage space for some of the event items. Therefore, this cost accounts for 4 months, up to June when the first event takes place and revenue is generated to help cover the costs.

£1520

BRAND INVITATION PACKAGES (OFFLINE MARKETING)

In order for the business to business communications to begin, the brand packages will need to be sent out to brands a considerable time before the launch and revenue comes in. The brands that BEE work with form part of the event and therefore, this needs to be arranged in advance to allow the brand portfolio for the launch event to be confirmed.

£1375

PRESS RELEASE

A press release will be conducted in March, before BEE has generated any revenue and therefore, becomes a startup cost. The press release total comes to £1590, based on information that hiring a professional writer is £390 (Head, 2015) and the advertising space itself is at £1200 (The Wire, 2019) with The Wire magazine having a similar audience size to Healthy magazine, which is where the press release will be published. The aim of this is to increase brand awareness further with the secondary consumer.

£1590

£14,422

137

MARKETING BUDGET YEARLY ACTIVITY

RATIONALE

COST

INFLUENCER POSTS

BEE will use a range of micro influencers to assist them in reaching out to their target audience to increase brand awareness. The main purpose for using influential brand ambassadors in the first year, is to spread awareness prior to BEE’s launch into the market, therefore BEE will use two influencers but several times throughout the year as this takes a realistic financial approach.

£1500

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Both primary and secondary consumer targets are typical users of certain social media platforms. It is essential for BEE to utilise social media marketing in order to successfully integrate with the consumer and brands they already affiliate themselves with.

Predominantly, BEE will use Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for consistent marketing. However, Snapchat will also be used when the event is running to involve the consumer, creating a personal relationship and adding to the sense of community.

£5584.80

PRINT MARKETING

BEE will use several forms of print marketing to achieve brand awareness. This process will commence within their B2B communications; the brand packages being the first point of communication in terms of print marketing, establishing a personal relationship between BEE and their B2B consumer.

More print marketing will be used within the events themselves, to continue promoting the brand when consumers are communicating with other brands simultaneously.

£3708

BRAND ACTIVATION EVENT

As BEE is a fresh brand entering the market, a brand activation event will be used to make consumers aware of the brand and what they offer to suit their possible needs. Guests will include influencers to also attract enthusiasm.

£700

The marketing budget explores the rationale behind the marketing costs from BEE’s first year of operation. Marketing costs within this year are considerably higher, as their initial goal is to build brand awareness through methods such as; the press release and brand activation event which are not used in the following years. A similar pattern can also be seen within the monthly budget, highlighting where the marketing costs are higher at the beginning of the year; generating awareness and interest in the brand, prior to its launch. The social media marketing costs have been worked out using the monthly cost for each platform, which has then been combined and will continuously operate throughout the year, aiming to result in high brand engagement.

ACTIVITY

RATIONALE

COST

DIRECT MARKETING

Direct marketing will be used by BEE in the form of email marketing in order to reach their B2B consumer as well and retain a point of communication with their B2B and B2C consumers post-event. BEE will achieve this through quarterly newsletters as it is important to maintain relationships, encouraging repeat purchases. BEE will carry out all email marketing internally through the contacts they have acquired throughout the business process; affiliate brands and customer accounts, all in keeping with GDPR regulations.

FREE

PRESS RELEASE

The press release is primarily aimed to reach the secondary consumer through the means of the Healthy magazine from Holland and Barrett; this is a reasonable assumption of where this consumer group may shop. This will be used as another offline method to increase brand awareness with this consumer and increase interest in the brand and the upcoming launch event.

£1590

£13,082.80

MONTHLY

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

-

£1292.4

£2055.4

£865.4

£592.4

£485.4

JUL

AUG

SEPT

OCT

NOV

DEC

£865.4

£592.4

£ 485.4

£ 865.4

£ 465.4

£485.4

139

TICKET SALES FORECAST STANDARD TIER TICKETS: YEAR 1 PURCHASE QUANTITY

VALUE

APRIL

50

£300

MAY

50

£300

JUNE

100

£600

JULY

60

£360

AUGUST

30

£180

SEPTEMBER

85

£510

OCTOBER

110

£660

NOVEMBER

155

£930

DECEMBER

80

£480 £4320

MID TIER TICKETS: YEAR 1 APRIL

PURCHASE QUANTITY 15

VALUE £165

MAY

25

£275

JUNE

50

£550

JULY

60

£360

AUGUST

40

£440

SEPTEMBER

45

£495

OCTOBER NOVEMBER

60 90

£660 £990

DECEMBER

30

£330 £4265

EXCLUSIVE TIER TICKETS: YEAR 1 PURCHASE QUANTITY

VALUE

APRIL

0

£0

MAY

3

£48

JUNE

7

£112

JULY

2

£32

AUGUST

6

£96

SEPTEMBER

7

£112

OCTOBER

8

£128

NOVEMBER

11

£176

DECEMBER

6

£96 £800

The sales forecast for ticket sales has been worked out using logical predictions; the quantities fail to go up regularly as this would not be reflective of how the consumer would shop.

This sales forecast allows BEE to understand that some months, purchases may be significantly more frequent than other months and how this would reflect in their sales and overall financial position. Although the quantities substantially increase, the same approach has been taken in years 2 and 3 (See Appendix 27)

141

COMMISSION FORECAST YEAR 1 PURCHASE VALUE

COMMISSION VALUE (15%)

JUNE

£3600

£540

SEPTEMBER

£3600

£540

DECEMBER

£7200

£1080 £2160

YEAR 2 PURCHASE VALUE

COMMISSION VALUE (15%)

MARCH

£10,800

£1620

JUNE

£14,400

£2160

SEPTEMBER

£18,000

£2700

DECEMBER

£18,000

£2700 £9180

142

YEAR 3 PURCHASE VALUE

COMMISSION VALUE (15%)

MARCH

£19,200

£2880

JUNE

£19,200

£2880

SEPTEMBER

£21,600

£3240

DECEMBER

£24,000

£3600 £9180

As part of BEE’s semi-collaboration B2B business model, BEE take 15% commission of the sales that affiliating brands make during the events. This has been worked out on an average that 60% of attendees make a purchase, bearing in mind they have purchased a ticket with some form of intention to buy or explore new sustainable brands and the total value here, is a combination of all brands present at the event (See Appendix 23)

143

BRAND PITCH CHARGES YEAR 2 QUANTITY

TOTAL VALUE

MARCH

15

£7500

JUNE

15

£7500

SEPTEMBER

20

£10,000

DECEMBER

20

£10,000 £35,000

YEAR 3 QUANTITY

TOTAL VALUE

MARCH

20

£10,000

JUNE

20

£10,000

SEPTEMBER

20

£10,000

DECEMBER

20

£10,000 £40,000

144

During the first year, BEE cannot offer a guarantee to their affiliate brands that taking part in the events will be increasingly beneficial to them, which is why there is no charge to operate at the events.

However, after the predicted sales and success in year 1, BEE will charge brands for pitch spaces during years 2 and 3. From secondary research, the prices for trade fair pitches vary (See Appendix 21 & 22), therefore a realistic average has been taken that accounts for the size of BEE as a business. Creating a price for a pitch at ÂŁ500 per brand and then the total accumulated value is calculated using the amount of brands at each event (See Appendix 21 & 22)

145

10.0

380.0

1,290.0

25.0

20.0

50.0

Office Supplies

Rent

Salaries, Benefits & Wages

Telecommunication

Travel

Website Maintenance

(5,530.4)

(3,830.4)

(2,925.4)

3,390.4

-

3,830.4

Earnings Before Interest & Taxes

5,530.4

-

Total Expenses

-

-

2,000.0

-

Website Development

50.0

20.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

-

865.4

465.0

-

750.0

170.0

Trademark Cost

50.0

20.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

-

2,055.4

-

-

Accountant

40.0

Business Registration

Stripe (E-Payment System)

253.0

Public Liability Insurance

-

1,292.4

-

Advertising & Promotion

Expenses

-

Gross Profit

-

465.0

-

-

Cost of Goods Sold

-

-

Total Net Revenue

-

-

-

APR

-

MAR

Revenue stream 2 - Commission %

FEB

465.0

JAN

(5,854.4)

3,177.4

-

750.0

50.0

80.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

-

592.4

(2,677.0)

3,300.0

623.0

-

623.0

MAY

(2,960.1)

4,762.1

-

750.0

91.7

50.0

80.0

25.0

2,890.0

380.0

10.0

-

485.4

1,802.0

1,802.0

540.0

1,262.0

JUN

(2,723.4)

3,390.4

-

750.0

50.0

20.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

-

865.4

667.0

-

667.0

-

667.0

JUL

(5,761.4)

3,177.4

-

750.0

50.0

80.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

-

592.4

(2,584.0)

3,300.0

716.0

-

716.0

AUG

(3,103.7)

4,760.7

-

750.0

90.3

50.0

80.0

25.0

2,890.0

380.0

10.0

-

485.4

1,657.0

1,657.0

540.0

1,117.0

SEP

(1,942.4)

3,390.4

-

750.0

50.0

20.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

-

865.4

1,448.0

-

1,448.0

-

1,448.0

OCT

(2,504.4)

3,050.4

-

750.0

50.0

80.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

-

465.4

546.0

1,550.0

2,096.0

-

2,096.0

NOV

PROFIT AND LOSS: YEAR 1

Revenue stream 1 - Ticket Sales

146 (1,254.5)

3,240.5

-

750.0

170.1

50.0

80.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

-

485.4

1,986.0

-

1,986.0

1,080.0

906.0

DEC

(32,180.5)

35,490.5

2,000.0

750.0

352.1

550.0

580.0

275.0

17,390.0

4,180.0

110.0

253.0

9,050.4

3,310.0

8,150.0

11,460.0

2,160.0

9,300.0

Full Year

9,300.0

45,500.0

63,075.0

Revenue stream 2 - Commission %

2,160.0

9,180.0

12,600.0

Revenue stream 3 - Brand Pitch Charges

-

35,000.0

40,000.0

Total Net Revenue

11,460.0

89,680.0

115,675.0

Cost of Goods Sold

8,150.0

18,600.0

20,250.0

Gross Profit

3,310.0

71,080.0

95,425.0

Advertising & Promotion

9,050.4

8,797.8

8,709.6

Public Liability Insurance

253.0

253.0

253.0

Office Supplies

110.0

120.0

120.0

Rent

4,180.0

4,560.0

4,560.0

Salaries, Benefits & Wages

17,390.0

24,280.0

25,080.0

Telecommunication

275.0

300.0

300.0

Travel

580.0

840.0

840.0

Website Maintenance

550.0

600.0

600.0

Stripe (E-Payment System)

352.1

1,636.6

2,255.1

Business Registration

40.0

Trademark Cost

170.0

Accountant

6,750.0

9,000.0

15,000.0

Website Development

2,000.0

-

-

Total Expenses

41,700.5

50,387.4

57,717.7

Earnings Before Interest & Taxes

(38,390.5)

20,692.6

37,707.3

Expenses

PROFIT AND LOSS: 3 YEAR OVERVIEW

Revenue stream 1 - Ticket Sales

From the profit and loss on BEE’s yearly financial position, it is clear that the overall view highlights the substantially high expenses that BEE will encounter during their first year, especially in comparison to their revenue. This leaves them with a loss at the end of the first year, allowing them to be aware that they need to either increase revenue or minimise costs in the future. It is understandable that their expenses are exceedingly high in this first year considering the substantial amount of promotion required to establish their brand within a competitive market. However, over the course of the following 2 years, it is evidenced that BEE will be able to sustain themselves and make back from such intimidating expenses as the brand continues to expand (See Appendix 26). Following the first year, BEE bolsters their revenue by generating more ticket sales as the brand proves their success through their initial events; leading to a new revenue stream being introduced in year 2, as the brand gains a prestige reputation in the market, BEE are able to charge brands for having a pitch at their event (See Appendix 24) BEE are able to minimise their marketing costs within the following years as the brand has gained significant awareness from the successful marketing strategies used upon entry into the market. Therefore, the following years do not need such a high spend on marketing; evidencing that the marketing strategy has been successful and allowing BEE to increase their profitability by minimising some expenses. Furthermore, as their brand reputation continues to improve, their ticket sales increase in quantity, allowing them to further sustain themselves financially and generate a healthy profit (See Appendix 25) This links back to one of the financial objectives, where BEE aim to increase revenue by 150% by their 3rd operating year, which can be seen to actually be achieved early, within year 2 because of their ability to add another revenue stream.

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

148

YEAR 1

-20%

FORECASTED FIGURES

+20%

TOTAL REVENUE

£9168

£11,460

£13,752

COST OF GOODS

£6520

£8150

£9780

GROSS PROFIT

£2648

£3310

£3972

FIXED COSTS

£41,700.50

£41,700.50

£41,700.50

NET PROFIT

(£39,052.50)

(£38,390.50)

(£37,728.50)

YEAR 2

-20%

FORECASTED FIGURES

+20%

TOTAL REVENUE

£71,744

£89,680

£107,616

COST OF GOODS

£14,880

£18,600

£22,320

GROSS PROFIT

£56,864

£71,080

£85,296

FIXED COSTS

£50,387.40

£50,387.40

£50,387.40

NET PROFIT

£6476.60

£20,692.60

£34,908.60

YEAR 3

-20%

FORECASTED FIGURES

+20%

TOTAL REVENUE

£92,540

£115,675

£138,810

COST OF GOODS

£16,200

£20,250

£24,300

GROSS PROFIT

£76,340

£95,425

£114,510

FIXED COSTS

£57,717.70

£57,717.70

£57,717.70

NET PROFIT

£18,622.30

£37,707.30

£56,792.30

The sensitivity analysis explores the revenue, fixed costs and gross profit from the first year of BEE’s profit and loss accounts, visualising what will happen to BEE’s financial position if it were to increase and decrease by 20%. In year 1, the business still remains in a loss regardless of a 20% increase in revenue therefore, confirming the requirement of investment throughout the year.

However, within year 2 and 3, BEE generates a substantial amount more revenue whilst controlling their cost changes, resulting in a healthy profit even with the decrease in 20%. Conducting a sensitivity analysis is valuable to the business to take a realistic financial approach; understanding that the profit and loss is based on projections and can have some differences in reality.

149

150

30,000

24,469.60

5530.4

Closing Cash balance

0

Total o/hs

30,000

30,000

Cash Injection

0

feb

Opening balance 30,000 cash

0

Total revenue

jan

20,639.20

24,469.60

3830.4

0

mar

17,713.80

20,639.20

3390.4

465

apr

15,159.40

17,713.80

3177.4

623

may

3390.4

667

jul

12,199.30

9,475.90

15,159.40 12,199.30

4762.1

1802

june

4760.7

1657

sept

7,014.50 3,910.80

9,475.90 7,014.50

3177.4

716

aug

1968.4

3,910.80

3390.4

1448

oct

1314

1968.4

3050.4

300

2096

nov

59.5

1314

3240.5

1986

dec

CASH FLOW FORECAST Conducting a cash flow forecast has allowed BEE to identify the requirement of investment that they will need during the first year, in order to maintain a positive flow of cash to operate the business. An investment of £30,000 has been injected at the beginning of the year, before any costs have been deducted to ensure that BEE can survive the year financially with ease.

The total sum has been acquired through a personal bank loan (Natwest, 2019) which can be repaid within a period up to 10 years which will be manageable for BEE when compared to their profit and loss, highlighting their growth and profits in years 2 and 3. This investment allows for a steady flow throughout the year without BEE having to operate with significantly low funds, however, a second injection of £300 has been required further in the year which will be invested from the owner of the business’ savings just to keep the business protected for the last few months. At the end of the year, BEE will be left with £59.50 to allow for any small unforeseen costs throughout the year.

151

MEASURES OF SUCCESS BEE will use key performance indicators to measure their success ensuring that they can implement the findings in how they operate in the future. This is valuable to the brand in identifying where they have made significant achievements and identify where they can continue to improve on. KPI’s that are based on financial aspects can be used to pinpoint where the business is not being optimised and allow BEE to respond accordingly. Similarly, the KPI’s that focus on the marketing and branding of the concept can distinguish the leading methods of advertising and communicating with the target consumer, allowing BEE to put more reliance on these in the future.

PERFORMANCE AREA

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR Quantity of tickets sold and how this progresses Volume of product sales at the event

BRAND PERFORMANCE

Profitability from ticket sales Percentage of commission generated from brands partaking in the event Quantity of tickets sold and how this progresses Advertising exposure; click-through rates to the BEE website Increased following on social media accounts

BRAND AWARENESS

Impressions from advertising and posts on social media; showing customer reach Features in publications such as, magazines or articles Track engagement through uses of the brand’s hashtags (#BEEsustainable) Participants in social media giveaways

BRAND ENGAGEMENT

Quantity of customer accounts via the BEE website Regular use of customer accounts; keeping pledges up-to-date Number of customers signed up to the BEE mailing list Regular use of online account Attending events frequently

BRAND LOYALTY

Promotes the brand and experience through their own social media accounts Continues use of brands from the events (trackable through their online account) Purchases of BEE membership

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RISK ASSESSMENT BEE have conducted an analysis of possible risks to the business; both internally and externally. This allows them to create contingency plans to avoid any negative impacts that could hinder their profitability.

RISK

Temporary staff contracts

Difficult to consistently improve aspects of each event

Investment

Reliance on educated predictions

THREAT

IMPACT

PREVENTION

Creates a lack of consistency within the retail experience. This could create an unreliable business structure as the staff are required for the event to be properly accomplished.

BEE need to ensure they employ enough staff members to account for illness and no-shows. There are several temping agencies that have access to a substantial sources of staffing, so with enough planning, BEE could avoid this. When the business grows, BEE would be able to afford employing staff on a full-time basis.

MID

Customers could get bored of the same themes etc and this could ruin existing and growing brand loyalty

BEE will create pre-planned content in advance. As the brand grows, BEE will be able to increase their budgets to adapt and contribute to the functions of each event. Additionally, once the business is able to expand, permanent staff could be employed in order to constantly maintain the planning process.

HIGH

If BEE are not able to source the needed capital to start operation, they may not be able to execute the business concept to its fullest potential

Create a financial contingency plan that identifies other possible sources of investment.

MID/HIGH

If some aspects of the business concept do not fulfil the predictions that have been made, it could significantly set back the business

BEE will need to ensure that they have considered several ways that predictions could change and consider how these changes could affect their business

LOW

INTERNAL

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EXTERNAL RISK

THREAT

IMPACT

PREVENTION

HIGH

The venue has a catalyst affect on the quality of the event, especially for the launch event which sets the tone and reputation for the brand. Therefore, if the venue does not reflect the brand and allow the process to flow smoothly, consumers and affiliating brands would lose enthusiasm towards BEE.

BEE would need to arrange a date and venue extremely far in advance to prevent this. This may require an earlier payment so BEE would need to factor this in and ensure it is financially feasible for them.

Dependence on affiliating brands

MID

It may be challenging for BEE to get brands on board with becoming part of their community as they are a startup brand. If brands were to cancel last minute, this could ruin the experience for the end consumer.

Constant communication with the brands will be required to ensure efficient, smooth transition. BEE should identify a secondary set of brands to contact as a contingency plan to ensure that they avoid consumer disappointment.

Inflation of venue costs

MID/HIGH

Changes to location could affect the logistics and running of the event.

Current market research would be wasted

Constant market research being conducted to ensure affordable prices are being found and maintained to remain in keeping with budgets

HIGH

BEE will need to sell enough tickets to not only make the business profitable but to ensure that the events are successful. A low consumer turnout could lead to the events seeming empty and deflated which would negatively impact brand reputation.

Creating a constant flow of incentives and ‘buzz’ around the brand Low unexpected profitability and could impact relationship with brands if they are not receiving enough benefit from collaboration

HIGH

If the marketing and communication plans do not receive the expected results, BEE may find it challenging to fully carry out their events as they are substantially focused on the consumer.

BEE will need to ensure that they have planned to use several different platforms, ensuring they attempt to achieve maximum reach to their target consumers. Furthermore, the content of their communications should be thought-provoking to increase brand engagement and marketing success.

Relying on venues (lack of availability)

Unmet expectations of ticket sales

Marketing campaigns do not reach enough consumers

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FUTURE GROWTH As BEE grows and their profitability increases, they will have the ability to add new aspects to their brand which will allow them to further increase their market share. An idea that BEE could implement within their business could be to create events dedicated to fundraising, giving a percentage of ticket sales to a charity. This would achieve further emphasis on the brand values and set themselves as an inspiration within the market, additionally supporting the consumer and their sustainable journey. Supporting charities would continue to differentiate BEE within the events market and contribute to the impactful community that they have created.

BEE’s main brand values focus on using community-building and education, to positively change societal attitudes towards sustainability. Therefore, if BEE were to conduct a brand extension, branching their events out into schools, they could achieve this by educating students at such a vital age in the formation of their values and ideals.

The school events could be created to target both the student and parents in order to expand the BEE community and its consumer base.

After several more years of healthy profits, BEE could extend the services they offer by creating an internal consultancy service.

The purpose behind this would be to create longer lasting relationships between both new and previous B2B consumer; maintaining growth.

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08.

EVALUATION

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OBJECTIVE REVIEW OBJECTIVE To comprehensively explore the insights and process that have lead to creation of the business concept; allowing a full understanding of the identified gap within the market

To identify important influences within the market that could impact the business and its response within the market

ASSESSMENT The report gives evidence of referral back to the stage one research project to consolidate the identified gap Primary research has been used to understand whether the proposed business concept would solve this problem in the eyes of possible target consumers The report has explored industry trends such as, the learning economy and market drivers in several different areas. This has then been reflected on how it has influenced consumer behaviour The report has considered how the market influences have impacted the market and consumers to respond accordingly within the business

To recognise and analyse the markets that the business intends to operate in and uncover possible competitors and how their positioning could affect the business

The report has identified both primary and secondary competitors in its direct and indirect markets. This has allowed an extensive analysis on how they operate and to identify how BEE can differentiate within the market

To visually propose methods of innovative marketing methods, helping the reader understand how the concept would use promotion to reach the target audience

The report has presented several different methods of communication, using both online and offline methods to reach each group of their target consumer Sales forecasts have been conducted for each revenue stream, for 3 years. This indicates a detailed exploration of how BEE will become profitable and identifies changes in revenue and self-sufficiency

To demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the business’ financial situation and give supporting evidence to the financial sustainability and potential

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Profit and loss accounts have been created for 3 years to deeply analyse how the expenses can affect profitability on a monthly basis and therefore, identifies where costs may be too high The cash flow identifies how much investment is required to start the business and where in the year it needs to be injected. This allows BEE to plan ahead and ensure they can remain financially sustainable

CONCLUSION

The insights uncovered from previous research, provided the opportunity for BEE to be created and enter the events market; satisfying an undeniable consumer need. Throughout each stage of the report, BEE has presented its viability through a considered business plan. BEE have proven that there is a gap in the market through primary research; validating the concept and confirming the need from the perspective of several different stakeholders; the end consumer included. The report has presented that BEE can conduct an extensive situational analysis and understand their position in the market, in order to correctly identify an appropriate target consumer. Additionally, the marketing strategy has been thoroughly planned to ensure that BEE have the means to reach the target consumer, successfully integrate the B2B and B2C aspects of the brand and create significant brand awareness. Therefore, it is certain that BEE could enter a saturated market and thrive in changing consumer attitudes towards sustainability, encourage education and attempt to make a path to a more sustainable future.

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APPENDIX APPENDIX 1 Q.1

Q.2

Q.3

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Q.4

Q.5

Q.6

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Q.7

Q.8

162

Q.9

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APPENDIX 2 GROUPED RESEARCH FINDINGS FROM ONLINE SURVEY 1. Do you find it hard to access information on how to be sustainable and which brands to buy from?

73.8% YES 15.5% NO 10.7% MAYBE 2. Would you attend an event that aimed to promote ethical local businesses and educate on sustainability in an immersive atmosphere?

47.6% YES 35.9% MAYBE 16.5% NO 3. How much would you be willing to pay for an event like this?

42.7% FREE 35% £5-£10 15.5% £11-£15 4.9% £16-£20 19% £21+ 4. Would you be interested in paying a subscription or membership fee that allowed for extra rewards eg. discounted tickets, access to VIP events, more free samples?

40.8% YES 36.9% MAYBE 22.3% NO 5. What types of sustainable brands and products would you most like to see at these events?

FOOD AND DRINK - 82 respondents (79.6%) FASHION - 57 respondents (55.3%) BEAUTY - 63 respondents (61.2%) HOMEWARE - 50 respondents (48.5%) HEALTHY LIVING - 44 respondents (42.7%) 6. What types of things would you like to experience at one of these events?

FREE SAMPLES - 85 respondents (82.5%) GUEST TALKS - 65 respondents (63.1%) FOOD AND DRINKS - 60 respondents (58.3%) NETWORKING - 32 respondents (31.1%) EXHIBITIONS - 38 respondents (36.9%) CATWALKS - 18 respondents (17.5%) OUTDOOR EVENTS DURING HOLIDAYS - 1 respondent (1%)

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7. Do you have any feedback on the event concept? (Both positive and negative thoughts are valuable).

POSITIVE Education / build awareness = 3 Free samples = 1 NEGATIVE Price = 2 IMPROVEMENTS Price / accessibility = 2 Independent / local brands = 2 Incentives = 1 Waste = 1 Needed more context / detail = 1

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APPENDIX 3 EMAIL INTERVIEW WITH WEBSITE DEVELOPER, IAN TREMBIRTH DATE: 10/04/19 SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL Hello, I am in the final stage of my dissertation at Nottingham Trent University; creating a business concept and marketing strategy to address the lack of knowledge in consumers surrounding sustainability. I would be exceedingly grateful if you could answer a few questions on website development to contribute to my research and understanding. Thank you and hope to hear back from you soon.

DATE: 10/04/19 SENDER: IAN TREMBIRTH Hi Aliyah, Great to hear from you. I’d be more than happy to help so any questions you have about website development, send them over!

DATE: 10/04/19 SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL Throughout my extensive research, consumers revealed that they had a major desire to act more sustainably, yet they were unaware of how to do this; struggling to identify ethical brands and unaware of how and where to acquire substantial knowledge. Nothing catered for getting consumers excited and interested in sustainability whilst changing their behaviours without almost forcing it upon them. Therefore, I came up with the concept of BEE (Be Ethical Events), an event agency that intends to run events across the UK, every 3 months in order to educate consumers in a fun, immersive space. The events would feature several stalls promoting local ethical brands and customers would be able to buy from them, attend industry expert talks and receive free samples; creating a sense of local community. The business makes money through ticket sales, AdSense and a commission of sales from the brands involved at the events.

1. How much would it roughly cost if I were to hire a freelance web developer to create my website, it would be purely for consumers to purchase tickets and create / access their online accounts?

2. Would a website like this need much regular maintenance and what cost?

If you could share any other advice or knowledge on the finance and logistics behind it, that would be great. Thanks!

DATE: 17/04/19 SENDER: IAN TREMBIRTH Hi there, Ok, I’ll try and answer your question as best I can.

1. To build even a basic website would cost you at least £1,500 I would think to get things off the ground. Freelancers charge different prices though so you’d expect to get quotes way above that and a few below but for just a ticket purchasing site with account management that is where my quote would be.

2. There would be ongoing costs to consider - site hosting costs vary depending on how reliable you want the service to be (a site hosted by Amazon or Microsoft for instance would cost around £50 per month). You’d also need an SSL certificate to “secure” the site, costing around £50 per year.

Maintenance from the company that built the site would be minimal, if they did a good job you’d be able to add events as and when you require and keep an eye on everything yourself. The hosting fees should include monitoring of the site to make sure nothing is going wrong and keep on top of any security updates should they be needed which will depend on the platform you use. Wordpress for example is very labour intensive in terms of updates but you’ll find the initial cost of the site less than I quoted in 1. You’d also be charged for any new features, say if you wanted to add “early bird pricing” to an event and you’d not used that before or you wanted to add a membership scheme with discounts. These would be new features not on the original site so would be chargeable.

There’s also credit card fees. This varies widely from company to company and depending on if you have a merchant account with a bank. I recomend Stripe and would strongly oppose PayPal. Stripe is easy for a developer to add to an account and costs are 1.2% commission + 20p. PayPal is a lot more difficult to integrate (so would cost more - I charge a lot extra just to put people off) and the costs to the retailer are far more. PayPal also charge for refunds I believe, Stripe don’t.

Then there’s SEO and other marketing. How are you going to let the world know about your site and events? Are you going to let the events deal with that side of thing and just point to your site or are you going to be proactive in getting people to book through your site onto the events. Whatever you spend on your site initially, you will be spending a lot more on the SEO if you want your site to be seen.

I hope that answers your questions, if you need any more information, just let me know. Good luck with the rest of your dissertation.

DATE:26/04/19 SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL Thank you :) Please could you confirm if I am able to use your name within my work and if not I can keep your identity confidential.

DATE:26/04/19 SENDER: IAN TREMBIRTH No problem, feel free to use my name.

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APPENDIX 4 EMAIL INTERVIEW WITH BLOGGER, LISA COLE (LESS STUFF BLOG) DATE: 23/04/19 SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL Hello, I previously contacted you via Instagram to discuss possible interest in promoting my business concept (theoretical) for my dissertation at Nottingham Trent University. To sum up the business concept again, it is an event management brand called BEE (Be Ethical Events) that helps educate attendees through inspirational talks with industry experts and introducing them to sustainable brands in a stall / marketplace format within the venue. I am aware you said you charge for brands that earn revenue, BEE’s revenue streams will be through ticket sales and a small commission % from the brand’s sales at the events, however we would not charge them for attending and if they made no sales they would not pay anything, essentially giving them free exposure. For some financial background context, it is a startup business and the first year revenue projection currently sits at £10,900 but is outweighed by high startup costs of approximately £50,000 so BEE would not be making a profit in the first year.

1) If you were to promote our brand prior to its launch event, how much would you need to charge so I can use this in my financial research and figures.

Again, a reminder that this is theoretical and I just need to evidence that my business concept is viable in gaining support and promotion from influential bloggers. Thank you.

DATE: 23/04/19 SENDER: LISA COLE Hi Aliyah If I’m writing it, I charge £200 for a sponsored post. If it is written by you and placed on the site the cost is £40. Both those would include 9 Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts linking back to the article.

I’d also suggest that I take a percentage of the tickets sold though my links, so I’d be an affiliate.

Lisa Cole

DATE: 23/04/19 SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL Thank you very much for your quick responses. That’s great information and really valuable to my research and concept validation.

DATE: SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL Yes, thank you. Please could you confirm if I am able to use your name within my work, and if not I can keep your identity confidential.

Aliyah DATE: SENDER: LISA COLE Yes you can use my name and website, best of luck with it!

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APPENDIX 5 EMAIL INTERVIEW WITH MICRO INFLUENCER, KATERINA JURASOVA (@plantbasedkat) DATE: 25/04/19 SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL Hello, I previously contacted you via Instagram to discuss being part of my dissertation research at Nottingham Trent University. To sum up the business concept, it is an event management brand called BEE (Be Ethical Events) that helps educate attendees through inspirational talks with industry experts and introduce them to sustainable brands in a stall / marketplace format within the venue. BEE’s revenue streams will be through ticket sales and a small commission % from the brand’s sales at the events, however we would not charge them for attending (in the first year) and if they made no sales they would not pay anything, essentially giving them free exposure. For some financial background context, it is a startup business and the first year revenue projection currently sits at £11,500 but is outweighed by high startup costs of approximately £36,000 so BEE would not be making a profit in the first year.

1) (This is purely theoretical) If this were a real business concept, is it something you would consider or be interested in promoting through your social media platforms?

2) How much would you charge for the brand to use you as an influencer / brand ambassador?

Again, a reminder that this is theoretical and I just need to evidence that my business concept is viable in gaining support and promotion from influential bloggers. Thank you.

DATE: 25/04/19 SENDER: KATERINA JURASOVA Hello, I would be definitely interested in promoting this business concept but probably only if I would be able to attend the event too, so I could tell if my promotion was worthwhile and truthful. However, I think it’s a great idea to promote ethical brands/products etc so I wouldn’t mind promoting this since the beginning.

I would probably charge around £50. I wouldn’t consider myself as a big influencer, so I think this price is reasonable.

I hope this helps! If there are any more questions, let me know.

DATE: 26/04/19 SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL Thank you so much for your help. Please could you confirm if I am able to use your name within my work, and if not I can keep your identity confidential.

DATE: 26/04/19 SENDER: KATERINA JURASOVA Hello, Of course you can use my name!

DATE: 26/04/19 SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL Thank you so much for your help. Please could you confirm if I am able to use your name within my work, and if not I can keep your identity confidential.

DATE: 26/04/19 SENDER: KATERINA JURASOVA Hello, Of course you can use my name!

Kat x

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APPENDIX 6 EMAIL INTERVIEW WITH DR. JEFF BRAY SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL DATE: 24/03/19 Hello again, I hope you are well. I hope it is okay to contact you again and I understand this is an exceedingly busy time of year.

However, I am in the final stage of my dissertation at Nottingham Trent University; creating a business concept and marketing strategy to address the lack of knowledge in consumers surrounding sustainability. I have decided to create an events agency that will run events across the UK, in major cities to promote local ethical and sustainable businesses and educate attendees in an immersive space. I would be exceedingly grateful if you could answer a few more questions to contribute to my research as your help was significantly valued in the last stage and I had been advised to attempt further contact for your insight and opinion. Thank you and hope to hear back from you soon.

SENDER: DR. JEFF BRAY DATE: 26/03/19 Will do my best to help. What are you asking for, an email exchange or phone chat?

Jeff

SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL DATE: 26/03/19 Thank you so much. An email exchange would be ideal if that’s okay with you. I can send the questions over today for you to respond whenever is a suitable time for you.

SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL DATE: 26/03/19 Throughout my extensive research, consumers revealed that they had a major desire to act more sustainably, yet they were unaware of how to do this; struggling to identify ethical brands and unaware of how and where to acquire substantial knowledge. Nothing catered for getting consumers excited and interested in sustainability whilst changing their behaviours without almost forcing it upon them. Therefore, I came up with the concept of BEE (Be Ethical Events), an event agency that intends to run events across the UK, every 3 months in order to educate consumers in a fun, immersive space. The events would feature several stalls promoting local ethical brands and customers would be able to buy from them, attend industry expert talks and receive free samples; creating a sense of local community.

1.

What is your initial feedback and opinion on the business concept?

2.

What demographic of consumer do you think it is most likely to attract and benefit?

3..

What channels would be optimal for marketing these events?

4. Theoretically, as validation for the concept, if the opportunity were available to you, would you attend an event like this as a guest speaker? And if not, would you attend as a consumer?

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SENDER: DR. JEFF BRAY DATE: 29/03/19 Hi Aliyah, Some quick thoughts… not necessarily fully considered (sorry, but reality of the moment)…

Sounds an interesting concept – not sure how you could effectively commercialise i.e. ensure the financial sustainability/viability of such events. For them to be successful there would need to be extensive PR to generate consumer interest and engagement & this takes time/money to achieve. So a good idea – but, could it be done.

Demographic is likely to be younger – student age – possibly it could thus be organised on University campus which would ensure significant footfall & local organisers could promote effectively to the student population?

Working age may lack the time/commitment to fully engage. BUT for the most part the student consumer is more concerned with fashion and being ‘on trend’ and won’t be prepared to compromise on this & so, like with other ethical products it has to function optimally & then have ethics as an added benefit rather than be positioned on ethics. I think of coffee – people won’t buy fair trade coffee. They will buy tasty coffee & if it is fair trade then great.

The dominant attribute of choice will for the majority of consumers never be the ethicality.

Social media marketing would be most cost effective & hopefully identifying a small passionate group to nurture a viral spread of the message. For my generation (old) Facebook would be the best platform but I think this might not be the case for students of today? You would know this better.

Happy to be involved in discussions as this develops, but I would be cautious re. attending as guest speaker – maybe it could work, but my diary and commitments make it tricky for me to do such things & while I have an interest in this area my research has progressed in a different direction in recent years & so perhaps I am not fully up to date. I guess you could find better people than me!

Best of luck with this, Jeff

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APPENDIX 7 EMAIL INTERVIEW WITH ONE FIVE EIGHT FIVE (SUSTAINABLE HOMEWARE BRAND) SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL DATE: 23/04/19 Hello, I am in the final stage of my dissertation at Nottingham Trent University; creating a business concept and marketing strategy to address the lack of knowledge in consumers surrounding sustainability. I have decided to create an events agency that will run events across the UK, in major cities to promote local ethical and sustainable businesses and educate attendees in an immersive space. I wanted to contact you to see if, theoretically, this is something your brand would be interested in taking part in to validate my idea for my research.

If you have any questions or wish to know about the process in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you and I hope to hear back from you soon.

SENDER: ONE FIVE EIGHT FIVE DATE: 23/04/19 Hello Aliyah, Thank you for reaching out to us, this sounds like a wonderful project and we wish you lots of success with it!

Its lovely to hear that you will be focusing on the consumers knowledge on sustainability as this is crucial part of the chain that is often forgotten about. Before we say to taking part I would like to know a bit more about what you would need from us, the process, timeline etc SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL DATE: 23/04/19 Throughout my extensive research, consumers revealed that they had a major desire to act more sustainably, yet they were unaware of how to do this; struggling to identify ethical brands and unaware of how and where to acquire substantial knowledge. Nothing catered for getting consumers excited and interested in sustainability whilst changing their behaviours without almost forcing it upon them. Therefore, I came up with the concept of BEE (Be Ethical Events), an event agency that intends to run events across the UK, every 3 months in order to educate consumers in a fun, immersive space. The events would feature several stalls promoting local ethical brands and customers would be able to buy from them, attend industry expert talks and receive free samples; creating a sense of local community. I would not charge the brands involved for becoming part of the BEE community but instead, take a commission % from sales at the events which would be agreed beforehand.

If this is something you would theoretically consider, it would be wonderful so I can evidence in my work, that I would be able to get relevant brands involved.

SENDER: ONE FIVE EIGHT FIVE DATE: 24/04/19 Hi Aliyah, Thank you for the extra info.

This is something we would theoretically consider so you can include us in your work.

Best wishes

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APPENDIX 8 EMAIL INTERVIEW WITH ZAO MAKEUP (SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY BRAND) THE BRAND WAS CONTACTED VIA A CONTACT FORM THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE: SENDER: ALIYAH TURNBULL DATE: 03/04/19 Hello, I am in the final stage of my dissertation at Nottingham Trent University; creating a business concept and marketing strategy to address the lack of knowledge in consumers surrounding sustainability. I have decided to create an events agency that will run events across the UK, in major cities to promote local ethical and sustainable businesses and educate attendees in an immersive space. I wanted to contact you to see if, theoretically, this is something your brand would be interested in taking part in to validate my idea for my research.

If you have any questions or wish to know about the process in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you and I hope to hear back from you soon.

SENDER: ZAO MAKEUP (LYNDSEY) DATE: 11/04/19 Dear Aliyah, Thank you for your email. Apologies regarding the slow reply, as we always need to attend to essential business operations as a priority. ZAO UK distributes the French brand ZAO, and as such we don’t participate in retail events ourselves, but instead our retailers do this on our behalf. Furthermore, as a small and stand-alone company that is separate from ZAO France, we are very busy with day-to-day operations and so don’t get involved in events ourselves.

However if this idea becomes a reality, some of our retailers may be interested.

I hope this is helpful and thank you for your interest in ZAO. Kind Regards Lyndsey @ Zao Essence of Nature UK

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APPENDIX 9 FOCUS GROUP TRANSCRIPT (AGES 20-22) Question 1: What is your general opinion of sustainability?

Participant 5: I think people are talking about it a lot, but not actually doing enough about it *All Participants Agree* Participant 1: I feel like there’s so much to be done, and it’s not happening, its quite scary really Question 2: Do you think it’s hard to educate yourself on sustainability, its consequences and how to act more sustainably? *All Participants Agree* Participant 1: Unless you like go out of your way to do loads of reading but then where do you even start? It’s not clear how anyone would go about learning more about sustainability from actually credible sources Participant 4: I think a lot of people also don’t have the time to go about finding different methods to educate themselves, I personally wouldn’t Question 3: Explain insight and brand concept / moodboard, what is your initial opinion and do you have any questions or feedback?

Participant 1: I think it’s a really good idea because the whole thing with sustainability is that it needs to be more fun and engaging to get people involved and accessible for them. It’s really far fetched at the minute Participant 5: Is it just to promote and educate on fashion brands? *Explain further that it covers several brand sectors such as, homeware, beauty, food* Participant 5: Oh yeah I love that, that’s really good Participant 3: I like that because it puts it all into one space, because I wouldn’t know where to start to find any of this Participant 1: If it’s a setting like the clothes show, I would be interested in having some sort of tier system with ticket pricing Question 4: Do you think you would use this service and attend an event if it was local to you? *All Participants say Yes* Participant 1: Is it going to be free? *Explains pricing structure* Participant 1: I would definitely pay that Participant 4: The businesses that you’re promoting, are they going to pay you? *Explains that I will take percentage of sales rather than a base fee, as they are startup brands so it wouldn’t be financially realistic for them* Participant 5: If i decided to get a subscription, and I attended several events, would each event be different? *Explains the local structure to the business model* Participant 5: That’s really good that would keep me interested Question 5: How much would you be willing to pay or would you only attend if it was free? (If it were free, it would be a lot more restricted in terms of content) Participant 1: I think up to £10 Participant 2: Definitely at least £5 Participant 1: I think people with more disposable income who are environmentally conscious would definitely pay a lot. But being a student I wouldn’t pay more than £10 Participant 4: It’s better to pay and get more out of it rather than it being free and not as good as it would defeat the company goal and wouldn’t achieve any changes Participant 2: I think after you’ve been a few times as well, you’d probably be more inclined to pay more or subscribe if it’s something you’re genuinely interested in clothing to showcase it Participant 2: That would definitely help push social media coverage too

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Question 6: Would you consider upgrading to a subscription / membership fee where you had discounts on tickets, access to VIP events etc?

Participant 5: Yeah Participant 2: If you went a few times and really enjoyed it, I think it’s good that you have the option to go for £5 and then subscribe after that Question 7: Do you think it’s better to have a yearly membership or monthly subscription structure?

Participant 3: I don’t know because if one was really far away from me, I realistically wouldn’t drive or travel to see the local business in that area Participant 5: I think monthly Participant 2: Yeah because then they can cancel accordingly, if it gets too expensive or they can’t attend for a while Participant 4: Yeah definitely monthly

Question 8: What brand sectors would you want to see if you were to attend an event like this?

Participant 2: I think I’d find beauty quite interesting Participant 1: Beauty yeah Participant 3: All of them really, I don’t know what is sustainable in terms of anything so I would want to experience as much as possible Participant 5: I think fashion, because people are more reluctant to pay more for sustainable clothing. So I feel like this would help consumers become more open minded to buying more into it Question 9: What would you like to experience whilst you were there? *All Participants agree on free samples* Participant 5: Little nibbles and canapes Participant 1: Catwalks would be really cool for the fashion brands, you never see people doing much with sustainable Question 10: Any final comments or feedback?

Participant 5: If the business was really successful, how would you use the money to grow?

Participant 3: Yeah that’s true, what if you’ve been to 5 events and you want something different? *Using bigger, global brands, celebrity visitors and talks* Participant 3: I guess the more popular it got, the more people would want to be there and the same with brands as well Participant 4: Go to different cities, maybe even globally Participant 1: You could do a week long education retreat of some sort

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APPENDIX 10 CONCEPT VALIDATION INSTAGRAM POLL

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APPENDIX 11 COLOUR PALETTE VALIDATION INSTAGRAM POLL

APPENDIX 12 LOGO VALIDATION INSTAGRAM POLL

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APPENDIX 13 FOCUS GROUP CONSENT FORMS

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APPENDIX 14 AXA BUSINESS INSURANCE QUOTE

APPENDIX 15 NOW BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATION QUOTE

APPENDIX 16 RIGHTMOVE OFFICE RENT QUOTE

178

APPENDIX 17 GLASSDOOR TEMPORARY EVENT STAFF HOURLY RATES

APPENDIX 18 BUSINESS CHARGES FOR USING STRIPE (E-PAYMENT SYSTEM)

APPENDIX 19 - WORKINGS FOR STRIPE CHARGES PER TRANSACTION

APPENDIX 20 - WORKINGS FOR TICKET SALES AND REVENUE YR1

APPENDIX 21 - WORKINGS FOR TICKET SALES AND REVENUE YR2

APPENDIX 22 - WORKINGS FOR TICKET SALES AND REVENUE YR3

APPENDIX 23 - WORKINGS FOR BRAND COMMISSION %

180

1,950.0

Gross Profit

10.0 380.0 25.0 100.0

50.0

253.0

750.0

10.0

380.0

1,290.0

25.0

10.0

-

3,814.4

(1,864.4)

Website Maintenance

Insurance

Accountant

Office Supplies

Rent

Salaries, Benefits & Wages

Telecommunication

Travel

Stripe (E-Payment System)

Total Expenses

Earnings Before Interest & Taxes

(0.4)

3,070.4

-

1,290.0

750.0

-

50.0

1,046.4

465.4

3,070.0

7,300.0

Advertising & Promotion

Expenses

-

Cost of Goods Sold

(627.2)

4,952.2

281.8

100.0

25.0

2,890.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

465.4

4,325.0

-

4,325.0

1,950.0

Total Net Revenue

10,370.0

-

7,500.0

-

2,705.0

Revenue stream 3 - Brand Pitch Charges

2,870.0

MAR

1,620.0

1,950.0

FEB

Revenue stream 2 - Commission %

Revenue stream 1 - Ticket Sales

JAN

APPENDIX 24 - PROFIT AND LOSS YEAR 2

181

(338.4)

3,488.4

-

10.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

973.4

3,150.0

-

3,150.0

-

3,150.0

APR

2,116.6

3,778.4

-

100.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

1,173.4

5,895.0

5,600.0

11,495.0

7,500.0

3,995.0

MAY

(510.2)

5,850.2

379.8

100.0

25.0

3,690.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

465.4

5,340.0

-

5,340.0

-

2,160.0

3,180.0

JUN

141.6

3,488.4

-

10.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

973.4

3,630.0

-

3,630.0

-

3,630.0

JUL

9,689.6

3,270.4

-

100.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

665.4

12,960.0

3,100.0

16,060.0

10,000.0

6,060.0

AUG

852.4

5,957.6

487.2

100.0

25.0

3,690.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

465.4

6,810.0

-

6,810.0

-

2,700.0

4,110.0

SEP

251.6

3,488.4

-

10.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

973.4

3,740.0

-

3,740.0

-

3,740.0

OCT

10,679.6

3,270.4

-

100.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

665.4

13,950.0

2,600.0

16,550.0

10,000.0

6,550.0

NOV

Full Year

4,560.0

120.0

9,000.0

253.0

600.0

8,797.8

71,080.0

18,600.0

89,680.0

35,000.0

301.7

5,958.3

487.9

100.0

25.0

20,692.6

50,387.4

1,636.6

840.0

300.0

3,690.0 24,280.0

380.0

10.0

750.0

-

50.0

465.4

6,260.0

-

6,260.0

-

2,700.0 9,180.0

3,560.0 45,500.0

DEC

4,165.0

-

4,165.0

Total Net Revenue

Cost of Goods Sold

Gross Profit

25.0

10.0

Telecommunication

Travel

8,009.6

3,970.4

100.0

25.0

1,290.0 100.0

25.0

3,690.0

380.0

1,626.9

(203.4)

1,290.0

Salaries, Benefits & Wages

380.0

10.0

Earnings Before Interest & Taxes

380.0

Rent

10.0

1,250.0

6,483.2

10.0

Office Supplies

1,250.0

-

4,368.4

1,250.0

Accountant

-

50.0

Total Expenses

253.0

Insurance

50.0

465.4

8,110.0

512.8

50.0

Website Maintenance

865.4

11,980.0

2,850.0

8,110.0

-

2,880.0

5,230.0

MAR

Stripe (E-Payment System)

1,100.4

Advertising & Promotion

Expenses

10,000.0

-

Revenue stream 3 - Brand Pitch Charges 14,830.0

-

4,830.0

FEB

Revenue stream 2 - Commission %

4,165.0

JAN

APPENDIX 25 - PROFIT AND LOSS YEAR 3

Revenue stream 1 - Ticket Sales

182 (317.0)

3,777.0

10.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

1,250.0

-

50.0

762.0

3,460.0

-

3,460.0

-

-

3,460.0

APR

8,464.6

3,970.4

100.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

1,250.0

-

50.0

865.4

12,435.0

2,600.0

15,035.0

10,000.0

-

5,035.0

MAY

2,595.2

6,489.8

519.4

100.0

25.0

3,690.0

380.0

10.0

1,250.0

-

50.0

465.4

9,085.0

-

9,085.0

-

2,880.0

6,205.0

JUN

1,053.0

3,777.0

10.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

1,250.0

-

50.0

762.0

4,830.0

-

4,830.0

-

-

4,830.0

JUL

5,569.6

3,970.4

100.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

1,250.0

-

50.0

865.4

9,540.0

6,400.0

15,940.0

10,000.0

-

5,940.0

AUG

1,972.1

6,547.9

577.5

100.0

25.0

3,690.0

380.0

10.0

1,250.0

-

50.0

465.4

8,520.0

-

8,520.0

-

3,240.0

5,280.0

SEP

2,823.0

3,777.0

-

10.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

1,250.0

-

50.0

762.0

6,600.0

-

6,600.0

-

-

6,600.0

OCT

3,600.0

6,170.0

DEC

2,959.6

3,970.4

100.0

25.0

1,290.0

380.0

10.0

1,250.0

-

50.0

865.4

6,930.0

8,400.0

3,154.2

6,615.8

645.4

100.0

25.0

3,690.0

380.0

10.0

1,250.0

-

50.0

465.4

9,770.0

-

15,330.0 9,770.0

10,000.0 -

-

5,330.0

NOV

37,707.4

57,717.7

2,255.1

840.0

300.0

25,080.0

4,560.0

120.0

15,000.0

253.0

600.0

8,709.6

95,425.0

20,250.0

115,675.0

40,000.0

12,600.0

63,075.0

Full Year

APPENDIX 26 DETAILED PROFIT AND LOSS WORKINGS & EXPLANATION FOR YEAR 1 ITEM

RATIONALE

COST

PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE

Due to the nature of BEE’s business, there are several types of insurance required to ensure they are legally protected; employee liability and public and products liability. Using AXA business insurance, a quote of £253.31 has been calculated (See Appendix 14 ) Rather than paying it in monthly instalments, BEE will pay the sum yearly to allow for easier financial management and accurate forecasts.

£253.31

RENT

Birmingham is set to be the launch location for BEE and therefore, will become the base address for the business. An office in central Birmingham will be rented to allow for easy access to other locations and public transport. The office is priced at £380 per month for renting (See Appendix 16) which is significantly affordable and can be used as storage space for BEE’s event equipment, saving costs on a seperate fee.

£4180

SALARIES AND WAGES

BEE will operate using temporary employees throughout the year, this works with the structure of the business as it is easily manageable for the director prior to the lead up of events. The wages have been worked out on a basis that the hourly rate is £8 (See Appendix 17) and the employees will then work for a total of 5 days each in the lead up to the event. Implying that they work 8 hour days and there are 5 employees, this creates a total of £1600 per event. Within the first year, the director will be paid on the basis of minimum wage to allow for minimal costs. The founder of the business will be paid at a minimum salary rate to ensure for lower expenses, this will then change accordingly as the business grows.

Additionally, if the founder is financially investing in the business, it would be wasteful to increase expenditure by taking the money out of the business again.

£17,390

TELECOMMUNICATION

BEE are renting office space in Birmingham, and although this comes with it its own wifi, it has not been confirmed whether an office phone is included.

Therefore, BEE have researched into possible phone and internet packages that can be installed within the office space, totalling £25 per month (See Appendix 15)

£275

ACCOUNTANT

BEE has hired an accountant to ease the stress of financial accuracy and more time can be spent elsewhere on other business activities. Furthermore, BEE does not currently have the expertise to do so internally. The total has been calculated based on the hourly rate being £25 for basic accounting skills (Anon, 2019), for 30 hours each month which totals £750. This cost only incurs from when the business starts generating revenue as prior to this, it should be manageable to look at expenses only. In the 3rd year, the charge goes up to £1250 each month with the accountant operating 50 hours a month to manage the increase in activities.

£6750

ITEM

RATIONALE

COST

STRIPE (E-PAYMENT SYSTEM)

BEE will use Stripe as their online payment system, this was chosen over Paypal because of recommendations uncovered within primary research (See Appendix 3) and comparing online research, Paypal charges are significantly higher and thus, not a beneficial financial choice. Stripe charge per transaction at a rate of 1.4% + 20p per transaction (See Appendix 18) Therefore, this has then been worked out as a total per event, using the quantity of each ticket type (See Appendix 19)

£352.10

WEBSITE MAINTENANCE

From conducting primary research, a fee of £50 will be spent each month to maintain the website such as, hosting fees (See Appendix 3). For some consumers, the website is the first interaction they have with the brand, therefore a higher costing hosting service has been chosen to ensure that the website is professional and allows for the functions to be used easily.

£550

TRAVEL

The travel costs for BEE have been estimated at approximately, £20 each month to allow for day to day travels such as, travelling to purchase office supplies or equipment for the next upcoming event. However, in the few months leading to an event, the price increases to £80 to allow for frequent trips to the venue to set up ahead of schedule, or purchase any needed items. BEE operates in several locations across the UK, therefore this also considers having to travel to cities away from where the business is based, in Birmingham.

£580

OFFICE SUPPLIES

Office supplies have been calculated at a cost of £10 per month as an average. This is a realistic projection for covering costs such as, cleaning supplies for the office as it is a relatively small space just to carry out everyday business activities and store event equipment.

£110

TRADEMARK COST

In order to protect the brand and have access to trademark rights, BEE have factored in trademark registration costs.

This will cost £170 (Gov.uk, 2019) and in doing so, will give BEE a reassurance that their innovation and signs will be protected from recreation. Furthermore, this also increases interest from investors.

£170

BRAND ACTIVATION EVENT

The brand activation event will take place in February at The Warehouse Cafe, the costs of this will be £500 to hire out the cafe and then £200 worth of food and beverage purchases for the guests attending. The purpose of this is to make the market aware of BEE’s upcoming launch as a new brand in the market.

£700

PRESS RELEASE

A press release will be conducted in March, before BEE has generated any revenue and therefore, becomes a startup cost. The press release total comes to £1590, based on information that hiring a professional writer is £390 (Head, 2015) and the advertising space itself is at £1200 (The Wire, 2019) with The Wire magazine having a similar audience size to Healthy magazine, which is where the press release will be published. The aim of this is to increase brand awareness further with the secondary consumer.

£1590

184

ITEM

RATIONALE

COST

WEBSITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

The website’s functionality is purely for online purchases of tickets and account management; consumers will be able to create online accounts, manage their details and to track the sustainable pledges they have made (See Appendix 3).

Furthermore, due to the purpose of the website, it becomes a startup cost as it is a platform to generate ticket sales as opposed to its primary function being a form of promotion.

£2000

BUSINESS REGISTRATION

The business registration cost for BEE is at £40 rather than £12 as the brand does not wish to carry ‘limited’ within their company name and therefore, increases the cost. (Gov.uk, 2019) However, the brand name is an important statement and sets up their brand character and ethos so it is vital that it is exactly as designed.

£40

STAFFING

The first BEE event will take place in June, however the brand will require help from their temporary staff in order to carry out tasks that will contribute to the physical setup of the event.

£1200

USE OF INFLUENCERS

BEE first launches in June, so the influencer costs have been accounted for until June and then the total sum has been included within the marketing budget. Within the first year, BEE plan to use 2 influencers of different sizes and ages, this it to ensure that a wide reach is achieved across different audiences and consequently, increase brand awareness significantly.

From primary research, this amount has been based on 4 posts per influencer up until June and the prices that these influencers will expect for their promotion (See Appendix 4 & 5)

£1000

ITEM

RATIONALE

COST

ADVERTISING

BEE intends to use several online platforms for their advertising, Google, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. These campaigns will run continuously throughout the year in order to reach new consumers wherever possible and continue to increase brand awareness. This has been calculated at a monthly fee for all the platforms combined (See Appendix 19) and then reflected for the months prior to generating revenue in order to reveal the startup cost of advertising.

£2327

LAUNCH EVENT VENUE

The venue will need to be secured in advance of the BEE launch event in June as a formality, therefore, becoming a startup cost in order to secure this and allow a guarantee to consumers of the venue when purchasing tickets.

£2500

OFFICE RENT

This startup cost occurs in order for BEE to operate on a fully functional basis, especially as the office space is also utilised as a storage space for some of the event items. Therefore, this cost accounts for 4 months, up to June when the first event takes place and revenue is generated to help cover the costs.

£1520

BRAND INVITATION PACKAGES (OFFLINE MARKETING)

In order for the business to business communications to begin, the brand packages will need to be sent out to the considered brands a considerable time before the launch and revenue comes in. The brands that BEE work with form part of the event and therefore, this needs to be arranged in advance to allow the brand portfolio for the launch event to be confirmed.

£1375

185

185

APPENDIX 27 - TICKET SALES FORECASTS

STANDARD TIER TICKETS: YEAR 2

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

PURCHASE VALUE QUANTITY 125 £750 255 £1530 170 £1020 280 £1680 330 £1980 90 £540 230 £1380 310 £1860 210 £1260 195 £1170 325 £1950 280 £1680 £16,800

MID TIER TICKETS: YEAR 2

186

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

PURCHASE QUANTITY 80 100 95 90 125 160 110 280 150 110 280 40

VALUE £880 £1100 £1045 £990 £1375 £1760 £1210 £3080 £1650 £1210 £3080 £440 £17,820

EXCLUSIVE TIER TICKETS: YEAR 2 PURCHASE VALUE QUANTITY JANUARY 20 £320 FEBRUARY 15 £240 MARCH 40 £640 APRIL 30 £480 MAY 40 £640 JUNE 55 £880 JULY 65 £1040 AUGUST 70 £1120 SEPTEMBER 75 £1200 OCTOBER 85 £1360 NOVEMBER 95 £1520 DECEMBER 90 £1440 £10,880

STANDARD TIER TICKETS: YEAR 3

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

PURCHASE QUANTITY 275 325 300 130 340 380 230 440 310 310 410 380

VALUE £1650 £1950 £1800 £780 £2040 £2280 £1380 £2640 £1860 £1860 £2460 £2280 £22,980

187

MID TIER TICKETS: YEAR 3 PURCHASE QUANTITY JANUARY 105 FEBRUARY 160 MARCH 210 APRIL 120 MAY 185 JUNE 175 JULY 190 AUGUST 140 SEPTEMBER 260 OCTOBER 220 NOVEMBER 130 DECEMBER

230

VALUE £1155 £1760 £2310 £1320 £2035 £1925 £2090 £1540 £2860 £2420 £1430 £2530 £23,375

EXCLUSIVE TIER TICKETS: YEAR 3

188

PURCHASE QUANTITY JANUARY 85 FEBRUARY 70 MARCH 70 APRIL 85 MAY 60 JUNE 125 JULY 85 AUGUST 110 SEPTEMBER 35 OCTOBER 145 NOVEMBER 90 DECEMBER 85

VALUE £1360 £1120 £1120 £1360 £960 £2000 £1360 £1760 £560 £2320 £1440 £1360 £16,720

APPENDIX 28 - ADVERTISING CLICK THROUGH AND PRICE WORKINGS

189

APPENDIX 29 VALS FRAMEWORK

APPENDIX 29 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS (1943)

APPENDIX 30 EVENTBRITE BUDGET GRAPH

190

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