Portfolio 

Licensing:

The Islington council website was used by Legal to determine how the event would be licensed. Initially we thought that we would require a Temporary Event Notice. This can be acquired through submitting an application to the authority ten days prior to the event. However this would have cost us £21 plus the cost of a licensed bar tender. Through more research and communicating directly with Islington council, we found a loop whole, the event was classed as a ‘Private Function’ which allowed us to receive ‘Suggested donations’ in exchange for alcohol.

Target Audience:

As  a company we each submitted email addresses of people we felt would be suitable guests. We targeted older people, this is because we were trying to make as much money as possible, older people are more likely to spend more money simply because they have it. However we also invited a lot of Brit alumni. We also felt it was important to invite members of the Andrew Lloyd Webber foundation. Unfortunately  this was never carried out due to our fear not wanting to show them work we didn’t feel was our strongest. 

Above is our initial guest list, Invites were sent to all these people via email. This was effective however our system needs to be refined as some emails were not received or sent properly due to a variety of reasons.

Booking and Budgeting:

Above is the The invoice Received from Andy Acres the Owner of W.Plumb Butchers. This shows the breakdown of the total cost and deposit. The deposit was delivered in person to the venue on October 21st. This meant the venue was ours for definite. The rest of the money was payed via check on November 26th (the day of the event) This document was vital in terms securing the venue as it had to presented to the Finance office in order to get the money and pay for the hire. 

Above is a picture of the receipt I received on paying the deposit. This document was vital in reclaiming the money back from finance and as proof of payment incase our hire of the venue fell through. It also indicates the date of when our final payment is required. 

Budgeting:

In terms of Budget we were initially proposed £300 maximum spend for a venue, the drinks budget would then go hand in hand with the amount of people the venue could have held. However our  venue spend was one hundred pounds more than anticipated but could hold 50 people at one time. The drinks breakdown and budget below is based on audiences of 150 people as we did 3 shows over 4 and a half hours. Alcohol is the main reason we made so much money, this is because we bought in bulk cheap alcohol and then sold it on per one person serving. 

Above is the Prices Norah compiled after pricing up the total alcohol budget. This allowed us to estimate our profit. 

Below is the alcohol budget based on prices from Majestic Wines. This is was uploaded onto the Facebook group and members of the company suggested alternative suppliers and quantities. However  after much debate it was finalized that this would be the final order it was really great that Norah created this document as it stressed the £451.30 profit that should be made from the bar. It also meant we were prepared to make the order closer to the event. 

This is an email confirmation from Majestic wines, the total spend for wine was less than first anticipated, this was because we cancelled the 4th show therefore the volume of wine needed was 25% less. The cost of ice buckets and ice was not originally included in the budget, however it did effect the total expenditure due us ordering less wine. This email confirmation was really important as it confirms the next day delivery. This meant the company were responsible for delivering the wine to our venue in time for our evening performances.   

The document above is the final breakdown of the figures from our event, first of all this shows all of the income and outgoings that occurred through out the process, this includes  everything from the cash float to the ticket sales and last minute ice. It will help us as a company in future as it highlights where we made money and where we can more frugal in our next project. 

Marketing: 

This is the design for our posters and Fliers, it was designed by jacks dad, the wording was changed a few times, this was in order to make our event more atmospheric. It was vital that we got this part of the event right because it gives of an impression to potential audience memberS. I feel like it looks very professional and sets us apart from brit, therefore it gave us more of a chance to sell tickets for £10 each. T he fliers were distributed in the local community in Archway, around the school campus in Selhurst, The Southbank Centre and throughout central London. This allowed us to reach audiences outside of our school community and mailing list. However on the Day of the event Richard the owner of the old Butcher shop informed us that if he had known we would have been given access to his own list of 300+ email addresses he has aquired through renting out the venue. Despite this the show did tremendously well. 

Ticket Sales:

Above is the analyses for tickets sold via the box office, this allows us to compare the number of people who purchased tickets on the door and those who used the schools box office. This will help us refine out booking systems for future events. 

Below is date by date breakdown of our events plan. I have also analysed and created an events plan for elf with break downs for each date. 

Events Plan Analyses 

Plumb and Sons turned out to be a great success, the process was by no means a smooth ride. However as a company we will learn from this experience. We worked from out event plan and established responsibilities vert early one.  That was good. However as the process played out some people could have been better placed in other positions. For example Phoebe did not feel she was suited  to her role. This could be due to the fact bridge had not been formed for very long, therefore we weren’t entirely aware of both our individual and each others strengths. 

As project manager it was my responsibility to find a venue alongside the creative team. We used websites such as ‘hire space’ to look for a space which was accessible, cheap and had the ability for us to create a ‘spectacle’ in it. I feel like I should have been more hands on with the selection process as we only started to get the ball rolling when we decided to call venues directly and not waste time with emailing. I now know that this is the most effective way of getting in touch with people. However it was Kitty who found the old Butchers and it is fantastic. I formed a really good relationship with the owners and conducted two site visits, all of which happened in good time of the event. I am pleased as managed them productively as we were able to discuss the logistics of the event in terms of furniture being moved, audience capacity and  licensing, enabling us to be fully prepared for the event. The selection of the venue was a massive risk, it set us back initially four hundred pounds, however it was also the venue that shaped every part of the event, especially the atheistic of the marketing material. 

On sight visits we discussed a risk assessment with the owners of the venue and were able to acquire there copy of it, this was then adapted to the specifics of our event. Furthermore we looked at the licensing for bar staff and concluded that our bar would be run on a ‘suggested donation’ policy meaning we would not have to spend money on an a temporary alcohol license or a licensed Bar tender. Legal were efficient and thorough in there execution of this. Adding to this I think I worked well to insure the venue was payed for as I requested an initial invoice which included the deposit and final payment. This was done well in advance of the event on October 6th. This meant we had plenty of time to notify Finance of the amount that was due on November 26th. 

The design for the posters and flyers was really professional and in keeping with the event, however there was a period of confusion over the information that was displayed, this slowed down the process of sending invites out. furthermore as a group I feel like our biggest weakness was communication, especially in terms of marketing. Marketing originally looked at using ‘Evites’ by ‘Eventbrite’ and using paypal in order to transfer the money for ticket sales, but both these companies take a large percentage of each ticket that is sold. Therefore our profit would have been heavily effected. If we had communicated more efficiently we would have been able to find an alternative much faster, allowing us to begin promoting the show much earlier and  perhaps we wouldn't of been forced to push the show back by two weeks. I feel like this was partly my fault as the role of the project manager is to over see everything and make sure deadlines are being met. This is something that I can solve in future through organizing times, dates and rehearsals more thoroughly.   

The emails that were eventually sent, were not blind copied therefore recipients were bombarded with various accounts that appeared, making the invite feel less personal. This process indicates that we must refine our system for future events. Adding to this the poster which is shown in the invite was not clear enough, It did not indicate that this was a fundraiser. This meant our recipients were perhaps confused by the pricing on the event, However this was fixed through Gus’ brilliant twitter blasting, he contacted past and present brit students directly via social media, this created an online buzz which I believe resulted in large ticket sales. This is something we must continue to do as a company. 

Moreover the ordering of drinks was left slightly too late, this was over confusion of how to pay for the order. Norah compiled a list of all the things we would require to stock the bar, this was put onto our Facebook group and people gave suggestions. This all happened on November 8th, however the order was eventually placed on November 25th. One day before the event, this resulted in the order arriving right before our first performance. Despite the rushed order and delivery, the company we used were really great as they purchased back all un opened stock, furthermore they supplied ice buckets, ice and Tumblers free of charge. I think that this is a company we will use for future events as it is both efficient and cost effective. 

In conclusion the events success was a result of good team work, for our future events we must work to meet deadlines and communicate better between roles. Often people were taking responsibility for other peoples tasks. However this was our first event as a group and we are now all aware of one another’s strengths.