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Yeo Xin-Yi's MMP Blog Hello, this is my blog for The MMP module A lifelong student, all the less excuse to give up learning at the prime of my youth |
Assignment 2 Overview
I am a manager for Event: AFA12' Date: November 10/11 2012 |
Entry 2: Be A Manager
Monday, 7 January 2013; 18:38
About and
Background
Anime Festival Asia 2012 (AFA12)
What is it?
An annual event
that serves as a:
· Platform for lovers of Anime, Manga and
Japanese subculture
· Platform for businesses within the Anime
and Manga industry to socialize and form partnerships through industry talks.
Inaugurated in
2008, AFA opened to overwhelming success. Being the first event of it’s kind in
the Southeast Asian Region, it features singers, voice actors and other players
in the anime industry.
Organized by Sozo,
an entertainment and youth marketing company with a focus on Japanese
pop-culture, along with Dentsu a Japanese advertising and public relations
company, AFA12 boasts a turnout of over 85 000 participants from all around
Asia and has, over the years installed itself as Asia’s Premiere Anime event
Date: 11 November
2012
Location:
Singapore Expo Halls 7 and 8
Video by Omoshiroi
Studios
Layout:
Above is the event
floor plan (Hall 7 only). Indicated in pink are stores selling various products
related to Japanese Subculture whilst indicated in blue are booths set up by
industry players. The industry booths
are designed to display the products and services offered by the company in
hope of attracting clients, investors and partners.
Hall 8 houses a
main stage, which event goers have to pay an additional amount to enter. The
main stage features interviews and meet and greet sessions of singers, voice
actors and even anime producers. Promotional events for upcoming anime and
singers are also sometimes included
A Talk given by Danny Choo, an industry Professional
Target Audience:
The audience for
this event is defined both via interest as well as geographically. The
geographical region in question is Southeast Asia as related satellite events
are held in other countries throughout the year, leading up the flagship event
in Singapore.
Countries involved
in the satellite and flagship events are Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore,
however the event also aims to draw a crowd from other Asian Countries by
hosting sub-events like the Regional Cosplay Championship, involving
participants from the above countries and other countries like Thailand and the
Philippines.
Publicity
Social Media:
Anime Festival
Asia has its own Facebook page. Updates regarding the event are uploaded months
before the event itself, these updates usually concern the availability of
specific merchandise, event details as well as the lineup of acts that are
going to perform at the event.
A webpage is also
available and provides schedules of the day’s events, a map of the event floor
plan and a page for event-goers to pre order their tickets.
This event has
always been largely promoted via forums related to J-Subculture. Having been
running for five years, it already has a rather considerable following. Media
passes are also given to popular subculture blogs, which blog about the event
over the years and give it coverage and publicity.
Media Coverage
The event has been
covered in local publications and news sites:
The Straits Times
XinMsn (Photo
Gallery)
AsiaOne
Toyota Singapore:
News and Events http://www.toyotasingapore.com.sg/about/news_and_events/afa2012.aspx
Straits times
focused on the event’s popularity by comparing its turnout to those of other
subculture events and XinMsn ran a photo gallery showcasing some of the
Cosplays.
Other news sites
like AsiaOne focused on the rocketing production and ticket costs for the event
and how fans are irked but still willing to attend the event despite increasing
prices. This is an example of less-than-positive coverage for the event.
Not to mention
coverage by popular subculture blogs and websites, for instance, DannyChoo.com
Both the mainstream
media and alternative media outlets covered the event quite extensively, with mostly
good and neutral press.
Evaluation:
As an overall, the
event was a success, promised programmes and acts were delivered on time
without much hiccup but crowd control proved to be a recurring problem through
the course of the event.
If I were to
change certain things in the execution of the event it would be to open more
entrances and exits the event grounds. During the event, rows of unopened doors flanked the hall with only one or two, far away from each other, opened. I will do this both for ease of movement and to prevent
a bottleneck situation that occurred on the afternoon of the second day.
The event was also
hit by the shortage of merchandise at a main attraction booth on the second day
it was open to the public. Nevertheless, people still queued up for the
sold-out merchandise before the stipulated opening time. There was a lot of
unhappiness when these people eventually found that the products had sold out.
A notice regarding the fact that the products were sold out was put up the
morning before the event.
The following link
does not detail the unhappiness of event-goers but does make clear that the
large crowd was unanticipated.
Since the targeted
turn out for the event was 85 000, more products could have been purchased in
the first place. While there is a possibility that not all event-goers would
want to purchase the merchandise, its exclusive availability at the event was
hyped and pitched as a main selling point of AFA12
Also steps could
be taken to show that the products had been sold out beforehand. For instance a
large sign over the booth indicating that the products were sold out the
evening of the first day right when the products were sold out. Lastly, they
could have simply shut down the shop counter of the booth since there were
simply no more products to sell instead of leaving it open and causing more
confusion.
Also, during the
first day (10 November 2012) “I Love Anisong” Concert, one of AFA 12’s main
offerings, there were multiple audio hiccups and delays during the live
performance by the Artiste Fripside, similar hiccups with the audio system also
occurred during other acts. The set-list by the band Flow had to be cut short
due to these delays.
Here is a sampling of the complaints regarding
the event taken from AFA12’s Facebook Page. (http://www.facebook.com/animefestivalasia?fref=ts)
The delays I can overlook, but the sound system was HORRIBLE. The vocals were blurry, and when the girls shouted into the mike my ears felt like they were going to start bleeding. Having a crazy night. LiSA performance is the best out of the eight of her live performance i had seen. Nobody reason, gamble rumble, level 5 judgement , only my railgun are the 4 songs that dominated the seasons when it's anime is on air, and It is a great set list. Just the sound system problem is terrible. feel like vomit throughout the concert make me very bad.11 November 2012 at 14:06 via mobile · Like · 2 I sincerely hope you apologize to Flow for cutting short their performance & fripside for the audio.issues. 12 November 2012 at 00:56 · Like · 10
However marked
improvement was made on the concert held on the second day (11 November 2012).
This was noticed by some concert goers.
good job! I'm amazed that the concert on Sunday is such a big improvement from the Saturday one. I must salute the management for making all the necessary improvement in such a short time. Bravo!13 November 2012 at 01:59 · Like Audio system was much better last night. Thank you for fixing the issues. Please bring Sphere back next year!!12 November 2012 at 10:07 via mobile · Like · 5
Audio failures and
delays should be avoided especially in the case of an event where big-name acts are brought in. It is good that the technical team responded effectively the next day, however perhaps more sound rehearsals could take place to ensure the equipment are in working order.
While the event itself was a success there were still hiccups here and there mostly due the large crowds the event drew (bottlenecks and merchandise shortage). The technical problems faced during the concerts are serious because concertgoers were charged from $50 to $488 for tickets and must have been disappointed at the quality of the concert as compared to the priciness of the tickets.
In summary, the event mostly succeeded in delivering what it promises to its target audience, albeit with some problems. But for an event of such a large scale and unique nature, it was pretty well done. |
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Interview With A Manager
Wednesday, 28 November 2012; 06:26 Mr Chew YM of Zeppelin Systems Singapore Pte Ltd Post: Project Manager
Briefly describe your job
responsibilities as a manager
Project
execution involving budget control, project scheduling, design and process
engineering, procurement, inspection, quality control, logistics and final acceptance.
What is your management style?
I practice no fixed style, it varies depending on the situation or type of decision to be made. Can be democratic,
participative or combination with autocratic.
What are some difficulties you face as a manager?
Lack of manpower
support, coupled with short and/or tight delivery time schedule.
How do you overcome these difficulties?
Outsource part
of work, work more hours, and improve/increase productivity with automatic
documentation and data synchronization. Work smart
In your Opinion what makes a
good manager?
One who is knows
his job, leads by example, delegates jobs according to individual capability, speaks wisely, is caring, sincere, shows appreciation to his workers and honest.
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