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MARKETING MIX COMPONENTS

Experiential Components

1) Product

Biennale has offered us many tangible products ranging from drawings, photographs, projection, three dimensional art pieces and the description of each and every piece of artwork. Out of these products, I am most satisfied with the description of the art piece provided outside each of the exhibition hall as it gives me a greater understanding of the art piece I am looking at. At the start, the staff also gave us a guidebook which I think is very useful in allowing the event consumers to understand more about the event itself and the background of the various art pieces. The kids’ biennale was one of the items that I find it very interesting and I believe has attracted many people to there. There were also some hands on artwork like the making of the windmill there for event consumers to participate in.


2) Place

The presentation of artworks are mainly in three venues - South Beach Development, City Hall, and Marina Bay which represents the past, present and future of Singapore respectively. It reminds people of the significant past as you travel from City Hall to South Beach Development, and to imagine Singapore’s vibrant future when you are in Marina Bay. They were also all also within walking distances and hence, I think it is rather convenient. The use of multiple sites and new location is a good strategy of market expansion and penetration and bring about the right mood and satisfaction to the customers.

However, I personally feel that the three locations of three main venues were quite difficult to find. Although there were direction boards to guide us to the event venue, they were not very useful. The directions bring us to no where such that the directions given were all ambiguous and they were pointed to the wrong direction. Therefore, a lot of time was wasted in finding the event venue and thus, leading to frustrations.

Nonetheless, one of the sites that I am impressed with is the art piece that is located at the Raffles City. That art piece has definitely attracted tons of people as it is like the center of attraction. It has chosen the right location in presenting its art piece as it would definitely arouse people’s curiosity and make known to them of this event Biennale.


3) Programming

In order to present a meaning to the audience, Biennale has come out with a theme named ‘Wonder’. The theme sets the audience thinking about the beauty of the world and the discovery of new realities. It makes the audience interested, tantalized and arouses their curiosity of contemporary art and the ‘Wonder’ of Biennale. The theme ‘Wonder’ reflects on their mission and what they hope to achieve.

One of the innovative sites would be the fog sculpture under the Esplanade bridge. Together with the scenic view of the Merlion walk and Esplanade, an art is displayed in the midst. This would be a perfect location in terms of its physical environment and its site as it blends with the event and supports the theme ‘Wonder’.


4) People

Biennale would definitely not succeed without people and hence, having people in the event is very important. There were staffs stationed in some of the exhibition hall to assist audiences like us and the tourists. They were also rather friendly and approachable as they guided the participants along like where to proceed next and will not hesitate to answer to their queries though I feel that there could be more interactions with the event consumers and the service providers. Hospitality from the staffs is vital as it immediately shapes the consumers’ perception.
On the other hand, I also think that there is a lack of interaction with the artists and event consumers. If I were the event consumer, I would definitely be interested to know more about the artists involved. I think that they should have conducted a conference or press meetings inviting some of the famous artist to share with the public about their art pieces. I believe this would further create awareness to the public as well.


Facilitating Components

5) Partnerships

There were quite a handful of sponsors in this event. Singapore Tourism Board was also one of the preferred sponsors which I believe has greatly promoted this event. Government agencies like the Land Transport Authority and Singapore Land Authority has also played a part in supporting this event. Solid partnerships are important as it will lead to the success of an event and I strongly believe Biennale has established that strong relationship.


6) Promotion

Biennale has promoted its event through various ‘communication mix’. It has advertised itself in particular magazines like the Asian Art and Culture magazine, by having banners around Biennale venues, in mobile platforms such as taxis and through the media (public relations) by holding press releases to create awareness to the public. Media publicity is preferred as it provides unpaid space in the media and reaches out to the various markets directly. During the Grand Prix season, it has also been actively giving out brochures at the Grand Stand, hoping the create awareness among the tourists and thus encouraging them to participate in this event during their stay in Singapore as well. It has also created an official site (http://www.singaporebiennale.org/) and a blog (http://www.singaporebiennale.org/blog/) through the use of e-marketing. A symbol for this year’s Biennale is also created at Central Promontory site at Marina Bay. It is an advantage as it makes an intangible event more tangible people who wish to enquire more about this event. All these communication mix are aimed at conveying a brand value to the event consumers and allowing the event to establish a relationship with them.


7) Packaging and Distribution

Biennale has successfully merchandised itself as a single market offer (a service bundle). This event took place concurrently with the Grand Prix season which is a major highlight that has attracted many tourists. Thus, Biennale has packaged itself with Formula One and encourages the tourists to participate in Biennale during their stay in Singapore. Furthermore, Biennale has also positioned itself in the hub of Singapore, alongside with many other famous attractions like the Singapore Flyer, Esplanade, Merlion Park, Singapore River and Marina Bay. Thus, apart from participating in Biennale, it also allows the tourists to experience the scenery, attractions and the future development of Singapore. As a result, it has positioned itself effectively in its current markets and thus attracting more tourists.

Tickets can be purchased at the ticketing booths of mainly City Hall and South Beach Development venue only. In my opinion, I think that they should use intermediaries to distribute their tickets. Examples of intermediaries would be the travel agency and ticketing agency like Sistic. Using intermediaries will definitely bring about advantage to the event in terms of the broader distribution network. It will also let more tourists know that there is such event ongoing in Singapore. In such a technology savvy country, I also think that online ticketing should also be used as event consumers will not need to queue up to purchase the tickets. Not only will it be more convenient, it also minimizes frustrations from the long queue and ease assess to the event.


8) Price

Biennale has used the market-oriented strategy to achieve its event objectives. The event is targeting at various markets. Market-oriented uses differential pricing, such that in this case, one ticket price entitles the consumer to visit all three venues with just one fixed price. Hence, I think that the ticket price is very affordable. Not only that, some the Biennale venues like the one in the Raffles City is free of admission which I think is a very good strategy. There were also some promotions involved which make the ticket price even more affordable. Since the perceived benefits are higher than the perceived costs in visiting this event, therefore, the net value the event consumers perceived is very high, resulting in a positive net value. In this way, the consumers will feel that visiting the event is very worthwhile and would not feel the pinch in paying.