2009 World Winter Games PDL: SO FESTIVAL2009 World Winter Games PDL: SO FESTIVAL

I. Plan II. Do III. LearnOverview/Purpose:

• Design and implement a community-driven event that creates a central gathering place and encourages people of all ages and interests to get involved with the World Winter Games.

Goals & Objectives:• Design overall Festival to be a family friendly event with a variety of

activities and entertainment.• Create opportunities for sponsor involvement and support.• Incorporate Special Olympics athletes into the programming of the

Festival and create opportunities for attendees to meet athletes.• Promote the SO Festival as a central hub of activity during the Games

to build excitement and encourage attendance not only at the Festival, but at all Games-related events.

• Create a synergy between the SO Festival and the SO Sports Experience to help drive traffic between the two.

Key Responsibilities:• Develop and manage budget within given parameters.• Source venue(s) for Festival(s) and coordinate all permits and

requirements for vendors and activities at the venue.• Determine best days and hours of operation for Festival based on

community access, Games events and anticipated attendance.• Source support for Festival infrastructure (e.g. set-up, tear-down,

tents, heating, power, lighting, staging, etc.).• Source production support and acts for Festival entertainment.• Lead decision making for appropriate entertainment and activity

lineup at the Festival.• Assist in designing event flow and timeline for Festival.• Recruit volunteer staffing for on-site Festival coordination.• Train volunteer staff for variety of Festival-specific tasks.• Help manage relations with sponsors (in conjunction with DEVT Dept)

pertaining to their activities, presence and participation.• Coordinate scripting for PA announcements at Festival to address key

Games messaging and sponsor recognition.• Assist with promotion of the Festival leading up to the Games. • Work with MKTG & COMM and DEVT Depts to design “look” of the

Festival and ensure appropriate messaging and sponsor recognition.External Resources:

• Steve Fulton – Contracted for Main Stage production management• All Phases Productions – Contracted for full production, talent

management and ticketing services for Benefit Concerts• Tates Rents – Contracted for Festival infrastructure: tents, power,

lighting, heat, propane, set-up, tear-down, etc.• Citadel Broadcasting – Radio partner• Various Vendors – Entertainment and décor primarily

Legacy:• Establish a format and/or structure for future Special Olympics

Festivals that promotes community involvement, sponsor engagement, education, entertainment and opportunities to grow support for the Special Olympics movement.

Schedules/Timelines:• Co-Commissioners for Festival hired seven months prior to Games.• Sponsors confirmed participation three months prior to Games.• Production support for entertainment confirmed seven months

prior to Games to plan entertainment line-up for Main Stage.• Infrastructure support (e.g. tent vendor, etc.) for Festival confirmed

three weeks prior to Games.• Pre-promotion of Benefit Concerts and Festival began six weeks

prior to Games.Components:

• “Flame of Hope” Cauldron• Sponsor & Vendor Activity Booths• “Festival Tour Punch Card” Game• Live Music & Entertainment• Radio Broadcasting Partner• Sponsor Mascots and other local mascots• Signature Wall for community to sign• Food & Beverage Vendors (no alcohol permitted)• Benefit Concerts in Boise and Sun Valley (separate production)• Fireworks in McCall (venue and show were donated)• Sports Experience – not within Festival – but adjacent to Festival so

the two events inherently shared traffic and participation.Successes:

• Estimated 10,000 people attended the SO Festival over three days.• Sponsor and vendor feedback has been extremely positive based on

attendance and opportunities for them to engage with attendees.• Volunteers, spectators and entertainers reported very positive

experiences relative to their involvement with the Festival.• Sponsors who took advantage of the Pin Trading opportunity were

very pleased with the interest and activity.• The “Festival Tour Punch Card” successfully drove traffic to sponsor

booths and created a fun incentive opportunity for attendees.• Placing the Festival venue in a central location which was also

adjacent to Sports Experience and the Figure Skating competition venue helped drive cross-traffic between the three events.

• Radio partner provided emcee talent and strong promotional value with live broadcasts onsite, and promos leading up to the Festival.

• Downtown Boise parking saw a 23% increase during the Games.• Sponsor mascots were a huge hit with all attendees and created fun

photo opportunities.• The Main Stage offered a strong focal point for live music,

entertainment and various announcements.• Having the “Flame of Hope” cauldron in the center of the Festival

drew interest from the community and the media.• Official Games Merchandise Store at the Festival had constant

traffic and sold out of most merchandise each day.• Ice sculpture/bench of the Games logo became a popular photo

opportunity for attendees at the Festival.• All entertainers at the Festival donated their time=costs minimal.• Festival volunteers performed double duty when sponsors had

unanticipated needs.

Challenges:• Marketing Department took over complete management of sponsor

participation and support due to lack of support by DEVT Dept.• In addition to poor economic conditions, lack of resources to create a

“visualization” schematic of the Festival may have inhibited further sponsorship opportunities for the Festival.

• Initial promise of a VIK production partner fell through after months of waiting for their plans, so planning was delayed sin

• Production costs of benefit concert in Sun Valley were prohibitive to the concert actually generating net revenues for the Games.

• Delay in DOD bid announcement forced delay in selecting expo/tent infrastructure vendor and backed Festival staff into a corner from a planning and budgeting standpoint.

• Finding/scheduling Global Messengers to speak was challenging, and USA Team did not attend McCall Festival for speaking opportunity.

Key Learnings:• Creating a central hub of activity that is easily accessible and family

friendly provides opportunities for education and engagement.• The opening weekend day realized the greatest traffic/attendance.• Choice of talent for the Benefit Concert could have a broader appeal

and production company extended budget significantly.• Local businesses were not receptive to get involved much before 30

days prior to the Games, but at Games-time interest increased.Recommendations:

• Continue the “expo style” Festival at future World Games and consider engaging an expo/event company to manage overall infrastructure, production and sponsorship sales for the Festival.

• Position Festival venue in an easily accessible and inherently central hub of activity if possible.

• Schedule Festival over a minimum of two weekend days if possible.• Cross-promote SO Festival and Sports Experience or incorporate

Sports Experience into the Festival structure and promotion.• Structure complete sponsorship packages (e.g. Title, Presenting or

otherwise) for the Festival as its own event and formalize fee structure for interested booth vendors.

• Incorporate a celebrity element into the Festival to drive attendance.• Structure a turn-key Pin Trading participation opportunity for

interested businesses and sponsors.• Design data capture point at Festival as an added-value benefit for

potential sponsors and a means of future communications from SOI.• Create a complete marketing plan around Pin Trading for general

public and schedule designated times where athletes can participate in this activity with a greater number of people from the community.

• A Community Relations role in the MKTG Dept may be key in engaging local businesses earlier on with a turnkey program.

Budget – Planned vs. Actual• Planned - $202,000 (includes total expenses plus staffing)• Actual - $122,655 (includes total expenses less concert revenues)

• Total Festival Expenses – $89,332.21• Total Benefit Concert Expenses – $112,847.91• Total Benefit Concert Ticket Revenues – $76, 197.65

• Variance <$79,345> under budget

Functional Area Lead Team Members:• Heather Hill, VP Marketing & Communications• Melanie Simboli, Co-Commissioner, SO Festival• Sam Sandmire, Co-Commissioner, SO Festival