Whether it’s a weekly market, fun fair, public festival, Christmas market or city event – major public events greatly enrich the social, cultural and economic life of a city. The responsibility for an attractive municipal calendar of events is usually borne by the responsible employees from the market administration, the city marketing or the city management. The following article shows which tasks the organizers have to face, which requirements they have to meet and what modern everyday life in market planning looks like.
A profession with tradition
The person responsible for fairs and weekly markets in a city or town is traditionally called a market master. The origins of this profession – like the history of today’s weekly markets and fairs – go back to the Middle Ages. Even then, the profession included the organization and supervision of markets. Markets at that time were the center of communication and one of the most important places of trade. As is the case today, the market masters of the time were primarily responsible for making their markets attractive with a varied range of products, regulating trade at the market and ensuring that everything ran properly.
Today, the profession of “market master” is also called event manager for large public events. As before, the responsible planners: inside are responsible for an attractive event in compliance with the applicable market regulations. However, like many other ancient job profiles, the task money of the market master has changed a lot over the years and has become much more complex. Nowadays, market masters and event managers of large public events are responsible for the conception, planning and for the implementation of urban events. This includes hosting traditional events as well as new public event ideas.
Recording and management of application documents
An important area of responsibility is the applicant management of showmen and suppliers. This includes:
- the public invitation to tender for the allocation of space,
- the structured collection of applicant data,
- the selection of the feeder,
- the organization of the additions and cancellations,
- as well as the administrative management of notices, contracts and invoices in accordance with applicable fee ordinances.
Especially in recent years, it has become apparent that market masters are increasingly factoring in their selection process by defining uniform evaluation criteria and basing the selection of applicants on them. At the same time, the importance of sustainable aspects in the selection process is increasing. A lot has also happened in the way of recording, especially in the recent past: For example, the possibility for applicants to apply for an event online is becoming more and more established (not least due to the OSZ).
Design of the event schedule
Further, market masters and event managers of large public events organize not only the “who?” but also the “where?” and “how?” of their event. They design the graphic plan and are responsible for assigning parking spaces. In doing so, they have to know the local conditions precisely and pay attention to all kinds of planning details, such as escape and rescue routes, power and water connections, danger zones, traffic networks, visitor flows and much more.
In particular, the topic of event security has increasingly become the focus of event planners in recent years due to tragic events and is usually carefully planned in cooperation with other traffic and security experts. Since Corona, the development of hygiene concepts has also been another field of activity that market masters and event managers of large public events take into account. Due to the high demands on an accurate graphic plan, market masters and event managers here work with computer-aided scaled plans.
The organizational process before, during and after the event
Another important task aspect of market masters and event managers of large public events is the smooth and safe running of the event itself. Your function as a link to all involved partners is in demand both before, during and after the event. They ensure that those responsible for security are equipped with the information relevant to them, they work closely with regulatory, traffic and security authorities, and they are the first point of contact for other service providers and on-site suppliers. They provide information to the press and are of course also on site on the day of the event.
Suitable candidates for the profession “Market Master” are structured, organized and able to work under pressure
Market masters and event managers of a major public event usually have a degree in event management or public administration. To be successful in this job, different skills can be an advantage – leadership, flexibility and communication skills are in high demand in this job. In addition to organizational and commercial skills, PR and marketing expertise bring further advantages. Perseverance and a reliable work ethic are other qualities that support a career in this profession. Essential for a successful market master and event manager of large public events is, above all, the fact that they always keep track of the complex challenges of the individual task components.
This is why many successful market planners: inside rely on the use of a specialist process specifically tailored to market planning, such as Marktmeister Pro. As a software for market planning matters, Marktmeister Pro is tailored to the individual fields of activity of market masters and event managers of large public events and supports the entire planning process from application entry and administration, through visual plans, to support for the organizational process.
The step to modern market planning
In the future, the market master’s job description will continue to change. This makes it all the more important to rely on a specialized process that adapts to individual planning needs. If you have additional questions about modern market planning or need assistance modernizing your planning process, contact us. Our consultants are at your disposal for questions, further information or a demo appointment.
