Research in the evaluation of marketing events under government policy: the case study of Taiwan Lantern Festival

本研究主要係以公部門為推廣觀光相關政策時所運用的政策行銷活動來達成所欲的政策目的時，公部門內部基於民主政治的治理責任環境下，所應具備的概念民主回應性，專業責任，及課責性等進行探討分析。由於目前台灣由公部門主辦的觀光行銷活動，多如牛毛，如何說明辦理該項活動的正當性，並與告知民眾該活動的成果效益等，應視為同等重要的課題。也因此相關的政策行銷工具在運用時，公部門除了重視其執行過程與活動成果外，如何運用評估的成果，向民眾報告說明該項活動辦理的合理性與正當性，因應民主治理過程中，外界對公部門的監督與符合回應的期待。 本研究發現公部門在進行台灣燈會政策行銷活動時，評估是一連串動態且隨時進行的工作，從活動開始前的預評估，規劃階段與執行的過程評估，到結束後對活動的成果評估，由分工到執行，在公部門內部已建立起相關內控的運作模式，期能順利將活動舉辦完成，交出一張漂亮成績單，完成專業性的責任。另外，也藉由不同的組織網絡整合公私協力資源並建立起良好的府際關係，共同建構出每年具有該縣市特色之獨一無二的台灣燈會，增加每年燈會的可看性，精采性與豐富性，賦與每一次燈會不同的生命力。 台灣燈會所創造出來觀光潮流，應已達成發展觀光政策的目標。雖然許多人認為各縣市政府已有能力辦理自己的元宵節慶活動，但由於該活動仍能堅持其活動的精神與主軸，非以單一行銷活動觀之，確實可稱之為帶動台灣發展節慶觀光的重要政策。筆者認為該活動繼續辦理，有助於協助其他縣市提升相關國際宣傳手法與觀光知名度。未來在進行政策評估的作法上有如下的建議： 1.因地制宜設定政策目標 2.效益評估除量化指標外，其多元價值仍待質化性指標的建立 3.整體政策評估仍宜由中央單位以長時序效益進行整合評估The main objective of this research is to explore and analyze the various responses required from government agencies (e.g., democratic responsiveness, professional responsibilities and accountabilities, etc.) under a democratic governance environment when they organize marketing events to promote tourism-related policies. Considering the large amount of government-hosted tourism events at the present stage, an equally important task is to properly explain to the general public the legitimacy and effectiveness of such promotional events. When applying the relevant policy-promoting instruments, therefore, government agencies should not only pay attention to the process and achievements of the event, but also explain to the general public the rationality and legitimacy of such activities, making good use of the evaluation results. This approach will help to meet the public’s expectations in the process of democratic governance, i.e., monitoring and receiving proper response from government agencies. In the research process, it is discovered that government agencies have initiated an ongoing series of evaluation tasks for the Taiwan Lantern Festival, which were carried out throughout the pre-event, planning, execution and post-event stages. Through the whole process of job division and project execution, the government agencies have already established relevant internal control models to ensure the successful completion of the projects, thereby satisfying public expectations and fulfilling their professional responsibilities. Furthermore, in the process of integrating resources from different public and private networks, the government agencies have also built up good interaction among one another. With their collaborative efforts, they have successfully organized the yearly event of the Taiwan Lantern Festival, representing the unique culture of the respective cities/counties. Their efforts have enriched the contents of the annual lantern festivals, and endowed them with additional charm and unique vitality. The tourist growth created by the Taiwan Lantern Festival should have fulfilled the policy goals of developing the tourist business. While many people believe that the city/county governments are now fully competent to organize their own lantern festival activities, there is still a consistent theme and spirit for this event. Rather than a single and independent marketing activity, it is in fact considered an important policy that guides Taiwan’s festival tourist market. The author therefore holds the view that the continuity of this event will contribute to the improvement of international popularity of and marketing expertise for other cities. The author also has the following suggestions regarding policy evaluation in future: -Policy goals should be established based on the local environment and requirements. -Apart from quantitative indicators, qualitative indicators should also be established in the process of effectiveness evaluation, so as to take into account the diversified value of the events. -As for integrated policy evaluation, it is recommended that evaluation should be conducted by the central government on a consolidated basis, taking into account long-term effectiveness