FILE
At right, FAME delivers its 'Vitamin F' for the first two months of 2006. Left, Pulse model Jaunel McKenzie is the January girl in the Pulse 25th anniversary commemorative calendar.
Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
DON'T LET the soda fool you. In the entertainment business, in particular, and advertising, in general, image is everything.
And one way of keeping your image set for the year is to deliver the right calendar which combines beauty and function.
Some people wait anxiously for the stroke of midnight on January 1 to use their new calendars. They have become an intrinsic part of modern society, helping us to keep track of Father Time, who is insistent on running ahead.
Additionally, for companies they can provide 12 months of advertising - a constant reminder to consumer of presence.
ELABORATE CALENDARS
As the Jamaican entertainment industry gets more competitive and more sophisticated, elaborate calendars seem to have become more common. Some radio stations are among those which exploit the marketing potential of calendars and they have been significant in helping to not only push the brand but have become merchandise that fans look out for.
The production of some radio station calendars has, it seems, almost become cult events. FAME FM, for example, uses this year's six-page high gloss calendar to offer 'Vitamin F'.
The calendar continues to be a theme-based, showing the FAME DJs in various costumes ranging from clowns to fairies, which highlights that the station is willing to embrace the different.
Both FAME FM and IRIE FM report very high demand for their calendars by fans.
"People get really close and they take it personally," Francois St. Juste said. "I've had crowds chase my guys for calendars," noted IRIE's Brian Schmidt.
Of course, radio stations are not the only companies which seek to explore the value of a good calendar.
This year, Captain's Bakery produced a six-page work showing off the possibilities of bread.
Pulse Entertainment has presented a token to high fashion with a 12-page work created to celebrate its models' achievements in 2005.
With the days and months shoved out of the way to the left of the page, the Pulse calendar shows Jaunel McKenzie, Nadine Willis, Danielle Bowen, Rochelle Watson, Carla Campbell, Ghinelle Germaine, Kimanee Wilson, Susanna Gottshalk, Reshina Hemmings, Nell Robinson and the sole male, Oraine McKenzie.
Red Stripe has also created a tradition of highly expected calendars and group marketing manager Carlo Redwood noted that the calendar has a high demand.
This year, they produced 60,000 calendars to meet that desire, but the company has produced over 100,000 in previous years.
He noted that the company keeps not only 4,000 bars supplied, but also private consumers and has received demands from other Caribbean countries as well as individual tourists.
LOYAL FOLLOWING
St. Juste explains that FAME created their first calendar, a single-page work, in 1991. The first six-page calendar was created in 2001. The calendar, he says, reflects FAME's thrust as a personality-driven radio station.
"We have taken the whole thing of personality radio to another level," he said.
With the calendars, these radio personalities become far more visual. St. Juste explains that it is a very logical step for FAME, as many of their disc jockeys are in other areas of entertainment and so are visible to their fans in other ways. FAME's calendars have become expected events.
He noted that although the station had started out printing approximately 2,000 calendars, this year 25,000 of the six-pager were ordered and St. Juste expects that, as in previous years, it will not be enough to sate their fans and so more will have to be ordered.
Though he refrained from revealing the figures printed, Schmidt noted that IRIE has also generated quite a loyal following with their calendars, which they began producing 11 years ago.
CREATING STYLE
Of course, these calendars have been able to maintain interest because they retain a sense of style and each year offer something that fans can look forward to. Schmidt notes that IRIE has kept its style varied.
"Every year the calendar changes," he said. "We never recycle an idea." He explains that the one consistency is that the calendar must reflect a Jamaican identity and usually surrounds ideas of music and has used illustrations, high fashion and celebrities on their calendars. "We've taken that approach because we want to show that the station's always changing," he said.
He noted that the IRIE calendar could never be mistaken for that of its younger sibling, Zip FM, as the stations have very different identities which are projected on the calendars.
So Zip FM uses their Zip jocks in a more personality driven feel while IRIE, Schmidt, says presents more of a "vibe of the station" exploring the Jamaican grassroots feel, to Zip's more cosmopolitan appeal.
However, in creating style, each brand has to balance ideas of sexiness. With the various costumes, the FAME calendar runs a very broad spectrum pulling on the playful, the sexy and the suave, often all in a single shot.
Schmidt explains that both IRIE and Zip attempt to balance ideas of sexiness. "You want to be a little sexy because that's what music and entertainment is," he said, "but you don't want to be sexual."
Of course when it comes to selling liquor it is often okay to be overly sexual - at least, depending on which side of the bar you are standing. Alcohol-related calendars, often slated for bars, have been known to peddle women with little more than the skin they're in.
Redwood explains, however, that Red Stripe no longer goes for the very bare. This year's calendar combines women and two of their sponsored events the Champion's Cup and Reggae Sumfest.
"We used to be a little more revealing, but we've stepped away from that," he said.
CELEBRITIES ON CALENDARS
Individuals can also benefit from calendars. Bob Marley has one and so does Sponge Bob, but not everybody can afford their own calendar.
Carlette DeLeon of Headline Entertainment noted that with the increasing quantity and creativity being used in calendars greater interest has been generated and the industry has responded.
"Artistes and other stakeholders in the music industry, recognising this shift, have also captialised on the increased interest locally and overseas," she said in an Internet-based interview. "There is no doubt that calendars are a durable marketing tool, providing great value over a long period for money."
She notes that last year, Sean Paul put out a calendar and this year TOK and Bling Dawg have followed suit. However, DeLeon argues that most artistes cannot afford to invest in calendars, despite the possible benefits.
"Sean, like others, is aware of the benefits. But value requires a balance of cost and revenue. In our market, where album and merchandise sales are limited, only a handful of artistes can afford to utilise the value, due to the economics of scale," DeLeon said, "I would say that the increase in using calendars is related to their increased popularity, facilitated by the scale of the potential benefits versus cost."
COSTLY AFFAIR
And, of course, calendars are costly. A popular Kingston printer revealed that 11" x 17" single page calendars can range from $33,450 for 2000 to $151,600 for 20,000.
Large wall, six-page calendars get even more costly for the same 2,000 and 20,000 volumes.
The cost for 12" x 18" calendars to six-page rimmed calendars ranges from $158,100 to $931,200. And 18" x 24" single calendars range from $59,200 (2,000) to $270,350 (20,000).
DeLeon notes, however, that there has been increased use of merchandising in the entertainment industry recently, but the focus has been greater on other items.
Schmidt, however, believes that the lack of artiste driven calendars reflects on a lack of professionalism and weak management in the industry. He argues that when IRIE decided to produce a 'celebrity-driven' calendar for 2004, some artistes who committed did not show up and others simply displayed disinterest.
So while some companies remain with generic-seeming calendars that show their names but use standard pictures, for others, the calendar is the perfect vehicle to establish identity.
After all, a picture says more than a thousand words and it can be even more eloquent when allowed to speak all year.
