- Contributed
A patron at 'Red Stripe Light Glow' held recently.
Tamara King, Staff Reporter
THE PARTNERSHIP between corporate Jamaica and the entertainment industry was given a shot in the arm close to the end of last year. Many companies went all out in sponsoring entertainment events such as 'Red Stripe Invasion' in Ocho Rios, 'Appleton Hot Shots' at the Constant Spring Golf Club, 'Pepsi Teen Splash' at James Bond Beach in St. Mary and 'Red Label Frenzy 2K2' at Cinema 2, New Kingston, to name a few.
Many of these were 'title-sponsored', assuring the sponsors of pride of place on posters and other advertising media.
It would appear that this is the latest entertainment fad, as sources said that this has not always been so and in the past there were few sponsors for similar events. They added that the 'new trend' is indicative of the positive direction that the entertainment industry is headed in.
It seems logical for liquor companies to sponsor these events, since alcoholic beverages are the mainstay of stage shows. However a wide cross-section of corporate Jamaica, including phone companies, is dancing to the sponsorship beat.
However, while sponsorship for entertainment events seems to be rife on one hand, many promoters, especially of gospel shows and those involved in theatre, admit to having difficulties procuring sponsorship.
When The Sunday Gleaner spoke to several sponsors they said that there is no one deciding factor, but rather a combination of reasons that will determine whether or not as well as the extent to which they will back an event. According to Janice Allen, Mobile Promotions Manager at Cable & Wireless (C&W),"We sponsor events based on the reputation of the promoters and the calibre of the artistes involved, the target audience and if it is something in line with what the company is doing at the time, then we will get involved."
While Cable and Wireless was not the main sponsors of Hot Shots 2002, they were an 'associate sponsor' and the company's name and logo were displayed prominently on the posters and billboards advertising the event. Allen added that it was easy to sponsor the event because it was not the first one to be held and therefore it had a history. She also emphasised that the production team, Solid Agency, was recognisable to C&W, since they had put on other shows in the past. She added that the promoters enjoyed the full confidence of Cable and Wireless.
In Hot Shots' case, it seemed the line-up accounted for much of its sponsorship fortunes. "We check to make sure that the line-up will complement or go with our Cable and Wireless brand. Shaggy was involved with our promotions in the past and so a clear synergy existed right there, which made it very difficult not to get involved," Ms. Allen said. She also pointed that this year, Cable and Wireless will also be title sponsoring 'Rebel Salute', which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Like their competitor Digicel, the company is involved with Jamaica Carnival and will be a major sponsor for the blowout fetes, the first of which for this year was held on January 1 at the Students' Union, at the University of the West Indies.
Many marketing and brand managers admit that whichever shows they are sponsoring must have mass appeal, which will in turn translate into large markets for their goods and services. It would seem that many of these events are little more that a 'marketing blitz' for the respective companies. For example, Cable and Wireless used the Hot Shots opportunity to market cellular phones, dubbing them 'hotshots cellular'. They also gave away cellular phones at the event.
When it comes to entertainment and sporting events, liquor companies show up on the posters more often than other corporate entities. Red Stripe has been giving their endorsement and sponsorship to numerous calendar events over the years.
Red Stripe Beer has lent its name to sporting events such as the Red Stripe Bowl, the Red Stripe Derby and Red Stripe Superstakes and premiere entertainment events such as Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest and the recently held Red Stripe Invasion. According to Roger Thompson, brand manager for Red Stripe, his company usually heads for title sponsorship because that removes it from the 'clutter' of sponsors.
However he noted that each proposal for sponsorship passes through a rigorous decision-making process.
"We must be mindful of the type of event, the promoter's track record and reputation and the type of audience targeted," he said.
Mr. Thompson added that if the event is in line with the strategy of the brand and the company is confident that it will reflect its values, Red Stripe will be encouraged to get involved in the promotions. "It is not only tied to whether or not the event will be successful, but the equity or good will that it can add to the brand brand equity," he asserted.
He stated that sponsors are also interested in the volume of liquor that the event will be able to move for the company.
With all of that, the million-dollar question seems to be how much money sponsors actually spend on these events. However, Mr. Thompson says that the arrangements vary. He added that it could be cash sponsorship, as well as media and cash sponsorship, where the company takes care of the organiser's advertising budget. He also said that at other times sponsorship takes the form of product support.
It is every promoter's dream to have their shows supported by a member of corporate Jamaica but many of the marketing managers that The Sunday Gleaner spoke to agree that kisses go by favours. "We are bombarded with requests for sponsorship every day, so the important thing is to choose those events that fit in with the marketing strategy that the company is pursuing. The events that fit in with the strategy right now are entertainment and sports," said Roger Thompson.
According to Mr. Thompson, it is also essential that events which will provide an atmosphere in keeping with the essence of the brand are chosen. He explains that each brand has its own 'essence' and that Red Stripe's is 'fun-loving, down to earth, easygoing and relaxing'.
He agrees that it is one of the reasons Red Stripe beer would never sponsor a show like Sting. His colleague, Collin Smith who is the brand manager for Guinness, which sponsored 'Guinness Christmas Extravaganza' in Black River, St. Elizabeth, Stone Love's 30th anniversary celebration, pointed out that Guinness would endorse the latter based on the fact that it was a dancehall event and fit in well with the brand. "The heartland of Guinness is dance and we have been doing that for a number of years," he asserted.
Dancehall fans will be familiar with the Guinness Loaded series 'Fully Loaded', 'Reloaded' and 'Overloaded.' According to Smith, "one of the main reasons we sponsor a programme is if it delivers benefits to the brand, which has as its essence 'power, strength and masculinity'." He added that the fact that Guinness is consumed in large quantities at these dance sessions and that it fits in with the images of major dancehall acts such as Bounty Killer make the brand an ideal sponsor for dancehall events.
Red Stripe markets other brands such as Heineken, which has lent their names to the successful Heineken Startime and Good Times series and heavily promoted Smirnoff, which is title sponsor of the Smirnoff Ice Club tour. The Smirnoff Ice Club tours is comprised of a series of events which are held in different clubs over a period of time. There are also 'Smirnoff Experience' parties that utilise local and foreign disc jockeys, who are brought in from Europe and North America. According to Laura May Patterson, assistant brand manager for Red Stripe, the Smirnoff Experience parties are a global phenomenon and Kingston is now joining in on the fun.
Despite the fact that the sale of products is not the main reason for a phone company getting involved in the sponsorship of entertainment events, marketing director for Digicel, Harry Smith, says the company's sponsorship of an entertainment event is deliberate. "It is deliberate that our marketing mix includes entertainment events. We took the decision to sponsor four genres - reggae through Sumfest, jazz (co-sponsorship of the BET and Air Jamaica Jazz Festival), Carnival (Bacchanal) and gospel through our sponsorship of the Brooklyn Tabernacle event," he said. He also noted that the mobile phone provider sees the partnership with entertainment as a legitimate marketing tool since research shows that young persons are tuning out traditional media such as radio and newspapers as a source of information.
"So we are constantly looking for other avenues for our brand to have meaningful relationship and experience with our subscribers," Mr. Smith concluded.
