Big $ = Big Mas

CARNIVAL BANDS are increasingly being transformed into large commercial conglomerates and cloaking themselves with their characteristics as well. They now comprise several individual enterprises, constantly reinventing themselves in order to strike the right balance of making money and keeping customers satisfied — and all for the thousands of persons who sign up to enjoy the two days of bacchanalian abandon dubbed “The greatest show on earth.” To save costs, most of the materials for the bigger bands are imported. From South Korea, Taiwan, India, China, Brazil,  and USA come the feathers, beads, trimmings and certain fabrics.    While the debate rages on about the bigger bands becoming money-making machines and whether we are mimicking the nudity of the Brazilian Carnival, the clock is ticking  down to next week’s Carnival 2K5 celebrations.

Poison which has sought to promote itself as “the flagship of TT Carnival” over the last 15 years, probably knows the economics of Carnival better than most. Through the quality of its mas and the service, band officials say costs are justified. According to Poison’s communications officer Meg Cheekes, Poison has constantly sought to reinvent itself over the years. Cheeks said with the dual purpose of keeping TT’s culture alive and offering a commercial product, the band hopes to encourage masqueraders, both local and foreign, to keep coming back to TT to play mas with the band. Cheekes likened Poison to a large commercial conglomerate like Ansa McAl, which comprises member companies, each contributing  to the success of the overall enterprise. Similarly, bands have satellite companies or sections, all of whom contribute to the bottom line.

She said much like a conglomerate with varied components and managers, each of the band’s 38 sections has its own designers and managers who try to outdo each other in terms of costume design and finding ways to cut costs. “The individual sections are encouraged to try and out do one another in terms of their portrayal of the mas,” she said. Cheekes explained that by employing this strategy, not only does Poison ensure that its masqueraders have fun but it also showcases the special Carnival product to the wider international market, which, she thinks,  only Poison could offer. Like a big company, managers are also given incentives. She said the internal competitions within Poison encourage the entrepreneurs within its ranks to improve their skills and ensure that Carnival remains a viable commercial product.

Cheekes said while the mas camps of Poison have arguably been transformed into corporate board rooms, it takes a lot of planning to put out a Carnival band. Poison, she added,  has recognised the importance of developing the young minds within the industry. Through a mix of incentives, she said Poison hopes the mas would  remain relevant and commercially viable. Douglas Gordon, whose Island Events is entering the fray for the first time with the Moulin Rouge mystique, also talks about viability and customer satisfaction. Gordon explained that through Moulin Rouge, Island Events is hoping to offer a high quality service and long- term value which masqueraders would remember. From food and beverage to the costumes, he hopes to make them want to come back for more. Using security as an example, Gordon said the personnel which would be guarding Moulin Rouge masqueraders on the road on Carnival Monday and Tuesday are being encouraged to see the masqueraders as the “people who pay our bills.” 

Though his outfit is the new kid on the block, this is not stopping Gordon from thinking big. He is optimistic that the day would come when TT becomes the carnival hub of the world — outsourcing its services to carnivals in other parts of the world with all aspects of the mas  handled in TT. That’s something veteran big band “Harts” would grab at. At his Woodbrook camp, Luis Hart, is a hands-on manager, directing his workers. They  moved at breakneck speed, putting the final touches on Harts’ “Colorsion” presentation. Hart said the band’s workers have been working round-the-clock since July to put all the elements of their presentation in place for next week’s festivities.

He said the situation is not helped much by the fact that “almost all” of Harts’ materials had to be imported, adding that the band also had to pay exorbitant duties to bring in even simple things, such as beads and feathers. He said it was very challenging, particularly for the all-inclusive ones. He said even so they found it difficult to shield masqueraders from the total cost “when there is little help from the Government.” Hart urged Government to do more to develop the local Carnival industry and called for concessions to be made to bandleaders and trade regulations, he added,  must be “tempered with common sense.”  Gordon however believes that Government is already working to create an environment to facilitate the development of a Carnival industry and it is still a work in progress.

While the jury is out on Government help for the Carnival industry, nearly all of its stakeholders agree that the private sector is doing its part. Gordon said Island Events could not complain about corporate sponsorship for Moulin Rouge with “a mix of cash and product.”  He noted that among the band’s 2005 sponsors are regional hotel giant Sandals Resort, which is entering TT Carnival for the first time. Moulin Rouge is also being sponsored by Angostura, Carib and the Kiss Baking Company. Cheekes was also high in praise for Poison’s corporate sponsors, especially TSTT which like Sandals, is making a corporate venture into Carnival for the first time.

So is Carnival a profitable enterprise for the local entrepreneur ?   “You can make a living but you can’t make a killing,” is how Hart put it. He said bandleaders are normal people like everyone else with bills to pay and he only has “a two-bedroom apartment.” Gordon said there were very few businesses in which one could make a killing because this is usually short-lived and then “somebody comes and eats you for lunch.” He explained that it was best to view Carnival as a long-term enterprise rather than a get-rich-quick scheme. Gordon said Carnival must be viewed as an ever-changing market and took the view that it was up to its players to find the fresh canvas to paint that perfect picture.

Being the veteran among the bunch, Steve Samaroo was blunt. He said there could be no doubt that some people are “in it  for the revenue”  and there would always be the debate as to whether cash or culture takes precedence over the other in Carnival. He still believes  that the common denominator in all of this is the love of Carnival. This could be the unifying factor which allows Carnival’s stakeholders to strike the balance between the pleasure of playing mas and the profit margin.