Should the business model of carnival change?
Just like many other carnival chasers around the world, I have been closely following the developments in Miami Carnival. It has been a joy to see people partying again, and again having the time of their lives, despite the presence of covid.
But there is a downside. Right alongside the videos of smiling happy faces, there are the anguished stories of disgruntled masqueraders.
This has led me to think…..Should there be a change in carnival business practises to avoid this long repeating problem, especially in markets like my own Jamaica which is expanding rapidly, and other places with recurring issues like Miami.
Pulling together all the moving parts of a band is HARD. It is a logistical task of herculean proportions in many cases, no different from any manufacturing operation converting raw materials into finished goods. These raw materials are for the most part imported, adding logistical complexity.
There are many ways for it to go wrong.
Margins are usually RAZOR thin and so there is a lot of pressure to simply sell more units to make reasonable (or any) profit. This then puts a lot of pressure on production to meet the responsibilities and sometimes “pressure buss pipe”.
So…. what can be changed?
I think some Fundamental changes are needed in both the business models of the bands as well as the expectations of masqueraders to break this longstanding cycle.
Here is what I would do if I had it my way.
The band launch dates and sales. Band need to build a culture of earlier band launches and sales to allow adequate lead time.
Limit duration of sales (limited sales period). So I know this sounds weird but hear me out. I think bands should let masqueraders know WAAY in advance, before launch, that they will have a limited time to pay for a costume deposit. Make that period span 2 paydays. Then after that…..boom…sales of costumes stops. This way, the bands final costume numbers are known well in advance. Allow t-shirt, or easy to produce Monday wear, for late comer sales.
Doing things this way will allow bands, with final numbers in hand, to immediately start buying materials in the quantities needed and shipping them all together to simplify logistics.
Bands would then have a longer time available to finish costumes (backpacks in particular) and should be able to finish them earlier.
On the flip side, the culture of the masquerader would also need to drastically change to make things better for all.
Costume deposit amounts should be high enough to allow for purchase of raw materials and for production. This at first feels like it would be bad for the industry, driving down sales. But I think that once the customers are informed well in advance what to expect, it will be ok. The current trend of tiny deposits to lock in customers can work for huge established bands but is sufferation for smaller ones.
Another big change for the masquerader should be final payment due well in advance of road parade day. This would allow for the band to finish its production seamlessly, as well as finishing other purchases such as goodie bag materials.
I would not be surprised if the number of feathered costumes initially falls, but changing the business practises of bands and the culture of masqueraders may mean the band is more likely to successfully finish production, do so with more efficiency and with MUCH greater customer satisfaction. Over time the model can be scaled up to fit any size band as popularity and reputation for excellence grows.
I think having 500 completely satisfied customers is better than having 700 customers and 100 didn’t get what they paid for!
This is of course a massive oversimplification, especially on the band side of the explanation, but the basic principles I think hold true.
Simple changes on both sides is the path to carnivals without costume drama.
Would you be willing to change?
leave a comment below.
