And the sponsors are…
CHARUKESI
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Small or big, every organisation can use some financial help to conduct the festival. A survey.
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In the good old days, it was the maharajahs and zamindars who had supported fine arts, but it has now become the duty of big companies.
Publicity, extension of advertising, corporate social responsibility and finally, the chairman’s interest — these are some of the reasons Alastair Sedgwick attributes to companies’ interest in sponsorship. Source: his article on ‘The Company As Art Sponsor’ in ‘Management To-day,’ published a decade ago. The observation, which holds good today, was based on a pilot study.
The December music and dance season is the time when sponsorship peaks for art. The sponsors vary from small business establishments to big corporate conglomerates. It has become a cliché now for the head of the corporate body to mention in his speech that it was social responsibility that prompted him to sponsor the event.
‘We take this opportunity to repay to society,’ goes the proclamation. The president of the organisation (read sabha), however, would say that in the good old days, it was the maharajahs and zamindars, who had supported fine arts but it has now become the duty of big companies.
The banner culture
Sponsorship in turn has ushered in the banner culture. If the banners hung outside the premises is an ugly sight, the display inside the hall really mars the ambience.
Smaller the organisations, more the number of banners and smaller the hall, uglier the display.
Aesthetics are thrown to the wind as the banners are hung as if they were clothes jostling for space at home during monsoon.
The fliers distributed at the entrance is publicity of another kind. How many care to look at the paper and once inside the darkness makes reading impossible. Most members of the audience leave the booklets behind as they leave after the programme.
Now, how many sponsors know what exactly the package is? They totally rely on the credibility of the institution. Some sabha secretaries are wary lest the sponsor should attach strings.
The marketing aspect
Sponsorship for fine arts is not widely regarded as a profit-generating accompaniment to other ingredients in the marketing mix.
To quote Alastair Sedgwick again, “A company must look, not for an immediate percentage gain in market share, but at a subscription to the fabric of the society in which they will be operating 10, 20 or 50 years from now.”
He adds: “Sponsorship can be made to benefit a company in the following areas: personnel relations, education, consumer relations, community relations, trade and supplier relations, press relations, government relations, management development and industrial relations.
The success of any exploitation in these areas is governed in part by the extent to which the sponsored activity is appropriate to the sponsoring company. So the value of the event and its purchase price, must be judged in the light of how the company plans to benefit.’
Do corporate houses have a policy regarding sponsorship? Is it donation or sponsorship? Is it one-time support, how much is the sum? Defining these issues will help both the sponsor and the beneficiary.
Richard D. Pirozzolo, in Public Relations Journal, wrote under the title, ‘Support for the Arts,’ “Develop a policy statement describing your company’s goals and objectives in the area of supporting the arts.”
Chennai’s music and dance season is unique and mammoth. Myriad sabhas, myriad venues. The canvas has expanded beyond the city limits.
The general manager of a nationalised bank who was in-charge of awarding sponsorships said that while they always took care of the rural customers, they had the responsibility to promote heritage, culture and fine arts. They get a venue to promote their products where a large number of people gather for such events. It is here that they get new clientele to swell their rank.
Pricing of tickets
There is yet another angle. While the entire series of the festival is sponsored, is it proper to restrict the entry by high-priced tickets?
Some sabha heads say that they have to maintain the sabha with whatever they earn during the festival. And this includes organising monthly programmes and running the outfit. However, there are a few institutions that throw open their halls free for the rasikas.
“We are wary of accepting sponsorships for the reason that they would dictate terms to us. We do not want any kind of pressure from the sponsors.
However, for the past few years we have accepted part sponsorship from Bank of India for our annual Natyarangam Dance Festival and offered them a few hundred invitations to be passed on to their customers. We give them prominence in our invitations and the book we bring out during the festival,” offered R. Krishnaswami, secretary, Narada Gana Sabha.
It would not be at all bad if the sponsors, both nationalised banks and corporate houses, jointly form a consortium of sorts and apportion the annual sponsorship funds throughout the year to deserving organisations.
The bunching of Carnatic concerts and dance recitals in a restricted span of a month or two could thus be spread throughout the year. This has been mooted and vetoed but it needs to be repeated every season for the consideration of the sponsors!
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