Till a couple of years back, any festival or occasion to be celebrated in apartment complexes was dependent on the contributions people made to fund the arrangements. In a typical scenario, a few enthusiastic people would go door to door and try to collect funds. They would have all kinds of reactions. Like willing to unwilling participation, from happy to reluctant contributions. Of course, at times the doubt if the money will be used for the said purpose or not. Post this they would expect people to turn up for the event and participate. The success rates were usually not very great. Notice the Consumer Power: Changing Dynamics in these times.
Rising Consumer Power: Changing Dynamics
Switch to the current scenario, especially in the large apartment complexes with a lot of money and muscle power, The businesses that serve these communities, reach out to the residents’ associations and are willing to fund all the festivities and celebrations. Now instead of the enthusiastic people going around for the funds, they get contacted by businesses like nearby grocery stores, boutiques, and other service providers.
Since the whole event is funded and no one has to really contribute, our friendly enthusiasts focus on promoting the event. Availability and reach of electronic communication of course helps the promotion process. The participation levels go up. It creates a win-win situation for all those involved.
Tangible Gains
Resident associations can not only have fun for free but actually may be making money out of the whole process by:
- Getting sponsorships for the festival arrangements
- Getting sponsorships for the prizes / lucky draws
- Letting small businesses/entrepreneurs put up stalls for the price
- Letting local radio stations conduct the games and events and also give away prizes to winners
- An opportunity for the builder to do a brand-building exercise for his future projects by funding some small functions or parts of the large functions
Intangible Gains
- These festivals are re-connecting people with their local communities and encouraging the spirit of the neighborhood
- It is letting the children of this generation experience all our national and religious festivals. They get to know, learn, and participate in the traditions and rituals. They get to dress up traditionally and eat traditional food for the festival
- Since most of the large complexes have a fair representation of the different regions, religions, and nationalities, these functions become a great source of cultural exchange
- Providing a platform for small entrepreneurs to promote themselves within the community
A good beginning for consumer power, I guess…
