The MassKara Festival has become one of the country’s prime festivals, with more corporate sponsors coming in, confident in the capability of the festival organizers to deliver their marketing needs.
MassKara festival director Eli F. J. Tajanlangit, in his report titled, “MassKara 2011: A Report to the People” delivered before the Sangguniang Panlungsod at the Planta Hotel yesterday (December 14), said, “The increase (in sponsorship revenues) is a reflection of (our) sponsors’ confidence in our ability to deliver what they need.”
From P6.6 million in 2004, we were able to raise P8.3 million this year, Tajanlangit said, allowing us to expand the festival and add more major activities.
Of this amount, P5.9 million came from sponsorships, P1.018 from rentals of booths and alleys, P1.2 million from carnival rights, and the rest from other marketing activities, he said.
He said that of the P8.3 million, the festival spent P7.5 million, or a net savings of P801,846 that will now form the seed money for the 2012 festival.
Together with his presentation, Tajanlangit also submitted to the members of the council the Independent Auditor’s Report, a summary of the use and inventory of sponsorships in kind and the breakdown of the utilization of the food and beer kiosks around the plaza.
Tajanlangit recalled that when he was appointed to organize the MassKara Festival in 2004, few companies were willing to come in as sponsors.
The festival opened in 2004 with only P2 million in sponsorship commitments, he said, which was less than the needed budget of P5 million to P6 million then.
He disclosed that to raise the needed amount, he had to mobilize his own personal network of corporate friends, who gave solely on the basis of trust.
He also recalled that in the same year, most barangays in Bacolod were reluctant to participate in the streetdancing activities, and Mayor Evelio Leonardia then had to personally campaign among the barangays to get them to join.
Tajanlangit stressed that the SMFO virtually started from scratch, as they had no resources to use then.
Eight years later, from a sponsorship fund of P6.6 million in 2004 to P8.3 million this year, Tajanlangit said the MassKara Festival has earned the confidence of the corporate sponsors.
“I am proud to tell you that these sponsorships no longer have any personal attachments to them—they were negotiated, agreed upon, and properly signed in the most professional manner. We attracted these sponsors solely on the strength of the festival’s marketing possibilities; since 2007, I have stopped badgering my own personal connections for these sponsorships,” Tajanlangit said.
Tajanlangit stressed that an efficient festival organizer delivers a festival that meets the standard of its sponsors.
“We were appointed to organize the festival and not to generate income at the end of the festival. It is not fair to scrimp on the funds contributed by the sponsors because these are given, not for some other lofty ideals, but for the best festival that can be,” he said.
“If there has to be an evaluation, judge us on the basis of what kind of MassKara we have delivered over the years,” he added.
He also noted that their appointment as organizers also absolves the city government of any responsibility as to its operations.
Should we run into deficit, or incur debts because of the festival operations, the city cannot rescue us; it will be ours, he added.
“I hope people appreciate that, because that is a big responsibility,” Tajanlangit added.*
