Havana Carnival Plans Grand 60th Anniversary

IN a bid to make this year’s edition of the popular Havana Carnival grand, the event oganiser, G’ENNIE Leisure Inc, and one of its marketing partners, Ambitus Company, have agreed with SIGMA Club, owners of Havana Carnival, on the need to consider the benefits to prospective sponsors very well because it would determine the quality of sponsorship support the event might get from corporate and private organisations.

Sigma Club was founded two years after the University of Ibadan came into existence and Havana will mark its 60th year in 2015.

Mr Akin Olaiya, the CEO of Ambitus informed that the days of promising media mileage, among others, as benefits to sponsors appear to be gone as most companies have now decided to run firstly as profit-oriented organisations, and not charities.

“Havana is a sell-able brand no doubt, but we have to seriously consider what will be their economic gains for sponsors. Publicity alone does not bring in sponsors these days,” he said.

At the end of a meeting in Surulere, Lagos, which had six agency representatives, and the CEO of a popular musical network in attendance, it was agreed that a shot be taken at activating an event that could allow sponsors six weeks of exclusive marketing opportunity pre-Havana finale so that products and services would have been successfully marketed by intending sponsors.

Sigma Chief, Loyalist Damilola Oyebayo, expressed confidence in the team that the stakeholders have raised so far in efforts to hold a landmark Havana sometime this year.

“We know that it will be a grand event once we are able to get sponsors. For the companies that have showed interest in sponsoring Havana, we thank them. We shall hold a successful event when it eventually happens,” he said.

It was gathered from the Corporate Affairs Manager of G’ENNIE Leisure Inc, Ms Kemi Onojobi, that only six musicians will be
featured at this 60th edition of Havana for six hours of non-stop music at the yet-to-be-announced venue, dates for the musical