Packaging entertainment for specific age groups

The success of any product being marketed is largely dependent on branding and packaging. Packaging can best be defined as the science and technology of enclosing and protecting products for distribution, storage, sale and use. Many times when we talk of packaging, the physical aspect is what comes to mind. However some intangible products also need to be packaged in a way that offers them protection and allows easy use or access to these services. The entertainment industry is one of the struggling industries in Rwanda and this can easily be blamed on its poor packaging. Every now and then we hear stories of city council authorities or police ordering the closure of an entertainment place or a music concert over various reasons. This has often left a sour taste in the mouths of entertainment industry investors and even the fans or patrons of these facilities. The issue here is often the failure to adhere to set regulations. However another major flaw I see with the entertainment industry here in its inability to package its products well enough so as to protect them from disruptions like closures while at the same time boosting access to the same products. By this I mean, if you choose to set up a night club in Kigali, it is not enough to purchase new speakers and a wall to wall carpet. Look at this establishment as a product. How are you packaging it and for who? Is it a place for all to enter? Questions like which kind of people are you targeting and how are you targeting them should be addressed before you receive your first customers. For instance if you want high end customers call them ‘big spenders’ you should think about ample parking space and safety of their cars. Secondly you should make an effort to keep away the small spenders by raising the prices a little high so as to make your undesirable customers quite uncomfortable. This being the holiday season, you may consider keeping out the school going children by telling the people at the entrance to ask to see some form of identification for those they assume to be below age. This way your high end customers will feel at home and thus spend freely as opposed to finding themselves sharing the bar counter with children young enough to be their own. Many establishment owners are known to let in every Tom, Dick and Kagabo on the assumption that the more people that get in the more sales. Even those who organise concerts need to package them well. There must be a sense of clarity as to whether it is an adults’ only show or a family show. If it is a family show then it ought to start early and end early enough. More so, the pricing of a family show should have some form of price differentiation to cater for the adults and the children expected to attend the show. Once the product is packaged for a particular age group or clientele it becomes much easier to offer that clientele what exactly they need in order for them to spend their money freely. Very soon the police/city council will start shutting down places for allowing young children to get into what are otherwise adult places. ssenyonga@gmail.com