Machel is going back into the Soca Monarch and the fans love it. And that’s all that should matter right? Wrong! Machel has been doing some pretty heavy strategic brand stuff in the past little while, culminating in his withdrawal from Carnival 2010. That was a stroke of genius that used the tried and tested “scarcity strategy” as a means of making his goods more valued and more valuable. Ever tried to buy fish 2 weeks before Easter?
In 2011 he’s ditched the scarcity road and is flooding the market instead. People normally mention Carib and Stag in the beer wars of the mid-eighties. We often forget that there was another beer on the market; a not so small brand called Heineken. Actually, Heineken is probably the beer that’s most available across the globe. Heineken refused to enter the war and was prepared to lose sales if that meant moving away from the “premium quality positioning”. They figured that you could not be “premium” and be selling for $2.50 tt in every nook and cranny.
So I think Machel has gone off of his “premium” strategy and is discounting his brand. Doing it so soon after his “scarcity strategy” of last year makes his brand look schizophrenic. He’s opened a factory outlet right after opening a store on 5th Avenue. He’s going for short term sales at the expense of his brand’s long term health. But he’s a genius so maybe we are witnessing the new marketing. He will win the Soca Monarch’s $2 million and will his brand also win?
29 January, 2011, 4:07 pm
i totally agree. He’s performing everywhere almost as if he’s trying to make up for the money he lost in 2010. Soca Monarch will definitely be exciting this year but he’ll definitely discount his brand with this strategy.
30 January, 2011, 8:33 am
Dumb question! Dumber answers!! Discounting his Brand? Obviously you are not talking about the same guy getting over 300,000 a show, deals worth millions with Caribbean Air Sunshine Snacks, Blue Water, Color Heritage Clothes, TV 6, Book deals, reality series and a fitness show. His Brand sure is struggling right? Dead wrong! A great move by his people!
30 January, 2011, 11:05 am
Yo Boy you might be right, brand HD might be better for this switch in strategy. I’m just wondering why the switch on a strategy that appeared to be working. If I were advising him (although he has done very well on his own), I would have told him to stay the course. He can’t be Nordstrom one day and Walmart the next. Otherwise what could happen is that someone comes along who is always Nordstrom and he’ll be left with a discount brand. Here’s my point, HD needs to decide what he wants to be and stick to it. That’s all.
30 January, 2011, 3:03 pm
Dennis, your analogy Nordstrom vs Walmart I do not believe many people shop at these stores to understand the comparison. As I see it HD entering this year soca monarch IS LIKE THE DOG AND THE BONE…….it is the MONEY stupid……short term gain.
1 February, 2011, 7:28 pm
Elizabeth Montano who heads the band as the business Manager is a genius, I am almost certain that they cut a deal with bmobile to get him back in the competition …that 2 million is neither here nor there for HD and its entourage …Bmobile and EM’s partnership is one to monitor!!! We can all learn something from this
While I am encouraged by ppl like Philip Kotler and Michael Porter , I have to say Elizabeth Montano I salute you !!
Did I mention the Elizabeth Montano is a genius when it comes to Marketing the Band and its capabilities !!!
1 February, 2011, 7:33 pm
As for Dennis’s comment on picking a strategy and sticking to it, HD is sticking to their strategy – Their Overall Strategy if “Re-inventing themselves” !!!!
2 February, 2011, 1:26 pm
Is that Elizabeth John? or Elizabeth Montano posting there..hmmmm, but anywayz,
what’s wrong with being a “sell-out”, nearly any major music artist would do an ad for a product once the money is right. The “sell-out” strategy has happened years now.. so what’s the big deal, let Machel make his “paper”, yuh feel he “too young to Soca” ?
I think as well it is like getting back to the people, he has been out the picture for some time, coming back and hitting the right notes will make all the difference.
So I say congrats SOCA MONARCH 2011, ROAD MARCH 2011, CALYPSO MONACH, EXTEMPORE MONARCH… take it all!!!!
4 February, 2011, 2:57 pm
@ Thinkincorporated it is Elizabth John posting!!! any way, why all the fuss???? because at the end of the day the bigger picture is $$$ and if it was left up to any of us, like HD “we too would do it for the money , the status and all that glitters and more”… :)
Case in point, his return -the way I see it – #1 choice/Top of Mind for when it comes to soca (there are many many players in the market now, even the DJ looking for Soca Money)
Regain his lost Market share – leading to once again being the Market Leader
Why not hit Soca Monarch ????
The results are what they expected, a buzz here there and every way,!!!!!
2 February, 2011, 2:46 pm
It’s sad this world that we live in today. The ideology is once we “make a paper”, that’s good. On the surface, if Machel returns to the competition because of the money, it is a good move. The wider, sociological picture paints a different colour. We live in a time when standards and morals are pushed aside because of a greater desire for money. Once we think like that as a society, then there is no care for self or our fellow citizens. The end result is a self-destructing community. Isn’t that the Trinidad and Tobago we live in today?
Now you people who are eager to jump on my back and say that Machel is not responsible for our social decay, don’t do that. That is not where I am going with this. I am just looking at the bigger picture and consequences with the thinking that “once you’re making money, to ass with everything else.”
2 February, 2011, 5:25 pm
“TOO ASS WITH everyone”… when yuh big yuh is boss, and could beat up ppl in Zen too.
Talk bout setting that example nah!!
3 February, 2011, 6:29 pm
I think you should break this down further into the groups of people who Machel sells his brand to. The die hard, brand loyal fans are going to pretty much love him regardless of what he does (as is evident by certain nightclub and other incidents and his fanbase remaining strong). Then there are the soca lovers who are not on the HD bandwagon but are not opposed to it. I believe these are the ones they are trying to target now, especially with how hard he is pushing himself for Road March as well.
You should also look at the perception of the Soca Monarch. Is this competition for up and comers or any and everybody? Has Machel risen to a status that is beyond it? (I think the consensus here is yes) Perhaps the brand of Soca Monarch ITSELF has taken a hit in recent years and that’s why Machel, if you believe it, was ‘asked’ to enter: to give it A LOT of promotion. I think this is the most likely scenerio. But I digress..
I’m not sure how much of the population is not brand loyal to Machel but I’m willing to bet it’s not a majority. As such, taking into consideration that most people think Machel has gone beyond such a competition, as public backlash against such alludes to, I think he is devaluing his brand.
But in a country like our sweet Trinidad and Tobago, where you could launch a coup against the government one day and be a celebrity the next (albeit an extreme e.g.) can Machel’s brand ever truly be devalued to an extent that would really hurt him? both he and Soca Monarch are getting exposure and in the world of showbusiness there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
6 February, 2011, 10:25 pm
The price is right, plain and simple. However, don’t tell me that Machel has the best music in the market this year. Entering the competition for a $2m payday is one thing, but that doesn’t mean that we have to hand everything to Boy on a platter. The fact that he has everyone believing that he’s won suggests to me that his “Nordstrom” brand is still very much intact.
6 February, 2011, 10:30 pm
You know Trini’s amaze me sometimes…so Machel is the 1st star in the world to ever get in an altercation outside a nightclub??? Randomly I could name more than a handful of celebs who have been in similar incidents. Ppl need to get over themselves.if it were any1 else you wouldnt care.
He’s obviously not doing it for the money since he made that $2M in the first two weekends of the season. When you’ve been away for sometime you need to come back hard…thats just what he’s doing. More music, better music, more availability. Destra’s doing the same, so whats the problem?
14 February, 2011, 1:25 pm
Away for a while???? One year??? Wow! That’s quite a long time.
19 February, 2011, 2:42 pm
This is a very interesting conversation. I am wondering if I might give it an “international spin” I am from Barbados and I pay attention to what Machel is doing.
I think the first point is, the music business has changed. The way music is consumed has changed dramatically because of the interne and technology in general. The general thinking coming out of major music conferences is that the internet is the 6th person in your band. Now Machel has not had a great internet strategy. Actually in some cases his camp has not encouraged the usage of the internet, in terms of discouraging fan videos etc.
Actually no artiste in the Caribbean has a very good internet strategy. Nothing close to keeping with international standards. The interesting thing is that Soca already has the model for the “new music industry” but our artistes are discarding it running after the old model. Barbados has almost 10 major label signed artistes.
Vybz Kartel & Lil Wayne are considered 2 of the hottest artiste in their genres and their model is to produce a tonne of music.
I think Machel and crew have shown that they get strategy, they understand. If we take a step back we will realize a few things.
I don’t understand this completely but a new government and desperately trying to restructure things. What opportunities are there for the HD camp there, this might be long term goals?
Soca Monarch is probably now the biggest stage in Caribbean Entertainment. There is live event that has a wider audience. They sell pay per view and also have the internet. Actually last Sunday several people on twitter and facebook were watching the Grammies and also the Soca Monarch show. This is why people from the islands compete. It’s huge for exposure.
Now, what can Machel do with the Soca Monarch stage? He has said he will do something never done before on Soca Monarch. Machel has his own concert to do whatever he wants.
What will all the revenue he generates this carnival be able to help him accomplish?
I guess the greatest strategies can look quite dumb at times, if you don’t know what the strategy is.
Just offering a different perspective.