The business of showbiz in Zimbabwe has become more like a gambling affair as it is never certain whether or not a show will be successful due to many factors such as affordability, type of venue, artist line up and the weather conditions.
However, one factor that definitely makes or breaks a gig is the marketing. Marketing, or the lack thereof, is an area where many promoters, especially the novices, are getting it wrong.
An example of a failure in marketing over the weekend is the inaugural Winter Worship Festival held on Friday, June 24 and Saturday June 25 at the 7 Arts Theatre.
On the first day there were just a handful of people, less than 100 to be precise, and yet when you calculate the cost of hiring a P. A. system and lights, security, printing tickets and paying artists, it was an overall loss.
On the second day, the turnout tripled with close to 300 in attendance. In the lead-up to the event, the organisers did not make an aggressive attempt towards marketing their gig. The most they did was sporadically make posts on social media platforms, and a only few days ahead of the show there were some radio adverts complemented by the traditional posters.
Unfortunately, all these last minute efforts failed to yield much and the story at the end of the day was a sickly low attendance, resulting in huge losses for the organisers.
The performances, on the other hand, were on point with most of the artists, including Minister Takesure Zamar Ncube, Minister Mahendere, Pastor G, and Pastor Haisa, leading the audience into a worship zone.
Some of the artists even dropped a couple of their new tracks, and judging from their performances, the future of local gospel music is very bright. More diverse and skilled gospel musicians are emerging each day.
