Resorts cash in as partying matrics celebrate freedom

LAST month's Matric Rage festivals saw businesses in coastal areas pocket millions of rand as matriculants celebrated an end to 12 years of school.

An estimated 35000 matric students descended on Umhlanga Rocks and Ballito in KwaZulu-Natal - as well as Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape - for the annual bash, which lasted nearly three weeks and featured non-stop entertainment and performances from South Africa's top DJs and musicians.

Lance Crouch, a director at G&G Productions, which organised the festivals, said the KwaZulu-Natal economy received an estimated R140-million boost, mainly in the hospitality sector, in part, also thanks to delegates attending COP17 climate-change talks held in Durban last month.

Monkey Bay Backpackers in Ballito saw turnover increase by 15% as a result of the festival. Various businesses in the area reported similar increases, said owner Michael Dempsey.

Other local businesses were brought on board to provide products and services - ranging from food and drink to hair washing and styling - at a discount. This was exclusive to students who held "Rage passport" cards, sold through Vodacom 4U stores and agents at schools across the country.

Shameema Shaikjee, owner of Kiki's Fast Food in Umhlanga, said the festival presented an ideal opportunity for her fledgling business to market itself to students as a cost-effective choice.

"Most was spent on other things - food was not a priority," said Shaikjee.

She said the festival brought more foot traffic to her establishment, but not as much as expected.

"That was due to the fact that the COP17 had an effect on accommodation not being available, thus many youngsters were in Ballito or Plett," she said, referring to the UN climate-change talks in Durban.

The Primi Plantation restaurant in Ballito experienced a significant increase in foot traffic and revenue due to the special promotions on offer for Rage passport holders, according to owner Himal Patel.

Mike Silver, a director at Stretch Experiential Marketing - which ran events for Stimorol and Adidas Original at the festival - said each student spent between R6000 and R10000 at the festival.

He said the festival, with its live music, provided an important marketing opportunity for brands.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' SA entertainment and media outlook report for 2011-2015, spend on physical music albums is projected to slide 10.6% each year for the next four years, from R1.2-billion in 2010 to R693-million in 2015.

In contrast, consumer spending on music festivals is projected to increase at a yearly rate of 7.5% for the same period, reaching R890-million in 2015 from R620-million in 2010. Sponsorship will rise to a projected R50-million in 2015 from R30-million in 2010.

"Consumers are more than happy to pay for festival and live music experiences in spite of economic woes," said Silver.

"Brands of course recognise this, as well as the invaluable opportunity to engage consumers in a relevant environment and manner - understanding their specific lifestyle needs."

A spokesman for BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion said the company had decided to sponsor the festival to increase awareness of its brand among the youth, one of its most important and enthusiastic markets.

"We liked the idea of providing the youth with a platform to interact with our brand and learn about our products in a safe, controlled environment, where they were having fun," said the spokesman.

Crouch said the festival was enjoying yearly growth of around 10%, despite strong competition and attempts to copy the concept.

"We deal with numerous trademark infringements each year," he said.