TransCity

This weekend saw the 22nd edition of the Rotterdam Summer Carnival, one of the largest Caribbean Carnival parades in Europe. Although the Summer Carnival started as an event organized by and for the Dutch Caribbean population, it has developed into one of the largest multicultural festivals in the Netherlands.

Participants come from a wide variety of communities, such as the Caribbean, Brazilian, Bolivian, Surinamese and Cape Verdean community while even a Moroccan girl was this year’s first runner up at the Queen Carnival election. With an estimated crowd of 900,000 the Rotterdam Summer Carnival has become a massive event.

As one of the Netherlands largest public events, the media exposure is huge and the involvement of the participants intense. As soon as the Summer Carnival is finished, participants already start preparing for the 23rd edition in 2007.

Then why are most of the large brands still ignoring the Summer Carnival as probably one of the most attractive sponsored objects in the Netherlands? Why is the very small Ortel Mobile Telecom company this year’s main sponsor instead of KPN, Vodafone, T-Mobile or Orange? Why do big brands invest heavily in the Amsterdam Uitmarkt or North Sea Jazz and ignore this massive Carnival event that attracts visitors from all over the country and abroad?

Provided it fits your brand and the strategic choices you have made, the Rotterdam Summer Carnival is a sponsor’s paradise. The event offers massive crowds, intense involvement of participants, huge media exposure, professional organization and unique and emotional content to be fully exploited by your brand.