Covering the FUN & Events of the  Carnival Industry

KREWE EDU: How to use royalty to elevate the club

Pictured: Knights of Sparta Debs are elegant and lovely enough to look royal

Below: The very first royal couple for the krewe of Morpheus, enjoy cutting the royal cake during their coronation.

Monday, October 22, 2009 ...........Hammond, Louisiana  There are many, many deserving business people across the greater gulf coast that can be asked or better yet, have bestowed upon them, the honor of becoming the King Queen of your organization. However, we must remember that you run a business and everything has a reason for the performance you produce.

Yes they are the Royal Couple, but just because they are the royalty doesn’t mean that they are not suppose to work for the greater good of their club and the Krewe. They have a duty to perform because, “with the trappings of power, comes the obligations of station”.

Most organizations fail to fully and completely utilize the royal couple as they should, by allowing them to escape the most solemn duties to the organization. The main purpose of the royal couple is not JUST to honor the King and Queen for their unceasing efforts to improve the city in some way, shape or form, or to reward them for arriving at the top of their profession. Rather the main purpose for the club is to have their short burst of fame shower your club with some of their glory, and public press.

The royal couple’s job, so to speak, is to look fantastic, as they tend to do this, and become the Krewe's focus of the spotlight to showcase the success that they have achieved. They are to be transformed into society’s shining, living examples of what is, for most of us a goal that is worth obtaining, worth striving for. Their story should inspire all of us to reach for the brass ring, and work harder to seek and capture the fame, the riches which can sometime elude even the best of us.

 As captain, or the public relations person for your Krewe, it is your responsibility to see that the story of the royal couple is told, and told, and told to the press, the crowds, and the Krewe.

Your appointed public relations specialist should accompany them everywhere, make a scene by having the paid police escort detail block off streets for their swift departure and arrival, let loose the sirens, the blue lights, and have at least one car more follow containing some sort of entourage. All of this should call attention to the royal couple now and later as well as they go about their second, and most important job, Krewe Public Relations!       

Zulu mastered this part, when they formed the guard for King Zulu, the Soulful Warriors. For really public gatherings, and special events, the Krewe should spring for the limousine and escort, but the royal couple can choose to downgrade this to a late model luxury car and driver, with no escort.

Here’s something we seldom see that was used back in the early days, Krewe carriage flags for the royalty. Flags with the Krewes crest inside a royal seal and made into a small flag. This was to be flown on the car along side the Mardi Gras flag only or any imaginary realm flag. You should never use this flag, with the U.S. Flag, and this is important, because this would be desecration of our national flag.

The Royalty should sit down with public relations and the two should place the royal couple where the public would be most likely to get the idea of, "The Public Good."

Those venues be they commercial or private should send a great signal to the masses. Places such as Elderly Centers, Sports events, hospital visits, children's and adults, police stations, dinner with the mayor, city council and state senators, or host a dinner for the royalty of the other krewes. Think outside the box, but make sure they put on a royal show! 

As we said earlier, the royal couple has a duty to perform because, “with the trappings of power, comes the obligations of station”. Those obligations in this case is to develop and carry out an agenda, purpose and schedule of events that are designed to, 1) Keep the name of the Krewe in the news, 2) Keep the royal couple seen about town when possible, 3) Keep the illusion that the King and Queen are ruling their “Summer Kingdom” well and wisely, and last but not lest, 4) Elevate the Krewe’s name and status to attract members to it’s banner.

The couple you choose to do this should be made aware that this will be expected of them, but also make them aware that this is an honor that is being, “bestowed”, upon them, as a reward for their successes in life. Then be absolutely sure to allow them to enjoy themselves, be themselves, and have fun with the role.

A good King and Queen with a good schedule of appearances and a good public relations campaign can fill a club to the brim with new members, if only they were simply fully utilized!

It is simple to do this, and yet most clubs don't require this of their royalty, but they should! This is because every organization is duty bound to aide the holiday as much as they can by over riding or overwhelming the negative public relations the press unleashes on us every year, thanks to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana.

By using the asset of royalty to aid your club, you gain members, elevate your club's name, reclaim Mardi Gras from the crazy press, and finally you allow the Carnival community to enjoy your personality, profile, and aid tourism in the Gulf Coast!