*CYBERTORIAL: Exceptional media sales and service is all about ROI at the end of the day so when Gumtree wanted to embark on a campaign to drive new ad listings and downloads of its mobile app, multichannel media sales house Mediamark proposed that it look inside the box – rather than outside it – for an innovative way to grab the market’s attention.
Cindy Diamond, group sales director of Mediamark, says: “We are passionate about finding new ways of bringing radio campaigns to life and follow the consumer’s multichannel journey. So, this campaign gave us an opportunity to show exactly how Mediamark have moved the dial in terms of content driven solutions to market.
Working with its creative division Lab42 and regional radio station Jacaranda FM, Mediamark proposed ‘Secret Stash’ – a mystery box concept that had people buzzing for weeks in face-to-face communication, on the airwaves, and on social media.
Secret Stash saw South Africans trying to guess what was locked in a mysterious freight container suspended from a crane parked at busy locations around Jacaranda FM’s catchment area. Once consumers were intrigued by the secrets of the box, Jacaranda FM and Gumtree owned up to the stunt. They invited Jacaranda listeners to phone in and guess what was inside the box – but to enter the competition, they had to place a listing on Gumtree.
The hype peaked with an event sub-sponsorship of BP Jacaranda Day, where the regional radio station hosted some of South Africa’s hottest musical talent at Supersport Park in Centurion. With more than 15,000 people in the crowd, one lucky listener was named as the winner of everything inside the container, including a brand new car from fellow sub-sponsor Volkswagen.
An arsenal of multichannel assets
Mediamark started by looking at which of its assets could help Gumtree approach the challenge of keeping consumers captivated throughout the weeks of the campaign. These included on air; social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter; display advertising on Jacaranda FM’s website; content on Lekker TV, a Jacaranda music show on DSTV’s Kyknet Musiek; and prominent outdoor billboards. Die Heuwels Fantasties endorsed the competition by giving away a guitar on Gumtree.
“From on air and in the air to on-the-ground and social media, this campaign drove record engagement for our client,” says Warren Bedil, business development director at Mediamark. “It is a strong showcase for the power of multichannel campaigns in amplifying a message, increasing its impact, and extending its reach, all helping an advertiser to maximise return on investment and meet its business objectives.”
The customer experience
“The campaign delivered over 4 000 listings and 2 000 app downloads – four times as many as any regional or national radio campaign we’ve run in the past,” says Claire Cobbledick, marketing manager at Gumtree. “We were blown away by the entire campaign from planning to execution, and enjoyed the way that the collaboration between ourselves, Mediamark and Jacaranda FM helped to bring our message to life.”
Diamond has the last word: “Ultimately it was our partnership with the agency, the client and our brand that helped us deliver such great ROI – something we hope the rest of the industry is experiencing in dealing with Mediamark and all our channels. This is a case study we are really proud of so don’t miss it on www.mediamark.co.za. PS: If you were a part of making Mediamark a winner this year… thank you!”
* Cybertorial is sponsored content.
