A wrap of some new campaigns doing the rounds this week.
‘Karen’, don’t beetch – sweetch
Complaint publicity – it’s a thing, especially on social media. Last year in the US, a National Customer Rage Study was conducted and found that social media has become a pivotal portal for pre-purchasing reasoning and post-purchase griping and the number of customers who prefer to vent their grievances via digital platforms rather than by phone or in-person has tripled over the past the three years.
The US also has the highest concentration of “I want to speak to the manager”, Karens. South Africa ranked 9th on Bionic’s list of the top 10 countries with the most Karens.
Budget Insurance has a simple solution and together with FoxP2, have launched a campaign that encourages consumers to sweeetch, not beeetch. Paying too much? Sweeetch! Not getting the service you expect? Sweeetch! Time for a change? Sweeetch!
According to Susan Steward, head of marketing for Budget Insurance, “Times are tough and the tougher they get, the tighter consumer’s budgets become. Consumers are scrutinising their spend closely and insurance being the grudge purchase that it is, has just become grudgier. Instead of moaning about it, we’re encouraging consumers to take action and save money – about R408*– while doing so.”
Grant Jacobsen from FoxP2 explains: “The campaign is built on that universally South African truth: we all know someone who can’t stop complaining. People who are so predictable with their beeetching, we invent ways to avoid them. But no more, ‘cos next time ‘Karen’ starts beeetching at the family braai, just be like “hey Karen, don’t beeetch, sweeetch” – and then casually get back to tending your boerie.”
Steward notes that they are ready for the ‘Karens’ that may take offence to the use of the word beeetch however, “our reference to beeetch is a verb and is not to be confused with the derogatory noun.”
*Based on overall Customer Effort Score for Sales, Service, Claims and retentions
5FM launches ‘Vaxxed Up’ campaign
National radio station 5FM has launched their Vaxxed Up campaign across the country in a bid to mobilise young South Africans to get their Covid-19 vaccines.
The campaign launch saw four shows take to the roads with 5 Breakfast in Cape Town, 5 Mid-Morning from Gqeberha, 5 Lunch in Durban and 5Drive from Johannesburg.
For the remainder of the campaign, 5 Lunch with Zanele Potelwa (weekdays 12:00 – 15:00) will broadcast at the end of every week from key vaccination sites across the country. The live broadcasts will be accompanied by what the station has dubbed Vaxxed Up Fridays with live DJ sets at various sites with 5FM DJs, kicking off with Das Kapital and DJ Loyd at Parc du Cap in Cape Town on Friday, 3 September.
Listeners are encouraged to stay tuned to 5FM for more details on live DJ sets for the rest of September and follow the hashtag #VaxxedUpOn5. Visit www.5fm.co.za for more.. Visit www.5fm.co.za for more.
*All COVID-19 protocol observed during this campaign.
The magic of the enduring mile
No running distance, or field event has the historic and enduring appeal as the Mile. The Mile, much like the 100 metres and the marathon is still widely considered as one of the most iconic distances and the pinnacle of athletic excellence.
The first sub-4-minute mile was smashed in 1954 by Roger Bannister. His time of 3:59.4 has since been broken by over 1400 athletes worldwide. Two unmatched records stand today in the ladies and men’s categories. The men’s world record stands at 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1999 while the women’s record sits at 4:12.33 held by Olympic sensation Sifan Hassan, set in July 2019.
However, the mile isn’t only for a considered ‘pro’ or Olympic athlete, it’s the ideal fitness distance for runners looking to test their speed endurance and pace up their tempo, regardless of age or ability. With the continued popularity of the distance, Under Armour recently announced the launch of its popular Global UA All Out Mile Campaign in SA.
UA will be challenging pro and novice runners across South Africa to go all out for 30 days to break their personal record over 1600m and benchmark themselves against competitors from around the world and at the same time stand a chance to win a host of exciting prizes.
Participating runners will set a benchmark time and then spend the month of September working to improve their time. UA will have a 30-day training programme to assist runners during September. Once October arrives, runners can take on the All Out Mile as many times as they like, races will be tracked by the UAMapMyRun app or an alternative run device linking to FitRankings.com (Garmin, Suunto, Apple).
“We are thrilled to be bringing this fierce campaign to South Africa. SA plays host to some of the most popular running events in the world and we have an ardent running community here. The Under Armour ‘All Out Mile’ has been created to challenge runners and encourage them to reach their best. We are excited to see it all unfold over the next few weeks” says Lorrianne Cloete, head of marketing, at Under Armour SA.
What’s great about bagging your Mile results is that you can compare with your running buddies and everyone else all over the world. The prizes on offer, both local and international, are both for personal glory as well as to charities chosen by the “Media Milers” who will soon unveil themselves to the SA audience.
HOW IT WORKS
- Start by registering for the challenge on https://uaalloutmile.com/
- Then, automatically track all of your runs by linking your UA MapMyRun™ account on FitRankings.
- Set your benchmark mile and train from August 30 to September 30.
- Take advantage of the weekly training plans and video tips directly from UA’s professional athletes, coaches and Human Performance experts.
- During the UA All Out Mile competition period, go all out and crush your PR from October 1 through October 11.
- After completing your UA All Out Mile (you can try more than once), your results will automatically be pulled from UA MapMyRun™ and appear on the FitRankings leader board.
- See how you stack up versus runners from around the world.
Visit www.uaalloutmile.com to register and see what you can do!
Soft drinks range launches with kindness campaign
One of South Africa’s favourite water brands has extended its offering with a range of low kilojoule soft drinks, launched with a goodwill campaign encouraging kindness. aQuellé recently announced the addition of the Khula soft drinks range based on its spring water from its natural source in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The name Khula, which means “to grow” in isiZulu, was inspired by the brand team’s growth and learnings over the past year.
Launching with the campaign “it’s Khula to share,” aQuellé is inviting all South Africans to share stories of kindness and joy on its KHULAtoShare map. This online platform is designed to ignite a sense of optimism and uBuntu in people from all walks of life, with no act of kindness being too big or small to share. The map not only provides a meaningful way to share inspiring moments that people have witnessed in their communities, but also a way to feel uplifted by reading others’ stories.
With clever markers that pinpoint exactly where a story took place, one gets a sense of the overwhelming amount of kindness taking place in South Africa every day. See how you can pin your story to the map here.
TymeBank’s #SaveWhatMatters campaign inspires customers to save for what is important
The new Save What Matters TymeBank brand campaign aims to show how driving a culture of saving can help us achieve the things that really matter. The campaign is inspired by the story of Ouma Katrina Esau, the 88-year-old language warrior who has worked tirelessly to preserve her mother tongue of N|uu. Ouma Katrina is the last fluent speaker of N|uu, which itself is the last surviving San language. Her work to preserve and draw attention to the plight of this language has earned her several national honours and prompts us to reconsider the value of what we might otherwise take for granted.
What we choose to save – or save for – matters. Whether it’s a new house, our health, or a better life for our children, the goals we set say a lot about who we are. Or, as Ouma Katrina puts it: “For me, my mother tongue of N|uu is what is worth saving. What is it for you, a house, a car, your community or a school?” By establishing emotional links between what is important to us and what is needed to achieve it, the multimedia campaign also aims to encourage a culture of saving in South Africa. South Africa’s savings rate, which has hovered around 16% of GDP over the past 30 years, is substantially lower than the world average.
“This campaign looks at what motivates us to plan for the future, and the power of goal-oriented saving. Our intention was to highlight the importance of savings in a unique manner. By encouraging South Africans to reflect on what matters most to them, the campaign has also focused our attention as a bank on the diversity of incentives for saving that exist,” says Linda Appie, head of marketing at TymeBank.
Alongside the campaign, TymeBank conducted a survey that asked respondents to list the things they considered most worth saving for. When it comes to the things that money can buy, three aspirations are particularly important for the 1 585 respondents who were polled: education, a house and generational wealth. The vast majority of respondents (70.4%) value education above everything and 41% are actively saving towards this goal. While buying a house is next in the order of priorities (57.5%), affordability is an issue – only 36.2% are actively saving to purchase a home or already have a bond. Creating generational wealth is deemed important by 47.8% of respondents, with 27.1% indicating they are actively saving for their children, grandchildren and their own retirement. Given the financial difficulties many South Africans are facing, these goals are more attainable for some than for others. What the survey results tell us is that amid the challenges, a surprising number of people are actively saving to make their goals a reality.
Diageo South Africa launches new R25-million campaign to rebuild after unrest and alcohol ban
In the wake of the recent unrest in the country, Diageo South Africa has launched a R25-million relief initiative to help the country’s liquor industry following the looting and destruction of businesses in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal. The money will go towards alcohol outlets which were vandalised and looted during the week-long riots.
The impact of an already strenuous year for many businesses, due to lockdown restrictions has been worsened by recent events. Now more than ever, Diageo is committed to connecting with its partners and offering relief through this purpose-driven campaign geared towards rebuilding the industry that will ultimately get South Africans back at work again. Diageo has been inspired by the many South Africans who have rolled up their sleeves to help clean up and rebuild. Diageo hopes this financial contribution and stock injection will help speed up the recovery of those businesses affected by the riots.
Zizwe Vundla, Diageo SA’s marketing director, says, “We want to see businesses rebuild and thrive again. We are prepared to work and contribute to the collective progress, from consumers to business owners. We must realise that even in distress we have always been able to rise above our challenges as South Africans.”
“We cannot shy away from the damage that many have suffered in the past week of which the full extent is still unknown. The looting coupled with the country’s extended alcohol ban has heavily impacted mostly small businesses and the families behind them, as well as the wider industry supply chain. Therefore, it is important that through our flagship brands, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff, we offer these businesses another shot at rebuilding so we can get South Africans back at work.
Through this relief fund, we will be able to assist businesses by doing the following: repairing and replacing shop fitting, replenishing of stock , clean-up drives, cash injections to help business owners pay their staff during a time where business operations have halted, marketing support, food parcels to restaurant and bar employees that have lost their jobs as well as giving our trade partners reprieve on payment terms” Vundla added.
This commitment is in addition to the support that Diageo SA provided to the industry last year, through partnerships with the Restaurant Association of South Africa which saw more than 400 establishments in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban assisted with R200-million support to cushion them from the blow of COVID-19 lockdown and the alcohol restrictions.
“We want to show our customers that we are still with them during this tough time, as we continue to give back to them,” says Zizwe Vundla. “Johnnie Walker has always been a powerful force, bringing people together for centuries, and now more than ever, we have to keep walking with them and help them rebuild their businesses.”