IMC launches multifaceted campaign to build SA Brand Champions
Friday, 09 May 2008
The South Africa – Alive will Possibility campaign continues to evolve as the International Marketing Council (IMC) launches a multifaceted campaign aimed at building South Africa Brand Champions, produced by Kaelo Worldwide Media. The campaign uses mass media as a powerful tool to educate, stimulate debate and inspire, extended by direct training and engagement in organisations in order to have a powerful influence on behaviour.
Kicking off the media component, inspirational stories highlighting South African talent, people and organisations who are making this land alive with possibility are being featured each Wednesday and Thursday morning at 06h42 during e.tv Sunrise Edition for the rest of the year.
“South Africa needs to build an image of the nation, both within and beyond our borders, that matches its potential to grow,” says Margaret Dingalo, IMC Stakeholder Relations Director. “Through the Brand Champion campaign, we aim to communicate successes to potential brand ambassadors in an engaging way, both through a mass media campaign and through direct training activities. The campaign is further linked into the recently launched Movement for Good, which offers audiences practical ways to get involved.”
In addition to the 90-second inserts broadcast on e.tv from May to December, the multimedia campaign will include radio story inserts on community radio, regular national print media features in community papers, a book and online coverage on the southafrica.info website, linked to the new www.forgood.co.za social networking portal. Audiences are able to find further information online, or can register by sending an sms to 32197.
“Multimedia content focuses on those who embody the behaviours and attitudes South Africans need to embrace, emphasising that individuals can take action with the rallying cry – “It starts with you,” says Dingalo. Both individuals and organisations are highlighted in six categories: Global Ambassador, Nation Builder, Trailblazer, Everyday Hero, Social Innovator and Tomorrow’s Hope.
Story features include fuel cell Social Innovator Rolf Papsdorf, Trailblazer Thabang Skwambane, an investment banker who cycled to Kilimanjaro for HIV/Aids orphans, and Community Builder Miriam Cele, who started the Gozololo Daycare Centre.
The Brand Champion campaign incorporates a direct training component, delivered by specialist training organisation Converse. Training for all staff takes the form of experiential theatre sessions, and an Executive Masterclass is offered around key issues affecting South Africa, including talking points for delegations.
The multifaceted campaign extends the work already completed for Brand South Africa. The overall brand will remain “South Africa – Alive with Possibility”, and it forms part of the Movement for Good, of which the IMC is a founder member.
“We are excited about this campaign, particularly as it links into a bigger picture that fuses multimedia communication with direct training and SMS technology,” says Dingalo. “We are adding our voice to the broader Movement for Good, and hope to create a groundswell –connecting and mobilising people to work for good, and bringing their stories into mass media to further inspire others.”
This document entitled South Africa Today was prepared by the International Marketing Council in mid-January 2008 as a briefing document for a South African delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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