by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Remember 2010? The constant buzz of vuvuzelas, the lost productivity, the South African flag everywhere you cast your eye. The flag — how delighted we all were to see our proud, rainbow-nation, post-apartheid miracle flag up there with the world’s best!
People who saw the flag flying knew intuitively it was a powerful symbol of freedom.
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I’m not a big fan of the excesses of nationalism — let’s make that very clear — but there is something to be said for the unifying power of a flag, of the SA flag. And it’s interesting to see how our red, green, yellow, black, white and blue has come to represent the brand that is South Africa for about all its inhabitants.
FCB South Africa video** explaining the Giant Flag concept
How do countries such as the UK, with its crowds waving the Union Jack at every appearance of royalty, or the US, with its ‘Stars ‘n Stripes’ on every front lawn, get to maintain that sense of pride? What can be learned from other nations who get this right?
Keep flying
Since 2010, FCB South Africa has been promoting the idea to ‘Keep Flying’ the flag. This is a long-term campaign that has encouraged brands and South Africans to incorporate a national flag logo device the agency designed, in advertising.
The latest news from this FCB initiative is an effort to ‘ground’ the campaign in a legacy project. Guy Lieberman, head of FCB’s green and social new business development, came up with the idea for a Giant Flag project.
The big idea here is to create a giant flag in a section of the desert in the Karoo. It will be 66 hectares in size — that’s the size of 66 soccer fields — which means this national icon will be visible from space. Succulent plants will be used for the red, blue, yellow and green, white stone roads for the white stripes, and a 4MW solar array for the black triangle.
Job creation
People from the nearby municipality of Camdeboo are being given the opportunity to apply for work on the project, both in the construction phase, and the maintenance thereafter. It’s estimated that some 700 jobs will thus be created, which will inject capital into the town. FCB maintains that the initiative will also uplift these people by offering them access to training.
Camdeboo is a town with an unemployment rate of close on 40%. Census information shows the average monthly income is set at R2 400 but some 21% live off less than R800 a month. For me, the best thing about this campaign is that it creates jobs in an area that’s remote. And here we’re not just talking about ‘make-work’ jobs, but rather the potential for revenue generation.
There are ecological benefits, too. The electricity generated by the solar array will be sold back to the grid, and spinoff projects such as honeybee farming will be created. The project has been vetted by environmental experts, with a focus on carbon, as the plants will be nett carbon negative. The plants should also help to curb erosion and improve the water table in the area.
Endowment fund
Profits from Giant Flag operations will go into an endowment fund, which will be used to develop further opportunities in the local social, green and innovation sectors through micro-loans and skills development. An education fund is also planned to upgrade schools in the area and provide tertiary scholarships.
The idea is that projects will be initiated in years to come – these include algae plants, biogas, and rainwater harvesting.
FCB South Africa crowdfunding video** for the Giant Flag
- Pick a section: After creating a login on www.giantflag.co.za, click on a section (pixel) of the flag to see what that section is made up of. You can then adopt a plant (US$10) from one of the colour sections or a section of the white road. The solar panel (US$250) section will be coming soon.
- Adopt: Choose any of the succulents that represent one of the colours of the Giant Flag, or a section of the white road, and adopt.
- View your shopping cart: View your plants or your piece of the road in your cart. You may alter the number of items you are purchasing at any time.
- Payment: Pay via PayGate and share your adoption via social media, spreading the word so that others can join you.
- What’s next? Find out about the next steps you can take in order to help spread the message.
Lesson in clever thinking
It’s a lesson in how clever thinking can make use of resources that would otherwise go unexploited, and it’s a model that should be replicated elsewhere in the country. Obviously, not in the form of flags that can be seen from space, but in projects that provide self-sustaining jobs to lift destitute communities out of the poverty trap by creating value, rather than relying on government handouts.
*Adapted from www.giantflag.co.za/pages/how-it-works
**Videos produced by FCB South Africa in collaboration with Hello Computer and Green Renaissance.
Ad of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research.
If you are involved in making advertising that is smart, funny and/or engaging,
please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.
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