by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) The TV-watching public seems to have an insatiable appetite for “reality-based” talent shows, especially those that focus on singing and other performing arts. From “American Idol” to ‘strictly Come Dancing”, from “Dinner Date” to “Sewing Bee,” most tastes are catered for — sport, up until now, being the notable exception.
Soccer is undeniably the most popular sport in South Africa, and Nedbank has become intimately involved with the sport at various levels, including the First Division, the Premier League and amateur clubs. Since 2008 the “green bank” has sponsored the Nedbank Cup — SA’s equivalent of the FA Cup. The bank’s involvement includes building sports courts for schools and providing kit for some 100 schools.
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Soccer talent search
Nedbank, in co-operation with SABC 1, this year created a campaign that brings the concept of a talent search into the field of soccer, with the Nedbank Ke Yona challenge. For the past four months or so, selectors and coaches have been building up a team of unsigned amateurs to take on the winners of the Nedbank Cup —Orlando Pirates, in case you were wondering.
The bank’s agency, Native VML, used Facebook, Twitter and online banners to invite hopefuls to register for try-outs via USSD. Player profiles and back-stories were curated and published on both web and mobile. The Ke Yona website, mobisite and Facebook page (as well as other social media) gave soccer fans and followers the opportunity to join the conversation and follow the process, from trial to tournament.
All of this resulted in online sharing and a social “buzz” being built up, leading up to the climax of the campaign, the big match, being held on 7 September 2014 at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
The fixture brought to an end months of intense preparation for the 30 000 entrants, who were handpicked after six provincial trials by selectors Shakes Mashaba, Owen da Gama, Mike Mangena and Khabo Zondo.
Campaign highlights
One of the highlights of the campaign was the series of animated clips created by Mdu, called “Coach Dingaan”. Apart from being a call to action, the cartoons were amusing anecdotes that eventually started featuring the names of all the finalists in the talent search.
Nedbank also commissioned a weekly television show that was broadcast on SABC 1, detailing the progress that the Ke Yona team hopefuls had been going through, to prepare them for the big match.
Posted on YouTube
The process involved thousands of tryouts around the country to find a group of 48 to send to “Boot Camp”. From there, the contestants were whittled down to a final squad to take on the Cup Champions. The episodes were also posted on YouTube for those who missed them on broadcast — which I think is a great use of the medium that allows for more participation from viewers.
Judging by the comments on YouTube, which can often be vicious and critical, “Coach Dingaan” was very well-received. The humour is very specific to Mdu’s style, which is a wonderful combination of social insight and absurdity, so it’s pointless for me to try and describe them here.
The voice performances are classic, and prove once again that we South Africans are capable of — indeed, are good at — laughing at ourselves.
“On track” reassurance
The YouTube channel created a nice bit of social interaction that kept the conversation going between the followers, and probably reassured the creators that they were “on track” with their message and their target market.
Sponsorships have traditionally been perceived as something of a “black hole” for marketers: money disappears into it but there is little way of measuring any form of ROI or brand-building. I think that with integrated campaigns such as this one, agencies like Native VML are starting to unlock the value and promise of sponsorships for their clients.
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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