The key to these brand activations is promoting their brands through the LIFESTYLE lens
1. CONVERSE
Converse has long been an entrenched part of street culture, throughout the country but particularly in Johannesburg. For years, Joburg's ubiquitous bill boards have any at given moment featured the legendary sneaker's branding wether it was the shoes on their own or endoresed by homegrown celebrities. In June 2013, Converse launched their new Get Dirty campaign and threw Joburg a party to celebrate it. The popular Mary Fitzgerald Square in New Town was transformed into a childhood fun fair complete with bumber cars, flying swings, puppets, merry go rounds and two big stages where popular local bands and dj's entertained thousands of Joburgers who came to party on that very cold Saturday afternoon. There were hot dogs, candy floss and other complementary foods to eat and of course, alcohol on sale. Patrons, who were asked to come in their dirty all stars, paid R100 to go in to enjoy the party and they came in droves.
Everybody had fun, everybody was talking about it on the social networks, inviting their friends and not wanting to miss out. The demographics of people attending was an equal number of black and white patrons in the early 20s to late 30s, Muslims from the surrounding Fordsburg and a lot of young, University students from the local universities all united under the banner of youth and fun. Converse had giant banners across the stage and at strategic places with statements like
They invited bloggers and street style photographers to the party. This is a no brainer for a brand like Converse which is about embracing the street and street culture, a burgeoning approach from brands in Joburg. The key is the fusion of CONSUMERS with MUSIC + A NOVEL AND FUN ATMOSPHERE + THE BRAND
These kinds of branding exercises work in Joburg because:
- There simply aren't that many interesting things happening on weekends, no permanent amenities like beaches or mountains to keep people occupied so naturally, their leisure time is associated with spending money in malls. People will always buy into things that are different from what they are used to as long as there's a fusion of elements
- The millenials that grew up in malls are the ones at the forefront of the burgeoning street culture
- The next level of consumer to be interested in street culture and what's happening in the gritty and formerly dangerous areas in the city, are the bored suburban inhabitants of the North who bring the money and numbers but not the cool.
- It's an extention of the brand in an environment they can experience and use that experience as an event or way to spend their afternoon, where they also spend money drinking, eating and shopping. It must be social for it to get the buy of the targeted consumer
2. MASTERCARD'S WINTER SCULPTURE FAIR
The Winter Sculpture Fair was launched in May 2013 and was a
2 day event that attracted thousands of people to Nirox Sculpture Park, an
artists residency and Sculpture Park 60 minutes outside Johannesburg at The
Cradle of Humankind.
Nirox is a 16 hectare paradise with ever green grass, hills
and valleys, streams and lakes dotted by sculptures from prominent South
African and international sculptors. The park has only recently been open to
the public with, previously known as an elite artists enclave, this was the
first big commercial venture that took place.
The event, sponsored by Master Card in association with the
owners of Nirox and it attracted over 20 000 people who were there because they
are Mastercard Customers, Nirox subscribers or by word of mouth – they hardly
advertised and food and wine were sold out on both days of the event. This was
mostly attended by older, white customers although there was a fresh injection
of younger mixed race patrons. This was
a fine dining and wine experience and a good example of how to entertain joburg
customers: it’s best done in a social environment.
2. The Weekend Social
A group of girl friends in the 20s got together and started a monthly party that is about food, fashion and socialising. It starts off with a brunch prepared a different venues each month, lately by students at local cullinary school and ends off with a party that ends at about 10 pm. Patrons come dressed in a theme and eat and dance for R300 for the whole day. This has become a huge event on the cool kids social calendar and an equal number of men and women attend to hot spot each other. The demographic here is black middle to upper class, educated, employed, creative and corporate and with spending power. The only brand that has picked up on this and sponsors is Gordon's Dry Gin.
It's basically a market waiting to be marketed to. Woolies could come on board as a food sponsor anf fashion partner, give away vouchers, clothing, street style spot or sponsor the music. What started off as a New York style brunch get together is thretening to become a homegrown brand that uses its customers as its number one marketing tool.
4. THE FOOD WINE DESIGN FAIR IN HYDE PARK - HYDE PARK
Sanlam and Art Logik have hosted the annual Food, Wine and Design expo since its inception. Every November for four days, Johannesburg's Hyde Park Mall Rooftop basically transforms into Cape Town with designer food, local designer fashion, local decor designers and lots of wine stands. It's a very well attended fair and has become on staple on Joburg's Social Calendar. This fair also attracts a lot of tourists and up to 100 000 patrons each year.
5. KFC BIG MOVIE EXPERIENCE
During the summer of 2012/2013, KFC hosted outdoor movie screenings at various parks and venues in Joburg's Northern Suburbs. Patrons would be invited to watch vintage films for free, get gift packs on arrival, take photos with props in the photobooth, stand a chance to win spot prizes and of course eat lots of KFC. Again, an example of a brand engaging with its customers by offering a lifestyle based brand experience.
