Could SA get another international award?

According to Ethne Whitley, spokesperson for the Unilever Surf, the brand engaged its advertising and mobile agencies (the Hardy Boys and Mobitainment) to create a campaign with the objective of raising awareness of the new brand and getting consumers to try the product in order to drive sales and increase market share.

"We decided on the Surf Pick-a-Box TV Show, which was based on the old, proven Pick a Box mechanic," says Whitley. "It was aired on SABC1 during the ad break for one of the most popular local soap operas, Generations.

Most affordable

"Mobitainment set up an entry mechanism over mobile that was the most affordable for the consumer to express interest in being a contestant on the TV Show. The participant could send a free Please Call Me, which triggered off an Automated Voice Message call-back to ask the participant questions to pre-qualify him or her as a customer and prospective contestant.

"The mobile phone was used as a tool to engage with customers in a fun, entertaining way, elicit a measurable response from them and motivate them to purchase the product. It is seen as an important channel for communicating with consumers and the database created from the respondents will be used to contact them in the future with relevant information and competitions or promotions. The mobile phone truly became the remote control to the customer through TV, increased the awareness of the new brand and encouraged consumers to try the new product," she concludes.

The free entry mechanism for this competition created high entry volumes averaging at 8 300 per day and peaking at over 12 000 daily entries for the two-month duration of the campaign.