Toyota South Africa's Springbok The Kiffness campaign resonates with fans

Image supplied: Springbok teammates Frans Malherbe, Damian Willemse, Canan Moodie, and Siya Kolisi are joined by The Kiffness in the Green Mamba, the Bok team’s official Toyota Hilux

The two phase campaign has drawn a huge response across The Kiffness’, The Springboks' and Toyota South Africa’s social channels, and has been picked up by the likes of Good Things Guy, Cape Town etc and was also featured on the load shedding ESP app homepage.

A crucial component of sponsorship

“Creating and seeding content that resonates with the audience is a crucial component of a successful sponsorship strategy. Similarly, optimising and amplifying it to maximise reach is imperative,” says Brett Bruton, head of creative strategy for the HaveYouHeard Group.

“From a creative and strategic perspective, we wanted to ensure that our fans' passion for the Springboks remained front and centre of the campaign, with Toyota acting as the driving force, literally and figuratively.

“Enlisting The Kiffness’ talent and profile was a key strategic component to maximise organic reach and engagement for both the Boks and Toyota.”

First phase

The first phase of the campaign was the creation of a video featuring Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, teammates Frans Malherbe, Damian Willemse, and Canan Moodie driving in the Green Mamba, the Bok team’s official Toyota Hilux.

In the video, Kolisi leads his teammates in a Gwijo, a traditional isiXhosa call and response song he has been teaching the Boks to build unity and raise the spirits of the team in the locker room before matches.

The original video was released on social media platform TikTok and seeded across other social media channels, including Toyota South Africa’s Facebook Page, Twitter account and Instagram account.

The video was also picked up and shared by local media platforms, including various sports and news outlets.

Remix released

Once seeded, the second phase of the campaign was brought to life together with The Kiffness, African musician and internet celebrity.

A few days after the original clip was shared, The Kiffness released a remix video that featured the musician in a Springbok T-shirt looping riffs on guitars, a drum, a trumpet, a keyboard and other instruments to add even more depth to the emotive song.

To bring the entire campaign full circle, the singer appears in the Toyota Hilux with the four stars of the original clip in the video’s final frame.

With almost 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube and over 400 million views of his videos, The Kiffness has become an international sensation selling out shows in London, Amsterdam and Warsaw on his upcoming European tour.

The campaign leveraged The Kiffness’ talent and massive online following to amplify the Bok’s pre-game chant as well as Toyota’s sponsorship.

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A personal and intimate insight

“As the vehicle sponsor to the Springboks, Toyota has always enjoyed a close relationship with South Africa’s national rugby team and a long history of creative collaboration,” says Izak van der Walt, head of sponsorship at BrandInc., Toyota South Africa’s sponsorship agency, and specialist creative sponsorship agency within the HaveYouHeard Group, has leveraged

“We were looking for a way to give Springbok fans a personal and intimate insight into the team’s spirit and camaraderie, and this concept presented the perfect platform to help bring the Boks’ and Hilux’s legendary enthusiasm to South Africans everywhere,” adds van der Walt.

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A real honour

The remixed version, posted on The Kiffness’ social channels using the hashtags #HiluxLegends and #ToyotaXSpringboks gained traction quickly, with Bok and music supporters being sent into a flurry of excitement and positivity. Some fans have asked if this chant will replace Sweet Caroline at stadiums.

"I've made songs about the Bokke in the past, but to actually make one with them was a real honour. I'm so happy with how this collab turned out, and seeing how well it has been received by South Africans across social media is just the cherry on top.", says The Kiffness.

The newly inspired passion for Gwijo” by Bok fans has seen them sharing their own versions of the song as well, to celebrate their support and solidarity with the Boks for their upcoming matches and tournaments.