Africa's best creatives converge to brainstorm new DStv Africa campaign

The brief was to create a campaign that spoke specifically to the African market. Too often, creative ideas are adapted and shoehorned to fit the African market - and it was the aim of this project to create a campaign that was completely relevant, right from the outset, from conception to execution.

To achieve this, Creative directors from Ogilvy Johannesburg and the Ogilvy partner agencies in Nigeria, Kenya, Mozambique and Namibia attended a three day brainstorming session at Ogilvy Africa in Johannesburg. It was a learning experience for everybody - and the work benefited from a wealth of experience and real market insight from different creatives across the continent.

The campaign was, effectively, a collaborative effort created for Africa - by Africa.

The global campaign task aimed to re-enforce the DStv Brand by redefining its face, voice and personality. The creative team needed to increase the "wantability" of DStv.

At the three day workshop, the brief to all the creative directors was to, "develop creative that will 'blow client's socks off,' and be bought by the entire MultiChoice and Ogilvy networks. The market status from respective countries and backgrounds were assimilated and various creative concepts and directions developed. By the end of day three the chosen concept had been finalised, developed and approved by client.

DStv's Marketing team for Africa, Mark West, Nicola Bouwer and Catherine Williams were involved from the onset of the workshop, to ensure absolute accessibility by the creative directors as well as teamwork. The final product was not programming based, but looked at a typical day in the life of the target market.

For the first time in DStv's history, a campaign was created that dramatised an African perspective on a truly international brand. It spoke to the main drivers in the market - aspiration and education, and gave the DStv Brand a new pertinence and relevance.

Guy Dennison, Business Director at Ogilvy Africa says, "The workshop was a huge success. It was an opportunity to exchange views and opinions on marketing communications as they relate to different African countries, giving participants a broader African view and feel of DStv."

West adds, "We took into account suggestions from all concerned, and thus far we have received a very positive response from all the markets. Next time round, we may consider hosting another brainstorming session like this. The benefits are evident."