The Challenge

MiWay were looking for an original and contemporary campaign to enhance their brand profile within central South Africa.  They wanted to get close and personal with OFM’s loyal and affluent listeners, in a way that drove home the MiWay brand attitudes.

Why Radio

Appreciating that radio listeners have a loyal and emotional bond with their station and favourite presenters, MiWay Insurance realised that, with the right campaign, radio could position their brand in a closer and more personal manner within their central South African market.

With radio being able to deliver across multimedia platforms, from online, social media and sister publications, the campaign could be further extended, while maintaining the station – listener relationship.

Implementation

MiWay Insurance had been advertising on OFM for more than 18months, with great results. OFM’s 25^th birthday celebration, which took the party to Mauritius, presented an ideal opportunity for MiWay to further extend their brand relationship with their market in a manner that could drive their brand attitudes home.

OFM’s morning show, The ‘Breakfast Club’ got behind the campaign, using the power of radio’s theatre of the mind to creatively conjure up ‘warm’ holiday images. – albeit in icy cold June Free State conditions.

Listeners saw themselves slipping their toes into warm beach sand and soaking up the sun in anticipation of the grand prize to Mauritius. Over the next 5 months, a series of fun promos and hilarious on-air antics were executed by the‘Breakfast Club’ team. ‘Mildred’, a character created by MiWay Insurance became a regular guest on air in the build-up to the trip and the team spoke to her often whilst she was having fun in Mauritius.

OFM delivered continuous momentum right up until the listeners departed for Mauritius on the 24^th of October, including a week of outside broadcasts in Mauritius.

The ‘Breakfast Club’ entertained listeners in Mauritius and posted updates on their blog. Listeners who did not have the opportunity to go to the island were able to share in the experience via posted videos and pictures.

The Results

This campaign engaged OFM’s listeners from beginning to end. MiWay Insurance was positively showcased by integrating their brand into the heart of OFM programming. MiWay Insurance has seen an increase in leads and conversions over this time. They have attributed this to a more interactive campaign, buy in from OFM and their presenters who brought the campaign and their brand character to life on air.

Learnings

Head of Marketing at MiWay, Carine Conradie-Haffejeesays;

“The MiWay Mauritius initiative gave our brand an opportunity to get up close and personal with a very loyal and affluent OFM listener on a high frequency basis.  Rather than focus on hard sell messages during this campaign we aimed to be playful and give the audience a taste of the MiWay brand attitude. This approach and the dedication of OFM (and Thompsons Holidays) meant we were able to reach our audience in a less obtrusive and much more positive way – the results speak for themselves”.

RAB Commentary

Adding even more weight to radio’s argument as the medium that makes listeners most happy and energised, this campaign is an excellent demonstrator of how advertisers can benefit from engaging with listeners in a ‘feel good’ environment, with great results. It’s also worth noting that the most impactful radio campaigns not only start well but also sustain interest throughout.

Listen Up:

Title: Mauritius MiWay

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Title: Post Promo

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