The challenge

As the next step in its Reality Check advertising campaign, SAB’s ‘No Regret Friday’ initiative calls upon all South Africans to ‘Regret Nothing’ by consuming alcohol responsibly over the weekend. Given the fact that regret is a particularly complex emotion to evoke or express, the alcohol brand needed to utilise a medium that could make this message more accessible and as a result, more powerful.

Why Radio

“Radio’s strength as a ‘theatre of the mind’ medium provides an effective means of expressing a difficult emotion like regret in a way that a billboard or a print ad can’t. In addition to reaching a wide and varied audience with good penetration, the medium also enabled us to speak to our target market in apt environments, when they are in the process of going out after work or in their car”, says Corporate Reputation Manager, Jessica Yellin.

Implementation

“In order to inspire behavioural change, the campaign was launched using radio to generate awareness around ‘No Regret Friday’. Radio was chosen as the key medium for this element of the campaign, and we opted initially for two national stations, 5FM and Metro FM.

These allowed us national reach against two sets of audiences, which we supported with the big SABC ALS stations to broaden our reach across a further segment”, says Yellin.  Every Friday, SAB reminds consumers to behave responsibly through radio advertising spots, brand ambassadors such as 5FM’s Gareth Cliff as well as through its website.

The Results

Radio was the only medium utilised to advertise the No Regret Friday Movement along with support from chosen ambassadors and bloggers. On the day of the launch, there were 1 183 unique visits to this site.  #noregretfriday has twice been a trending topic in South Africa.

To date, there have been 2 342 online conversations, 2 768 pledges and mentions by more than 50 blogs and newspapers. More than 4.3-million people have been exposed to the campaign through social media.

Learnings

“After this particular Reality Check campaign, we’ve learnt that radio is a fantastic medium to generate awareness through ambassadors and live reads and to create a movement. Using radio alone, we managed to draw people to our ‘No Regret Friday’ website where they could pledge their support”, says Yellin.

RAB Commentary

Tapping into the credibility that goes along with DJ endorsements as well as radio’s strength as a personal medium is a great way for  brands to literally ‘drive a message home’.

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