The multi-faceted Web campaign included running online banners on popular sites such as Mail & Guardian, Facebook and Student Village, as well as a comprehensive Google Adwords campaign.

“Although the Sasol characters have remained the same, we adapted last year’s look and feel to refresh and modernise the campaign,” explains Joanina Pastoll, Director at Cross Colours. “And given that online media produced the best results in 2010, this was the area in which we wanted to focus most of our efforts,” says Pastoll.

“The Google search delivered 3 723 clicks yielding a CTR [click through] rate of 5.07% -which is way above industry norms,” says Pastoll.

In addition, Cross Colours made effective use of MXit (a popular free instant messaging application for mobile phones), running a competition and encouraging users to visit the Sasol Bursaries scheme website.

“While many companies are taking their campaigns online, the Sasol Bursaries activation is proving to be a great example of how a campaign can draw sustained interest and awareness from its online presence and use of multimedia platforms,” adds Pastoll.

To supplement the online campaign, Cross Colours ran radio advertisements on campus radio stations as well as reminder ads on 5FM and Metro FM. In partnership with Student Village, activations were implemented on campuses and schools around the country, which included tabletop designs and presentations from brand ambassadors and current Sasol bursars.

The Sasol Bursaries scheme strives to attract outstanding young talent, with special treatment given to ‘brainiacs’ who display high academic potential and strong leadership skills. Bursaries are awarded for full time university studies in engineering, science and commerce. When students have completed their studies, they are considered for employment within the Sasol Group through its Graduate Development Programme.

“This is the third consecutive year in which we have partnered with Sasol on its Bursaries scheme, and it has proven to be one of the most successful activations yet,” says Pastoll.