“We decided to go against the clichéd and conventional Back to School creative concepts which dominate communication during this time of the year,” explains Joanina Pastoll, Creative Director at Cross Colours. “Given that Sasol is deeply involved in youth education with its Bursaries Campaign - which grants bursaries to promising young students - we were able to incorporate this element into the Sasol delight! Back to School campaign.”
The colourful in-store component of the campaign encourages parents and children to look forward to school, with Sasol giving away a whopping R250 000 in school fees and a free collectable with their Sasol delight! Back to School Combos.
“Research has revealed that collectables have become a hugely successful trend within our target market, which inspired us to produce a series of unique collectable Sasol Bursaries Characters for the Back to School promotion,” adds Pastoll. “These characters are already a brand asset amongst our Grade 11 and 12 learners, having gained valuable exposure via various media channels.”
In addition, campaign awareness is being driven through national radio stations. The lighthearted radio ads feature different scenarios in which parents embarrass their children, with the central message that ‘life’s hard enough for kids - so make it up to them by providing the best education possible.’ While humorous, the ads are offset against Sasol’s positioning of “reaching new frontiers” and looking positively towards future possibilities – with education being one of the most important.
The radio ads are supported by an interactive national and regional radio promotion in which parents call in live on air (and in some cases, post their stories on the radio stations’ websites) and share the most embarrassing things they have done to their children. Spot cash prizes are given out daily to the best caller. The promotion runs from 6 January to 11 February.